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To actually win or to rebuild? Is Luke Walton trying to test the waters of his own ability and his teams ability or is he just getting down and dirty and going to try to get as many W's as they can?

I dunno tbh. Seems like a lot of times they probably could have pulled off a W if he had played Nick Young and Lou Williams more cause all they needed were some 3's and momentum would have shifted in their favor, but instead they don't score cause they have no scorers out there....

So are they going to try to fight for that 8th spot or just pull a 76er of the past which was joyride the regular season and experiment?

heyPlayer wrote:To actually win or to rebuild? Is Luke Walton trying to test the waters of his own ability and his teams ability or is he just getting down and dirty and going to try to get as many W's as they can?

I dunno tbh. Seems like a lot of times they probably could have pulled off a W if he had played Nick Young and Lou Williams more cause all they needed were some 3's and momentum would have shifted in their favor, but instead they don't score cause they have no scorers out there....

So are they going to try to fight for that 8th spot or just pull a 76er of the past which was joyride the regular season and experiment?

If we seriously stink, then you have to take the chances on the top 3 picks. This year, I think its mostly about getting better and gelling. If we get a playoff spot then great!! However, I think the FO and Luke want the team to play well and improve daily with the understanding that we will most likely miss the playoffs. Next year and the one after will be based on playoff spot and how far we get.

As we improve, we will add another FA in the summer then maybe one more the year after that to battle the top teams in the league. The FO and the team are ready to make the jump into building a contender instead of tanking and getting draft picks and pushing the playoff contender status another year down the road.

I think the idea is to fight for a playoff spot until it becomes mathematically impossible to get there. The objective however is to play some good basketball.

Slava wrote:I think the idea is to fight for a playoff spot until it becomes mathematically impossible to get there. The objective however is to play some good basketball.

This plus improvement of the young guys even if sometimes it doesn't turn to wins. Building up the experience level.

I think Luke said that the priority this season is growth. If win comes along with growth then great. Making the playoffs is a bonus. Right now making the playoffs is still possible so I would like us to aim for it.

Almost make the playoffs.
Steal our pick.

Assess our team in the summer and sign/trade the right guys for next season

Brain: The same thing we do every year, Pinky... Try to win as many games as possible.

to love basketball... again

1. Make the playoffs

Know by Feb 22nd if we can make the playoffs or not. If not, flip Lou for a mid first, still think it's possible.

2. Win as much as we can to lower the value of the pick being conveyed to PHI.

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The "goal" is most likely different depending on who in the organization/team you ask. That is part of the problem with rebuilding/young/inexperience. Ever notice that the teams/organizations that win are aligned? Interesting isn't it.

This team has players who are still in "me" mode, a coach that has never really coached much, ownership in turmoil and very high expectations for all of those groups based on the city and past success. My guess is that there is a cycle or two to run it's course before we have some true alignment.

My goal is to watch the Lakers. I've been doing it since '71.

The goal is to change the culture , to a winning mentality, confident, and proud organization.
If we accomplish that this year, we've done very well.
If in the process, we make the playoffs, that would be beyond expectations, at least of my expectations.

Making the playoffs is impossible.

If we win 30 games this season, I think we would all be pleased.

winning of course. and developing our young core. really happy with the development so far. and a big part of that is surrounding them with the kind of coaching staff and veterans that professional and hardworking.

this team is really fun to watch when they got it going. we're on pace to win more than 20 games at least. if we can keep our pick by some miracle. next year is going to be exciting.


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Laker_Kid wrote:this team is really fun to watch when they got it going. we're on pace to win more than 20 games at least. if we can keep our pick by some miracle. next year is going to be exciting.

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I don't think it will take a "miracle" to keep the pick. Just a bit of good luck.

danfantastk32 wrote:

Laker_Kid wrote:this team is really fun to watch when they got it going. we're on pace to win more than 20 games at least. if we can keep our pick by some miracle. next year is going to be exciting.

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I don't think it will take a "miracle" to keep the pick. Just a bit of good luck.

We're 3 games ahead of Dallas, and Phoenix, 4 games ahead of Miami, and Philadelphia, and 7 games ahead of Brooklyn in the win column. Meaning that for us to improve our 20% (or so) odds, those teams that struggle to beat anyone (other than us apparently) would have to win 3, 4, and 7 games more than us between now and the end of the season (4, 5, and 8 if we have the tie breaker).

With an 80% chance of losing the pick we need a little more than "a bit" of luck. We need all the luck. We need to break out the horeshoes, the Ouigi boards, the rabbit foots, and anything else we can get our hands on. If this pick falls to us we all need to go to church every Sunday for at least 6 months straight to thank god for the good fortune. Not saying it can't happen, just saying we need a good amount of luck.

lake_show wrote: With an 80% chance of losing the pick we need a little more than "a bit" of luck. We need all the luck. We need to break out the horeshoes, the Ouigi boards, the rabbit foots, and anything else we can get our hands on. If this pick falls to us we all need to go to church every Sunday for at least 6 months straight to thank god for the good fortune. Not saying it can't happen, just saying we need a good amount of luck.

Well I think your quibbling terms with me. "quite a bit of luck...little bit of luck" ....whatever exactly a "bit of luck" means.

As it stands we have a 15% chance. We drop one place, and it's over 21.5%. So we gotta drop one or two spots with almost 40 games left. If we drop 2 spots in the standings, our % becomes essential a 1-in-3 chance.

Point is....were far, far, far, from "miracle" territory. We just need be smart. Be smart....and we can easily give ourselves a 1-3 shot at it. Dump the "pride" stuff....and go with "how can I help this team the most, from here till the end of the season". In other words "how can I best do my job".

You give me a 29.8% chance, and I'd call that a bit of luck....not a miracle.

And for the record....I haven't completely given up. I certainly don't WANT to tank. It's a bummer. But like all smart, thinking human beings...you gotta take realistic stock of where your at, and whats around you. Continue to work on developing the guys. I think we should start giving Zubac run for many more reasons than tanking...that's just a useful by-product. I wouldn't give up development for tanking.....but I think a smart, sharp coach and crew can have us doing both.....once it's determined that that really is the best remaining option. But it has to stay an option. If it's not...your just stubborn. And your not willing to do all that's needed to succeed. It's that simple. Some of us are. I'll take the ugly "tag" that comes with it...I don't care. I want to start winning again.

The only thing left....is when is the right time to shift direction? We may not be there yet....but it's fast approaching. And if/ when that window opens....I think we're stupid if we don't take it. And by doing it CORRECTLY.....we won't need 1 in 80 miracles...or anything. We'll have a 30% shot....which is a legitimately good chance.

danfantastk32 wrote:And for the record....I haven't completely given up. I certainly don't WANT to tank. It's a bummer. But like all smart, thinking human beings...you gotta take realistic stock of where your at, and whats around you. Continue to work on developing the guys. I think we should start giving Zubac run for many more reasons than tanking...that's just a useful by-product. I wouldn't give up development for tanking.....but I think a smart, sharp coach and crew can have us doing both.....once it's determined that that really is the best remaining option. But it has to stay an option. If it's not...your just stubborn. And your not willing to do all that's needed to succeed. It's that simple. Some of us are. I'll take the ugly "tag" that comes with it...I don't care. I want to start winning again.

The only thing left....is when is the right time to shift direction? We may not be there yet....but it's fast approaching. And if/ when that window opens....I think we're stupid if we don't take it. And by doing it CORRECTLY.....we won't need 1 in 80 miracles...or anything. We'll have a 30% shot....which is a legitimately good chance.

I absolutely agree with you bud. Well 95% of what you said at least.

I wasn't the one who said "miracle". The point I was trying to make is you're saying we just drop 2 spots and we have a 29% chance at winning the lottery. I'm saying dropping 2 spots is gonna prove a lot harder than you think. Even getting past the T-Wolves who are 2 games behind us for us to get to 20% is gonna be tough. Teams that have absolutely no incentive to win would have to start winning games for us to drop. We're basically saying the same thing so I won't "quibble", but 1-3 is a pretty big difference from 1-5, or 1-6.5. Everything else I absolutely agree with you on. The fight would be in trying to drop 2 spots though.

miggs wrote:1. Make the playoffs

Know by Feb 22nd if we can make the playoffs or not. If not, flip Lou for a mid first, still think it's possible.

2. Win as much as we can to lower the value of the pick being conveyed to PHI.

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I assume you mean passing along the lowest pick possible... to make ourselves feel better? That shouldnt really matter at all. The 76ers are an eastern conference team, Lakers need to just worry about whats best for themselves