The season in review. what did we learn?

TKainZero · Post #1 » by **TKainZero** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:39 am

Another season in the books, another playoffs missed

What do we know now that we didn't 12 months ago?

Ingram will be a legit 2 way starter
Russell is fine as sg
Clarkson is the 6th man
Zubac has potential at center
Nance can be a starter (but is injury prone)
Nwaba is a nice surprise (he could stick as the 2nd guard off the bench)

Randle is a question

He didn't explode this year. I'm. It sure he improved. He may have regressed. His 3pt shot didn't materialize.

Not sure about Clarkson/Russell/Ingram/randle and their playmaking. A true floor general wouldnt hurt.

This laker team started strong, and finished strong with total garbage in between

We are rooting for ping pong balls now.

MAMBAEMD · Post #2 » by **MAMBAEMD** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:46 am

I learned that we need a true PG.
We need some outside shooting.
And we need to improve a ton on defense.

BEazy · Post #3 » by **BEazy** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:50 am

- Learned that draft picks are very important in this era.
- We need some veteran leadership to help the young guys progress.
- We need 3 & D players.
- We need a superstar
- We learned that Jim Buss is very VERY stupid.

Post #4 » by **dockingsched** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:52 am

I learned that inexperienced players don't win, and some people seem to be setting themselves up for disappointment again based on expectations I've seen for how much impact Fultz or Ball will have towards wins.

Princeinrevolt · Post #5 » by **Princeinrevolt** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:56 am

I learned that....
1. Julius Randle could be an All Star one day. The guy is an extremely talented player, he just needs to work on his stamina, or stop being so lazy. He has improved so much since last season.
2. We need 3 point shooters, and a lot of them.
3. Ingram will be better than advertised.
4. Russell's playmaking is extraordinary, but needs shooters on the floor to show it.
5. Ivica Zubac could be great if he keeps working.

TheHartBreakKid · Post #6 » by **TheHartBreakKid** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 6:01 am

A lot of what I learned was really just confirmation of things i already suspected (randle doesn't have superstar potential, Russell does, but is far from a sure thing, Ingram does, but is far from ready, Clarkson's best role is a sixth man, etc). Things i was surprised about were : Just how useless deng and Moz are. I knew we overpaid, but I didn't think they would net negative players on the court. Also, Zubac, if we are talking about a pleasant surprise.

One thing I will say about this season though is that I don't think I saw anything that makes me think that we are hopeless. In fact, if you told me we had a 46% of keeping our pick in training camp, I wouldn't believe you, so that's certainly a good outcome of this reason though it may or may not pay off. I'm still positive regarding Russell and Ingram, and Randle/Clarkson/Nance did what I expected from there. Zubac was a pleasant surprise. Deng/Moz were unpleasant surprises. We got an asset for Lou and we have a chance at the pick....overall a very meh season.....not too disappointing and certainly not any better than expected.

TheHartBreakKid · Post #7 » by **TheHartBreakKid** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 6:17 am

Oh also: Luke

I like Luke alot, and I believe the players also like him, the management likes him, and he has potential to be a very good coach. That being said, he is far from perfect, and has to improve as well, and deserves his fair share of criticism for the teams performance this year. I didn't agree regarding his management of Russell, and our defensive effort didn't see the improvement I was hoping, after our hot start. I like the team's effort overall, and again, I think he improved the culture as a whole and players seemed happier and seemed to have good chemistry. Of course, my devil's advocate side thinks that Kobe leaving may have had that effect anyways.

I loved the Luke hiring, and like Russell/ingram, i think he has potential to be a great coach, but he also is far from a sure thing. Just like how Ingram isn't physically developed enough to be a star, and Russell isn't ready mentally developed to be a star, Luke isn't there either regarding being a great coach.But just like Russell and Ingram, I think he has endless potential. I loved a lot of what i saw from Luke, but I think there was also a lot of mediocre coaching, especially regarding our defense, and that's factoring in the hands he was dealt with. I expected a little more atleast defensively....I think the offense looked infinitely better this season though, and that's very promising. Kobe or no Kobe, Bscott was doing a terrible job coaching us offensively. The fact that Swaggy had such a great season,and Lou Will probably had the best season of his career, leads me to give a lot of credit to Luke regarding our offense. Again, defensively, the hand he's been dealt is far from ideal, but I still expected a little more.

Ultimately, I'm optimistic about the future, regarding both our talent, our coach/FO, and finally, our current situation. Again, 46% is around 30-40% higher than what I expected regarding keeping our pick, and that affects the situation greatly. The roster, coach, and FO are promising, but far from sure things. This wasn't the turn around we all hoped for/expected, but I think we still have a lot to be positive about. Of course, some luck will be huge regarding that optimism.

danfantastk32 · Post #8 » by **danfantastk32** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:38 am

Luke: I felt like he was lost once things got hard. I didn't see us change game plans, and I didn't see us figure anything out. Little blip at the end, but I think all in all there was no "genius" there. His first year...and he's coaching a young team, with a huge lack in talent. The players like him, and play for him. I'm kinda P.O-ed at him right now, but once that calms down....I look forward to seeing where we go next year. My grade: He was fine.

Ingram: He got more agressive as the season wore on. Shot needs work. I think he needs to fill those stat-lines more. Get those percentages up. Some bulk will help. Can't wait to see him next year. So much ability, but these rookies come in so raw compared to yester-year. My grade: Coulda been better. But not worried.

Randle: I just didn't see a big step. Like the guy. I think he has some legit "unique" aspects to his game (prob not TRULY unique, but you get idea) and he could be a beast. Dude's gotta show up with a legit right hand next year, and some mid-range "comfort zones". Otherwise, I gotta question committing to this guy. Grade: Wanted to see more from him.

Russell: Kind of the same. Just didn't see any big steps. He's pretty good....but he ain't close to some of these PG's in the league. Shooting went south his sophomore year. Something noone wants to see. Had a better last 3rd of the season....I'll give him that. But nothing consistent. He's gotta take that next step....become a bit more solid...but also do it night in and night out. Become someone who can't be stopped. Otherwise, like Randle...I hesitate to throw a pile of $$ at him. My Grade: Time to grow up, and become an NBA Man. Put your hard hat on....and work hard.

Clarkson: Hit that ceiling, I think. There's room for some improvement, but I think this is kinda it. If he could improve %'s....get a bit more deadly with his 3..I think he's a great bench player, and will earn his keep. No beef with Clarkson. For a 2nd-rounder, I'm totally fine with what he became. Don't think we'll see much more from him. My grade: Fine.

Zubac: Didn't get the most minutes, but he impressed when out there. Has a ways to go. Defense and athleticism are questions. Nice project....could have big, big returns. My grade: Great pickup...now develop him.

Nance: Stats stayed the same. He's a great spark guy. Didn't show me he can be much else. I don't see a starter. Don't think he'll live if he plays 35 minutes a game. Love what he brings...Love his attitude. Really wanna keep him. He should get minutes for sure, and maybe he'll prove me wrong. Grade: I didn't see anything new.

Deng/Mozgov: My grade: Wish you weren't here.

Rest: Ennis and Nwamba earned consideration here next year. I think we might have a player in Ennis. I really like Tarik...but I think we have seen all we're ever gonna see from him. Grade: Fine.

Overall, I think we moved the ball great at the start of the season. But we hit a wall. Our defense is atrocious, and so we couldn't grind out a win to save us. There were an awful lot of blowouts this year, for my taste. Honestly.....I thought between Luke and our youth getting another year under their belts, and Ingram joining.....we'd have been a better team than this. We really hit a wall, and I don't think we ever figured a way past it. That's concerning to me.

Hope we get our pick. I don't see us doing much in FA this offseason....but maybe I'll be wrong. I look forward to seeing how Ingram/Zubac / Russell / Randle look next season. This team has to get it's defense at least up to "semi-decent" and it needs to work on consistency, and find it's leader. My grade: Kinda disappointed.

mcscotty · Post #9 » by **mcscotty** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 12:31 pm

I'm satisfied with our season. A 9 win improvement is huge. I could care less about the powers that be like the Spurs, Cavs and Warriors. I look at young upcoming teams like the T-wolves, Suns, and Sixers and use them as a benchmark to gage our success. By that measure, I'm pleased with our young squad's showing. We'll be back near the top again in a few seasons. Be patient and enjoy the journey.

MrWaffles · Post #10 » by **MrWaffles** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 12:47 pm

Russell : He's our future SG/PG, he's going to be special once he learns to be consistent.

Ingram : A future superstar, untouchable.

Zubac : Already better than Mozgov/Black/Robinson at age 20. Our future back-up, perhaps starting center.

Randle : Still can't go right or finish right, we need to trade him while he has value. He has his nights, but those are few and in between.

Clarkson : Up and down, wouldn't mind trading him. He's peaked at age 25 for the most part.

Deng: Trash, this was predictable. Now we're more than likely going to see him retire here. Meta and Brewer are much better than Deng.

Mozgov : As figured, trash signing. Our rookie center and minimum contract player Robinson are much better than him. He's another play who is going to retire here sadly.

Robinson : Bring him back

J_LA · Post #11 » by **J_LA** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:12 pm

dockingsched wrote:I learned that inexperienced players don't win, and some people seem to be setting themselves up for disappointment again based on expectations I've seen for how much impact Fultz or Ball will have towards wins.

Well said

Post #12 » by **Slava** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:24 pm

mcscotty wrote:I'm satisfied with our season. A 9 win improvement is huge. I could care less about the powers that be like the Spurs, Cavs and Warriors. I look at young upcoming teams like the T-wolves, Suns, and Sixers and use them as a benchmark to gage our success. By that measure, I'm pleased with our young squad's showing. We'll be back near the top again in a few seasons. Be patient and enjoy the journey.

Yep, a 9 game improvement is admirable considering we poured around $130M into a ditch.

J_LA · Post #13 » by **J_LA** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:30 pm

I was pleasantly surprised by Randle this year. After watching him last season, outside of his shooting struggles, I thought it would be hard for him to play under control and make better decisions with the basketball, as well as setting good screens.
I think this season he's improved in all of those areas. Even if he wasn't making baskets, he was still grabbing rebounds and doing other things to help the team. Or at the very least, he wasn't hurting the team. I definitely think he's an improved player and I think he can get even better.
I think anyone expecting him to be a 20 and 10 guy or see a big increase in his numbers is going to be disappointed.
I know we hear the Draymond Green comp a lot with him and I kind of agree in the sense that, I don't think he can ever be our best player but he can be our most important.

J_LA · Post #14 » by **J_LA** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:33 pm

lakerRD wrote:I learned that we need a true PG.
We need some outside shooting.
And we need to improve a ton on defense.

There might be like 3 of those in the entire Nba

JohnVancouver · Post #15 » by **JohnVancouver** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:34 pm

lakerRD wrote:I learned that we need a true PG.
We need some outside shooting.
And we need to improve a ton on defense.

How many times can I give this a thumbs-up?

kobe808lak · Post #16 » by **kobe808lak** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:49 pm

I learned that if we don't land another top 3 pick, this rebuild is going to last a lot longer. We desperately need another asset on this team to give us flexibility for a trade. We need to start getting pieces together that fit on this team.

Kupchak9 · Post #17 » by **Kupchak9** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 8:01 pm

I learned that tanking teams should not play scrubs in their contract years. Also, I dont think the front office shares the same vision for this team as the fans. I think they'll be willing to trade everyone if it meant getting an All-star.

kobe808lak · Post #18 » by **kobe808lak** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 8:04 pm

Kupchak9 wrote:I learned that tanking teams should not play scrubs in their contract years.

All we needed to fuel the tank was to actually keep Deng and Mosgov playing.

Post #19 » by **dockingsched** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 8:23 pm

JohnVancouver wrote:
lakerRD wrote:I learned that we need a true PG.
We need some outside shooting.
And we need to improve a ton on defense.

How many times can I give this a thumbs-up?

disagree, D'Lo is a very good playmaker where you don't need a true pg in the lineup. Lakers just need other perimeter players that can shoot and create for others. Lakers haven't had a guard next to DLo that could do both in either of his seasons.

Princeinrevolt · Post #20 » by **Princeinrevolt** » Thu Apr 13, 2017 8:54 pm

dockingsched wrote:
JohnVancouver wrote:
lakerRD wrote:I learned that we need a true PG.
We need some outside shooting.
And we need to improve a ton on defense.

How many times can I give this a thumbs-up?

disagree, D'Lo is a very good playmaker where you don't need a true pg in the lineup. Lakers just need other perimeter players that can shoot and create for others. Lakers haven't had a guard next to DLo that could do both in either of his seasons.

A "true point guard" would not work with our offense. Our offense needs people that can shoot, dribble, and pass the ball. These "true point guards" are usually only good when they have the ball in their hands, and they usually can't shoot. We don't need a "true point guard", we just need SHOOTERS. D'angelo Russell at Pg, and having a 3&D Shooting Guard, would be much better for our team.