We are much better as predicted, 2nd in the division. GB was wrong per usual.

[RingsDontLie]

From the locked GB thread:

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1590872#start_here

I think Lakers did. Let me give my reasons. D'angelo missed a lot of games last season due to his knee issues and he didn't exactly play well when he did play. Lopez is considerably a better player than DLo overall. So we added him in that trade. And if the Lakers get Monta, Waiters, or Crawford, it gives us more depth than last season.

I think Ingram makes a leap next season, and I think Ball will make the team better. His presence will support ball movement...so I think he becomes a big impact player just on that alone, not on individual stats.

So I think Lakers will improve in the win column and whether we complete for the last two playoff spots depends on Ingram's growth, and Ball's impact.

Jazz didn't get better, neither did the Clippers, Mavierics, or Suns....four teams on the top of my head the Lakers can be better than.

It's more about the eye test than it is about numbers. But it does mean something. If Lonzo layed an egg in SL the haters would come out in full force proclaiming he's a bust. He showed brilliance in his play. His "slow release" people were claiming has been proven to be on par with Curry's release time.

The guys is special. Impact wise we haven't seen a guy like Lonzo Ball since Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson improved the Lakers by 13 wins in his rookie season and got the chip. Don't tell me rookies can't have that high of an impact after knowing what a legend from your own team did in the 79-80. It would be unwise to doubt Lonzo. The same people doubted Magic Johnson in his 1st season and where are they now?

But it's not just that, it's a combination of other players getting better...Ingram, Randle, Clarkson...and Lopez being far better than Mozzy in pretty much everything by a huge margin. Then you got Kuzma a 22 year old that is nba ready right now.

Also Lakers got 26 wins with Randle and Russell missing around half a season...plus we purposely sat better players and gave more time for rookies to develop / the tank effect.

Not only that, all the teams in our division minus the Warriors got worse....Clippers, Suns, and Kings are going to be awful. Very good chance Lakers are the 2nd best in their division.

People on GB and this board say I’m off the wall...but here we are, 2nd in our division...better than the clips or Mavs...which wasn’t as obvious as the suns or sac. Lonzo is the youngest guy to have a triple double in nba history. Ingram is much improved like I thought he would be. KCP has had a great impact, and Randle/Clarkson are much more seasoned and have contributed to our wins and overall improvement. Pretty much everything I said in that thread is happening. I don’t want a cookie, but it is what it is.

[TyCobb]

The General Board is literally the worst. It's a place that covers all teams so you have so much ignorance being spewed by people who only spend fractions of time beforehand on the subject. Nobody stays in their lane. Fans from other teams think they are experts on opposing teams players and organizational philosophies. What should happen is the fans from whatever the topic is about should explain the situation so the other teams' fans' can learn and be informed.

Until that happens, it is just a troll zone.

[ROballer]

I literally lurked over there 4 or 5 times after Kobe tore his achilles and we barely made the playoffs over Utah IIRC. Our last playoffs run, Andrew Goudelock was playing hefty minutes after a couple of playoff games, we were torn apart by injuries.

Never posted after that incident, I still remember the reactions, disgraceful. A **** Jazz global mode, yes GLOBAL MODE, a green font guy was going berserk saying the injury was deserved for whatever reason. And there were other people as well who were actually glad he had that injury, shameful to say the least.

It was the season with Kobe/Pau/Howard/Nash, in which everybody was butthurt at the beginning, and having a field day after that because we underachieved. And because we're the Lakers, of course.

Going on 5 yrs soon, don't regret anything. Stay away from that shi*hole.

[Kobe System]

Calm down. We had a light schedule. I won't be surprised if we lose the next 10 games and drop to 8-21.

[Landsberger]

I'm not getting overly excited by this start. Young teams/players typically start out better than they finish. Last year's team was surprising early only to fade dramatically. The opposite is true of the veteran teams. They typically know to pace themselves over 82. We're reliant on 2 rookies at the moment and both will find the grind of 82 challenging as we move through the season.

All that said, I do see some very encouraging things this season over last. The defensive effort is there most of the time which is a huge difference, also the focus on our strengths as a team is good to see. We are good at getting shots in the paint and we are focusing on it rather than settling for 3 pointers all the time. If both of those things continue we might get to 35+ wins.

[Pythagoras]

I can't say too much, cause I thought the team would be much worse than what they are as well. They've really impressed me...

With that said, the GB is awful with all of the over the top anti Lakers trolls mucking it up. It wouldn't bother me except when Lakers fans return fire with smack back, it immediately gets shot down by the mods, (or at least it used to be, maybe it's gotten a little more tolerable).

[gts1]

combination of light schedule and the Clippers failings... knew the Clippers would take a couple steps back with the roster change, didn't expect it to be two giant steps... 9 of the next 14 are on the road... let's see where we are then.

[Beethoven]

I personally don't care what other people think of my team or what they think of my opinions. Important thing is we just keep improving, enjoy the season, and assess for ourselves our improvement/success at the end of the day.

[Spanish_Laker]

Defensively yes, we're much better, the best defensive Laker team I've seen since 2012. However, our offense looks worse. Stagnant at times, lack of 3-pt shooting is a huge issue.

[Michael Lucky]

The schedule has been quite favorable. We've yet to play any of the top West teams which mean we still have to play them 3 or 4 times each.

[Kilroy]

I thought for a while there we had the toughest schedule in the league according to some sports site?

[Slava]

I thought for a while there we had the toughest schedule in the league according to some sports site?

Our SRS has been tough but that's also because the Eastern teams have started well while the Western teams have had hiccups.

[iamworthy]

I thought for a while there we had the toughest schedule in the league according to some sports site?

http://www.espn.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS

[BEazy]

I've never posted on the GB. I've always gone over to read the ignorant posts that people put up on there but never wanted to waste my time to respond to those unknowledgeable people.

Now if somebody other than Lakers fans post ignorant **** on this board, you best believe I have something to say about that.

A lot of people wrote us off before the season even started, no surprise that the GB would react the same way. It's okay, let them keep talking about us, they're worried that we are on the rise again.

[-G-]

Last year we were 10-10 in our first 20 games. You know the rest.

Maybe let's wait until we start shoving crow in people's face. Even then, maybe let's just be happy we aren't an abomination instead of being out for blood like anyone here thought we'd have a top 5 defense right now?

[Edrees]

the GB is a poisonous place but their prediction was based on April standings, not November. If we are 8th, 9th or even 10th seed at end of season they will be eating crow and we can make threads like these

[Star-Lord]

The General Board is such a weird place. I try, I really do, to have normal and reasonable conversations there, only to feel like I've completely wasted my time pretty much immediately after.

Still, the team is about where I was hoping they'd be at this point of the season, I guess. I don't know, I tend not to put too much stock into records and standings until after Christmas. Things tend to become a bit clearer around then. If they can stay within a few games of .500 through then though, that would be awesome.

[AmusingFiddle]

I usually make a comment on the GB and TRY to disappear. I avoid reading responses because of the crap and ignorance of some posters.

[Michael Lucky]

Yeah should have waited to make this thread. After the next 14 games we'll likely be something around 11-22.

[Slava]

Yeah should have waited to make this thread. After the next 14 games we'll likely be something around 11-22.

How much prozac do you have to consume to get by on a regular day?