Lakers are now in serious danger of missing the play-in

[mplsfonz23]

As a Suns fan, and strictly in my individual opinion, I would more than welcome the Lakers again even with Davis. We've shown we can beat them and have more tools at our disposal to do so again. Also, beating them with their two key guys on the floor would silence (or perhaps diminish) a lot of the naysayers. To the point of having to "play greatness", I think it's the other way around and the Lakers and their fans should be the ones to avoid us until such a point down the road.

LeBron and Street Clothes are but TWO guys. They cannot do it all. It takes a team and the Lakers don't really have much to talk about in that regard.

You left out Westbrick.

That was on purpose. He's been largely invisible and actually a detriment to that team.

That was sarcasm. But it doesn't translate well in type.
As far as Brick, that is the fun part of watching LeGMBron hand picked team fall apart.
Well maybe when Bronny fails to make the NBA, we can watch him go to Russia and start a new team. Him, Bronny and Griner is a good start.

[RalphWiggum]

Got +1400 at the beginning of the season for the Lakers to miss the playoffs. It's at times like this I wish I wasn't such a nickel and dime gambler.

Now is your chance to be on them winning it all, great odds

Even the books are done with the Lakers!

I use Bet365. They always offer cash outs but haven't once even with the Lakers looking awful for months. I guess yesterday's loss was the straw that broke the camels back because this morning there was a $63 cash out offer on my $5 wager that pays out $75 if the Lakers miss the playoffs. I took the money and ran and would never put money on this Laker team to do something positive. I probably should've just rode it out for theextra $12?

[G35]

Lebron has proven over the years, he has a high BBIQ.. Does none find it odd that everyone but Lebron new Westbrook would be a bad fit ?.

I mean, Westbrook if nothing else gives 100% effort & his best moments for LA that I've seen myself, have come with Lebron not playing . Me personally, I don't boo players but if I were too, it would be the ones not trying vs the ones leaving it all on court vs their production. Can't hate on effort & heart.

An already weak/shallow LA squad made more shallow trading it's little remaining depth for Westrbook with Davis ialso known to be injury prone, where front court depth would matter (front court depth being what they had during their Championship run). Who's really surprised Westbrook has become the scapegoat for the season ?. Is he part of the problem, yes byt he's not THE problem as every interview he's calling for "people" to care. Yet still, he's where most of the hate for this season is directed.

You know who knew best what his team was capable of & what this year would be like more than anyone.. The man putting in no effort defensively chasing personal accolaids.

You see Lebron deflect blame n lossess.., what would that task be like for him if Westbrook wasn;t there taking most of the heat for the down season ?.

Just sayin

A man that likes to deflect blame, now has the perfect scapegoat.

Lebron is use to every other star deferring to him.

- Dwyane Wade
- Chris Bosh
- Kyrie Irving
- Kevin Love

So why wouldn't Westbrook? Well because he's Westbrook and he doesn't know how to defer, he only knows how to play one way and that clashes with how Lebron only knows how to play one way. That is Lebron's blindspot, he can't fathom someone not deferring to him.....

[durden_tyler]

Can anyone explain the TLDR version of the Lakers' picks if they miss the playoffs vs. they make it?

Lakers don’t have their 1st round pick regardless of what happens. If it’s top 10 the Pelicans keep it. If it’s 11-30 the Grizzlies get it.

Thanks! i guess as a Grizz fan i will be cheering them on, and we'll take care of eliminating them too i guess (if they make it to the playoffs)

[Whole Truth]

Lebron has proven over the years, he has a high BBIQ.. Does none find it odd that everyone but Lebron new Westbrook would be a bad fit ?.

I mean, Westbrook if nothing else gives 100% effort & his best moments for LA that I've seen myself, have come with Lebron not playing . Me personally, I don't boo players but if I were too, it would be the ones not trying vs the ones leaving it all on court vs their production. Can't hate on effort & heart.

An already weak/shallow LA squad made more shallow trading it's little remaining depth for Westrbook with Davis ialso known to be injury prone, where front court depth would matter (front court depth being what they had during their Championship run). Who's really surprised Westbrook has become the scapegoat for the season ?. Is he part of the problem, yes byt he's not THE problem as every interview he's calling for "people" to care. Yet still, he's where most of the hate for this season is directed.

You know who knew best what his team was capable of & what this year would be like more than anyone.. The man putting in no effort defensively chasing personal accolaids.

You see Lebron deflect blame n lossess.., what would that task be like for him if Westbrook wasn;t there taking most of the heat for the down season ?.

Just sayin

A man that likes to deflect blame, now has the perfect scapegoat.

Lebron is use to every other star deferring to him.

- Dwyane Wade
- Chris Bosh
- Kyrie Irving
- Kevin Love

So why wouldn't Westbrook? Well because he's Westbrook and he doesn't know how to defer, he only knows how to play one way and that clashes with how Lebron only knows how to play one way. That is Lebron's blindspot, he can't fathom someone not deferring to him.....

While your statement holds truth, what's the difference between the players you listed & Westbrook ?

Personally, I thought Wade who was first to win a chip of the 3 was the alpha in Miami, at least in the begining of their run before his game began to age.

Westbrook has been decent shooting the ball the last few games but he was shooting 9% coming out the Allstar break & is 29% on the year. The players you listed, all can & did space the court effectively, which has been the knock on Westbrook. His inability to play off ball & space the court.

Comes full circle. Even if Westbrook could defer his ball dominant drive game, he's still not going to effectively space the court to be effective off ball & it seems everyone but Lebron knew that, though Lebrons ball IQ is extremely high..

Ironically to your point, what would have been more successful in this scenario, is to have Lebron play off of Westbrooks dd game. Lebron has become more than respectable from range, then maybe he could expend more energy defensively. Issue with that is, if Westbrook has the ball in his hands & Lebron had to play D, would he still be averaging 30 a game ?.

To my above point, casuals don't factor defense, they see & hear Lebron had another 30pt game, the issue is the brick layer giving 100% every game not the offensive player coasting defensively.

[G35]

Lebron has proven over the years, he has a high BBIQ.. Does none find it odd that everyone but Lebron new Westbrook would be a bad fit ?.

I mean, Westbrook if nothing else gives 100% effort & his best moments for LA that I've seen myself, have come with Lebron not playing . Me personally, I don't boo players but if I were too, it would be the ones not trying vs the ones leaving it all on court vs their production. Can't hate on effort & heart.

An already weak/shallow LA squad made more shallow trading it's little remaining depth for Westrbook with Davis ialso known to be injury prone, where front court depth would matter (front court depth being what they had during their Championship run). Who's really surprised Westbrook has become the scapegoat for the season ?. Is he part of the problem, yes byt he's not THE problem as every interview he's calling for "people" to care. Yet still, he's where most of the hate for this season is directed.

You know who knew best what his team was capable of & what this year would be like more than anyone.. The man putting in no effort defensively chasing personal accolaids.

You see Lebron deflect blame n lossess.., what would that task be like for him if Westbrook wasn;t there taking most of the heat for the down season ?.

Just sayin

A man that likes to deflect blame, now has the perfect scapegoat.

Lebron is use to every other star deferring to him.

- Dwyane Wade
- Chris Bosh
- Kyrie Irving
- Kevin Love

So why wouldn't Westbrook? Well because he's Westbrook and he doesn't know how to defer, he only knows how to play one way and that clashes with how Lebron only knows how to play one way. That is Lebron's blindspot, he can't fathom someone not deferring to him.....

While your statement holds truth, what's the difference between the players you listed & Westbrook ?

Personally, I thought Wade who was first to win a chip of the 3 was the alpha in Miami, at least in the begining of their run before his game began to age.

Westbrook has been decent shooting the ball the last few games but he was shooting 9% coming out the Allstar break & is 29% on the year. The players you listed, all can & did space the court effectively, which has been the knock on Westbrook. His inability to play off ball & space the court.

Comes full circle. Even if Westbrook could defer his ball dominant drive game, he's still not going to effectively space the court to be effective off ball & it seems everyone but Lebron knew that, though Lebrons ball IQ is extremely high..

Ironically to your point, what would have been more successful in this scenario, is to have Lebron play off of Westbrooks dd game. Lebron has become more than respectable from range, then maybe he could expend more energy defensively. Issue with that is, if Westbrook has the ball in his hands & Lebron had to play D, would he still be averaging 30 a game ?.

To my above point, casuals don't factor defense, they see & hear Lebron had another 30pt game, the issue is the brick layer giving 100% every game not the offensive player coasting defensively.

Chris Bosh and Kevin Love are big men, they always need guards to get them the ball. Every big man in history is dependent on that fact. Shaq would complain all the time that he didn't have a PG that could get him the ball in the spot he needed. It is an underrated talent, that John Stockton perfected for Karl Malone.

Dwyane Wade is different...he defers to his wife...she runs the show, so its not surprising that he deferred to Lebron.

Kyrie is the only one that bucked Lebron and you see what he eventually did. That is what I think the other blindspot is looking at past behavior. This is a problem for the modern generation because they don't like "labels" or "stereotyping" people, but there is a reason for that. Kyrie has shown a contrarian personality where he will not "go along, to get along", he's willing to go down with the ship, if you will.

The same thing with WB, his personality told you how he was going to act. He's not the get along type of personality like a Wade or Bosh or Love. Anyone that has followed WB even a little bit would have understood WB plays the game his way. I watched one sequence back when he was in OKC and Durant was still there. KD asked for the ball and WB just ignored him, KD asked for the ball again...once again WB ignored him. KD just sat near the 3pt line and pulled on his shorts and watched WB.

Russell then went on to do a one on one move and threw up a horrible brick...I mean it was bad...so bad that Russell laughed at it and got back on defense. Once I saw that, I said Russell will never lead a team, he just doesn't have that personality to get his teammates what they need. If you can't do it with Durant, who is not as demanding personality for the ball, then why would you think WB could get along with Lebron.

It was a bad trade just thinking about it and it sealed the Lakers fate.....

[Whole Truth]

Lebron is use to every other star deferring to him.

- Dwyane Wade
- Chris Bosh
- Kyrie Irving
- Kevin Love

So why wouldn't Westbrook? Well because he's Westbrook and he doesn't know how to defer, he only knows how to play one way and that clashes with how Lebron only knows how to play one way. That is Lebron's blindspot, he can't fathom someone not deferring to him.....

While your statement holds truth, what's the difference between the players you listed & Westbrook ?

Personally, I thought Wade who was first to win a chip of the 3 was the alpha in Miami, at least in the begining of their run before his game began to age.

Westbrook has been decent shooting the ball the last few games but he was shooting 9% coming out the Allstar break & is 29% on the year. The players you listed, all can & did space the court effectively, which has been the knock on Westbrook. His inability to play off ball & space the court.

Comes full circle. Even if Westbrook could defer his ball dominant drive game, he's still not going to effectively space the court to be effective off ball & it seems everyone but Lebron knew that, though Lebrons ball IQ is extremely high..

Ironically to your point, what would have been more successful in this scenario, is to have Lebron play off of Westbrooks dd game. Lebron has become more than respectable from range, then maybe he could expend more energy defensively. Issue with that is, if Westbrook has the ball in his hands & Lebron had to play D, would he still be averaging 30 a game ?.

To my above point, casuals don't factor defense, they see & hear Lebron had another 30pt game, the issue is the brick layer giving 100% every game not the offensive player coasting defensively.

Chris Bosh and Kevin Love are big men, they always need guards to get them the ball. Every big man in history is dependent on that fact. Shaq would complain all the time that he didn't have a PG that could get him the ball in the spot he needed. It is an underrated talent, that John Stockton perfected for Karl Malone.

Dwyane Wade is different...he defers to his wife...she runs the show, so its not surprising that he deferred to Lebron.

Kyrie is the only one that bucked Lebron and you see what he eventually did. That is what I think the other blindspot is looking at past behavior. This is a problem for the modern generation because they don't like "labels" or "stereotyping" people, but there is a reason for that. Kyrie has shown a contrarian personality where he will not "go along, to get along", he's willing to go down with the ship, if you will.

The same thing with WB, his personality told you how he was going to act. He's not the get along type of personality like a Wade or Bosh or Love. Anyone that has followed WB even a little bit would have understood WB plays the game his way. I watched one sequence back when he was in OKC and Durant was still there. KD asked for the ball and WB just ignored him, KD asked for the ball again...once again WB ignored him. KD just sat near the 3pt line and pulled on his shorts and watched WB.

Russell then went on to do a one on one move and threw up a horrible brick...I mean it was bad...so bad that Russell laughed at it and got back on defense. Once I saw that, I said Russell will never lead a team, he just doesn't have that personality to get his teammates what they need. If you can't do it with Durant, who is not as demanding personality for the ball, then why would you think WB could get along with Lebron.

It was a bad trade just thinking about it and it sealed the Lakers fate.....

Agree, with one exception.. It's not why I or anyone else would think WB could gat along with Lebron, it's why did Lebron supposedly think that ?. Like you state, the evidence is long & like I said, Lebron doesn't have a low BBIQ.

Do you honestly believe Lebron thought Westbrook would be anything but Westbrook ?

[HoopsterJones]

Lebron ripped the Play In format a year ago. Now it’s the only avenue the Lakers have of trying to make the playoffs.

Spurs are in the driver seat now, but if Lebron and AD cannot play some of the last 6-7 games the Lakers will no doubt miss the play in.

[G35]

While your statement holds truth, what's the difference between the players you listed & Westbrook ?

Personally, I thought Wade who was first to win a chip of the 3 was the alpha in Miami, at least in the begining of their run before his game began to age.

Westbrook has been decent shooting the ball the last few games but he was shooting 9% coming out the Allstar break & is 29% on the year. The players you listed, all can & did space the court effectively, which has been the knock on Westbrook. His inability to play off ball & space the court.

Comes full circle. Even if Westbrook could defer his ball dominant drive game, he's still not going to effectively space the court to be effective off ball & it seems everyone but Lebron knew that, though Lebrons ball IQ is extremely high..

Ironically to your point, what would have been more successful in this scenario, is to have Lebron play off of Westbrooks dd game. Lebron has become more than respectable from range, then maybe he could expend more energy defensively. Issue with that is, if Westbrook has the ball in his hands & Lebron had to play D, would he still be averaging 30 a game ?.

To my above point, casuals don't factor defense, they see & hear Lebron had another 30pt game, the issue is the brick layer giving 100% every game not the offensive player coasting defensively.

Chris Bosh and Kevin Love are big men, they always need guards to get them the ball. Every big man in history is dependent on that fact. Shaq would complain all the time that he didn't have a PG that could get him the ball in the spot he needed. It is an underrated talent, that John Stockton perfected for Karl Malone.

Dwyane Wade is different...he defers to his wife...she runs the show, so its not surprising that he deferred to Lebron.

Kyrie is the only one that bucked Lebron and you see what he eventually did. That is what I think the other blindspot is looking at past behavior. This is a problem for the modern generation because they don't like "labels" or "stereotyping" people, but there is a reason for that. Kyrie has shown a contrarian personality where he will not "go along, to get along", he's willing to go down with the ship, if you will.

The same thing with WB, his personality told you how he was going to act. He's not the get along type of personality like a Wade or Bosh or Love. Anyone that has followed WB even a little bit would have understood WB plays the game his way. I watched one sequence back when he was in OKC and Durant was still there. KD asked for the ball and WB just ignored him, KD asked for the ball again...once again WB ignored him. KD just sat near the 3pt line and pulled on his shorts and watched WB.

Russell then went on to do a one on one move and threw up a horrible brick...I mean it was bad...so bad that Russell laughed at it and got back on defense. Once I saw that, I said Russell will never lead a team, he just doesn't have that personality to get his teammates what they need. If you can't do it with Durant, who is not as demanding personality for the ball, then why would you think WB could get along with Lebron.

It was a bad trade just thinking about it and it sealed the Lakers fate.....

Agree, with one exception.. It's not why I or anyone else would think WB could gat along with Lebron, it's why did Lebron supposedly think that ?. Like you state, the evidence is long & like I said, Lebron doesn't have a low BBIQ.

Do you honestly believe Lebron thought Westbrook would be anything but Westbrook ?

That's a good question. I think that Lebron, Rich Paul, and Pelinka looked at the available stars and I'm sure they were not thrilled with the pickings. But I think they said Lebron and AD is good enough to make it work and WB would eventually settle into a supporting role.

They were wrong.....

[Cheating2Win]

I mean, Westbrook if nothing else gives 100% effort the ones leaving it all on court vs their production. Can't hate on effort & heart.

This excuse for Westbrook doesn't fly, never has in my opinion, regardless of where he has played

If he supposedly leaves it all out on the court and is all "effort and heart"
Why then for the entirety of his career has he made zero effort to improve on the the massive flaws in his game?

[gabri3l3]

I mean, Westbrook if nothing else gives 100% effort the ones leaving it all on court vs their production. Can't hate on effort & heart.

This excuse for Westbrook doesn't fly, never has in my opinion, regardless of where he has played

If he supposedly leaves it all out on the court and is all "effort and heart"
Why then for the entirety of his career has he made zero effort to improve on the the massive flaws in his game?

and zero effort to play any resemblance of defense, he just hustles for the stats

[Bornstellar]

The narrative that Westbrook gives max effort or "leaves it on the court" every night needs to die already. I'm sure by now there is a compilation of this guy being lost on defense and standing around doing nothing on offense when he doesnt have the ball this season

[dWadeOwnzYou]

Holy hell! I've just checked out their remaining schedule and its just brutally unfair. It will be an amazing fest in itself if they actually MAKE the play-In let alone win a game. This will be fun to watch for sure.

[The Laker Kid]

Can anyone explain the TLDR version of the Lakers' picks if they miss the playoffs vs. they make it?

If they make the playoffs, their pick gets taken away.
If they miss the playoffs, their pick also gets taken away.
If they don't have a pick, they will be given one and it gets taken right away.
The only pick they get to keep is the pick up truck used to haul Westbrook's bricks.

[Invictus88]

Chris Bosh and Kevin Love are big men, they always need guards to get them the ball. Every big man in history is dependent on that fact. Shaq would complain all the time that he didn't have a PG that could get him the ball in the spot he needed. It is an underrated talent, that John Stockton perfected for Karl Malone.

Dwyane Wade is different...he defers to his wife...she runs the show, so its not surprising that he deferred to Lebron.

Kyrie is the only one that bucked Lebron and you see what he eventually did. That is what I think the other blindspot is looking at past behavior. This is a problem for the modern generation because they don't like "labels" or "stereotyping" people, but there is a reason for that. Kyrie has shown a contrarian personality where he will not "go along, to get along", he's willing to go down with the ship, if you will.

The same thing with WB, his personality told you how he was going to act. He's not the get along type of personality like a Wade or Bosh or Love. Anyone that has followed WB even a little bit would have understood WB plays the game his way. I watched one sequence back when he was in OKC and Durant was still there. KD asked for the ball and WB just ignored him, KD asked for the ball again...once again WB ignored him. KD just sat near the 3pt line and pulled on his shorts and watched WB.

Russell then went on to do a one on one move and threw up a horrible brick...I mean it was bad...so bad that Russell laughed at it and got back on defense. Once I saw that, I said Russell will never lead a team, he just doesn't have that personality to get his teammates what they need. If you can't do it with Durant, who is not as demanding personality for the ball, then why would you think WB could get along with Lebron.

It was a bad trade just thinking about it and it sealed the Lakers fate.....

Agree, with one exception.. It's not why I or anyone else would think WB could gat along with Lebron, it's why did Lebron supposedly think that ?. Like you state, the evidence is long & like I said, Lebron doesn't have a low BBIQ.

Do you honestly believe Lebron thought Westbrook would be anything but Westbrook ?

That's a good question. I think that Lebron, Rich Paul, and Pelinka looked at the available stars and I'm sure they were not thrilled with the pickings. But I think they said Lebron and AD is good enough to make it work and WB would eventually settle into a supporting role.

They were wrong.....

This is it right here. They ran out of assets and taking a flyer on Westbrook was the only way they could have any hope of getting a 3rd star player on their team... even if that 3rd player had no realistic chance of playing well with the other two.

It's telling that they were trying to parade THT around to everyone near the trade deadline; wistfully hoping that someone would be gullible enough to give them something back of value in return.

[SK21209]

The narrative that Westbrook gives max effort or "leaves it on the court" every night needs to die already. I'm sure by now there is a compilation of this guy being lost on defense and standing around doing nothing on offense when he doesnt have the ball this season

1000%. I turned on the Mavs game last night with a few minutes left in the first quarter and I immediately saw them give up three straight wide open threes because Russ was just wandering around watching the ball. Then he gave absolutely no help on Kleber's buzzer-beating drive to the basket once Reaves ran him off the three point line despite being the guy in best position to do so. He give's no effort like 75% of the team to save his energy for out of control drives to the rim.

[NyKnicks1714]

It's been said before. Westbrook plays fast, not hard.

[NyKnicks1714]

If San Antonio gets a win tonight vs. Memphis, they pretty much clinch a play-in spot.

[SK21209]

Agree, with one exception.. It's not why I or anyone else would think WB could gat along with Lebron, it's why did Lebron supposedly think that ?. Like you state, the evidence is long & like I said, Lebron doesn't have a low BBIQ.

Do you honestly believe Lebron thought Westbrook would be anything but Westbrook ?

That's a good question. I think that Lebron, Rich Paul, and Pelinka looked at the available stars and I'm sure they were not thrilled with the pickings. But I think they said Lebron and AD is good enough to make it work and WB would eventually settle into a supporting role.

They were wrong.....

This is it right here. They ran out of assets and taking a flyer on Westbrook was the only way they could have any hope of getting a 3rd star player on their team... even if that 3rd player had no realistic chance of playing well with the other two.

It's telling that they were trying to parade THT around to everyone near the trade deadline; wistfully hoping that someone would be gullible enough to give them something back of value in return.

Yeah. LeBron rightfully came to grips with his own mortality after the ankle injury last season and (correctly, IMO) assessed that the team needed another shot creator. My reading of that piece about LeBron, AD and Dame meeting on the roof of LeBron's house last summer was that LeBron wanted Dame to force his way to the Lakers but wouldn't come out and say so (which is obviously tampering) and Dame wasn't down for that. After Dame, the next guy on the wishlist was DeRozan but the only options to get him were the midlevel MLE (which I'm convinced DeRozan would never have signed for) or a sign and trade that would have hardcapped the team. The front office probably nixed the latter option, so that left Russ as the only available "star". The key mistake was Klutch and the front office not having the patience to wait for a better option to materialize. With Kuzma, KCP, Caruso, THT and the first round pick they could have had a decent collection of medium sized contracts that could be moved for someone that became available during the season. Hell, if they just brought back last year's exact same team + Reaves and Monk they'd have been much better off. But they made the move for Russ because Klutch/LeBron force the issue and the Lakers always want star power.

[ciueli]

That's a good question. I think that Lebron, Rich Paul, and Pelinka looked at the available stars and I'm sure they were not thrilled with the pickings. But I think they said Lebron and AD is good enough to make it work and WB would eventually settle into a supporting role.

They were wrong.....

This is it right here. They ran out of assets and taking a flyer on Westbrook was the only way they could have any hope of getting a 3rd star player on their team... even if that 3rd player had no realistic chance of playing well with the other two.

It's telling that they were trying to parade THT around to everyone near the trade deadline; wistfully hoping that someone would be gullible enough to give them something back of value in return.

Yeah. LeBron rightfully came to grips with his own mortality after the ankle injury last season and (correctly, IMO) assessed that the team needed another shot creator. My reading of that piece about LeBron, AD and Dame meeting on the roof of LeBron's house last summer was that LeBron wanted Dame to force his way to the Lakers but wouldn't come out and say so (which is obviously tampering) and Dame wasn't down for that. After Dame, the next guy on the wishlist was DeRozan but the only options to get him were the midlevel MLE (which I'm convinced DeRozan would never have signed for) or a sign and trade that would have hardcapped the team. The front office probably nixed the latter option, so that left Russ as the only available "star". The key mistake was Klutch and the front office not having the patience to wait for a better option to materialize. With Kuzma, KCP, Caruso, THT and the first round pick they could have had a decent collection of medium sized contracts that could be moved for someone that became available during the season. Hell, if they just brought back last year's exact same team + Reaves and Monk they'd have been much better off. But they made the move for Russ because Klutch/LeBron force the issue and the Lakers always want star power.

The only reason the DeMar deal that would have hardcapped them was a problem was due to Talen Horton-Tucker. THT is a Kluch guy and they had to get him paid which they couldn't do if they S+Ted DeMar. DeMar was even willing to take less money to sign with the Lakers, they really killed their team just to pay THT more than market value which is insane.