Lakers are 9-10. Who's to blame?

[MindState]

Lebron has missed a lot of time but we all knew that was going to happen, dude is 37. Westbrook was brought in to help mitigate his absences but on the whole, that hasn't really happened.

I think AD should get some of the blame, he's clearly not a #1 on a good team.

AD has NEVER been a #1 on a good team. His entire career has proven that. Hes never gotten a team anywhere on his own. Lakers knew that. Thats why they brought in Westbrook, to be the #1 when LeBron load managed.

[old skool]

Obviously the blame should go to Father Time.

A 37-year old Lebron was always going to be the centerpiece of this team. The decision to fill out the roster with minimum youngsters or aging vets likely plays no role.

The bottom line is that after acquiring Westbrook and a deep roster of aging former stars, most people, experts and non-experts alike, felt the Lakers were one of the favorites to win the West. No need for those people to find someone to blame for what, so far, has been a foreseeable result.

Also no need for other people to feel "I told you so" over that foreseeable result. The chances of both failure and success were both pretty high. Similar to a coin flip choice between Heads & Tails.

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[Mamba Mentality]

Its not coaching, thats just the easiest person to blame in these situations.

Vogel was dealt a **** hand, but he definitely gets a small chunk of the blame. All this team does is run isos and then not get back on defense. His rotations and minute distribution are trash...we've seen Westbrook and Rondo on the floor at the same time, DeAndre is still getting more minutes than I can stomach (we have the worst defensive rating and worst defensive rebound % with The Big Three while he's on the court), etc. But the reality is he's in a no-win situation with all the injuries and roster construction after showing he could coach us to a championship. We gave up our three best on ball defenders (KCP, AC, Kuz) to be great offensively, but we have looked like dog **** on defense and average on offense. Vogel doesn't know how to adjust with the current personnel and a complete change in philosophy and it's showing. I would hate to see him get fired but someone is gonna have to take the fall. Lebron should shoulder most of the blame, recruiting negative players like Westbrook and Melo was a stupid idea right from the get go.

[jazzfan1971]

Too old to be a good defensive team.
Westbrook keeps them from being a great offensive team.

A few 3&D guys around Lebron and AD and they would have been contending. Instead they choose this hot mess of a roster.

[Jadoogar]

Lebron has missed a lot of time but we all knew that was going to happen, dude is 37. Westbrook was brought in to help mitigate his absences but on the whole, that hasn't really happened.

I think AD should get some of the blame, he's clearly not a #1 on a good team.

AD has NEVER been a #1 on a good team. His entire career has proven that. Hes never gotten a team anywhere on his own. Lakers knew that. Thats why they brought in Westbrook, to be the #1 when LeBron load managed.

i mean Westbrook hasn't been a #1 on a good team either.

[MindState]

Lebron has missed a lot of time but we all knew that was going to happen, dude is 37. Westbrook was brought in to help mitigate his absences but on the whole, that hasn't really happened.

I think AD should get some of the blame, he's clearly not a #1 on a good team.

AD has NEVER been a #1 on a good team. His entire career has proven that. Hes never gotten a team anywhere on his own. Lakers knew that. Thats why they brought in Westbrook, to be the #1 when LeBron load managed.

i mean Westbrook hasn't been a #1 on a good team either.

Correct but Westbrook at least is capable of being the alpha of a team. You needed one without LeBron, AD has never and will never be that guy.

[dhsilv2]

Injuries? Russell Westbrook is not a winner? Anthony Davis can't be an alpha? LeBron James can't beat father time? Bad coach? Poor roster construction?

Gotta give credit to Melo and Westbrook for both so far out playing anyone's expectations and really helping this team over achieve.

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Peak LeBron derangement going on in this thread. He’s played 8 games and they’re 5-3 in those games. Of course the team is going to look like trash when the best player has missed 58% of the season. They’ve also been missing several rotation players. But, it’s easier to just spout about ‘LeGM.’

5-3 is a 51 win pace over 82 games for a team that's supposed to contend. AD and Russ have played in all of those games and 6 of 8 were at home, 3 of those 5 wins have come vs the tanking Rockets and Pistons, the other 2 came vs fringe playoff teams Memphis and Cleveland. Not great

I mean those are indeed the games that Lebron played in...

[Catchall]

They gutted half their team from last year in order to trade for Russell Westbrook. The opportunity cost of Westbrook's contract is killing them.

At the end of the day, I think they're a play-in team or maybe the 6th seed.

[TravisScott55]

How is it Lebrons fault

[MindState]

They are guaranteed a playoff spot, no matter how bad they play. The bottom 5 teams in the west are actively tanking, so the Lakers can play terrible all year and are guaranteed a play-in spot, and just have to let LeBron carry them past a play-in game or two to secure their position.

[Bornstellar]

No matter what anyone says, Pelinka is the one who assembled this mish mash roster of ill fitting pieces. Trading for Westbrook has been a monumental mistake that pretty much everyone here called from the beginning. If they had kept all of the pieces they traded for instead they would be in a much better spot right now.

But, give them a little slack because they have dealt with a ton of injuries this season. It's clear AD is not a real #1 option and Westbrook is a negative on the court. Has Nunn even played? LeBron has missed half the games. And Vogel plays some really head scratching rotations. I think they'll get it together in the 2nd half of the season when everyone is healthy or when they realize Westbrook isn't cutting it and inevitably trade him back to HOU for John Wall

[gavran]

The Knicks. The Lakers were 9-9 before they've played them.

[Lunartic]

OKC

[FreeSpiritNY]

I blame lebrons elbow. All jokes aside this is the same thing every year. You need time to gel. They will get to the playoffs.

[KrAzY3]

I can't click more than one thing...

[marthafokker]

Don't forget to blame Jeanie Bus. She let UFAs walked so she doesn't have to pay as much luxury tax. Is she about the rings or just about selling LeBron jersey?

Cleveland Cavs owner is an idiot, but he knew to get into luxury tax hell when he knew he got a chance to get a ring.

[nikster]

AD has NEVER been a #1 on a good team. His entire career has proven that. Hes never gotten a team anywhere on his own. Lakers knew that. Thats why they brought in Westbrook, to be the #1 when LeBron load managed.

i mean Westbrook hasn't been a #1 on a good team either.

Correct but Westbrook at least is capable of being the alpha of a team. You needed one without LeBron, AD has never and will never be that guy.

AD has won a playoff series as the lead guy, Westbrook hasnt

[Nate the Great]

It feels like they chose players for their names, not their games. They have a lot of guys who are famous to casual fans, but they don’t seem well matched in term of their roles on the team.

The team will get better; there was significant turnover in the roster, and they probably haven’t gelled yet. But it’s hard to see them as a championship contender.

[Lalouie]

so,,,if lebron chose westbrook over shooting, then it's up to pelinka to get support for lebron

i don't denegrate lebron for choosing westbrook. in his mind he chose to face 21/22 with help at the point rather than shooters. he felt he could overcome lack of shooters more than lack of support in the managing the team. being tuned into his body as lebron is, that was his choice. what i find interesting is that while the talking heads acknowledge the choice of the two they seem unwilling to accept it, as if they know his body better than lebron himself. i'm pretty sure lebron would have chose lillard if dame was there,,,but he wasn't, nor was beal. those two took themselves off the table.

that being said,,,,,is anybody paying attention to what's going on in the league or what! with the timely ot untimely lebron injuries over the past year, would is not be safe to say the decade is over and the nba has moved into the parity of the 20's. i mean are gsw, chi, and the wiz THAT GOOD or does the the league just suck

Sorta tough to fill in the gaps when you bring in a guy making $44m

you are correct, sir. i overlooked. the lakers might be the #1nba franchise but they are family owned and they have to count their pennies