The Lebron '20 Thread (Pt. 5)

[Joey Wheeler]

Lakers shock the world!!!

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What the **** have I just watched ? These people are paid millions to analyse basketball and this is what they come up with? I don't even know where to begin with all the nonsense takes in that clip.

[Joey Wheeler]

I expect Westbrook to absolutely dominate the series, he'll average ~30 and generate open looks from 3 at a very high rate. The Lakers have no one who can stay in front of him and won't be able to pack the paint.

Why not? He shot 25% from 3 this year. Sag way off him and let him fire away. Maybe give him doses of the Tony Allen treatment by guarding him with AD or even Dwight.

If you pack the paint, you'll leave shooters open (Westbrook will be the only non-shooter on the court); if you don't, Westbrook will kill you at the rim; the Lakers don't really have anyone who can offer meaninful resistance to Westbrook's drives, he's too quick and explosive and packing the paint isn't an option with all the shooting the Rockets will have on the court at all times.

Putting AD on him is asking for foul trouble tbh; in crunch time, I think Lebron can do an adequate job on Harden for sure, but I don't see how the Lakers contain Westbrook.

[dreamshake]

I expect Westbrook to absolutely dominate the series, he'll average ~30 and generate open looks from 3 at a very high rate. The Lakers have no one who can stay in front of him and won't be able to pack the paint.

Why not? He shot 25% from 3 this year. Sag way off him and let him fire away. Maybe give him doses of the Tony Allen treatment by guarding him with AD or even Dwight.

If you pack the paint, you'll leave shooters open (Westbrook will be the only non-shooter on the court); if you don't, Westbrook will kill you at the rim; the Lakers don't really have anyone who can offer meaninful resistance to Westbrook's drives, he's too quick and explosive and packing the paint isn't an option with all the shooting the Rockets will have on the court at all times.

Putting AD on him is asking for foul trouble tbh; in crunch time, I think Lebron can do an adequate job on Harden for sure, but I don't see how the Lakers contain Westbrook.

I didn't mean to leave a bunch of defenders in the paint - just that Westbrook's defender should play way off of him, basically keeping a foot in or near the paint at all times. Kinda like SAS did to LeBron in '13. It worked really well until Bron found his jumper - which I don't think Westbrook is capable of doing consistently enough to punish them.

[dcstanley]

I actually think Dwight can be an X-factor in a series against Houston. Vogel might be able to get away with playing him with AD in spurts since Dwight has the ability to guard in space.

[Dupp]

AD has to be the best/most ideal second best player or 1B possible right?

He’s really good to great at everything. For example would Steph and lebron be better? I have my doubts because AD sets the foundation for an elite defense while also being a very high level offensively.

Steph and Lebron on this team would be the favorite, and it wouldn't be close..

Curry, Green, Kuzma, Lebron, Mcgee
AC, KCP, Dion/JR, Kieff, Dwight

Curry fixes the 3 point problem and a 2nd ball handler

Defense would fall ofc, but I think that team could be still solid on D. Construction may have been a bit diff, but I just swapped them to keep it easy. Offense should be 1st in the league easily

Eh the bigs are pretty bad there. Think Dwight would be much worse in a bigger role.


Curry is probably the best fit with lebron at his peak but current lebron I think AD is better.

[Dupp]

Lakers hitting threes is such a game changer. They’ll be pretty hard to beat if they can keep it up.

I like AD shooting at least 4 threes a game too. Opens things up and spaces the floor better. Not that he should spend much time on the perimeter but it’s good having that extra weapon for him and the team.

[Dupp]

Also

2nd year in Miami = championship
2nd year back In Cleveland = championship
2nd year in LA = ???


All three first years were really rough with a lot of drama too. Very similar.

[Homer38]

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[Homer38]

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[Freighttrain]

I actually think Dwight can be an X-factor in a series against Houston. Vogel might be able to get away with playing him with AD in spurts since Dwight has the ability to guard in space.

I think it's actually the opposite. AD is going to play the five alot and Dwight/McGee won't see daylight on the court. Match Houston's smallball with kuz lebron and AD.

[Bergmaniac]

Westbrook looked really rusty last night, really shaky ballhandling and limited explosiveness, and he usually takes quite a bit of time to get into rhythm after an injury. The Lakers will be the big favourites in that series if it happens.

[KTM_2813]

If the Lakers play the Rockets, I’d give Los Angeles a 60-70% chance of winning the series. Both teams can absolutely win and have some difficult problems to solve. Ultimately, it’s just hard to go against the Lakers’ defense and Playoff Davis/LeBron. But there’s always a chance that Los Angeles’ shooting goes cold again, and then Houston becomes the favorite.

[LA Bird]

Is there a list somewhere of the total number of times a player has averaged a triple double for a series? I imagine it is just LeBron, Magic, Westbrook and Kidd?

Edit: And Oscar of course.

[Homer38]

Is there a list somewhere of the total number of times a player has averaged a triple double for a series? I imagine it is just LeBron, Magic, Westbrook and Kidd?

I don't know but I just know that LBJ did it twice(the other time was the 2017 NBA finals)

And he was very efficient in his 2 series!

[Homer38]

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[SideshowBob]

Upcoming Playoff Milestones

3 threes needed to pass Ray Allen for #2 spot.

102 assists needed to pass John Stockton for the #2 spot.

6 triple doubles needed to pass Magic at #1.

Assists should happen mid-Finals if they get there, about 13 games at 8 per game. Could be sooner if he stays close to 10.

Triple doubles most likely in a following season, but he already has two this run so maybe he does it sooner.

[Baski]

Man this crowdless playoffs puts such a damper on this season. I'm not even on the court and I get what Lebron and Davis meant with their "it's not the same" comment.

Iconic playoff moments wouldn't be so iconic without the crowd's live reaction.

[Homer38]

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[MisterHibachi]

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?s=19

Interesting thread about not going small against Houston.

[limbo]

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?s=19

Interesting thread about not going small against Houston.

- How are rotations easier for the Lakers by playing big/standard?
- OReb dominance is overrated. Last night Adams had 5 off. rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the game and OKC still scored only 14 points in the 1st qtr. Granted, OKC is worse offensively than the Lakers, but still. You're giving up in other areas of the game when you decide to go Big and crash the glass
-Vertical threats are overrated again. It's not going to win you the game, i'd rather have spacing, it's a more consistent threat and the impact is felt every possession. Besides, AD is one of the best lob finishers in the league. You can play him at the 5 as the roll man or off-ball near the paint as a finisher and he will pose a bigger threat around the basket and have more space to move around in the paint, since he won't have another big body like McGee/Dwight there trying to do the same.
- Post-up mismatches? How? The only guys that can post up effectively on the Lakers are LeBron and AD... And if you have McGee/Dwight there with them, you're actually making it harder for LeBron/AD to effectively post up, since you're shrinking the floor, which makes it harder for LeBron/AD to drive to the basket and you're also not a kick-out threat because you can't shoot. I'm struggling to figure out what mismatches the Lakers have in McGee/Dwight + AD lineups over AD at the 5? McGee/Dwight in the post against Covington or Tucker isn't a mismatch. That's what Houston wants.
- Rim protection? Houston shoots 60 threes per game dude... Having McGee/Dwight + AD there is kind of an overkill on rim protection... You don't need that much rim protection, especially against a team that shoots 60 threes per game. AD at the 5 is enough rim protection, the rest of the players will need to be guys that are mobile enough to stay in front of driving threats and rotate in time to the guys that will be open on the perimeter, since Houston is gonna play 5 shooters... And McGee and Dwight don't fit that description.
- RE: Harden's tendencies to iso against 2 bigs. I don't know about that, would like to see some stats backing this up, as well as if that indeed generates worse looks for Houston on offense. Last time i check, Harden was the most effective isolation player in the league. Ultimately, even if that makes it harder for Harden to score in the paint, he's versatile enough as an offensive threat to hurt you in other ways, with his shooting, passing, drawing fouls and floaters.