The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

MisterHibachi · Post #2041 » by **MisterHibachi** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:07 am

Team defense looks really high-level when they're giving effort like in this second quarter. Dwight and AD are still absolutely smothering everything at the rim, and Bazemore has been pretty good as an on ball defender.

trickshot · Post #2042 » by **trickshot** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:13 am

Larger sample will show what's sustainable but they actually looked good in the 2nd quarter. Like the point when they started looking like a team on offense. Ellington still one of the most horrific defenders away from the ball I've ever seen. Carmelo looks good when he's on. Could stop losing focus on defense after scoring. Team scouting pick up on those details

Post #2043 » by **zimpy27** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:19 am

donnieme wrote:Larger sample will show what's sustainable but they actually looked good in the 2nd quarter. Like the point when they started looking like a team on offense. Ellington still one of the most horrific defenders away from the ball I've ever seen. Carmelo looks good when he's on. Could stop losing focus on defense after scoring. Team scouting pick up on those details

dcstanley · Post #2044 » by **dcstanley** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:34 am

Westbrook has 8 turnovers in 20 minutes :lol:

trickshot · Post #2045 » by **trickshot** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:44 am

Suns are just a well oiled machine. High offensive efficiency, I wouldn't expect the team on the floor to beat them without a Lebron or other efficient offense creator. High turnover, low efficiency will never beat an offense that's creating high percentage looks on every possession. Between CP3's midrange, Ayton's finishing, Crowder's shooting and Payne's driving I'd take the Suns 7 out of 10 times. That's not to say they are better when everyone is healthy.

homecourtloss · Post #2046 » by **homecourtloss** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 4:00 am

Lakers...the Lakers have literally been the worst team in the NBA in the preseason. Wow.

trickshot · Post #2047 » by **trickshot** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 4:05 am

They badly need to restructure their bench. They are always 2 subs away from a defensive collapse. They can't even go on an offensive dry spell without getting blown out.

thebigbird · Post #2048 » by **thebigbird** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 4:15 am

As much as I hate Westbrook on this team he isn’t going to be the biggest problem. The biggest problem will be Vogel trotting out garbage starting lineups with AD at the 4 and Jordan at the 5. That’ll just make Westbrook look even worse because there won’t be any spacing. There are good rosters that can be played with this team. I have no faith in Vogel figuring them out.

loveandbeer · Post #2049 » by **loveandbeer** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 4:27 am

I don't have high hopes for Russ but really hope he turns it around.

At this point / with his track record he needs to convince people that he can be efficient / manage TOs / defend

Greyhound · Post #2050 » by **Greyhound** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:07 am

thebigbird wrote:As much as I hate Westbrook on this team he isn’t going to be the biggest problem. The biggest problem will be Vogel trotting out garbage starting lineups with AD at the 4 and Jordan at the 5. That’ll just make Westbrook look even worse because there won’t be any spacing. There are good rosters that can be played with this team. I have no faith in Vogel figuring them out.

I am not sure about that.

With both Ariza and THT going down, I think starting big may be their best current option. Ellington needs to be benched and all their guards (besides Bazemore) are small.

Being a big, ugly team that plays physical and pounds the boards is probably their best option at this point.

It is what it is:

Westbrook
Bazemore
James
Davis
Jordan

That is not that far off (shooting wise) from this:

Bradley
Green
James
Davis
McGee

Greyhound · Post #2051 » by **Greyhound** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:24 am

I agree about the ineptitude of Pelinka, but a lot of the blame falls on LeBron as well. He “put this team together”.

This will be hung around his neck.

It was always obvious that the best strategy was to put the ball in LeBron James’ hands and have him run the offense. Surround him with shooters on the wings and make Anthony Davis the focal point of the offense.

You know, the strategy that won a Championship.

Something like:

KCP/ Caruso / Rondo
Hield / Bazemore / Monk
James/ THT / Ariza
Davis/ Anthony / Morris
Gasol / Howard / Jones

It’s seemed obvious to everyone, except the powers that be in LA (and LeBron).

GSP · Post #2052 » by **GSP** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:53 am

MisterHibachi wrote:

Read on Twitter

Good to see Russ do stuff on offense when he doesn't have the ball.

Im not sure about the efficiency of offdribble Bron 3s. He seems far better these days spotting up from 3. Might be a better option having Bron as the screener

The High Cyde · Post #2053 » by **The High Cyde** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 6:20 am

Good old doom and gloom thread lol

It’s preseason and LeBron is a year older, you won’t see him play like LeBron until late Jan/ Feb, while Westbrook will have control of the offense until then. Davis has to actually give a crap as well, he’s going to have to take some initiative this year and play hard, consistently. He wants to be great, he has to bring it every night.

thebigbird · Post #2054 » by **thebigbird** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 2:39 pm

Greyhound wrote:
thebigbird wrote:As much as I hate Westbrook on this team he isn’t going to be the biggest problem. The biggest problem will be Vogel trotting out garbage starting lineups with AD at the 4 and Jordan at the 5. That’ll just make Westbrook look even worse because there won’t be any spacing. There are good rosters that can be played with this team. I have no faith in Vogel figuring them out.

I am not sure about that.

With both Ariza and THT going down, I think starting big may be their best current option. Ellington needs to be benched and all their guards (besides Bazemore) are small.

Being a big, ugly team that plays physical and pounds the boards is probably their best option at this point.

It is what it is:

Westbrook
Bazemore
James
Davis
Jordan

That is not that far off (shooting wise) from this:

Bradley
Green
James
Davis
McGee

LeBron and AD were both better a year and a half ago when they were running that lineup. McGee wasn’t as cooked as DJ is. And Bradley wasn’t a ball dominant turnover machine. LeBron played point guard and Bradley played good defense. He also shot 36.4% from 3. RW won’t be anywhere near that this year. The 2020 Lakers team would murder this one. If that space-less lineup really is their best chance right now that shows how horribly the roster was constructed. Relying on an old man in Ariza as your only capable wing defender was always a horrible idea.

Mos_Heat · Post #2055 » by **Mos_Heat** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 2:41 pm

I don't really care about pre season, It's just this roster sucks. I don't think they should be the favorites in the West, I would comfortably take the field against them

Greyhound · Post #2056 » by **Greyhound** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:40 pm

thebigbird wrote:
Greyhound wrote:
thebigbird wrote:As much as I hate Westbrook on this team he isn’t going to be the biggest problem. The biggest problem will be Vogel trotting out garbage starting lineups with AD at the 4 and Jordan at the 5. That’ll just make Westbrook look even worse because there won’t be any spacing. There are good rosters that can be played with this team. I have no faith in Vogel figuring them out.

I am not sure about that.

With both Ariza and THT going down, I think starting big may be their best current option. Ellington needs to be benched and all their guards (besides Bazemore) are small.

Being a big, ugly team that plays physical and pounds the boards is probably their best option at this point.

It is what it is:

Westbrook
Bazemore
James
Davis
Jordan

That is not that far off (shooting wise) from this:

Bradley
Green
James
Davis
McGee

LeBron and AD were both better a year and a half ago when they were running that lineup. McGee wasn’t as cooked as DJ is. And Bradley wasn’t a ball dominant turnover machine. LeBron played point guard and Bradley played good defense. He also shot 36.4% from 3. RW won’t be anywhere near that this year. The 2020 Lakers team would murder this one. If that space-less lineup really is their best chance right now that shows how horribly the roster was constructed. Relying on an old man in Ariza as your only capable wing defender was always a horrible idea.

You may be correct, but I am not certain of that just yet. I will give it a good 25-35 games before coming to that conclusion.

nzahir · Post #2057 » by **nzahir** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 4:34 pm

[Charania] Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker has a torn ligament in his right thumb and will undergo surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium .News

UNBELIEVABLE WTFFF!!!!

Time to sign Wes, Ennis, or even RHJ

How is this even possible

dcstanley · Post #2058 » by **dcstanley** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 4:37 pm

nzahir wrote:[Charania] Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker has a torn ligament in his right thumb and will undergo surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium .News

UNBELIEVABLE WTFFF!!!!

Time to sign Wes, Ennis, or even RHJ

How is this even possible

I don't think THT was gonna help this team win games but this further solidifies how dumb of a decision it was to let Caruso walk.

Post #2059 » by **Slava** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:25 pm

dcstanley wrote:
nzahir wrote:[Charania] Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker has a torn ligament in his right thumb and will undergo surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium .News

UNBELIEVABLE WTFFF!!!!

Time to sign Wes, Ennis, or even RHJ

How is this even possible

I don't think THT was gonna help this team win games but this further solidifies how dumb of a decision it was to let Caruso walk.

This overreaction is frankly a bit daft. Its a thumb injury and a two weeks timetable. At worst, he'll miss 2 regular season games.

MisterHibachi · Post #2060 » by **MisterHibachi** » Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:03 pm

Slava wrote:
dcstanley wrote:
nzahir wrote:[Charania] Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker has a torn ligament in his right thumb and will undergo surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium .News

UNBELIEVABLE WTFFF!!!!

Time to sign Wes, Ennis, or even RHJ

How is this even possible

I don't think THT was gonna help this team win games but this further solidifies how dumb of a decision it was to let Caruso walk.

This overreaction is frankly a bit daft. Its a thumb injury and a two weeks timetable. At worst, he'll miss 2 regular season games.

Agree that people are being unnecessarily pessimistic already, but I haven't seen a timeline for THT reported yet and all speculation seems to be a 6-8 week timetable. Where are you seeing 2 weeks?