The LeBron James All-NBA (2nd) and Luka Doncic - 24-25 Thread

tone wone · Post #2501 » by **tone wone** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 4:32 am

TheGOATRises007 wrote:
tone wone wrote:Hayes being trash right now just handcuffs them. This is the wrong kinda team to have to play center-less against.

He is unplayable in the playoffs.

Then the series is probably over.

TheGOATRises007 · Post #2502 » by **TheGOATRises007** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 4:33 am

Lakers should just bench Hayes

DNP him

TroubleS0me · Post #2503 » by **TroubleS0me** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 4:42 am

Read on Twitter

DorianRo · Post #2504 » by **DorianRo** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 4:46 am

TroubleS0me wrote:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

And they blew a very winnable game giving them back HCA despite Luka being sick :-?

. As long as LeBron got his empty stat pads I guess that’s all that matters to social media though

GSP · Post #2505 » by **GSP** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 5:01 am

That Mark Williams trade fiasco really boning La right now. Theyve played their best w/o Hayes and they dont have any other playable bigs. Going up against a huge team whos only small player is Conley who hasnt been getting most 2nd half mins over Naw or Donte. Bron isnt human but is a 40yo w/ most miles in league history gonna have to play over 40 minutes every game w/ no big on defense to cushion the load?

Mos_Heat · Post #2506 » by **Mos_Heat** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 5:01 am

nzahir wrote:
Mos_Heat wrote:
nzahir wrote:Yup another C would have been great

But already a lot of turnover and not sure what other moves were realistic

This summer we will make some upgrades

Forget about centers, any playable body would've been super helpful. They have 6 man rotation and that's just 2 games into the playoffs

Gimme some guys who were realistic to trade for.

Bron, Luka, Reaves, Rui, DFS, and Gabe aren't going to get cut in the rotation if irs this series or the finals

Minny is a legit finals contender, did you see their record the last 20 games?

Hayes will be a part of the rotation since we need him, but I genuinly think he had a very good 2-3 month stretch in the reg season. Short leash for him though

Vando is a must play due to not having enough athletes or another backup C.

I can see Knecht having a potential role in a series, but lets see

If there was a trade to be made, it would have been moving Maxi at the end, but not a ton of great guys available for 11M or less. Boucher was a decent option though

Could have upgraded Gabe though

And the Knecht deal falling apart with Mark Williams was huge ofc.

IDK, Smart, Gary Harris, a body who can give you ok 10 minutes

falcolombardi · Post #2507 » by **falcolombardi** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 5:12 am

What even was it that made lakers give up on mark williams?

He played just fine afterwards for charlotte

CzBoobie · Post #2508 » by **CzBoobie** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 5:14 am

DorianRo wrote:

And they blew a very winnable game giving them back HCA despite Luka being sick . As long as LeBron got his empty stat pads I guess that’s all that matters to social media though

So Luka was sick, LeBron scored 38 on 21 shots and...what exactly is your point? That he is the reason they lost?

NbaAllDay · Post #2509 » by **NbaAllDay** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 5:37 am

CzBoobie wrote:
DorianRo wrote:

And they blew a very winnable game giving them back HCA despite Luka being sick . As long as LeBron got his empty stat pads I guess that’s all that matters to social media though

So Luka was sick, LeBron scored 38 on 21 shots and...what exactly is your point? That he is the reason they lost?

Don't expect him to have a point. It's just bait. Ignore accordingly.

tone wone · Post #2510 » by **tone wone** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 6:06 am

Tied with 4:30 left and they just collapsed. Damn.

AmIWrongDude · Post #2511 » by **AmIWrongDude** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 6:37 am

DorianRo wrote:
TroubleS0me wrote:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

And they blew a very winnable game giving them back HCA despite Luka being sick . As long as LeBron got his empty stat pads I guess that’s all that matters to social media though

Love that LeBron carrying the team from start to finish is considered stat padding lol. Leave this trash on Facebook please.

AmIWrongDude · Post #2512 » by **AmIWrongDude** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 6:40 am

This game is an example of why I don’t like the idea of LeBron prominently taking a backseat. This game should’ve been Bron taking over almost every possession since nobody else had it going. Would’ve had a better chance with him taking the reins and going down swinging with 50+. Didn’t need everyone else jacking up shots tonight and making dumb decisions.

Mos_Heat · Post #2513 » by **Mos_Heat** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 7:29 am

Now they need perfect games from both Luka and Lebron to win this series. Still possible, but unlikely. Reaves has been a huge dissapointment can't do anything inside the arc. Rui as always not a factor

Mos_Heat · Post #2514 » by **Mos_Heat** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 7:30 am

falcolombardi wrote:What even was it that made lakers give up on mark williams?

He played just fine afterwards for charlotte

Probably Pelinka understood that he wouldn't have any resources moving forward and decided to pull back

ball_takes23 · Post #2515 » by **ball_takes23** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 10:22 am

falcolombardi wrote:What even was it that made lakers give up on mark williams?

He played just fine afterwards for charlotte

he set his career high this year with 44 games played, someone like that is never making it through a deep playoff run. Mark Williams was not going to be the difference between winning a title and not winning a title. better to use those assets this summer to get a C that can actually play defense and stay on the court.

Ian Scuffling · Post #2516 » by **Ian Scuffling** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 3:31 pm

First off the dorkian dude, is just that a dork. A troll dork. Imagine that being your raison d'etre. Put him on the ignore list and be happier. There's an old saying about arguing with an idiot. As for the game, damn. Of course Lebron has a great game. Great scoring on great efficiency. Busting his ass defensively and generally being the best player on the floor. But, Luka was obviously not feeling well, at all. There's some more of that "luck" that according to the haters/trolls, Lebron always gets.

And Luka played like it, too. AR, is just too damned inconsistent to be a number 2 on any team. Yes, sometimes a great offensive player....sometimes. Unfortunately, always a liability on defense. Now, not DLO level, but still not good. There's still hope, though. If Luka can get healthy, quickly. Lebron isn't doing that again, I believe, but should still play well enough. At 40, too. He's simply re-writing the narrative. It's things like that that make the trolls feel so impotent and act out. Perfect example in this thread.

Ainosterhaspie · Post #2517 » by **Ainosterhaspie** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 3:42 pm

I only got to watch bits here and there, but the parts I did watch he seemed more spry than he has since the injury.

That said, that last five minutes were a disappointment. He disappeared. Almost seemed like he lost track of the shot clock on that missed three. I don't understand why he launched such a bad shot so quickly.

DorianRo · Post #2518 » by **DorianRo** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 4:24 pm

Fawning over LeIndividual Stats. Thats what Lebron fans do. Winning and losing? 2nd of importance. :roll:

Anyways.. Yes. Lakers go as Luka goes. Just as with the AD when he was playing for them. Lakers went as AD went. If neither of those guys are playing up to par, Lakers lose. The game can't go through Lebron as lead dog. And hasn't pretty much the entire time hes been in LA. So everyone on LA has to contribute to get the job done. Knecht should have been in there. Reddick is too stupid to realize it can't be the "Lebron show"

If you want a guaranteed loss, let Lebron take over and play hero

trickshot · Post #2519 » by **trickshot** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 4:35 pm

Uh trolling aside this is what I was scared of. Fell way too in love with that starting 5 in the regular season. Rui and Hayes needed to be knocked down lower in the rotation way earlier before their limited niche and lack of versatility became a hindrance to protecting the big 3. No one is helping to really protect them on the boards and in the paint from the physical specimens like Ant and Reid. Lebron is going to be gassed helping so much in the interior, Reaves and Luka will get drained if they also have to take tougher assignments. Knew Hayes would also get played off at some point but not even making it passed day 1 is yikes.

IG2 · Post #2520 » by **IG2** » Sat Apr 26, 2025 5:18 pm

AmIWrongDude wrote:This game is an example of why I don’t like the idea of LeBron prominently taking a backseat. This game should’ve been Bron taking over almost every possession since nobody else had it going. Would’ve had a better chance with him taking the reins and going down swinging with 50+. Didn’t need everyone else jacking up shots tonight and making dumb decisions.

At 40 he just doesn't have the requisite motor nor the athleticism to be a high-volume guy. He's been picking and choosing his spots all season and more than content to give the ball up to Doncic and Reaves. And that's gonna be more pronounced than ever in a series like this where he's exerting so much defensive effort.

All that said, if there was a night I would've liked to see him dominate the ball, this would've been it. Especially late in the 4th qtr. He only took 1 shot the last 6 minutes of the game and barely had the ball during that stretch. Should've been looking to make plays with Luka struggling and Austin so physically overmatched.

Hindsight: Would you trade Luka back to Dallas for Anthony Davis?