Friday 1/20 NBA Game Thread

[levon]

Actually I was fine with the Lakers win tonight, it worked for Denver. But your team is trash, Memphis would spank them in the play off's.

Better hope AD isn’t healthy. Cause slow ass Adams and too small Jackson will be meat on the bone for him.

They have a better record without AD tbh. Somewhat misleading, but Westbrook is also much better without AD playing because he has more space.

They also have one of the worst defenses without AD, and really no viable bigs.

They can still do all of the things offensively with AD back, he'd just replace Thomas Bryant. LA's been a top 5 offense in the last 15+ games though mostly because of the offensive strides Bron and Westbrook have taken.

[BigGargamel]

The lakers just need AD back and another piece like Bogi as a shooter then they could challenge the west

Yup

I don't think a lot of teams want to face us early, especially if we make a trade (ofc need AD and Bron healthy)

Denver sure shouldn't want to

Clips scare me the most in the west, then GS (mostly due to Curry, but I dont see them guarding AD and Bron well), then its between Den and NOLA (both don't scare me, but are obviously very good and deep)

LOL Lakers fans.

No one is fearing the lakers anymore.

[California Gold]

All 4 California teams have a shot to make the playoffs. When's the last time this happened?

[nzahir]

The lakers just need AD back and another piece like Bogi as a shooter then they could challenge the west

Yup

I don't think a lot of teams want to face us early, especially if we make a trade (ofc need AD and Bron healthy)

Denver sure shouldn't want to

Clips scare me the most in the west, then GS (mostly due to Curry, but I dont see them guarding AD and Bron well), then its between Den and NOLA (both don't scare me, but are obviously very good and deep)

LOL Lakers fans.

No one fears them anymore.

Aren't we 2-1 vs you guys

Last game no Lebron and the other game had no AD

We saw what happened in those 2020 playoffs

You guys are a bt more deep and we have lost some pieces, but I think with a moving piece or two, I would take us

[Tracymcgoaty]

All 4 California teams have a shot to make the playoffs. When's the last time this happened?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Los_Angeles

Probably here.

[Tracymcgoaty]

The lakers just need AD back and another piece like Bogi as a shooter then they could challenge the west

Yup

I don't think a lot of teams want to face us early, especially if we make a trade (ofc need AD and Bron healthy)

Denver sure shouldn't want to

Clips scare me the most in the west, then GS (mostly due to Curry, but I dont see them guarding AD and Bron well), then its between Den and NOLA (both don't scare me, but are obviously very good and deep)

LOL Lakers fans.

No one is fearing the lakers anymore.

No...Not Laker fans...Dont box us all in dude it's annoying. It's one dude you're talking to.

[RRR3]

Better hope AD isn’t healthy. Cause slow ass Adams and too small Jackson will be meat on the bone for him.

They have a better record without AD tbh. Somewhat misleading, but Westbrook is also much better without AD playing because he has more space.

They also have one of the worst defenses without AD, and really no viable bigs.

They can still do all of the things offensively with AD back, he'd just replace Thomas Bryant. LA's been a top 5 offense in the last 15+ games though mostly because of the offensive strides Bron and Westbrook have taken.

Westbrook doing better is BECAUSE AD isn't there dude.

[levon]

They have a better record without AD tbh. Somewhat misleading, but Westbrook is also much better without AD playing because he has more space.

They also have one of the worst defenses without AD, and really no viable bigs.

They can still do all of the things offensively with AD back, he'd just replace Thomas Bryant. LA's been a top 5 offense in the last 15+ games though mostly because of the offensive strides Bron and Westbrook have taken.

Westbrook doing better is BECAUSE AD isn't there dude.

lol, source? I'm a Lakers fan and have watched every game and listened to 5 pods a day and look at the stats. He's just playing better of his own accord. AD wasn't stunting him. Weird take.

[Tracymcgoaty]

They also have one of the worst defenses without AD, and really no viable bigs.

They can still do all of the things offensively with AD back, he'd just replace Thomas Bryant. LA's been a top 5 offense in the last 15+ games though mostly because of the offensive strides Bron and Westbrook have taken.

Westbrook doing better is BECAUSE AD isn't there dude.

lol, source? I'm a Lakers fan and have watched every game and listened to 5 pods a day and look at the stats. He's just playing better of his own accord. AD wasn't stunting him. Weird take.

Dayum Levon...5 PODS! How many of them aren't saying the same thing.

Russ has been great as of late to be honest.

[One Last Shot]

Lakers with a comeback in the last 6 minutes during which LBJ contributed nothing.

Terrible finish by the Grizzlies

LeBron scored 9 pts in the last 8 minutes or so, if scoring more than a point per minute iin the 4th quarter of 1 possession game means nothing then maybe you don't understand how basketball works.

Lakers wont make it to play in this season,unless they pull out some miracle at the trade deadline , but they played for Denver tonight, kudos to them.

They're literally 1 game behind the 10th seed, 5 games behind the 4th seed and won 7 of their last 11 games. Refs screwed Lakers in 3 of those L.

[levon]

Westbrook doing better is BECAUSE AD isn't there dude.

lol, source? I'm a Lakers fan and have watched every game and listened to 5 pods a day and look at the stats. He's just playing better of his own accord. AD wasn't stunting him. Weird take.

Dayum Levon...5 PODS! How many of them aren't saying the same thing.

Russ has been great as of late to be honest.

I need to kill a lot of time in LA traffic or just as background noise.

[RRR3]

They also have one of the worst defenses without AD, and really no viable bigs.

They can still do all of the things offensively with AD back, he'd just replace Thomas Bryant. LA's been a top 5 offense in the last 15+ games though mostly because of the offensive strides Bron and Westbrook have taken.

Westbrook doing better is BECAUSE AD isn't there dude.

lol, source? I'm a Lakers fan and have watched every game and listened to 5 pods a day and look at the stats. He's just playing better of his own accord. AD wasn't stunting him. Weird take.

Russ needing as much spacing as possible is pretty well known. AD doesn't really score out of the paint these days.

[nzahir]

Yup

I don't think a lot of teams want to face us early, especially if we make a trade (ofc need AD and Bron healthy)

Denver sure shouldn't want to

Clips scare me the most in the west, then GS (mostly due to Curry, but I dont see them guarding AD and Bron well), then its between Den and NOLA (both don't scare me, but are obviously very good and deep)

LOL Lakers fans.

No one is fearing the lakers anymore.

No...Not Laker fans...Dont box us all in dude it's annoying. It's one dude you're talking to.

I mean some of its just facts

Is Denver really that different from 2 years ago

Murray is worse due to injuries

They got more depth now and Jokic is better, but I still don't think that defense is going to be consistently good enough for guys who put major pressure on the rim or for a very spread out offense

We have beat a lot of the top teams, have yet to play them, or blew a couple of them like Boston or PHI

[Tracymcgoaty]

LOL Lakers fans.

No one is fearing the lakers anymore.

No...Not Laker fans...Dont box us all in dude it's annoying. It's one dude you're talking to.

I mean some of its just facts

Is Denver really that different from 2 years ago

Murray is worse due to injuries

They got more depth now and Jokic is better, but I still don't think that defense is going to be consistently good enough for guys who put major pressure on the rim or for a very spread out offense

We have beat a lot of the top teams, have yet to play them, or blew a couple of them like Boston or PHI

Thats not the point im making. It's irritating when people comment stuff like that. As if they're talking to the tribe rather than an individual.

I have no idea what to feel about this team. I love the hustle and resiliency. last seasons team would have folded on numerous occasions.

[levon]

Westbrook doing better is BECAUSE AD isn't there dude.

lol, source? I'm a Lakers fan and have watched every game and listened to 5 pods a day and look at the stats. He's just playing better of his own accord. AD wasn't stunting him. Weird take.

Russ needing as much spacing as possible is pretty well known. AD doesn't really score out of the paint these days.

Neither do any of our other bigs. Thomas Bryant shoots well but takes like 1 three a game. Wenyen doesn't space. LeBron's been shooting 25% from 3 the last 15 games, and LeBron at C is rare and bad defensively anyway. There's like 3 defenders shading the paint no matter who's out there because that's always the gameplan against us, it doesn't matter if it's AD or Thomas Bryant. Difference is AD is double the offensive player and one of the best defenders in the league.

You're right that Russ' counting stats will drop though. Hoping they use him 100% as an initiator and AD as finisher.

[RRR3]

lol, source? I'm a Lakers fan and have watched every game and listened to 5 pods a day and look at the stats. He's just playing better of his own accord. AD wasn't stunting him. Weird take.

Russ needing as much spacing as possible is pretty well known. AD doesn't really score out of the paint these days.

Neither do any of our other bigs. Thomas Bryant shoots well but takes like 1 three a game. Wenyen doesn't space. LeBron's been shooting 25% from 3 the last 15 games, and LeBron at C is rare and bad defensively anyway. There's like 3 defenders shading the paint no matter who's out there because that's always the gameplan against us, it doesn't matter if it's AD or Thomas Bryant. Difference is AD is double the offensive player and one of the best defenders in the league.

You're right that Russ' counting stats will drop though. Hoping they use him 100% as an initiator and AD as finisher.

I'm not doubting AD is really good but this team has been bad when LeBron AD and WB all play. For two years now.

[levon]

Russ needing as much spacing as possible is pretty well known. AD doesn't really score out of the paint these days.

Neither do any of our other bigs. Thomas Bryant shoots well but takes like 1 three a game. Wenyen doesn't space. LeBron's been shooting 25% from 3 the last 15 games, and LeBron at C is rare and bad defensively anyway. There's like 3 defenders shading the paint no matter who's out there because that's always the gameplan against us, it doesn't matter if it's AD or Thomas Bryant. Difference is AD is double the offensive player and one of the best defenders in the league.

You're right that Russ' counting stats will drop though. Hoping they use him 100% as an initiator and AD as finisher.

I'm not doubting AD is really good but this team has been bad when LeBron AD and WB all play. For two years now.

Not so much this year. In 220 minutes played, they're a 3.1 net rtg. That's with all of the stinkers to start the season. They don't play that much together, and that's by design for the spacing reasons you said (and also injuries, and roster). But again, if Westbrook plays to his potential like this, it's not going to matter because none of the other bigs provide better spacing than Davis either.

[RRR3]

Neither do any of our other bigs. Thomas Bryant shoots well but takes like 1 three a game. Wenyen doesn't space. LeBron's been shooting 25% from 3 the last 15 games, and LeBron at C is rare and bad defensively anyway. There's like 3 defenders shading the paint no matter who's out there because that's always the gameplan against us, it doesn't matter if it's AD or Thomas Bryant. Difference is AD is double the offensive player and one of the best defenders in the league.

You're right that Russ' counting stats will drop though. Hoping they use him 100% as an initiator and AD as finisher.

I'm not doubting AD is really good but this team has been bad when LeBron AD and WB all play. For two years now.

Not so much this year. In 220 minutes played, they're a 3.1 net rtg. That's with all of the stinkers to start the season. They don't play that much together, and that's by design for the spacing reasons you said (and also injuries, and roster). But again, if Westbrook plays to his potential like this, it's not going to matter because none of the other bigs provide better spacing than Davis either.

Maybe idk. A team with LeBron (even past his prime) and AD should literally never be bad, and they have been mid at best even with LeBron and AD healthy the last two years. It's almost like the team was uniquely built to lose.

[Jkam31]

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[levon]

I'm not doubting AD is really good but this team has been bad when LeBron AD and WB all play. For two years now.

Not so much this year. In 220 minutes played, they're a 3.1 net rtg. That's with all of the stinkers to start the season. They don't play that much together, and that's by design for the spacing reasons you said (and also injuries, and roster). But again, if Westbrook plays to his potential like this, it's not going to matter because none of the other bigs provide better spacing than Davis either.

Maybe idk. A team with LeBron (even past his prime) and AD should literally never be bad, and they have been mid at best even with LeBron and AD healthy the last two years. It's almost like the team was uniquely built to lose.

AD and LeBron together had a +11 net rtg before Westbrook. But LeBron also declined as a primary ballhandler and the Lakers cycled through 700 bad players, injuries happened, etc.

Interestingly, Lebron and AD are only at about +2 net rtg this year. That's likely because of the bad starting lineups and closing lineups around them since both rate really highly in advanced metrics (Davis was 3rd in RAPTOR). AD + Westbrook 1.2 or so. But LeBron and Westbrook are now at 8.9 netrtg, and AD + Austin Reaves qualifies as the highest nrtg at 9 with 500 minutes or more played. Westbrook's been a LeBron optimizer more than an AD optimizer.