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The guard spots

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The guard spots 

Post#1 » by zimpy27 » Fri Aug 2, 2019 4:27 pm

This is the weak point in the Laker team right now. The success of the Lakers is uncertain right now because of these positions.
When talking position I mean defensive. Who can be on the court and chase around an assigned opponent PG while being efficient on the offensive end.

Green is solid for 30 minutes maximum and probably better with less. The Lakers need minutes from a backup SG and starter/backup minutes from a PG. These 2 or 3 more guards will be the worst players on the Lakers team.

Caruso, Bradley, KCP seem like the best choices right now but none have shown to be reliable on both ends for a long enough time.

Who do people think will be the guard rotation?
What's the backup plan here?
Are there any players that could be trade targets?
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#2 » by TyCobb » Fri Aug 2, 2019 5:05 pm

Lebron. Guard spot needs specialists and thats what we have. I'm more worried about a big behind Davis, McGee, Kuzma, and Cousins. I need one more 4/5 that can shoot.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#3 » by chefy » Fri Aug 2, 2019 6:11 pm

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Re: The guard spots 

Post#4 » by zimpy27 » Fri Aug 2, 2019 6:55 pm

TyCobb wrote:Lebron. Guard spot needs specialists and thats what we have. I'm more worried about a big behind Davis, McGee, Kuzma, and Cousins. I need one more 4/5 that can shoot.

You think LeBron is going to chase around point guards and shooting guards?

I really doubt he would be able to for 36 mpg even if he wanted to.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#5 » by Danny Darko » Fri Aug 2, 2019 8:40 pm

Caruso said he's going to be given a chance to play a major role and don't forget we have rondo to suck the plus minus out of the building.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#6 » by Beethoven » Fri Aug 2, 2019 11:00 pm

Caruso is the greatest point guard ever . We are fine.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#7 » by TJM217 » Fri Aug 2, 2019 11:01 pm

I agree this is definitely the biggest weakness. What I hope happens is that the bald mamba starts and Bradley is 2nd off the bench and the 1. The 2 can be LBJ or KUZ with KCP or Bradley as back up. Rondo in for trash time.

In reality I have a feeling Rondo or Bradley start with caruso as a 2nd or 3rd off the bench. On offense i expect it to be a pass to Lebron and hit the open 3 kinda thing.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#8 » by Kilroy » Fri Aug 2, 2019 11:05 pm

zimpy27 wrote:
TyCobb wrote:Lebron. Guard spot needs specialists and thats what we have. I'm more worried about a big behind Davis, McGee, Kuzma, and Cousins. I need one more 4/5 that can shoot.

You think LeBron is going to chase around point guards and shooting guards?

I really doubt he would be able to for 36 mpg even if he wanted to.


LeBron/AB/Green... I'm almost certain that's going to be the starting perimeter.

AB and Green will handle defensive duties outside, AB will bring the ball up and pass to LeBron, find a spot and wait for an open 3...

And we have Dudley to play 3rd 4 behind Kuzma... And I'm sure Lesser Greek will get some backup minutes at the 4/5 too...

We're OK. But if we could get Iggy, that would be great.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#9 » by dAdo dA dEvil » Sat Aug 3, 2019 1:15 am

In Caruso I trust!
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#10 » by ShowtimeFan » Sat Aug 3, 2019 1:56 am

No need to worry or overthink this, LeBron will lead the Lakers in assists, so all we need out of any of our Guards is to DEFEND the other Team's Guard AND shoot over 35% from 3-pt range...!

PG: Bradley, Caruso, Rondo
SG: Green, KCP, Daniels, Cook

Lakers will be fine...
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#11 » by what would jack bauer do? » Sat Aug 3, 2019 3:33 am

Caruso is the answer. He was the only guy on our roster last year that could move his feet and stay in front of point guards. Lonzo couldn't even do that and he's in the 99th percentile on defense. (Yes, Lonzo gets it done in a different way being able to recover with his athleticism when getting beaten off the dribble and obviously he wreaked havoc on the passing lanes seeing plays well before they happened.)

But with Caruso we get a Derek Fisher style defender with more offensive prowess.

NBA video coordinator Mo Dahkil was on ESPNLA and said word is Avery Bradley has lost significant weight is looking real lean and ready to have a big year.

We need to protect Caruso by giving him limited minutes (23-28mpg) over 82 games since this will be his first season with a big role. Between him and Bradley we'll be fine.

Between Green and KCP we'll be fine at sg too. And I think Talen Horton Tucker can be a Marcus Smart type of defender.

Offensively I think Anthony Davis will have the ball in his hands more than people realize. Also keep in mind DeMarcus Cousins has averaged more assists the last few seasons than Kawhi or PG13 have ever gotten in their careers. So I'm not quite worried yet about our offense yet, but I would love a creator other than Rondo on the roster cause Rondo shouldn't play at all.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#12 » by LAKESHOW » Sat Aug 3, 2019 4:33 am

Green is a lock.
Im going with Cook. Although i am willing to get off that position to give allowances for folks to prove they deserve the nod. But Im goin with cook basically due to Championship experience. But again, am willing to see who can win the job outright. Should that be bradley, caruso, kcp, rondo whoever, we shall see
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#13 » by lazybatman » Sat Aug 3, 2019 10:28 am

Kilroy wrote:
zimpy27 wrote:
TyCobb wrote:Lebron. Guard spot needs specialists and thats what we have. I'm more worried about a big behind Davis, McGee, Kuzma, and Cousins. I need one more 4/5 that can shoot.

You think LeBron is going to chase around point guards and shooting guards?

I really doubt he would be able to for 36 mpg even if he wanted to.


LeBron/AB/Green... I'm almost certain that's going to be the starting perimeter.

AB and Green will handle defensive duties outside, AB will bring the ball up and pass to LeBron, find a spot and wait for an open 3...

And we have Dudley to play 3rd 4 behind Kuzma... And I'm sure Lesser Greek will get some backup minutes at the 4/5 too...

We're OK. But if we could get Iggy, that would be great.


I was thinking exactly that mate :D
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#14 » by DanishLakerFan » Mon Aug 5, 2019 11:48 am

zimpy27 wrote:This is the weak point in the Laker team right now. The success of the Lakers is uncertain right now because of these positions.
When talking position I mean defensive. Who can be on the court and chase around an assigned opponent PG while being efficient on the offensive end.

Green is solid for 30 minutes maximum and probably better with less. The Lakers need minutes from a backup SG and starter/backup minutes from a PG. These 2 or 3 more guards will be the worst players on the Lakers team.

Caruso, Bradley, KCP seem like the best choices right now but none have shown to be reliable on both ends for a long enough time.

Who do people think will be the guard rotation?
What's the backup plan here?
Are there any players that could be trade targets?


Damn it's tough. They're quite deep and given that there isn't anyone that clearly are better than the rest of the guards (other than Green) i think they'll try to use the entire bench to see what they have.

I think they will try to split most minutes at the 2-guard spot between Green and KCP. Bradley will get minutes here as well as Green has to play a bit at the 3-spot at times or if guys get injured, which they will. Daniels might see some minutes as well.

Caruso, Bradley and Cook all are ok at the PG-position as long as Lebron is handling the ball on offense. The issues begin when he sits because none of those guys are reliable enough to run the offense. That's a problem because we might have use Rondo in these situations in lineups and it could make it tough to find minutes for guys like Cook and Daniels.

The rotation, i think will be
Bradley - Caruso - Rondo - Cook
Green - KCP - (Bradley) - Daniels - THT
____- ____ - (Green) - _____

To me a big issue is that we dont have a secondary creator other than Rondo. Would have loved for us to get Trey Burke or Jerian Grant who would have been a much better option than Cook and Rondo.

The Lakers will for sure hit the buy-out market where Iguodala would be perfect in the role of a secondary creator as well as defensive wing, which we also need. CP3 or Lowry would be fantastic too, but its doubtfull they get bought out.

Biggest problem is if Lebron goes down. A lot of reasons for this, but it's going to be tough to get the offense to work without him. I think we'd have to make a mid-season trade in case this happens.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#15 » by stan francisco » Mon Aug 5, 2019 6:16 pm

Caruso.
PG: D Lo / Reaves / Vincent(IL) / JHS
SG: Christie / Dinwiddie / Lewis / Mays
SF: LBJ / Prince / Reddish / Windler
PF: Rui / Vando(IL) / LBJ
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#16 » by zimpy27 » Mon Aug 5, 2019 7:41 pm

IAMRANDYMARSH wrote:
zimpy27 wrote:This is the weak point in the Laker team right now. The success of the Lakers is uncertain right now because of these positions.
When talking position I mean defensive. Who can be on the court and chase around an assigned opponent PG while being efficient on the offensive end.

Green is solid for 30 minutes maximum and probably better with less. The Lakers need minutes from a backup SG and starter/backup minutes from a PG. These 2 or 3 more guards will be the worst players on the Lakers team.

Caruso, Bradley, KCP seem like the best choices right now but none have shown to be reliable on both ends for a long enough time.

Who do people think will be the guard rotation?
What's the backup plan here?
Are there any players that could be trade targets?


Damn it's tough. They're quite deep and given that there isn't anyone that clearly are better than the rest of the guards (other than Green) i think they'll try to use the entire bench to see what they have.

I think they will try to split most minutes at the 2-guard spot between Green and KCP. Bradley will get minutes here as well as Green has to play a bit at the 3-spot at times or if guys get injured, which they will. Daniels might see some minutes as well.

Caruso, Bradley and Cook all are ok at the PG-position as long as Lebron is handling the ball on offense. The issues begin when he sits because none of those guys are reliable enough to run the offense. That's a problem because we might have use Rondo in these situations in lineups and it could make it tough to find minutes for guys like Cook and Daniels.

The rotation, i think will be
Bradley - Caruso - Rondo - Cook
Green - KCP - (Bradley) - Daniels - THT
____- ____ - (Green) - _____

To me a big issue is that we dont have a secondary creator other than Rondo. Would have loved for us to get Trey Burke or Jerian Grant who would have been a much better option than Cook and Rondo.

The Lakers will for sure hit the buy-out market where Iguodala would be perfect in the role of a secondary creator as well as defensive wing, which we also need. CP3 or Lowry would be fantastic too, but its doubtfull they get bought out.

Biggest problem is if Lebron goes down. A lot of reasons for this, but it's going to be tough to get the offense to work without him. I think we'd have to make a mid-season trade in case this happens.


Leaving out Rondo because I hope he doesn't play much, the Lakers only have one primary distributor in LeBron but they have Caruso, Bradley, AD, Cousins who can all make plays and handle the ball. Ideally without LeBron on the floor you have 3 of these guys on. Having Iggy just adds to this list and flexibility. GSW don't have a primary distributor, many teams don't have 2 primary distributors. It works better not to have that, you become less reliant on one guy. I'm going to be very interested by the offensive system that is built without LeBron on the floor.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#17 » by DanishLakerFan » Tue Aug 6, 2019 7:16 am

zimpy27 wrote:
IAMRANDYMARSH wrote:
zimpy27 wrote:This is the weak point in the Laker team right now. The success of the Lakers is uncertain right now because of these positions.
When talking position I mean defensive. Who can be on the court and chase around an assigned opponent PG while being efficient on the offensive end.

Green is solid for 30 minutes maximum and probably better with less. The Lakers need minutes from a backup SG and starter/backup minutes from a PG. These 2 or 3 more guards will be the worst players on the Lakers team.

Caruso, Bradley, KCP seem like the best choices right now but none have shown to be reliable on both ends for a long enough time.

Who do people think will be the guard rotation?
What's the backup plan here?
Are there any players that could be trade targets?


Damn it's tough. They're quite deep and given that there isn't anyone that clearly are better than the rest of the guards (other than Green) i think they'll try to use the entire bench to see what they have.

I think they will try to split most minutes at the 2-guard spot between Green and KCP. Bradley will get minutes here as well as Green has to play a bit at the 3-spot at times or if guys get injured, which they will. Daniels might see some minutes as well.

Caruso, Bradley and Cook all are ok at the PG-position as long as Lebron is handling the ball on offense. The issues begin when he sits because none of those guys are reliable enough to run the offense. That's a problem because we might have use Rondo in these situations in lineups and it could make it tough to find minutes for guys like Cook and Daniels.

The rotation, i think will be
Bradley - Caruso - Rondo - Cook
Green - KCP - (Bradley) - Daniels - THT
____- ____ - (Green) - _____

To me a big issue is that we dont have a secondary creator other than Rondo. Would have loved for us to get Trey Burke or Jerian Grant who would have been a much better option than Cook and Rondo.

The Lakers will for sure hit the buy-out market where Iguodala would be perfect in the role of a secondary creator as well as defensive wing, which we also need. CP3 or Lowry would be fantastic too, but its doubtfull they get bought out.

Biggest problem is if Lebron goes down. A lot of reasons for this, but it's going to be tough to get the offense to work without him. I think we'd have to make a mid-season trade in case this happens.


Leaving out Rondo because I hope he doesn't play much, the Lakers only have one primary distributor in LeBron but they have Caruso, Bradley, AD, Cousins who can all make plays and handle the ball. Ideally without LeBron on the floor you have 3 of these guys on. Having Iggy just adds to this list and flexibility. GSW don't have a primary distributor, many teams don't have 2 primary distributors. It works better not to have that, you become less reliant on one guy. I'm going to be very interested by the offensive system that is built without LeBron on the floor.


I agree to an extent. When Lebron sits we could roll with Caruso, Bradley, Dudley/Kuz, AD, Boogie and have solid passing all around and teams like that is tough to beat because the opposing defense cant focus on just one guy. Looking at what type of teams usually win titles i think it's clear that teams that depend too much on one point guard running the show rarely win.

At the same time i think its nice to be able to do simple stuff. Having a point guard that can reliably bring up the ball, initiate the offense and run simple pick and rolls competently will help in the win column.
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#18 » by stan francisco » Tue Aug 6, 2019 2:47 pm

Behind Caruso, Troy Daniels might beat out Bradley, Pope, Cook for minutes but it’ll come down to defense. All can score at a high clip on open looks (except Bradley), so defense will determine.
PG: D Lo / Reaves / Vincent(IL) / JHS
SG: Christie / Dinwiddie / Lewis / Mays
SF: LBJ / Prince / Reddish / Windler
PF: Rui / Vando(IL) / LBJ
CTR: AD / Hayes / Wood

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Re: The guard spots 

Post#19 » by iamworthy » Tue Aug 6, 2019 3:03 pm

Kilroy wrote:
zimpy27 wrote:
TyCobb wrote:Lebron. Guard spot needs specialists and thats what we have. I'm more worried about a big behind Davis, McGee, Kuzma, and Cousins. I need one more 4/5 that can shoot.

You think LeBron is going to chase around point guards and shooting guards?

I really doubt he would be able to for 36 mpg even if he wanted to.


LeBron/AB/Green... I'm almost certain that's going to be the starting perimeter.

AB and Green will handle defensive duties outside, AB will bring the ball up and pass to LeBron, find a spot and wait for an open 3...

And we have Dudley to play 3rd 4 behind Kuzma... And I'm sure Lesser Greek will get some backup minutes at the 4/5 too...

We're OK. But if we could get Iggy, that would be great.


No love for KCP?
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Re: The guard spots 

Post#20 » by Kilroy » Tue Aug 6, 2019 3:23 pm

iamworthy wrote:
Kilroy wrote:
zimpy27 wrote:You think LeBron is going to chase around point guards and shooting guards?

I really doubt he would be able to for 36 mpg even if he wanted to.


LeBron/AB/Green... I'm almost certain that's going to be the starting perimeter.

AB and Green will handle defensive duties outside, AB will bring the ball up and pass to LeBron, find a spot and wait for an open 3...

And we have Dudley to play 3rd 4 behind Kuzma... And I'm sure Lesser Greek will get some backup minutes at the 4/5 too...

We're OK. But if we could get Iggy, that would be great.


No love for KCP?


I think KCP is under-rated here, but I think AB is the logical starter at this point... IMO it's close though. KCP, AB, and Caruso are going to be in a dogfight for starting 1. I just think Avery Bradley has a leg up on the rest of them because his strengths will be maximized in our system, and his weaknesses hidden.
But I'd not be surprised if the season started with KCP starting... Or Daniels, or Cook either.
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