Why Should The NBA Be Scared of the Lakers

[Buzzard]

No one should be. LeBron and AD are a dynamic duo; but not any more dynamic than Kareem and Magic were. Now add in that this version does not have Worthy, Wilkes, Nixon, Scott, McAdoo, McGee, Cooper, Kupchak, or Rambis etc from that dynasty and my point should be well understood.

They will be in the fight but so will four to seven other teams in the league.

[lonzo_pelota]

Lakers are always the topic of discussion, every wonder why should be your real question
its because they reached Godfather status and everyone wants to knock off the top figurehead.
if your teams never been a factor you'd never understand, Lakers, Patriots, Warriors, Yankees and a couple of other teams i might of accidently on purpose might of failed to mention, cause this type of commotion ever year. its regular

[thebigbird]

Instead of lowering this thread's value by not contributing how about you prove me wrong? Don't just say, well "it's LeBron". That's lazy and not insightful at all. My argument is that Jrue Holiday's overall impact is greater currently, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Explain to me why, don't be a child about it.

People are missing my overall point with this thread and future ones. I'm trying to start rationale and good spirited debate. We've had an influx of people stating their opinions without any concrete answer or proof to back it up. When someone doesn't agree with them they've resorted to name calling like it's grade school. So once again, prove why I'm wrong.

The thread's value was immediately lowered by your initial post. Don't talk about wanting "rationale and good spirited debate" when your first post makes it incredibly clear that you're not actually looking for that. Jrue Holiday over LeBron James... Lmfao. That doesnt even warrant a response. You can troll better than that.

You're further proving my point by not even responding to my question. Prove it to me. I'm not trolling. I'm trying to bring actual debate into these forums. The last few months have been nothing but people yelling at people with no substance. Have substance. Have evidence. Simply saying something doesn't prove anything. You can't keep relying on the "well it's LeBron" argument. If that argument still held true the Lakers would have made the playoffs last year even when the team was battling injuries.

Last year LeBron had a better RPM, ORPM, DRPM, PER, TS%, WS/48, win shares, VORP, BPM, OBPM, DBPM. He averaged more points, rebounds, and assists.

If you're not trolling then that is even worse. If you want these threads to go better in the future then you should probably avoid nonsense like "I'd take Jrue Holiday over LeBron James". You can't expect people to take "I want serious discussion" seriously when you make a statement like that. It makes your purpose very transparent.

[Rockice_24]

Did I just read someone write they would prefer Jrue Holiday over Lebron James? Wowzers.

I actually read the post up to that part as well. I then obviously stopped reading

LAL will be a really tough out especially if they can weather the regular season storm with injuries already starting and LBJ needing to rest as he ages.

Once the playoffs roll around though if they are healthy they are as good as anyone I suspect. They do need shooters though but I'm assuming they add at least one during the season.

Lots of teams will need to just be healthy come playoff time though. LAC, PHI, BK etc all have their own health concerns for their stars and need to manage winning and health so it'll be fun to watch.

[blind prophet]

Lakers are always the topic of discussion, every wonder why should be your real question
its because they reached Godfather status and everyone wants to knock off the top figurehead.
if your teams never been a factor you'd never understand, Lakers, Patriots, Warriors, Yankees and a couple of other teams i might of accidently on purpose might of failed to mention, cause this type of commotion ever year. its regular

Delusions of grandiosity. Been awhile since the Lake show has been in "Godfather" status.

[Forte IV]

The thread's value was immediately lowered by your initial post. Don't talk about wanting "rationale and good spirited debate" when your first post makes it incredibly clear that you're not actually looking for that. Jrue Holiday over LeBron James... Lmfao. That doesnt even warrant a response. You can troll better than that.

You're further proving my point by not even responding to my question. Prove it to me. I'm not trolling. I'm trying to bring actual debate into these forums. The last few months have been nothing but people yelling at people with no substance. Have substance. Have evidence. Simply saying something doesn't prove anything. You can't keep relying on the "well it's LeBron" argument. If that argument still held true the Lakers would have made the playoffs last year even when the team was battling injuries.

Last year LeBron had a better RPM, ORPM, DRPM, PER, TS%, WS/48, win shares, VORP, BPM, OBPM, DBPM. He averaged more points, rebounds, and assists.

If you're not trolling then that is even worse. If you want these threads to go better in the future then you should probably avoid nonsense like "I'd take Jrue Holiday over LeBron James". You can't expect people to take "I want serious discussion" seriously when you make a statement like that. It makes your purpose very transparent.

Thank you. That's all I wanted. People need to understand the basic concept of debate. There are two sides, and someone has to take it. So I took it. Obviously LeBron is better than Jrue, but I had to come up with something to spark debate and take my side of the debate.

[ejftw]

On any given night, the Lakers fear me. During a 7-game series, that fear greatly dwindles.

Yes, they have LeBron, but he's another year older and we saw his playoff mode last season being very underwhelming. Roster was bolstered by Anthony Davis, but the depth is pretty much non-existent. After those two, you have Kyle Kuzma, who had a disappointing sophomore campaign after a promising rookie showing.

I mean, Kuzma was one of 31 players to attempt at least 6 threes a night, and of those 31? He made the least per outing. Not really a type of third option that scares you, unless he just catches fire during said game/series. Defensively, he's a sieve, so nothing to look at there.

Danny Green, if he continues his play, may be the Lakers third best player. At least, if he can maintain his shot from range, while playing solid D. Definitely the squads best floor spacer that isn't a huge negative elsewhere.

Dwight, if motivated and content with being a garbage guy, will be a problem.

Caruso should be the point guard, above Rondo, for sure.

That's about it. Quinn Cook can shoot, but do nothing else. Avery Bradley is just , THT is a rookie, and though, I wanted him in a Clips uni, is a year away from being a year away, McGee isn't someone that I'd think about. KCP is inconsistent.


I got the Lakers finishing 4th behind Utah, LAC and Denver as of this moment.

[lonzo_pelota]

Lakers are always the topic of discussion, every wonder why should be your real question
its because they reached Godfather status and everyone wants to knock off the top figurehead.
if your teams never been a factor you'd never understand, Lakers, Patriots, Warriors, Yankees and a couple of other teams i might of accidently on purpose might of failed to mention, cause this type of commotion ever year. its regular

Delusions of grandiosity. Been awhile since the Lake show has been in "Godfather" status.

Watch on YouTube

you still hurt over vids like this i know, your only hope is to embrace your new coach Luke like in the star wars movies
&
how do u pronounce your owners name again, & doesn't he still want to bring back the cherry picking baskets strategy? haha

[blind prophet]

Lakers are always the topic of discussion, every wonder why should be your real question
its because they reached Godfather status and everyone wants to knock off the top figurehead.
if your teams never been a factor you'd never understand, Lakers, Patriots, Warriors, Yankees and a couple of other teams i might of accidently on purpose might of failed to mention, cause this type of commotion ever year. its regular

Delusions of grandiosity. Been awhile since the Lake show has been in "Godfather" status.

Watch on YouTube

you still hurt over vids like this i know, your only hope is to embrace your new coach Luke like in the star wars movies
&
how do u pronounce your owners name again, & doesn't he still want to bring back the cherry picking baskets strategy? haha

You just had a year of Lebron and went nowhere, had your most iconic player in history walk away from the front office.

How bad does it have to get to simply understand you've been terrible for awhile now?

[TheDoors24]

If the Lakers are relatively healthy in the playoffs you got James and AD. lol. Who ain't scared of that duo!

[thebigbird]

On any given night, the Lakers fear me. During a 7-game series, that fear greatly dwindles.

Probably the opposite of how your fear should be, tbh. No one in the NBA is better in a 7 game series than LeBron James. "Playoff LeBron" didn't work last year because he was injured and the Lakers were a bottom 5 shooting team without a second star. Now he's healthy and has Anthony Davis and shooters surrounding him.

[lonzo_pelota]

Delusions of grandiosity. Been awhile since the Lake show has been in "Godfather" status.

Watch on YouTube

you still hurt over vids like this i know, your only hope is to embrace your new coach Luke like in the star wars movies
&
how do u pronounce your owners name again, & doesn't he still want to bring back the cherry picking baskets strategy? haha

You just had a year of Lebron and went nowhere, had your most iconic player in history walk away from the front office.

How bad does it have to get to simply understand you've been terrible for awhile now?

we are the topic of discussion your team is the topic of diarrhea , mediocre since before and after doug christie days
you'd give your right lung for lebron to give your team a meeting. you brought him up because he's a top 5 player all time
your teams top five players probably has corliss williamson and white chocolate in it , luke walton even has rings by being a laker bench warmer , tell your franchise to step their game up, and who's kings jersey do u own now past or present, be honest lmao

[ejftw]

On any given night, the Lakers fear me. During a 7-game series, that fear greatly dwindles.

Probably the opposite of how your fear should be, tbh. No one in the NBA is better in a 7 game series than LeBron James. "Playoff LeBron" didn't work last year because he was injured and the Lakers were a bottom 5 shooting team without a second star. Now he's healthy and has Anthony Davis and shooters surrounding him.

Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels and Danny Green aren't a trio of shooters that scare me. Namely when odds are that the first two won't get much playing time. Caldwell-Pope is wildly inconsistent, and, again, probably won't get much burn with the closing five as Bron & Davis will most likely be joined by Green, Kuzma and Bradley (assuming Davis bites the bullet and plays the five). If Kuzma returns to rookie form, then, that may change things, but he was quite meh last year.

Also, while I think Vogel is a good defensive mind, I don't trust him to make the proper adjustments during a series, nor do I trust in his ability to reign in Bron's ego. He also isn't the type of coach that will sit back and let Bron dictate everything.

[SwatLakeCity527]

I think the Lakers will be a team that can compete vs. any team. I don't know if they have what it takes to win the chip, but they definitely are a contender.

Like many other teams, I would argue that injuries will decide their fate. I also would fear what AD will do now that is he is playing for a team he wants to play for. If he is bringing high motivation to every game, watch out.

[clyde21]

lol what kind of jinx/reverse psychology thread is this?

[dakomish23]

Can’t wait for AD to destroy all doubt.

[TheGOATWill]

Let’s talk about Kyle Kuzma. Arguably the streakiest player in the league. As such people are either hot or cold on him. Usually cold. I don’t get it. As far as 3rd options go he’s what you want. Decent bag offensively. You can put him down for 15 a night. Can get you 40 if he’s got it going. Serviceable on defense. Going into his 3rd year when historically the light goes on for scorers (see Kobe, see McGrady, see Pierce...etc). Luke’s equal opportunity offense didn’t suit him. He was trying to be golden state without their other worldly shooters. The Lakers don’t need Kuzma to be KD. They need him to be Eric Gordon. If he can do that, the Lakers should absolutely be feared.

[thebigbird]

On any given night, the Lakers fear me. During a 7-game series, that fear greatly dwindles.

Probably the opposite of how your fear should be, tbh. No one in the NBA is better in a 7 game series than LeBron James. "Playoff LeBron" didn't work last year because he was injured and the Lakers were a bottom 5 shooting team without a second star. Now he's healthy and has Anthony Davis and shooters surrounding him.

Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels and Danny Green aren't a trio of shooters that scare me. Namely when odds are that the first two won't get much playing time. Caldwell-Pope is wildly inconsistent, and, again, probably won't get much burn with the closing five as Bron & Davis will most likely be joined by Green, Kuzma and Bradley (assuming Davis bites the bullet and plays the five). If Kuzma returns to rookie form, then, that may change things, but he was quite meh last year.

Also, while I think Vogel is a good defensive mind, I don't trust him to make the proper adjustments during a series, nor do I trust in his ability to reign in Bron's ego. He also isn't the type of coach that will sit back and let Bron dictate everything.

Bron and AD are two top 5 players who fit perfectly together. You don't need other studs next to them. You just need guys who can defend and knock down shots. They have those guys. Kuzma can be the third scorer when needed. Danny Green shot 46% from 3 last year and he's going to get so many open looks with defenses focusing on Bron/AD.

[ejftw]

Probably the opposite of how your fear should be, tbh. No one in the NBA is better in a 7 game series than LeBron James. "Playoff LeBron" didn't work last year because he was injured and the Lakers were a bottom 5 shooting team without a second star. Now he's healthy and has Anthony Davis and shooters surrounding him.

Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels and Danny Green aren't a trio of shooters that scare me. Namely when odds are that the first two won't get much playing time. Caldwell-Pope is wildly inconsistent, and, again, probably won't get much burn with the closing five as Bron & Davis will most likely be joined by Green, Kuzma and Bradley (assuming Davis bites the bullet and plays the five). If Kuzma returns to rookie form, then, that may change things, but he was quite meh last year.

Also, while I think Vogel is a good defensive mind, I don't trust him to make the proper adjustments during a series, nor do I trust in his ability to reign in Bron's ego. He also isn't the type of coach that will sit back and let Bron dictate everything.

Bron and AD are two top 5 players who fit perfectly together. You don't need other studs next to them. You just need guys who can defend and knock down shots. They have those guys. Kuzma can be the third scorer when needed. Danny Green shot 46% from 3 last year and he's going to get so many open looks with defenses focusing on Bron/AD.

Who said anything about studs? I'm talking about a trio of shooters that just aren't....scary. Two of the three provide little else, and aren't even serviceable on the other end ala a JJ Redick. Green is the only guy they have that brings fear from range while being, at least, average (he's solid) on the other end. Bradley isn't going to scare anyone.

Kuzma also isn't a type of guy that can do that "when needed." He's wildly inconsistent, and is coming off a year where he was putrid from range considering how often he put up shots (31/31 for players who attempted at least 6 threes). His rookie campaign showed that he can be that guy, however, his sophomore took a step back. But, like TheGOATWill said, Lakers need him to be Eric Gordon, which means, he'll have the green light and will put up pretty raw numbers.

[Jiminy Glick]

They have a lot of players that have made defensive teams like the 2019 Raptors. Kuzma gives similar scoring production to Pippen. LeBron and Davis can give similar offensive production to Jordan. If this team is healthy then I have them as favorites over the Clippers to win the championship.