The Lebron '20 Thread (Pt. 5)

[IG2]

His decision making has been really poor in this qtr.

[MisterHibachi]

Holy **** AD. 7 footer isoing at the top with a step back and 1 three. Not normal.

[dcstanley]

AD is going to be a problem in the playoffs. Can’t wait.

[MisterHibachi]

Good argument that AD is the best player on the team at this point. With that jumper improvement, there really is no guarding him.

[GSP]

Good argument that AD is the best player on the team at this point. With that jumper improvement, there really is no guarding him.

Eh the gap on passing/playmaking is the size of the grand canyon and im not sure Davis is even the better defender TBH. Theres really no super defensive anchor on this team. Alot of players hold their weight and the versatility on the perimeter and interior

Ad is def the best scorer on the team tho

[MisterHibachi]

Good argument that AD is the best player on the team at this point. With that jumper improvement, there really is no guarding him.

Eh the gap on passing/playmaking is the size of the grand canyon and im not sure Davis is even the better defender TBH. Theres really no super defensive anchor on this team. Alot of players hold their weight and the versatility on the perimeter and interior

Ad is def the best scorer on the team tho

Cmon there's no argument on the defensive end.

[RCM88x]

I mean if LeBron keeps playing at 70% like he has been AD is better but I don't think that'll happen. Definitely feels like the offensive strategy is to get AD going more than usual, my bet is that'll continue until rest/first round comes around.

[nzahir]

I agree.

All season while I was team Avery (fan club of one), I kept stressing the importance of what he provides (particularly in a playoff series).

Many did not see it, they though he was irrelevant and preferred that KCP or Caruso replace him in the lineup.

You can see his value now.

I can see his value even more now b/c nobody can hit a shot, at least Avery plays good tough playoff defense

Also just good to have more bodies for when guys go cold. Green has been a **** **** show, can't wait till he gets shopped

Danny Green is one of the best 3 and D guys in the league, yeah he’s cold now, and has been below his typical percentage from 3, but he’s still a respected deep threat, and you gotta think the law of averages will play itself out eventually. All in all, Danny Green is one of the first people that come to mind when I think about who fits next to LeBron best.

Early Spurs DG or contract year DG sure, idk who this guy is right now

His iso defense isn't great vs quicker guys anymore, gets burned. Still a good team defender and a positive guy ofc, but he needs to hit shots.

If we can't make the finals or get outclassed, I can see him being shopped. He has value still and his salary

[Joey Wheeler]

I mean AD is the kind of center they specifically dont wanna go against lol, he might not have his usual rim protecting defensive impact but the idea is they play off centers and make teams play in a way that makes them uncomfortable, whereas all they do is force LA to put in their best lineup (AD at the 5) while stull having a huge rebound disadvantage over a series

Also, closing out on threes and defensive mobility is one of davis's strengths, not one of his weaknesses, unlike other bigs. If davis can play aggressive on the boards I doubt the rockets are a big threat

That's the thing though, there seems to be no formula to defend the Rockets. AD will have to be everywhere at the same time; if you pack the pain, you leave their shooters open; if you don't pack the paint Harden and especially Westbrook will destroy you.

For the record, I believe Davis is a clearly superior defensive and overall player to Giannis, but last night how even a very strong Bucks defense led by Giannis couldn't really stop the Rockets from generating quality 3-point looks at will. I don't necessarily expect AD to be much more successful. I think the main issue for the Lakers is they don't really have anyone who can contain Westbrook, his first step and explosion are too much and once you let him gain a head of steam you're in big trouble. Harden in isolation will of course also very extremely hard to contain. And those are the two main sources of all the quality 3s the Rockets get.

On the flip side, Lebron and AD will feast on the Rockets' lack of rim protection for sure, but I think the Lakers risk running into a math problem where they're scoring 2s and the Rockets are scoring 3s. Neither Lebron or AD are great 3-point shooters and the roster in general isn't really built to withstand the kind of 3-point barrage the Rockets have the potential to put on them on a great night.

I get what ur saying, but the thing about the rockets is that theres a direct tradeoff for having pretty much 0 rim protection, and it goes beyond 2s vs 3s

Threes are more volatile that twos over a series, you can shoot anywhere from 20-50% in a game. The rockets themselves average 35% from three since the capela trade which isnt anything special, its more they take so much. 2s otoh are much more reliable

They sacrifice rim protection, beyind just size they literally dont have rim protection, and More importantly rebounding, and they try to work around this by playing centers off the court but they cant do that to AD

The bucks win is impressive but the bucks were hardly great, and None of them played above 34 minutes (harden played 34 minutes but the other guys played their usual minutes), the bucks were off from three, and the rockets hit 27/31 fts and only had 9 turnovers to the bucks 22.

Lopez is a great defender but he cant guard the perimeter, unlike AD. They beat us in the boards last time but that was prolly a freak game since they somehow were getting everything. Our advantage on the glass and the fact that AD can stay on the floor as a 5 and still provide that rebounding advantage is huge (lopez is great but he cant guard perimeters like AD, but he was still effective it seems)

We cant play dwight or javale i agree

The rockets obv can win through going nuclear but they havent in like 4 years, and as much as it was against the warriors, their defense is what stepped up in the playoffs, their offense kinda regressed.

Its not as if theyve been unbeatable anyway, theyre 13-6, off rtg vs def rtg if 115 to 113 ish. Theyve had good wins, but some bad losses too

I think we're mostly agreeing actually. I'm not saying the Rockets would be favorites or even have a great chance to beat the Lakers. I'm just saying they have a better chance than the rest of the league because if they get hot the Lakers have no real way to clamp down on them. And the thing that makes me feel like the threat is very real is the Rockets aren't actually just mindlessly jacking up 3s, they're generating excellent looks. Westbrook driving and dishing almost always generates a great look from 3.

That said, as you said they aren't unbeatable, I could just as easily see them go ice cold and flame out in the 1st round. When your winning formula hinges on role players making shots, you're quite vulnerable. Teams will probably look to pack the paint against Westbrook and Harden and dare the other guys to beat them. If they can hit them at ~45% in a game, they'll be impossible to beat; and if teams leave the paint to defend the 3-point line Harden and Westbrook will kill them.

One thing I agree with is the Rockets can't really play AD off the court. However, imo in general AD is the best defensive player in the league and against the Rockets I don't think he can have that kind of impact. As good as he is, dealing with Westbrook driving with a full head of steam or Harden isoing at the 3-point line play after play is a huge ask. The fact that he can stay on the floor is indeed a huge advantage for the Lakers in this matchup as it guarantees they'll have a decisive rebounding advantage. The Clippers for instance won't be able to keep their bigs on the floor if they play Houston, not to mention they'll have a hard time keeping up with Houston's offense even if they are not shooting 3s at a high rate. I'd pick Houston in that series for sure.

Houston vs Lakers, I think the Lakers are the superior team and should win the series, but if the Rockets' 3s fall at a ~40% rate they might simply run into a mathematical problem as the Lakers just aren't a very good 3-point shooting team. While this is not likely, it is possible as the Rockets do generate consistently great looks and have guys who can potentially get very hot.

[MyUniBroDavis]

That's the thing though, there seems to be no formula to defend the Rockets. AD will have to be everywhere at the same time; if you pack the pain, you leave their shooters open; if you don't pack the paint Harden and especially Westbrook will destroy you.

For the record, I believe Davis is a clearly superior defensive and overall player to Giannis, but last night how even a very strong Bucks defense led by Giannis couldn't really stop the Rockets from generating quality 3-point looks at will. I don't necessarily expect AD to be much more successful. I think the main issue for the Lakers is they don't really have anyone who can contain Westbrook, his first step and explosion are too much and once you let him gain a head of steam you're in big trouble. Harden in isolation will of course also very extremely hard to contain. And those are the two main sources of all the quality 3s the Rockets get.

On the flip side, Lebron and AD will feast on the Rockets' lack of rim protection for sure, but I think the Lakers risk running into a math problem where they're scoring 2s and the Rockets are scoring 3s. Neither Lebron or AD are great 3-point shooters and the roster in general isn't really built to withstand the kind of 3-point barrage the Rockets have the potential to put on them on a great night.

I get what ur saying, but the thing about the rockets is that theres a direct tradeoff for having pretty much 0 rim protection, and it goes beyond 2s vs 3s

Threes are more volatile that twos over a series, you can shoot anywhere from 20-50% in a game. The rockets themselves average 35% from three since the capela trade which isnt anything special, its more they take so much. 2s otoh are much more reliable

They sacrifice rim protection, beyind just size they literally dont have rim protection, and More importantly rebounding, and they try to work around this by playing centers off the court but they cant do that to AD

The bucks win is impressive but the bucks were hardly great, and None of them played above 34 minutes (harden played 34 minutes but the other guys played their usual minutes), the bucks were off from three, and the rockets hit 27/31 fts and only had 9 turnovers to the bucks 22.

Lopez is a great defender but he cant guard the perimeter, unlike AD. They beat us in the boards last time but that was prolly a freak game since they somehow were getting everything. Our advantage on the glass and the fact that AD can stay on the floor as a 5 and still provide that rebounding advantage is huge (lopez is great but he cant guard perimeters like AD, but he was still effective it seems)

We cant play dwight or javale i agree

The rockets obv can win through going nuclear but they havent in like 4 years, and as much as it was against the warriors, their defense is what stepped up in the playoffs, their offense kinda regressed.

Its not as if theyve been unbeatable anyway, theyre 13-6, off rtg vs def rtg if 115 to 113 ish. Theyve had good wins, but some bad losses too

I think we're mostly agreeing actually. I'm not saying the Rockets would be favorites or even have a great chance to beat the Lakers. I'm just saying they have a better chance than the rest of the league because if they get hot the Lakers have no real way to clamp down on them. And the thing that makes me feel like the threat is very real is the Rockets aren't actually just mindlessly jacking up 3s, they're generating excellent looks. Westbrook driving and dishing almost always generates a great look from 3.

That said, as you said they aren't unbeatable, I could just as easily see them go ice cold and flame out in the 1st round. When your winning formula hinges on role players making shots, you're quite vulnerable. Teams will probably look to pack the paint against Westbrook and Harden and dare the other guys to beat them. If they can hit them at ~45% in a game, they'll be impossible to beat; and if teams leave the paint to defend the 3-point line Harden and Westbrook will kill them.

One thing I agree with is the Rockets can't really play AD off the court. However, imo in general AD is the best defensive player in the league and against the Rockets I don't think he can have that kind of impact. As good as he is, dealing with Westbrook driving with a full head of steam or Harden isoing at the 3-point line play after play is a huge ask. The fact that he can stay on the floor is indeed a huge advantage for the Lakers in this matchup as it guarantees they'll have a decisive rebounding advantage. The Clippers for instance won't be able to keep their bigs on the floor if they play Houston, not to mention they'll have a hard time keeping up with Houston's offense even if they are not shooting 3s at a high rate. I'd pick Houston in that series for sure.

Houston vs Lakers, I think the Lakers are the superior team and should win the series, but if the Rockets' 3s fall at a ~40% rate they might simply run into a mathematical problem as the Lakers just aren't a very good 3-point shooting team. While this is not likely, it is possible as the Rockets do generate consistently great looks and have guys who can potentially get very hot.

Oh yeah i agree with that for the most part i just misread (altho i think clippers smoke the rockets personally)

Im not too worried about the rockets killing us from three, it could happen but any team could do it to us thatvare reasonabky good, the rockets are a high volume three point shooting team but i feel that actually makes it more likely they wont have only ridiculous explosions over a 7 game series (if you flip a coun 6 times, youd see 5 heads and 1 tails more than if you flip it 60 times and see 50 heads and 1 tails i guess, if that makes sense).

They havent had more 40%+ 3pt games than youd expect a team shooting their percentage from three to have over the oast 20 (lakers have 3, bucks have 4, rockets have 5, both the lakers and the bucks are shooting 33% vs rhe rockets shooting 35% so its about as expected)

I get that IF they do go off then anyone that plays them is screwed, but i do think the lakers can contest threes better than other teams they face. AD is one of the best bigs, or maybe players period at closing out (he fouls sometimes though but in terms of affecting the shot he gucci) which eliminates the confusion they usually create putting bigs in uncomfortable position.

I agree the rockets are a threat but i feel its

Bucks - Clippers
(Gap)
Rockets
Etc

You know what i mean?

[Joey Wheeler]

I get what ur saying, but the thing about the rockets is that theres a direct tradeoff for having pretty much 0 rim protection, and it goes beyond 2s vs 3s

Threes are more volatile that twos over a series, you can shoot anywhere from 20-50% in a game. The rockets themselves average 35% from three since the capela trade which isnt anything special, its more they take so much. 2s otoh are much more reliable

They sacrifice rim protection, beyind just size they literally dont have rim protection, and More importantly rebounding, and they try to work around this by playing centers off the court but they cant do that to AD

The bucks win is impressive but the bucks were hardly great, and None of them played above 34 minutes (harden played 34 minutes but the other guys played their usual minutes), the bucks were off from three, and the rockets hit 27/31 fts and only had 9 turnovers to the bucks 22.

Lopez is a great defender but he cant guard the perimeter, unlike AD. They beat us in the boards last time but that was prolly a freak game since they somehow were getting everything. Our advantage on the glass and the fact that AD can stay on the floor as a 5 and still provide that rebounding advantage is huge (lopez is great but he cant guard perimeters like AD, but he was still effective it seems)

We cant play dwight or javale i agree

The rockets obv can win through going nuclear but they havent in like 4 years, and as much as it was against the warriors, their defense is what stepped up in the playoffs, their offense kinda regressed.

Its not as if theyve been unbeatable anyway, theyre 13-6, off rtg vs def rtg if 115 to 113 ish. Theyve had good wins, but some bad losses too

I think we're mostly agreeing actually. I'm not saying the Rockets would be favorites or even have a great chance to beat the Lakers. I'm just saying they have a better chance than the rest of the league because if they get hot the Lakers have no real way to clamp down on them. And the thing that makes me feel like the threat is very real is the Rockets aren't actually just mindlessly jacking up 3s, they're generating excellent looks. Westbrook driving and dishing almost always generates a great look from 3.

That said, as you said they aren't unbeatable, I could just as easily see them go ice cold and flame out in the 1st round. When your winning formula hinges on role players making shots, you're quite vulnerable. Teams will probably look to pack the paint against Westbrook and Harden and dare the other guys to beat them. If they can hit them at ~45% in a game, they'll be impossible to beat; and if teams leave the paint to defend the 3-point line Harden and Westbrook will kill them.

One thing I agree with is the Rockets can't really play AD off the court. However, imo in general AD is the best defensive player in the league and against the Rockets I don't think he can have that kind of impact. As good as he is, dealing with Westbrook driving with a full head of steam or Harden isoing at the 3-point line play after play is a huge ask. The fact that he can stay on the floor is indeed a huge advantage for the Lakers in this matchup as it guarantees they'll have a decisive rebounding advantage. The Clippers for instance won't be able to keep their bigs on the floor if they play Houston, not to mention they'll have a hard time keeping up with Houston's offense even if they are not shooting 3s at a high rate. I'd pick Houston in that series for sure.

Houston vs Lakers, I think the Lakers are the superior team and should win the series, but if the Rockets' 3s fall at a ~40% rate they might simply run into a mathematical problem as the Lakers just aren't a very good 3-point shooting team. While this is not likely, it is possible as the Rockets do generate consistently great looks and have guys who can potentially get very hot.

Oh yeah i agree with that for the most part i just misread (altho i think clippers smoke the rockets personally)

Im not too worried about the rockets killing us from three, it could happen but any team could do it to us thatvare reasonabky good, the rockets are a high volume three point shooting team but i feel that actually makes it more likely they wont have only ridiculous explosions over a 7 game series (if you flip a coun 6 times, youd see 5 heads and 1 tails more than if you flip it 60 times and see 50 heads and 1 tails i guess, if that makes sense).

They havent had more 40%+ 3pt games than youd expect a team shooting their percentage from three to have over the oast 20 (lakers have 3, bucks have 4, rockets have 5, both the lakers and the bucks are shooting 33% vs rhe rockets shooting 35% so its about as expected)

I get that IF they do go off then anyone that plays them is screwed, but i do think the lakers can contest threes better than other teams they face. AD is one of the best bigs, or maybe players period at closing out (he fouls sometimes though but in terms of affecting the shot he gucci) which eliminates the confusion they usually create putting bigs in uncomfortable position.

I agree the rockets are a threat but i feel its

Bucks - Clippers
(Gap)
Rockets
Etc

You know what i mean?

I understand. I should preface this by saying I don't see the Rockets as a big threat, it's just that I don't see Clippers or Bucks as a threat at all. I have the Lakers winning the title with relative ease bar a Lebron/AD injury.

The Clippers just aren't a dynamic enough team; Kawhi and George are strong isolation scorers, but not the kind of guys who break down defenses and generate easy offense for everyone. They're also guys Lebron and AD can clamp down on in key moments (which they can't do to Westbrook and Harden). Things don't come easy for the Clippers on offense and they don't have rim protection against Lebron and AD. The Clippers have a lot of talent, but they lack an anchor on both ends: their top 2 have great individual offensive talent, but it's the kind of talent that manifest itself mostly in individual scoring, not the kind of talent that opens things up for everyone (like Lebron). Defensively again they have lots of good defenders but no one really manning the interior.

As for the Bucks, they're regular season fool's gold imo. Their entire offense is centered around Giannis, who can't score outside the paint, is a below average free throw shooter, is turnover prone under pressure... I'm not seeing any danger here. This series would be amazing for Lebron's legacy if anything as he'd comprehensively outplay Giannis for sure, which shouldn't be a big deal as Lebron is still clearly the better player of the two but it'd be made into a big deal because Giannis will be the 2-time MVP.

Other East teams: Toronto and Boston are good, but have no superstar, so they won't be challenging. I think like last year Sixers can be very dangerous in the playoffs. Not to the point where they can beat Lebron/AD however.

[MyUniBroDavis]

I think we're mostly agreeing actually. I'm not saying the Rockets would be favorites or even have a great chance to beat the Lakers. I'm just saying they have a better chance than the rest of the league because if they get hot the Lakers have no real way to clamp down on them. And the thing that makes me feel like the threat is very real is the Rockets aren't actually just mindlessly jacking up 3s, they're generating excellent looks. Westbrook driving and dishing almost always generates a great look from 3.

That said, as you said they aren't unbeatable, I could just as easily see them go ice cold and flame out in the 1st round. When your winning formula hinges on role players making shots, you're quite vulnerable. Teams will probably look to pack the paint against Westbrook and Harden and dare the other guys to beat them. If they can hit them at ~45% in a game, they'll be impossible to beat; and if teams leave the paint to defend the 3-point line Harden and Westbrook will kill them.

One thing I agree with is the Rockets can't really play AD off the court. However, imo in general AD is the best defensive player in the league and against the Rockets I don't think he can have that kind of impact. As good as he is, dealing with Westbrook driving with a full head of steam or Harden isoing at the 3-point line play after play is a huge ask. The fact that he can stay on the floor is indeed a huge advantage for the Lakers in this matchup as it guarantees they'll have a decisive rebounding advantage. The Clippers for instance won't be able to keep their bigs on the floor if they play Houston, not to mention they'll have a hard time keeping up with Houston's offense even if they are not shooting 3s at a high rate. I'd pick Houston in that series for sure.

Houston vs Lakers, I think the Lakers are the superior team and should win the series, but if the Rockets' 3s fall at a ~40% rate they might simply run into a mathematical problem as the Lakers just aren't a very good 3-point shooting team. While this is not likely, it is possible as the Rockets do generate consistently great looks and have guys who can potentially get very hot.

Oh yeah i agree with that for the most part i just misread (altho i think clippers smoke the rockets personally)

Im not too worried about the rockets killing us from three, it could happen but any team could do it to us thatvare reasonabky good, the rockets are a high volume three point shooting team but i feel that actually makes it more likely they wont have only ridiculous explosions over a 7 game series (if you flip a coun 6 times, youd see 5 heads and 1 tails more than if you flip it 60 times and see 50 heads and 1 tails i guess, if that makes sense).

They havent had more 40%+ 3pt games than youd expect a team shooting their percentage from three to have over the oast 20 (lakers have 3, bucks have 4, rockets have 5, both the lakers and the bucks are shooting 33% vs rhe rockets shooting 35% so its about as expected)

I get that IF they do go off then anyone that plays them is screwed, but i do think the lakers can contest threes better than other teams they face. AD is one of the best bigs, or maybe players period at closing out (he fouls sometimes though but in terms of affecting the shot he gucci) which eliminates the confusion they usually create putting bigs in uncomfortable position.

I agree the rockets are a threat but i feel its

Bucks - Clippers
(Gap)
Rockets
Etc

You know what i mean?

I understand. I should preface this by saying I don't see the Rockets as a big threat, it's just that I don't see Clippers or Bucks as a threat at all. I have the Lakers winning the title with relative ease bar a Lebron/AD injury.

The Clippers just aren't a dynamic enough team; Kawhi and George are strong isolation scorers, but not the kind of guys who break down defenses and generate easy offense for everyone. They're also guys Lebron and AD can clamp down on in key moments (which they can't do to Westbrook and Harden). Things don't come easy for the Clippers on offense and they don't have rim protection against Lebron and AD. The Clippers have a lot of talent, but they lack an anchor on both ends: their top 2 have great individual offensive talent, but it's the kind of talent that manifest itself mostly in individual scoring, not the kind of talent that opens things up for everyone (like Lebron). Defensively again they have lots of good defenders but no one really manning the interior.

As for the Bucks, they're regular season fool's gold imo. Their entire offense is centered around Giannis, who can't score outside the paint, is a below average free throw shooter, is turnover prone under pressure... I'm not seeing any danger here. This series would be amazing for Lebron's legacy if anything as he'd comprehensively outplay Giannis for sure, which shouldn't be a big deal as Lebron is still clearly the better player of the two but it'd be made into a big deal because Giannis will be the 2-time MVP.

Other East teams: Toronto and Boston are good, but have no superstar, so they won't be challenging. I think like last year Sixers can be very dangerous in the playoffs. Not to the point where they can beat Lebron/AD however.

I agree the clippers interior D isnt the greatest but their wing defense is so good that its hard to penetrate in general against them, and zubac while not a gobert or a davis is solid (at least in LAL he was better than mcgee defensively by far), and Kawhi steps up his game in the playoffs nearly as much as bronny.

I kinda get not believing in the bucks but I feel the same would apply for the rockets, their best star relies on calls he just doesnt get in the playoffs to an extent, and westbrook is great but hes not exactly in that tier

I def dont think lebrons still clearly better till playoff lebron hits (where I think/hope he will be) but Giannis's 2 way ability is kind of absurd, I dont think theres a clear better defender talent wise between him and AD, and his impact on his team on D is probably higher. the bucks defense in general though is stupid scary. I feel the rockets offense seems way more fools gold than the bucks tbh, it kind has been for the past 4 years, and I dont think their current strat is particularly good in the more physical playoff environment, esp against teams that mitigate the weaknesses they create

[MisterHibachi]

Career high TS% for AD this season at 61.4%.

Shooting 41.1% from 3 on 3.5 attempts since Jan 1. 42% on 4.6 attempts since the all star break.

[KTM_2813]

I mean if LeBron keeps playing at 70% like he has been AD is better but I don't think that'll happen. Definitely feels like the offensive strategy is to get AD going more than usual, my bet is that'll continue until rest/first round comes around.

I'm very interested to see how LeBron looks after the first round. I believe that will mark four weeks since the reopen date. If he is up to 80 or 85% of where he was in March, then the Lakers will be a clear-cut title contender, which I completely expect. But if he's still at 70% for some reason, then Los Angeles may be in trouble. Like I said, I expect LeBron to ramp up (because he always does), but you know what they say about Father Time.

[PistolPeteJR]

It doesn't matter if you're used to it or not. With 4 shooters on the floor, there's absolutely no stopping the ferocity of Westbrook's drives and he's one of the best players ever at finding shooters after driving into the paint. This is a sure fire formula for the Rockets to get consistently great looks from 3.

Then you have Harden half court ISOs, they're deadly, they put players in foul trouble and just like with Westbrook if you overcommit to stopping him he has the ability to find open shooters at will. There's no stopping the Rockets from getting consistent strong looks from 3; if their role guys are making them at a high rate, they'll be a massive problem for anyone.

While they can't indeed play AD off the court, they can seriously mitigate his defensive impact. I can see AD getting into serious foul trouble in some games of that series; a lot of the time he'll be protecting the rim alone against Westbrook running at him with a full head of steam or switched on to Harden at the 3-point line

I mean AD is the kind of center they specifically dont wanna go against lol, he might not have his usual rim protecting defensive impact but the idea is they play off centers and make teams play in a way that makes them uncomfortable, whereas all they do is force LA to put in their best lineup (AD at the 5) while stull having a huge rebound disadvantage over a series

Also, closing out on threes and defensive mobility is one of davis's strengths, not one of his weaknesses, unlike other bigs. If davis can play aggressive on the boards I doubt the rockets are a big threat

That's the thing though, there seems to be no formula to defend the Rockets. AD will have to be everywhere at the same time; if you pack the pain, you leave their shooters open; if you don't pack the paint Harden and especially Westbrook will destroy you.

For the record, I believe Davis is a clearly superior defensive and overall player to Giannis, but last night how even a very strong Bucks defense led by Giannis couldn't really stop the Rockets from generating quality 3-point looks at will. I don't necessarily expect AD to be much more successful. I think the main issue for the Lakers is they don't really have anyone who can contain Westbrook, his first step and explosion are too much and once you let him gain a head of steam you're in big trouble. Harden in isolation will of course also very extremely hard to contain. And those are the two main sources of all the quality 3s the Rockets get.

On the flip side, Lebron and AD will feast on the Rockets' lack of rim protection for sure, but I think the Lakers risk running into a math problem where they're scoring 2s and the Rockets are scoring 3s. Neither Lebron or AD are great 3-point shooters and the roster in general isn't really built to withstand the kind of 3-point barrage the Rockets have the potential to put on them on a great night.

I don't think this is as much of a problem as people think UNLESS the Rockets catch fire from deep for a few games. If they simply shoot their average of circa 34%, the recipe will simply be for the Lakers to dominate inside and play them physically to tire them out, and draw fouls a ton too to throw the Rockets off of their rhythm all the more. They'll have to live with the 3s they give up, but they should prioritize protecting the paint a la Bucks in my opinion, and on the other end, really go at them from a physical standpoint inside. Eventually, math says that more 2s eventually > less 3s.

[PistolPeteJR]

Why doesn't Lebron just post more often?

I think they're saving the LeBron postups both for allowing the team to get used to playing together and have more diversity in their offense, as well as saving it for the postseason rather than giving teams time to figure out how to deal with it better. They gave us a sneak peek of it that last weekend in March vs the Bucks and Clips.

[thebigbird]

Dion has been an absolute godsend. The non-lebron minutes are no longer atrocious. The team can go on runs with LeBron on the bench. Defenses collapse on Dion because he can actually score. Just watch this video, for example. If he continues to play like this and keep his mind right, the Lakers got an absolute steal.

Read on Twitter

?s=21

[PistolPeteJR]

Watch on YouTube

Some really good and insightful stuff here, some more obvious than not.

[MisterHibachi]

Lakers one game in the loss column behind the Bucks, not that it matters anymore.

[Heej]

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It's interesting how LeBron basically just lives with forcing Kawhi left. I just wanna preface this by saying I really ain't **** at basketball, but my whole life on most teams I've played whether it be in HS, rec leagues, or pickup I've tried to guard the main ballhandler for the other team.

And I've had this theory for the longest time that I live by, which is that there's two archetypes of scorers. Pull up jumper scorers and stepback scorers (provided that you're playing back to take the drive away). What I've always found is that guys who invest in the pullup skill tree (to use a video game analogy) are most comfortable driving to their shooting hand and pulling up a la Kawhi, while the stepbackers like to get to their "weak" hand and stepback for a 3 like say a LeBron; and when you send them the way they haven't invested as much time into you basically can always dictate that they take the lowest percentage shot in their arsenal.

Of course these are NBA players so there's only so much of a drop-off in either direction for these guys, and some guys are like James Harden or Michael Jordan who are literal walking basketball Gods that dominate with their shot type in either direction, but it's interesting to me that the archetypes continue to persist even into the highest levels. Cuz if I have to guard a scorer that I identify as a right hand dominant pull up archetype the only strategy I'm likely gonna employ all game is to bait a stepback going left which is what Bron basically seemed to do in every matchup