The Lebron '20 Thread (Pt. 5)

[GSP]

These hot takes about the Blazers and the SUNS upsetting the Lakers really need to stop. It's over 50% chance it'll be a sweep regardless of the opponent. You guys remember AD singlehandedly swept a similar Blazers squad two years ago with a terrible Pelicans team, right? Now with Lebron he's going to get eliminated?

Lets not pretend Jrue, Rondo and Niko were scrubs. Moore was good for them as well. Jrue was just as critical as Davis was for that series BTW. @ singlehandedly did u now watch the series? And Rondo always steps his game in the playoffs and was huge as well. Theres a reason Davis wanted him on the Lakers. Dame, Cj and Nurk were the only players on that team still on this one and all are much better players now. I think Nurk was injured that series too

Davis in that series: 33p/12r/3 blocks, 2 steals, 65% TS. Yeah it's pretty safe to say he absolutely killed the Blazers. He also killed GSW in his other two playoff series for that matter. There's no reason to believe we won't see something similar yet again. And there's the fact the Blazers have nobody who can credibly guard Lebron and it's easy to see that a broom is in the future if they make it into the 8th seed.

I never said Davis didnt dominate. He had a great series. Youre the one saying he singlehandedly swept them, which is blatantly false acting like he did it with no help when the players i mentioned all balled out specially Jrue

[TheGOATRises007]

Kinda worried about the Rockets in a playoff series. That math problem is legit - Rockets are 13/29 from 3 at half, Lakers have taken 6 threes lol

The entire run is going to be brutal. Portland looks dangerous right now with Nurkic back and I'd be shocked if that series doesn't go 6 games tbh. Lillard and CJ are going to be a handful without Bradley, not to mention looks like fan favorite Rondo is returning. Then you have maybe Houston which is a bit of a matchup problem, and no one on the team can defend Harden effectively. And then Clippers and Milwaukee potentially?

I struggle to think of many playoff runs tougher than that,

It might be the toughest run of all time.

Would be a very impressive ring for Lebron and his legacy.

I think the Lakers should hope they avoid Houston.

Houston just needs 4 games where they don't shoot the 3 miserably to likely win with the Lakers' awful 3 point shooting themselves.

I think it'd be an amazing series though. I'd rather see that than Houston vs the Clippers as as a neutral.

[Joey Wheeler]

These hot takes about the Blazers and the SUNS upsetting the Lakers really need to stop. It's over 50% chance it'll be a sweep regardless of the opponent. You guys remember AD singlehandedly swept a similar Blazers squad two years ago with a terrible Pelicans team, right? Now with Lebron he's going to get eliminated?

I agree about the Suns.

But the Blazers now are highly different from back then.

I think it'd be a tough series.

I struggle to see why it'd be tough. They have nobody to guard Lebron or AD for that matter. Ultimately there's a reason these teams are below 500 and fighting for the 8th seed, they are not good enough to challenge an opponent with two generational players.

[TheGOATRises007]

These hot takes about the Blazers and the SUNS upsetting the Lakers really need to stop. It's over 50% chance it'll be a sweep regardless of the opponent. You guys remember AD singlehandedly swept a similar Blazers squad two years ago with a terrible Pelicans team, right? Now with Lebron he's going to get eliminated?

I agree about the Suns.

But the Blazers now are highly different from back then.

I think it'd be a tough series.

I struggle to see why it'd be tough. They have nobody to guard Lebron or AD for that matter. Ultimately there's a reason these teams are below 500 and fighting for the 8th seed, they are not good enough to challenge an opponent with two generational players.

Who's guarding Lillard though?

Lebron's play in the bubble hasn't been generational thus far. I'm not 100% convinced he can just flip a switch and perform like he did in 2018.

Portland are fighting for the 8th seed because they've been decimated by injuries. They're probably a top 4-5 team in the West if they didn't have injury woes.

[Joey Wheeler]

Lets not pretend Jrue, Rondo and Niko were scrubs. Moore was good for them as well. Jrue was just as critical as Davis was for that series BTW. @ singlehandedly did u now watch the series? And Rondo always steps his game in the playoffs and was huge as well. Theres a reason Davis wanted him on the Lakers. Dame, Cj and Nurk were the only players on that team still on this one and all are much better players now. I think Nurk was injured that series too

Davis in that series: 33p/12r/3 blocks, 2 steals, 65% TS. Yeah it's pretty safe to say he absolutely killed the Blazers. He also killed GSW in his other two playoff series for that matter. There's no reason to believe we won't see something similar yet again. And there's the fact the Blazers have nobody who can credibly guard Lebron and it's easy to see that a broom is in the future if they make it into the 8th seed.

I never said Davis didnt dominate. He had a great series. Youre the one saying he singlehandedly swept them, which is blatantly false acting like he did it with no help when the players i mentioned all balled out specially Jrue

Ok, so he didn't sweep them singlehandedly. I still take Lebron's "help" over the help of all those players you mention combined. It takes elite talent (more elite than Lillard) and depth to even entertain a discussion about beating a team with Lebron and AD on it.

[Joey Wheeler]

I agree about the Suns.

But the Blazers now are highly different from back then.

I think it'd be a tough series.

I struggle to see why it'd be tough. They have nobody to guard Lebron or AD for that matter. Ultimately there's a reason these teams are below 500 and fighting for the 8th seed, they are not good enough to challenge an opponent with two generational players.

Who's guarding Lillard though?

Lebron's play in the bubble hasn't been generational thus far. I'm not 100% convinced he can just flip a switch and perform like he did in 2018.

Portland are fighting for the 8th seed because they've been decimated by injuries. They're probably a top 4-5 team in the West if they didn't have injury woes.

I'm sure Lillard will score a lot of points, but his overall offensive impact doesn't really approach Lebron's.

But I mean sure, if Lebron doesn't raise his current level for the playoffs, the Blazers can make it a tough series, but that's an enormous assumption knowing what we know about Lebron in the playoffs.

Portland are a good team and have been for years, but they're no contender. Lillard is a great offensive player, but clearly below the truly elite ones. It is what it is; Portland might be better than the 8th seed, but they got nothing for the Lakers. If you look at their playoff history, at best they get swept by the first contending team they face.

[GSP]

Davis in that series: 33p/12r/3 blocks, 2 steals, 65% TS. Yeah it's pretty safe to say he absolutely killed the Blazers. He also killed GSW in his other two playoff series for that matter. There's no reason to believe we won't see something similar yet again. And there's the fact the Blazers have nobody who can credibly guard Lebron and it's easy to see that a broom is in the future if they make it into the 8th seed.

I never said Davis didnt dominate. He had a great series. Youre the one saying he singlehandedly swept them, which is blatantly false acting like he did it with no help when the players i mentioned all balled out specially Jrue

Ok, so he didn't sweep them singlehandedly. I still take Lebron's "help" over the help of all those players you mention combined. It takes elite talent (more elite than Lillard) and depth to even entertain a discussion about beating a team with Lebron and AD on it.

Fair enough. I dont think anyone when level headed and not reactionary think Blazers actually have a shot of winning specially with no Ariza. Personally Ive said for a while now I can see Blazers taking 1 or 2 games max. Thats about it

[GSP]

I agree about the Suns.

But the Blazers now are highly different from back then.

I think it'd be a tough series.

I struggle to see why it'd be tough. They have nobody to guard Lebron or AD for that matter. Ultimately there's a reason these teams are below 500 and fighting for the 8th seed, they are not good enough to challenge an opponent with two generational players.

Who's guarding Lillard though?

Lebron's play in the bubble hasn't been generational thus far. I'm not 100% convinced he can just flip a switch and perform like he did in 2018.

Portland are fighting for the 8th seed because they've been decimated by injuries. They're probably a top 4-5 team in the West if they didn't have injury woes.

Caruso or Danny can both guard him. Caruso gave him alot of issues in the Rs. Lebron does better against shooting Pgs too than the drivers. Maybe Dame blows by him a few times but i dont see him lighting him up

[Mos_Heat]

If Lebron is close to his peak, then only LAC and MIL can beat this team. And if Lebron is cooked, then who cares about the 1st and 2nd round matchups.

[ShotCreator]

Watching JR Smith in this game and I just have to get this out:

JR Smith sucked 3 years ago. I cannot believe he actually got a contract. The man was hot garbage THREE YEARS ago.

Still a low BBIQ chucker with absolutely fried athleticism. He’s 3 yrs removed from being a level of player that shouldn’t be in a playoff rotation. 3 yrs removed from a terrible 16-17 season. And he’s on a roster.

At least Waiters is kind of in his athletic prime. Kind of.

[Statlanta]

This roster reminds me too much of the 2011 Lakers

HOF names but clear decline from peak.

Surrounded by knucklesheads, extremely vulnerable to a team lurking from the shadows....

[limbo]

Hot takes! Get your hot takes right here, fresh out the oven.

Pipe God is going to torch the Blazers in the 1st round.

[MisterHibachi]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Read on Twitter

?s=19

No where to go but up.

[MisterHibachi]

One encouraging thing about last night is that Houston only went 8 deep and one of those was Frazier, who won't see minutes in a series (but will obviously be replaced by Westbrook), and the Lakers went 11 deep. The Rockets might go with an even shorter rotation in the playoffs. The break benefited their small ball lineup the most, but they could conceivably burn out by the second round, especially if they face the Nuggets in round one. Worst case scenario is them facing Utah, who they'll steamroll.

[AussieBuck]

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Read on Twitter

?s=19

No where to go but up.

30 three attempts a game probably means that it's not that many years that are relevant.

[primopastalove2]

With this win, Houstons needs to win 2 more than the nuggets can over the next 4 games to overtake them as the 3rd seed. Nuggets have Jazz, Lakers, Clippers (Who will probably be resting), and Raptors to go through, whereas the Rockets play Kings, Spurs, Pacers, and Simmon-less 6ers, can easily see them go 4-0 even while resting their stars.

I can legit see Denver losing each game especially with their injuries

If Denver goes 1-3 and Hou 3-1, Hou will overtake them

How do you guys think the brackout plays out?

I really feel like we face Portland round 1 or NOLA if we are lucky. Memphis has completely choked. I rather NOLA get to 9 than Memphis, no hope in Memphis winning 2 in a row (or even 1 of 2)

Just hoping that Hou goes to the LAC bracket

Yeah, Hou will overtake them because Denver will have the same amount of wins but 1 more loss. I have a feeling the Rockets will blow it and end up as the 4th seed.

[PaulieWal]

The over-reactions are hilarious and not really warranted. Before the season was put on hold they were looking like the best team in the league - ahead of Bucks and LAC. Yeah, LeBron has not looked good so far but this talk about them losing to the Suns or Blazers doesn't make sense. LeBron hasn't declined that much in 4 months, he is an older player finding his groove. The Lakers are not losing in the first round. Even if the Lakers shooting has gone to complete crap, come playoff time LeBron is going to live in the post - we all know that and that alone will raise his and the team offense a whole lot more. Before the end of the season doesn't make sense for him to go play all his possessions in the post and risk injury, wear & tear.

[nzahir]

The over-reactions are hilarious and not really warranted. Before the season was put on hold they were looking like the best team in the league - ahead of Bucks and LAC. Yeah, LeBron has not looked good so far but this talk about them losing to the Suns or Blazers doesn't make sense. LeBron hasn't declined that much in 4 months, he is an older player finding his groove. The Lakers are not losing in the first round. Even if the Lakers shooting has gone to complete crap, come playoff time LeBron is going to live in the post - we all know that and that alone will raise his and the team offense a whole lot more. Before the end of the season doesn't make sense for him to go play all his possessions in the post and risk injury, wear & tear.

I think Lebron is playing possum, but the shooting for the whole team is a legit concern

Role guys need to step up

If DG and KCP shrink, they will be in a lot of trade rumors. AC needs to be respectable from 3 or it will be tough to play him with this team too much.

If the Lakers cant make the finals or at least a 6-7 game series with the Clippers, then I would go for a huge trade, such as a cp3 deal

If we win it all, make the finals, or have a competitive series with the Clippers, then I would likely hold off on a huge move.

[GSP]

One encouraging thing about last night is that Houston only went 8 deep and one of those was Frazier, who won't see minutes in a series (but will obviously be replaced by Westbrook), and the Lakers went 11 deep. The Rockets might go with an even shorter rotation in the playoffs. The break benefited their small ball lineup the most, but they could conceivably burn out by the second round, especially if they face the Nuggets in round one. Worst case scenario is them facing Utah, who they'll steamroll.

Looks like Utah is tanking for the 6th seed. Rudy, Conley, Mitchell, Royce all rested today. I'm thinking Houston/Okc 1st round will stick and there's a very real chance Okc wins in fact I might even put money on it

[Dupp]

There are a lot of overreactions but it’s is a legit question whether the Lakers and LeBron can get back to there pre break form because that team was winning the title.


JR signing was always a terrible idea.