Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship?

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Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#1 » by mdonnelly1989 » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:50 am

This obviously means that the rosters would have to be restructured...

At PG:

I have

Steph
Lillard
Luka

SG:
Harden

SF:
KD (Assuming he's even 85% of what he was...)
Kawhi's ass

PF:
Giannis

C:
Jokic
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#2 » by SK21209 » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:53 am

I’d add Embiid. I think LeBron could get the best out of him.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#3 » by SelfishPlayer » Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:55 am

Definitely not Dame Lillard. He uses ball screens to be who he is. That will not work with Lebron. LeBron needs an iso scorer.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#4 » by Dr Aki » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:06 am

AD's so unique, I don't think there is one that would let the Lakers play the same way.

Removing AD means not only removing 25/10/2 on a nightly basis, but also removes the Lakers best perimeter defender, best interior defender and the Lakers best on ball and weakside defender.

It's stupid how much AD did for the Lakers
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#5 » by norcocredo » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:12 am

Don’t think Lebron & Harden would work. AD is a special talent for his size. Not sure who you could replace him with and still win, especially considering defense.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#6 » by Topofthekey » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:19 am

I think you can put Andre Drummond in for AD and Lakers still would have won

One AD for another AD
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#7 » by spikeslovechild » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:22 am

It's much easier to replace Lebron then AD. AD is a unicorn
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#8 » by LAKESHOW » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:26 am

Bron and jamaaaaal
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#9 » by harveyelliot » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:34 am

spikeslovechild wrote:It's much easier to replace Lebron then AD. AD is a unicorn


nah Bron brings out the best in AD. AD has been the recipient of a lot of very good passes from Bron.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#10 » by NoZoLakers » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:37 am

kp, embiid or giannis (would need different kind of O tho, more off ball play)
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#11 » by OriginalRed » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:37 am

AD is almost irreplaceable by any player except the upper echelon of stars.

There are alot of players that can replace his offensive output even if they're not as efficient as him.

There are a very short list of players who could replace his defensive impact, especially when you factor in them also being able to produce effectively on the offensive end as well.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#12 » by SleepingDragon » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:38 am

Giannis.

AD's defense was essential in Lakers' title run, and Giannis is the current DPOY.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#13 » by spikeslovechild » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:42 am

harveyelliot wrote:
spikeslovechild wrote:It's much easier to replace Lebron then AD. AD is a unicorn


nah Bron brings out the best in AD. AD has been the recipient of a lot of very good passes from Bron.


AD led that horrid NOP squad to the playoffs multiple times. 2018 showed Bron isn't capable of doing that anymore.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#14 » by Metallikid » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:43 am

To be honest probably only Giannis, Embiid and Kawhi. It would need to be a big wing or forward. I don't even think it happens with Jimmy Butler.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#15 » by MoMan24 » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:48 am

SleepingDragon wrote:Giannis.

AD's defense was essential in Lakers' title run, and Giannis is the current DPOY.

Lakers gets worse with Giannis. He can't shoot 3's. He has no mid range game. He barely has a post game. And is not a a good isolation player consistently. I also think AD is a better overall defender, especially at protecting the rim. AD can pick and pop, pick and roll, spot up, post up, iso in the mid range. Lasty AD is clutch and can be trusted with the ball late. Giannis needs 4 shooters around him. AD can have 4 shooters around him or be one of the shooters. You can run your offense through AD in the half court for large stretches. I don't like the idea of running an offense through Giannis in the half court deep in the playoffs.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#16 » by sunskerr » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:55 am

Not to use a single statistic to justify anything here, but 538s RAPTOR has James and Davis as both top 3 players by WAR, which imo helps a bit to put the Lakers playoff success in context. Having two of the top three players in the game is very, very stacked.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#17 » by Da ThRONe » Sun Oct 18, 2020 3:11 am

LeBron was so good even at 35 any top 30-35 player would have gotten it done. Once the the Nuggets upset the Clippers it was a done deal.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#18 » by Maxthirty » Sun Oct 18, 2020 3:21 am

If in this hypothetical the Lakers face the same teams throughout the playoffs then it's probably quite a few guys.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#19 » by Warriorfan » Sun Oct 18, 2020 3:24 am

mdonnelly1989 wrote:This obviously means that the rosters would have to be restructured...

At PG:

I have

Steph
Lillard
Luka

SG:
Harden

SF:
KD (Assuming he's even 85% of what he was...)
Kawhi's ass

PF:
Giannis

C:
Jokic


Leonard and Giannis only players who add the necessary defense.
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Re: Which players can you put into the place of AD and Lakers still win the Championship? 

Post#20 » by robillionaire » Sun Oct 18, 2020 3:24 am

I don't think anybody would have been as good of a fit as AD was, and even though Lebron was finals MVP before that point AD had been better in the playoffs, hit that game winning 3, really anchored the team on defense all playoffs as well. I can't say for sure they would have won with any other player

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