Stranger Things in Laker land

[tamaraw08]

Strange, Stranger, Strangest feel free to rank them.

1. AD after hitting remarkable 85% from FT area, he is currently just hitting 71%.
2. Caruso currently leads the league 3pt% at 56%, up from 33% last year, still brings defensive grit and high IQ and is PLAYING LESS MINUTES compared to last season.
3. KCP's 3pt% also has risen from 38.5% to 50% and yet is also PLAYING LESS minutes compared to last season, actually taking less 3's as compared to 3 and 4 yrs ago.
4. Schroder is on his 2nd worst EFG% at 46.7%, his worst was his rookie year.
5. the 36 yr old Lebron is taking 27.2 FG attempts per 100 possessions his HIGHEST since2008-09, while his assist are lowest in 5 years, seems obvious that he's on a mission to take the MVP award.

[Beethoven]

AD has just phoned it in all all aspects of his game thus the lower FT percentage. Nothing strange about that one. He just has to be mentally there. I am concerned for him a bit.

[lazybatman]

Caruso's low minutes just baffle me.. SMH

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[stan francisco]

Caruso's low minutes just baffle me.. SMH

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Frank knows what he has in Caruso, he just wants to give the newbs their minutes to find a rhythm with the team, and so that he can scout them for strengths and weaknesses.

I’m sure he has a date in mind for when we go into win every game mode. It’s a luxury to have Caruso and KCP to go to for heavy minutes when needed.

[stan francisco]

Strange, Stranger, Strangest feel free to rank them.

1. AD after hitting remarkable 85% from FT area, he is currently just hitting 71%.
2. Caruso currently leads the league 3pt% at 56%, up from 33% last year, still brings defensive grit and high IQ and is PLAYING LESS MINUTES compared to last season.
3. KCP's 3pt% also has risen from 38.5% to 50% and yet is also PLAYING LESS minutes compared to last season, actually taking less 3's as compared to 3 and 4 yrs ago.
4. Schroder is on his 2nd worst EFG% at 46.7%, his worst was his rookie year.
5. the 36 yr old Lebron is taking 27.2 FG attempts per 100 possessions his HIGHEST since2008-09, while his assist are lowest in 5 years, seems obvious that he's on a mission to take the MVP award.

1. If you’re a basketball player, you play. If you get paid millions to play, you better play like your life depended on it. The current AD is kind of weak sauce, not just his FTs. Any bad blood internally bothering him or wtf?

2 and 3. Newbs are getting burn right now. It’s okay.

4. He dribbles too much.

5. Why doesn’t LBJ set up AD more? If he did, AD would easily have 30PPG. I think you’re on it. LeGroin wants his mvp, which is bad karma. Play the game the best you can or the game will punish you. It always does.

[tamaraw08]

Strange, Stranger, Strangest feel free to rank them.

1. AD after hitting remarkable 85% from FT area, he is currently just hitting 71%.
2. Caruso currently leads the league 3pt% at 56%, up from 33% last year, still brings defensive grit and high IQ and is PLAYING LESS MINUTES compared to last season.
3. KCP's 3pt% also has risen from 38.5% to 50% and yet is also PLAYING LESS minutes compared to last season, actually taking less 3's as compared to 3 and 4 yrs ago.
4. Schroder is on his 2nd worst EFG% at 46.7%, his worst was his rookie year.
5. the 36 yr old Lebron is taking 27.2 FG attempts per 100 possessions his HIGHEST since2008-09, while his assist are lowest in 5 years, seems obvious that he's on a mission to take the MVP award.

1. If you’re a basketball player, you play. If you get paid millions to play, you better play like your life depended on it. The current AD is kind of weak sauce, not just his FTs. Any bad blood internally bothering him or wtf?

2 and 3. Newbs are getting burn right now. It’s okay.

4. He dribbles too much.

5. Why doesn’t LBJ set up AD more? If he did, AD would easily have 30PPG. I think you’re on it. LeGroin wants his mvp, which is bad karma. Play the game the best you can or the game will punish you. It always does.

How often will you see a team with TWO of the highest 3pt% in the league and they COMBINED FOR 5 attempts IN TWO games?
A lot of it is Lebron, with regards to AD, I have seen him ONE game in Chicago where he aggressively cut to the basket and get the ball. Most of the time he lurks from 17 feet, face up and settles for jumpers, but part of the problem is the lack of ball movement, picks set and cuts and that is on the coach too. Even when Lebron sits, there's minimal sets being executed.

[lazybatman]

Caruso's low minutes just baffle me.. SMH

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Frank knows what he has in Caruso, he just wants to give the newbs their minutes to find a rhythm with the team, and so that he can scout them for strengths and weaknesses.

I’m sure he has a date in mind for when we go into win every game mode. It’s a luxury to have Caruso and KCP to go to for heavy minutes when needed.

Hope so bro.. He subbed Caruso out in the clutch when he and THT were causing havok on D all around in the 4th.

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[lazybatman]

Loving the Lebron MVP hate on this forum, when he's the one and only most important reason the Lakers went from being the worst team in the league for 5 years to being Champs, while there's a thread thanking Jeanie, Vogel and Pelinka on this board. Talk about short memories.

[tamaraw08]

Loving the Lebron MVP hate on this forum, when he's the one and only most important reason the Lakers went from being the worst team in the league for 5 years to being Champs, while there's a thread thanking Jeanie, Vogel and Pelinka on this board. Talk about short memories.

Oops sorry I didn’t know were not allowed to express our concerns that the superstar’s personal MVP quest could be affecting their overall performance while it’s ok to say that other players have low IQ.

[stan francisco]

Loving the Lebron MVP hate on this forum, when he's the one and only most important reason the Lakers went from being the worst team in the league for 5 years to being Champs, while there's a thread thanking Jeanie, Vogel and Pelinka on this board. Talk about short memories.

There’s no LeBron mvp hate from me, FYI. I just don’t like it when superstars play the game the wrong way, used to yell at Kobe, too.

We’ll be fine, but I do think Vogel, LBJ and AD should draw up and drill some two man game special sets. It’ll build unity and cohesion.

[Showtime:Part2]

Lol why are people hating on lebron. Lbj has been nothing short of spectacular for us. The real problem is the black hole that is Dennis Schroeder who is inefficient and half the defensive player of Caruso/tht. Yet he gets all their mins.

Ship Schroeder out. He’s clearly playing only for his contract and it’s messing w the teams chemistry

[Kilroy]

Lol why are people hating on lebron. Lbj has been nothing short of spectacular for us. The real problem is the black hole that is Dennis Schroeder who is inefficient and half the defensive player of Caruso/tht. Yet he gets all their mins.

Ship Schroeder out. He’s clearly playing only for his contract and it’s messing w the teams chemistry

I agree with the first part... I don't understand Schoder's usage or minutes. The rumor that he demanded a starting role must have been real and the only starting role we had was starting PG... It's a bad fit for him. He needs to be a better version of KCP for us.

If he starts, it needs to be over Kuz and as shooting guard or small ball 3... Caruso should have the role he earned in the finals... I think Kuz has shown enough to start but the debate should be who starts at the 2 between Schroder, Kuz and KCP... All of them have a case...
But I don't like how we look with Schroder in the primary ball handler role. I think Caruso or even THT would be better.

Schroder's highest value is as a swiss army knife, scoring first guard... He doesn't have the vision or instincts to play Rondo's role...

All that said, he's not a 'Ship him out' player either... He's an upgrade over KCP or probably Kuz at starting 2... It's just a lot of size to lose going from Kuz to him. His value to us takes a hit also, if he truly won't consider coming off the bench...

Because Caruso/Kuz/LeBron/AD/Mark with THT/Schroder/KCP/Morris/Trez off the bench would be trouble for teams... On both ends of the court.

Trez and Schroder and to a lesser extent Marc all aren't really fully meshing with this team yet... And if it goes much longer, maybe a trade does need to happen... I get the impression both Schroder and Trez came here thinking they'd do their thing and be hilighted and use the time to work their way into a bigger contract... Trez is doing better than Schroder, but not by much.

So it'll be interesting to see what happens as we approach the trade deadline... I don't think Pelinka or Klutch would have any hesitation trading anybody other than AD and LeBron if the right deal came along, regardless of player/agent affiliation.

[Kilroy]

Loving the Lebron MVP hate on this forum, when he's the one and only most important reason the Lakers went from being the worst team in the league for 5 years to being Champs, while there's a thread thanking Jeanie, Vogel and Pelinka on this board. Talk about short memories.

Oops sorry I didn’t know were not allowed to express our concerns that the superstar’s personal MVP quest could be affecting their overall performance while it’s ok to say that other players have low IQ.

I don't really see what LeBron's doing as a detriment to the team, this season... Last season, I thought when we got close to the end, he started calling his own number too much and it seemed to take AD out of the game. Our chemistry looked like it hit a wall.

This season though, AD does look off, but it doesn't look like he's frustrated like last year, it just looks like he came in riding the wave of winning the Championship and is having a tough time finding the motivation to bang all season.

We also replace Dwight with Marc, who is amazing offensively, but doesn't do much to keep the bodies off AD inside... And neither does Trez.

We're either just working things out on the fly, and AD is just missing intensity right now, or we're really focused on keeping everyone healthy... Or we have a bad mix of talent, and despirately need an athletic, physical big to take some of the weight off AD and let him eat inside.

But I don't think LeBron being aggressive offensively is the big problem this season.

[lazybatman]

Loving the Lebron MVP hate on this forum, when he's the one and only most important reason the Lakers went from being the worst team in the league for 5 years to being Champs, while there's a thread thanking Jeanie, Vogel and Pelinka on this board. Talk about short memories.

Oops sorry I didn’t know were not allowed to express our concerns that the superstar’s personal MVP quest could be affecting their overall performance while it’s ok to say that other players have low IQ.

Hahaha.. Fair enough dude. Got me.

I don't think he's going for a MVP though, except that 21 pt quarter. But, he's definitely not as focused.. Just taking it easy, feeling out his shooting touch with all the catch and shoot opportunities he's been getting.

AD's still in chill mode except a couple of games so far. I think we are still the improved best defense in the league by some distance once he decides to show up, but I wish we had better sets to get some role players involved. My heart goes out to Trez, Wes, Caruso, etc, who only get to eat leftovers.

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[lazybatman]

Loving the Lebron MVP hate on this forum, when he's the one and only most important reason the Lakers went from being the worst team in the league for 5 years to being Champs, while there's a thread thanking Jeanie, Vogel and Pelinka on this board. Talk about short memories.

There’s no LeBron mvp hate from me, FYI. I just don’t like it when superstars play the game the wrong way, used to yell at Kobe, too.

We’ll be fine, but I do think Vogel, LBJ and AD should draw up and drill some two man game special sets. It’ll build unity and cohesion.

Yeah bro.. You and me both.. And for the 2nd year running now. But I don't have much hope of any new offensive sets being introduced this season either.

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[stan francisco]

Caruso's low minutes just baffle me.. SMH

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Frank knows what he has in Caruso, he just wants to give the newbs their minutes to find a rhythm with the team, and so that he can scout them for strengths and weaknesses.

I’m sure he has a date in mind for when we go into win every game mode. It’s a luxury to have Caruso and KCP to go to for heavy minutes when needed.

Hope so bro.. He subbed Caruso out in the clutch when he and THT were causing havok on D all around in the 4th.

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Vogel does his lineup changes every five games, then he keeps to his plan until five games later. Frustrating as hell to watch but at the end of season, the rotations will be impeccable. Right now, it’s painful to watch but how else and when else do you figure out who is not gonna cut it in clutch time?

If that’s the price we pay for a repeat, good. If you ask me, the current play isn’t good enough for a repeat.

[lazybatman]

Frank knows what he has in Caruso, he just wants to give the newbs their minutes to find a rhythm with the team, and so that he can scout them for strengths and weaknesses.

I’m sure he has a date in mind for when we go into win every game mode. It’s a luxury to have Caruso and KCP to go to for heavy minutes when needed.

Hope so bro.. He subbed Caruso out in the clutch when he and THT were causing havok on D all around in the 4th.

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Vogel does his lineup changes every five games, then he keeps to his plan until five games later. Frustrating as hell to watch but at the end of season, the rotations will be impeccable. Right now, it’s painful to watch but how else and when else do you figure out who is not gonna cut it in clutch time?

If that’s the price we pay for a repeat, good. If you ask me, the current play isn’t good enough for a repeat.

Yeah, but through all those changes he's played Kuz(worst On/Off rating -13. 9) 200 more minutes than Caruso(On/Off + 13.6), 100 more minutes than KCP(On/Off + 12.1).

The fascination with this guy just absolutely baffles me in Lakerland. I'd rather he be gone for nothing at this point so KCP, Caruso & THT can eat his minutes.

[bellabiyel]

if not for lbj scoring where are the lakers now.
ad just doesnt seem intrested
gasol has been so f***** slow
schroeder getting the shots from ad and too small should have been coming from the bench
trez too small
caruso need more minutes
kcp is back to being kcp the past games
lakers are f**** when lebron does not seem interested
in shooting the ball
lebron too much lazy passes doesnt care about how much turnover he gets

overall this team needs this regular season and need to lose to find their weaknesses

[lazybatman]

Here's what I know for sure about the Lakers after these 20ish games -
- We are the best defense in the league by a mile, while AD's still in 2nd gear and Frank only plays Caruso 17 mpg.. SMH
- Caruso is undeniably our 3rd best player after Bron+AD
- Gasol's gotta be a matchup role player not a permanent starter. I think he'll do even better as a leader sprinkling passes to our young guns with the bench unit. And he's gotta make some 3s really soon. I mean Wtf Marc.. You trying to make us pay for trading Danny Green or what?
- If we're not gonna put the best roller in the game - Trez in P&R sets, then why the f*ck did we sign him? I am also really concerned about his defensive box out technique and reading plays on defense. That is the development that made Chris Bosh a first ballot HOFer.
- How many more games does Wes have until he becomes a certified reserve. I really think he can fit in and add value with any team in the league, but we don't seem to have the minutes to throw at him to help him do that. Feel sad for him and our loss.
- I am not ready to throw the towel yet to get any non spacing big man(who will not see the court in the playoffs) for shot blocking only, until the real AD shows up.
- Lebron, AD + Caruso, Schroeder, THT/KCP lineups are absolute fire on both ends. Definitely gonna end up as out death lineup soon.

Indecent Trade Proposals -
If Wes & Trez don't pan out for us, I would take the blame on organizational failure due to our excessive depth, and lack of coaching support to help them shine, than their skill sets or work ethic. And when that time comes(before the dead line), unless Schroeder's taken a leap.

1. I'm calling Daryl Morey for

Ben Simmons + Seth Curry

for

Schroeder + Trez + Mckinnie + Cook

I've read Morey and the 76ers top brass are sweating at the thought of living with the Simmon's contract cos of his reluctance to shoot 3s, which is why we ask for Curry to be added to the trade. Besides, I think, from their standpoint this is a fair value trade, considering the fit issues of Ben Simmons next to Embiid. This package is better than what Houston got for Harden(except the picks. But Philly are a championship contender and picks, rightly, mean nothing to Morey).

We get Simmons, who is a as good as a pre-injury Kawhi at defending 1-5 positions, not just the perimeter, and an elite playmaker. Lebron might be able to make him shoot the 3 occasionally.. Big 'IF'! But we play Ben @ PF/C on defense with AD just as we did Dwight & McGee. Besides, we don't have Embiid who is the absolute worst complementary piece to Ben.

We're also trading an underutilized non 3 pt shooter - Trez, for a young elite All NBA super athletic defender, playmaker and rebounder and we get the discount Curry.

Everything Schroeder does will be replaced by Ben, but for the spacing gravity(which is not as much as KCP or any other better shooter, cos of the way he's been shooting so far). Besides we're getting Curry, who's also got a baller mentality willing to take on defensive assignments like Steph / Kyrie, if we need. Not as good as Schroeder, but very serviceable so he's not a liability.

Btw, Curry's career 3FG is an insane 44.3%, and he's shooting 51.7% 3FG and 54.3% FG this season.

2.
Kuz(cos I hate him for eating Caruso's minutes.. Lol. Steering clear of the 'low IQ' tag Tamaraw) + Wes Matthews

for

Justin Holiday.

Really dig in and create possibly a top 5-all time defensive lineup with only one guy who can't shoot the 3 above 35% and 6 playmakers in Lebron, Ben, AD, Seth, THT & Gasol.

I got my teeth clenched to give the weak ass Nets a 4-0 pasting by record margins if they make it to the finals and just prove where KD/Harden stand next to the King. Also, be sweet to whoop some dirty Clipper *ss on the way.

Caruso + KCP + Bron + AD + Ben Death Lineup!!

Simmons trade is a bit tricky, and I'm curious and excited to see him play next to Lebron. His contract can go two ways after Lebron -
- great complement to AD for the Lakers to build on
- dark cloud over Lakerland if it doesn't work, but he's still an All Star / All NBA defense level dude at worst. Rob should be able to find a way out from under that final year guaranteed contract or just live with it.

Worst case scenario, at least we now have the assets to be in the trade discussions for some top talent this year, compared to last. Thank you Mr Rob Pelinka.

Keen to hear your opinions and how this is all pie in the sky BS

[tamaraw08]

Here's what I know for sure about the Lakers after these 20ish games -
- We are the best defense in the league by a mile, while AD's still in 2nd gear and Frank only plays Caruso 17 mpg.. SMH
- Caruso is undeniably our 3rd best player after Bron+AD

- If we're not gonna put the best roller in the game - Trez in P&R sets, then why the f*ck did we sign him? I am also really concerned about his defensive box out technique and reading plays on defense. That is the development that made Chris Bosh a first ballot HOFer.
- How many more games does Wes have until he becomes a certified reserve. I really think he can fit in and add value with any team in the league, but we don't seem to have the minutes to throw at him to help him do that. Feel sad for him and our loss.
- I am not ready to throw the towel yet to get any non spacing big man(who will not see the court in the playoffs) for shot blocking only, until the real AD shows up.
- Lebron, AD + Caruso, Schroeder, THT/KCP lineups are absolute fire on both ends. Definitely gonna end up as out death lineup soon.

Indecent Trade Proposals -
If Wes & Trez don't pan out for us, I would take the blame on organizational failure due to our excessive depth, and lack of coaching support to help them shine, than their skill sets or work ethic. And when that time comes(before the dead line), unless Schroeder's taken a leap.

1. I'm calling Daryl Morey for

Ben Simmons + Seth Curry

for

Schroeder + Trez + Mckinnie + Cook


We get Simmons, who is a as good as a pre-injury Kawhi at defending 1-5 positions, not just the perimeter, and an elite playmaker. Lebron might be able to make him shoot the 3 occasionally.. Big 'IF'! But we play Ben @ PF/C on defense with AD just as we did Dwight & McGee. Besides, we don't have Embiid who is the absolute worst complementary piece to Ben.

We're also trading an underutilized non 3 pt shooter - Trez, for a young elite All NBA super athletic defender, playmaker and rebounder and we get the discount Curry.

Everything Schroeder does will be replaced by Ben, but for the spacing gravity(which is not as much as KCP or any other better shooter, cos of the way he's been shooting so far). Besides we're getting Curry, who's also got a baller mentality willing to take on defensive assignments like Steph / Kyrie, if we need. Not as good as Schroeder, but very serviceable so he's not a liability.



Caruso + KCP + Bron + AD + Ben Death Lineup!!

Simmons trade is a bit tricky, and I'm curious and excited to see him play next to Lebron. His contract can go two ways after Lebron .

Keen to hear your opinions and how this is all pie in the sky BS

For me the main problem is not team composition but Team Approach. Like you said, Harrell's abilities is not being fully utilized.
I like Seth Curry, I was bitter with Kawhi bec they could have swooped in and and got this guy instead of waiting on Leonard but hell, the Lakers have TWO of the most accurate 3pt shooters IN THE LEAGUE and they are combining for 3 attempts per game. Someone from the GB said that the Lakers made a fatal mistake of selecting Matthews instead of Ellington, my thoughts were, you are freaking crazy if you think Wayne would get into a nice shooting rhythm and get his usual 6 3pt attempts/game with the Lakers.
When I heard they are getting Tresz and Dennis, My first reaction was GREAT. Lebron was whining about the ultra short off season, now he has TWO very PROLIFIC SCORERS who can provide points while him and AD coast for the first 30 games.
AD made it clear he didn't want to bang bodies inside and face huge centers, Vogel said fine, I want you to take MORE 3's, What does AD do? he is taking LESS 3's and instead he takes a ton of 16 footers making him decrease his TS% from 61% to 57.5%.
The 36 yr old Lebron worked very hard in the playoffs, had a very short offseason and after getting 2 prolific new teammates is now taking 27 FG attempts, his HIGHEST the last ELEVEN YEARS. I used to whined when Kobe take so many shots but the excuse was his teammates are not accurate shooters. Well. 4 of this teammates are hitting above 36% from 3, INCLUDING Kuzma and Wes, while Harrell is hitting 65.3 TS% and AD still decent at 57.5%.
I know the counter argument is, well the Lakers have improved their ORTG, from placing 11th and now they are at 8th. But their ORTG has only improved by .6 pts, now currently by 112.6 and most of is bec of IMPROVED 3PT SHOOTING of 38.4% as compared to UNDER 35% last season. and OH btw their team assists are down too....
If Lebron maintains his high quality of play all the way and this team will it all, then yes, I am all for it but quite frankly, I am worried esp hearing that his NAGGING ANKLE SPRAIN is still BOTHERING him.
0 games missed, taking more shots, he is 36 years old and 50 games to go, Pops is a believer of load management, so do I, along with other people. It's cummulative, the wear and tear on everyone's body is real, some can manage better and you can't beat father time..eventually. That's when Ben Simmons comes in...