I don't get the notion that Lakers are absolutely stacked

[Neutral 123]

How many finals have james been to? How many have durant been to without the warriors? I find it to be hilarious that OKC failures are on Russ but not on Durant. Did the wiz make it to the playoffs in 2020? How far has bradley gone?

He's played with KD, Harden, PG and Beal. All those teams stacked. WB was a DOWNGRADE from Chris Paul. Hopefully he can prove everyone wrong this year.

Please answer the questions and stop tap dancing also funny you think Russ teams was stacked but this lakers team isnt. Post the rosters that russ played on that was better than this

This team is very good. My concerns are fit, age and Russ being a chronic underachiever. Of course this team CAN come out of the west, but it's crazy to think that the Suns, Denver, Clips if Kawhi comes back, Utah aren 't all in the mix. This team is NOT head and shoulders above the rest of the west. Westbrook has only made it to the finals once with teams of similar talent.

[LAL1947]

Would adding Westbrook, Anthony, Howard, Barrymore, Rondo, Ellington, Ariza et al to Portland or Dallas make either of those teams prohibitive favorites to win the title? The Lakers were a 7th seed, finishing with the same W-L records as the Blazers and Mars. It's not like the Lakers added to a first place team.

I think Luka would waltz his way to the title with this crew added to Dallas... so that's probably not a good example.

1-5: Westbrook, THJ, Luka, DFS, Porzingis
6-10: Nunn, Monk, Bazemore, Kleber, Dwight
11-15: Rondo, Ellington, Ariza, Melo, Boban

Portland probably could too.

[Warriorfan]

Old means injuries. They have depth and playoff
experience

They don't have many plus defenders or 3pt shooters.

[MindState]

The team will fall apart due to injury by mid-season. Comically old team. Are they going to sit half their roster on back to backs for age related rest? Whats their plan?

They have a couple of 3 point shooters that their previous teams let go (probably for a reason), and the rest of the roster is full of washed up former stars.

I dont recall any teams fighting over signing Nunn, Rondo, Deandre Jordan, Westbrook, Carmello, Monk, Gasol, Dwight.

None of these players had any other suitors besides the Lakers. Why? Because the league knows these guys are not difference makers. If Nunn was so good, why did Miami just let him walk like he had no value? What do they know that the rest of us dont? Im sure its something. Malik Monk? Hes a young player and the Hornets are a young team, why did they choose to let him walk for nothing? Why dont they see value in him?

Does anyone even want Westbrook? Hes on a new team every single year and the team cant wait to trade him for a bag of potato chips. Why? There has to be a reason.

[jehosafats]

Another thing about age... in the playoffs, rotations usually come down to your best 7-8 guys.

The lineups the Lakers will most likely use?
- Westbrook, Shooter, Shooter, Lebron, Davis
- Shooter, Shooter, Shooter, Lebron, Davis
- Shooter, Shooter, Lebron, Davis, Dwight
- Westbrook, Shooter, Shooter, Lebron, Dwight

For shooters, they have: Monk, Nunn, Bazemore, Mathews, Ellington.
Rondo is PG backup.
Ariza is SF backup.
Melo is PF backup
DJ/Gasol is Dwight backup.

Stacked.

Who are these shooters you speak of? Who can hit the open shot with some regularity?

Nunn isn't much of a shooter. Mathews is washed beyond belief. Ellington used to be a stud shooter, Bazemore too, but can we expect players of advanced age to grind over the regular season for 32-35 mins a game?

I find it hard to believe LAL sticks with this roster after the All-Star break. They mostly did very well this off-season, but there's a chance the potential to be a great shooting team just doesn't materialize.

[Ben-N1ce]

Sure, they look like a great team cause because LeBron and Davis are that good. But where all the other stuff? Maybe I am off on Westbrook, if you see Westbrook as NBA superstar, ok, they have 3 superstars in your eyes, but in my opinion Westbrook is not a very good star and a questionable fit. ANd the rest of their team are guys who were great 5+ years ago but are nearly done now.

Lakers might as well reach the finals cause LeBron and Davis can be that good, but I dont see them nearly as loaded as the Nets are. There is a huge drop off after 2 main stars and their role players are old and arent that good anymore. I think Nets are clear favorites to win it all.

lol what team in the league is playing with 2 top 10 players and a 3rd option as good as Westbrook. Oh it's that other team that is stacked..but the Lakers aren't stacked

[LAL1947]

Who are these shooters you speak of? Who can hit the open shot with some regularity?

Nunn isn't much of a shooter. Mathews is washed beyond belief. Ellington used to be a stud shooter, Bazemore too, but can we expect players of advanced age to grind over the regular season for 32-35 mins a game?

These are their stats from the 2020-21 season.

Ellington: 42% from 6 attempts in 22 MPG.
Bazemore: 42% from 3 attempts in 20 MPG.
Monk: 40% from 5 attempts in 20 MPG.
Nunn: 38% from 6 attempts in 30 MPG.

For Matthews, I'm providing his career stats since he had a down year in 2020-21.

Matthews: 38% from 5 attempts in 30 MPG.

Considering these guys are role-players who will likely be used around Lebron, AD and Russell (whose combined salaries are $120m) on a "revolving-door" basis depending on who has the hot hand... and are not the main guys that a team is built around (such as Curry, KD, Klay, etc)... I think that's a pretty darn good level of shooting to have. Don't you?

[LakersSquadup]

He's played with KD, Harden, PG and Beal. All those teams stacked. WB was a DOWNGRADE from Chris Paul. Hopefully he can prove everyone wrong this year.

Please answer the questions and stop tap dancing also funny you think Russ teams was stacked but this lakers team isnt. Post the rosters that russ played on that was better than this

This team is very good. My concerns are fit, age and Russ being a chronic underachiever. Of course this team CAN come out of the west, but it's crazy to think that the Suns, Denver, Clips if Kawhi comes back, Utah aren 't all in the mix. This team is NOT head and shoulders above the rest of the west. Westbrook has only made it to the finals once with teams of similar talent.

Stop dancing answer the questions all of them.

[Neutral 123]

Please answer the questions and stop tap dancing also funny you think Russ teams was stacked but this lakers team isnt. Post the rosters that russ played on that was better than this

This team is very good. My concerns are fit, age and Russ being a chronic underachiever. Of course this team CAN come out of the west, but it's crazy to think that the Suns, Denver, Clips if Kawhi comes back, Utah aren 't all in the mix. This team is NOT head and shoulders above the rest of the west. Westbrook has only made it to the finals once with teams of similar talent.

Stop dancing answer the questions all of them.

Stop dancing around what? Russ has never won a chip despite many rosters equipped to do just that. Now with Lebron old, AD still injury prone and Westbrook worse than he's ever been, getting out of the west is not a lock. there's nothing controversial about that opinion. That's an opinion Vegas agrees with. 52.5 over under? Yikes.

[zimpy27]

They are stacked for an RS team but not so stacked for a playoff team. A lot of their stacks are redundant.

[HardenGoat]

I would say they are stacked with talent but remain a top heavy team. They will go as far as AD and Lebron can take them. Without one of those two they don’t have enough playing time together to overcome what is surely going to be multiple defensive mismatches getting exposed. What made the warriors so dangerous was their core playing a system that worked year after year. They had the best shooters, excellent defense, and chemistry. The Nets are a more balanced and deeper team than last year. They are insanely stacked with talent. Despite not having their big 3 together on the floor for many games they do have a year under their belt to have figured out any chemistry issues. Only injuries can stop them and it’ll take at least 2.

[LakersSquadup]

This team is very good. My concerns are fit, age and Russ being a chronic underachiever. Of course this team CAN come out of the west, but it's crazy to think that the Suns, Denver, Clips if Kawhi comes back, Utah aren 't all in the mix. This team is NOT head and shoulders above the rest of the west. Westbrook has only made it to the finals once with teams of similar talent.

Stop dancing answer the questions all of them.

Stop dancing around what? Russ has never won a chip despite many rosters equipped to do just that. Now with Lebron old, AD still injury prone and Westbrook worse than he's ever been, getting out of the west is not a lock. there's nothing controversial about that opinion. That's an opinion Vegas agrees with. 52.5 over under? Yikes.

Yea creating a new discussion because you know answering my questions destroys your narrative. So were done here.

[Darthlukey]

Sure, they look like a great team cause because LeBron and Davis are that good. But where all the other stuff? Maybe I am off on Westbrook, if you see Westbrook as NBA superstar, ok, they have 3 superstars in your eyes, but in my opinion Westbrook is not a very good star and a questionable fit. ANd the rest of their team are guys who were great 5+ years ago but are nearly done now.

Lakers might as well reach the finals cause LeBron and Davis can be that good, but I dont see them nearly as loaded as the Nets are. There is a huge drop off after 2 main stars and their role players are old and arent that good anymore. I think Nets are clear favorites to win it all.

Im not a Russ fan (actually, i'm a pretty big critic). But when Russ is the 3rd best player on your team, you are stacked, fit be damned

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

lol...they have 3 MVP caliber players on the roster, and are 10+ deep with vets.

they are not Brooklyn or 17 Warriors, but this team is absolutely stacked by almost every other measure.

6 MVP caliber players

Melo, Howard, Gasol, Westbrook, LeBron, Davis

4 are well past their primes though

[LakersSquadup]

lol...they have 3 MVP caliber players on the roster, and are 10+ deep with vets.

they are not Brooklyn or 17 Warriors, but this team is absolutely stacked by almost every other measure.

6 MVP caliber players

Melo, Howard, Gasol, Westbrook, LeBron, Davis

4 are well past their primes though

Melo Howard but Gasol was never mvp caliber. Who's the other guy you THINK is well past his prime?

[Tottery]

It's because of Westbrook. He can will a trash team into the playoffs alone. That means James and co. can get some rest.

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

lol...they have 3 MVP caliber players on the roster, and are 10+ deep with vets.

they are not Brooklyn or 17 Warriors, but this team is absolutely stacked by almost every other measure.

6 MVP caliber players

Melo, Howard, Gasol, Westbrook, LeBron, Davis

4 are well past their primes though

Melo Howard but Gasol was never mvp caliber. Who's the other guy you THINK is well past his prime?

Imagine being salary dumped twice in the last two years, having a TS% under 50% in each of your last 4 playoff appearances, setting career or near career lows in everything from shooting % at the FT/2/3 to turnover rate, playing 65 games (out of 72) healthy but not getting on any all NBA team, and having people arguing you're still an MVP caliber player.

[Tottery]

lol...they have 3 MVP caliber players on the roster, and are 10+ deep with vets.

they are not Brooklyn or 17 Warriors, but this team is absolutely stacked by almost every other measure.

6 MVP caliber players

Melo, Howard, Gasol, Westbrook, LeBron, Davis

4 are well past their primes though

Past their primes, but they can still contribute to win. Howard can still rebound and play defense well. Melo can score off the bench etc. They have depth.

[AussieCeltic]

Everyone: Ben Simmons sucks

Also everyone in this thread: Russell Westbrook is a top 12 player.

Ok then, why couldn't Westbrook and Beal (top 15 player) beat the Ben Simmons lead Sixers without Embiid?

Westbrook will be great for Lebron in the regular season but he'll be a hindrance come playoff time. Heck that might still be enough for the Lakers to get to the finals with Lebron and AD.

Let's not pretend that Nunn, Monk, Melo, Ariza, Bazemore and Ellington are anything special as well. Yes they can play a small role, but once again, come playoff time I'm not relying on those guys to get me buckets and their defense leaves a lot to be desired along with Lebron declining massively on the end.

The big question is whether THT can make a jump this season. If he can provide something as the 4th option then they're pretty much a lock for the finals.

[CS707]

People are getting desensitized to what a stacked team looks like lol. The only thing holding this team back is health or Westbrook not knowing his role.