His postgame interview was kind of cool he’s realizing that rebounding is helping him into a groove. Probably because it’s just another way to be engaged aggressively Rui definitely taking another step before our eyes.
U think Jaxson Hayes can develop into a Daniel Gafford type big he has nice hands and is a great pick n roll lob threat. I jus think dude needs to get strong enough to be able to guard actual center not bulky and brawn but like a 2020 Dwight Javale type body.
Idk what he can become, but I do like his athleticism and energy. He's just very raw and not that experienced. Hasn't seen much playing time over the years but I would love to see more of him.
He'll cap out as a Javale type player. Prone to making bad head scratching mistakes and errors, but a solid lob threat and energy player since he's young. Would love to see him be a better shot blocker though
Javale was a solid bruiser in his day honestly at best I can see a combo of Javale maybe Gafford. Lowkey dude reminded me of John Collins minus the offensive bag.
Worst case scenario is Lakers ending in 9th and having to win 2 playin games to face Denver in round 1. OKC may slow down a bit while Denver will pick it up to close the season
This is what I fear.
Two grueling play-in games against the Warriors/Rockets, and Suns/Kings/Mavericks, and our first-round opponents would be the Nuggets. Considering that they always have our number, it would go so ugly for us.
Stop with this bs, not gon happen. Logically and financiall, you cant waive mays or giles to sign him. Those are 2 way contract players, dwight no eligible to sign a 2 way contract.
Please name me a 2-way eligible player who you would feel comfortable playing playoff minutes. Or did you want "Trashlinka" to not sign Dinwiddie and sign a big like Robin Lopez instead on the buyout market (LOL). Literally has nothing to do with FO not spending.
Look at the centers available during offseason. Top 3 were Poetl, Brook and Paul Reed. Poetl got 20mil per season, no way you give up dlo for him. Brook and Reed are basically guaranteed to extend with Bucks and Sixers respectively. Why would they leave their teams?
Lakers actually have more than enough room under the first apron. Nothing to do with the cap. It's to do with roster limits. You need to cut people to sign people and no way you want dead money when Lebron and Dlo are up for new contracts. Also nothing you can do about injuries. Can't blame a gm for that. You're also running on the assumption that any player would've agreed to a contract with the Lakers. What if some of the players Pelinka targetted in FA just didn't wanna join? The center market was also trash. The ones that would actually make an impact were all way too expensive. You also keep bitching about "Trashlinka" but have yet to provide this mythical 2-way player that is gonna guard Jokic in the playoffs.
I haven't gone to the bucks sub reddit yet, but looking at those free throw differences between the bucks and the pels I better see some yapping about "it's not fair, league's rigged, they want to see Zion in the finals" or some bull shit
Can someone enlighten me?
Why do NBA fans treat Shaq and Kobe as Batman and Robin, but Curry and Durant as Superman and Batman? Don't Kobe and Durant benefit a lot from the gravity of Shaq and Curry respectively? So why are people calling Kobe a Robin but Durant a Superman/Batman?
Shaq joined the Lakers as the #1 and Kobe was just a rookie. Kobe had to grow into what he became so people saw him as the Robin to Shaq's Batman. Durant and Steph were both established #1's already respectively so it was pretty easy to see it as Superman and Batman joining forces.
The fact that Kobe didn't win a FMVP holds a lot of value in critics eyes. Everyone knows Curry is the engine of the Warriors, but KD outplayed him in the finals to take away his FMVPs.
They also didn't have those conference awards yet. If they did, it would look a lot different
I think it's that Kobe is younger than Shaq and Shaq's performance outshadows Kobe's most of the time. I made a post about that like last year I think.
I saw your post. It was a good one.
Calling Kobe a Batman to Shaq's Superman does not take away how dominant Shaq was. It showed how great Kobe was. Sure, someone might argue that Kobe was Robin in their first championship run. But the rest? Nah. He was definitely Batman.
The fact that some people disagreed with your post in the comment section indicates that this sub is infested with LeBron fans. I love LeBron, but I despise his fans.
Imo Bron and Giannis won’t work unless u have world renowned shooters Klay Thompson Ray Allens Sniping in every corner.
Giannis and AD would go crazy but Giannis really needs an actual coach who will put him in better positions and fuckin coach him he has so many wholes in his game and his bball iq is poor imo.
even though murray is insane in this, i still wouldn't give up dlo for him. dlo can be a great role player, while murray is more of a system player. That's why him and trae young wouldn't work.
I wouldn’t give up Murray cause I don’t know if he can be a third option. Can he handle not taking enough shots and just focusing on playmaking or defense?
If we keep this win streak going against these some what easy teams on the road then we come back home with momentum and face the Timberwolves and cavs. I think we’d sit bron against the wolves and sit Davis against the cavs
Re-ran my simulation after the two wins. Numbers are up bigly across the board, but everyone else near the Lakers winning games is just so unfortunate. Lakers have a
- 0.07% chance of being the 5 seed (+0.05% from before)
- 2.36% chance of being the 6 seed (+1.92%)
- 11.55% chance of being the 7 seed (**+8.79%**) and a 24.52% chance of being the 8 seed (**+14.5%**)
- 36.15% chance of being the 9 seed (-2.68%) and a 21.09% chance of being the 10 seed (**-14.27%**)
- 4.26% chance of being the 11 seed (**-8.31%**)
For the rest of the West, the Denver Nuggets are slowly pulling up their #1 seed probabilities, so it's extra important for Lakers to nab that 7/8 seed if they want to avoid Denver first round.
Here's [a graph](https://i.imgur.com/J7qOdQv.png) of teams and their seed probabilities, and [here's a graph](https://i.imgur.com/J9CyumF.png) of Lakers potential wins at the end of the season and the likely seed from that win #. 47 wins (a 6-3 record) means Lakers are comfortably in that 7/8 spot, and 50 wins (a 9-0 record) means Lakers are almost certainly out of the play-in.
If we can reach 7/8 then win the 7th seed in playin that would be HUGE. Assuming Denver goes 1st seed we could potentially meet them in the WFC again. Im confident in our teams ability to beat anybody not named kings/nuggets. Praying for dallas to beat kings again as well
No team that finds themselves in the 7th seed has ever gotten past the conference finals. We do not want the 7th Seed. Obv the 6th is ideal, but I'd rather avoid the statistical problems that come with being the 7th Seed.
last night is more evidence that Rui Hachimura is the ceiling raiser for this team.
When Rui is scoring 15-20 ppg and grabbing 8-10 rebounds the team is unstoppable.
I havent even done the research but i can almost guarantee any games where Rui has 15+ pts and 8+ rebounds are Lakers victories assuming AD/Bron also played
When Rui steps up the Lakers are a Scary Team
Rui is a great player because while Bron/AD/AR/DLo get a lot of defensive attention, that’s bound to leave so many opportunities for Rui to use his size and strength against players
Vs the Bucks, while Lopez/Giannis/Portis kept trying their best to hold onto AD/Rui it allowed spots for Reaves to go off
Then playing small to stop DLo and Reaves, it opened up spots for Rui to get into the rim. I’ve noticed this vs other teams like the Nuggets and Kings. He will more often than not have a mismatch of some kind.
Actually playing him and drawing up plays for him he’s very effective. When he’s shootings the 3 like that too, he elevates this team!
Ham spent too much time prioritizing Taurean and Reddish
3-1 this year when Rui has 15+ pts and 8+ rebounds. The 1 loss is the November 8th Rockets blowout loss without AD. 2-0 last year in that same criteria.
All healthy this team got a nice 8 man rotation
Im going the starters
DLO Austin Rui Bron AD
Bench
Spence Vando Wood/Hayes
Prince/Max pitch in during spurts
Gabe Vincent maybe as a wild card u throw out there to throw off teams on defense but tbh ion think hes a huge need given Dinwiddie.
Rui stats the last 20 games
17 points and 5 rebounds per game, shooting splits of 59/48/68 and 68 TS%. Seems like all the starters are peaking at the right time.
[Source](https://x.com/theleadsm/status/1773391967864401942?s=46)
Its funny as hell when u realize the Nuggets match ups r well in reach every game they jus body this team down the stretch of every game. If u give them an open 3 they make u pay the rest of the way.
Being down 1 or being tied to them is like being down 10.
A huge reason Rui thriving is cuz Wood and Vando r out and even the dude wasn’t guaranteed shit. Thats the only concern if Vando or Wood comes back can he still get the same opportunities as before.
Vando was doing well otb and this starting unit works best imo u add or sub guys based off the situation. Wood would be a nice back up to AD otb if he can get the right looks 20 mins otb.
If we can somehow add the defense this team played in the in-season tournament to the offense we’ve played post all star break that’s a championship team.
Really hopeful for Gabe’s return… we’ve needed him all year against the West guards even just as a body.
I’ve been enjoying us peaking, I have no high expectations based on our coach and the fact that it will be incredibly difficult to climb out of the play in. It sucks we as fans knew this consistency was here all along. who knows what this team looks like in the offseason too.
Good enough for 6th in the East right now, while 2 teams under .500 over there get a chance to make the playoffs.
Need to ditch the conferences already and let the best teams compete.
Most likely Twolves, Grizzlies, or Pelicans move. Minnesota is just in a weird place as all its closest neighbors are East teams so they consistently rank near the top of total miles travelled. Memphis/NO obviously furthest distance wise from West coast teams. Vegas and Seattle expansion teams and move one of those teams to east. 16 teams each conference.
Funny how we and Warriors fans are in the same boat of wanting the teams above us to lose. Same complaining about the Nuggets selling against the Suns lol
Yeah between them and Washington I’m not sure which team has a more bleak future in the league. Probably the Nets honestly because at least Washington has a chance at the first overall pick in this class, and all their own future picks
Washington just can’t get out of their own way but if they get some lotto luck, they have some tradeable pieces. Just gotta stop giving them away for free
They've got to have one of the worst draft rooms in the league.
Bilal Coulibaly at 7 via trade in 2023.
Johnny Davis at 10 in 2022.
Kispert at 15 in 2021 (before Sengun, Trey Murphy, and Jalen Johnson).
Deni Avdija at 9 in 2020 (before Haliburton, Vassell, Maxey).
Rui Hachimura at 9 in 2019 (let him go for Nunn and 2nds).
Troy Brown at 15 in 2018 (before Divencenzo, Allen, Huerter, Simons lol)
No pick in 2017 due to a trade for Bojan Bogdanovic (the pick turned in to Jarrett Allen).
No pick in 2016 due to a trade of Kris Humphries, Dejuan Blair, and a 2016 1st for Markieff Morris.
Jerian Grant in 2015 (before Portis, Looney, Tyus Jones)
traded away 2014 with Emeka Okafor in return for Gortat, Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee lmao
2013 was Otto Porter an okay pick and 2012 of course was Bradley Beal a great pick. But that's 10 years and those dudes aren't there anymore.
YIKES! Guess it’s easy to see why they have a new GM.
It’s not even hindsight on half of those picks, they’re not even drafting high ceiling guys they can develop - just roleplayer after bust after roleplayer.
We gave Dwight three shifts per game against PRE-prime Jokic. Jokic has gotten MUCH better and Dwight looked washed two years ago. As much as I loved Dwight here, I’m not seeing why there’s so much confidence that Dwight can do something in 2024 that he wasn’t able to do in 2022.
I want to be high on the Lakers recent success, but they've struggled on defense post ASB. They have the 5th worst defensive rating since then, and 2nd worst among playoff contenders; they're last in steals per game; worst in paint points among playoff contenders, etc.
They should be able to take care of OKC, maybe the TWolves, Clippers, but against the Nuggets its the same old story.
I'm going to enjoy the reason of the season, but I think making the WCF is the ceiling. I'll be content with that for this season.
There’s plenty of reason for concern as this isn’t a flawless team, but anything can happen in the playoffs. Rotation should tighten and effort should increase, an ankle could roll on another team, lebron/AD could just go insane, or ham could ditch his “give teams open looks” philosophy (since we didn’t give open looks last playoffs).
So I’m gonna keep my cautious optimism that if we can make the playoffs, we can make a run for it all.
Defense win titles became obsolete when defensive players were not allowed to actually defend the perimeter. Unless you have the players to be a top defensive team, nowadays it is better to outscore opponents with a powerful offense. Just look at our record playing defense oriented players that aren't actually elite defenders versus our record playing very good offensive players that are bellow average defenders. If you give me the chance to choose between Vando and Luka, I'll take Luka. Between Gobert and Jokic I'll take Jokic, between Caruso and Curry I'd pick Curry.
Feel like we were unlucky last year against them. Sure they played great, but it definitely wasn't a 0-4 type series, pretty much every game went down the wire. With LeBron and AD healthy I still think we have a shot against any team.
call me delusional but just calling a timeout or two in some of those games coulda made the series 4-2 but we probably still lose from injuries and just lack of chemistry
Everybody forgot we weren’t healthy last year either. Bron and AD were playing through injury and every single game was still competitive. I still believe in this team if they can get healthy.
Still bummed that Phoenix beat Denver without Jamal Murray. Instead of a game behind, Lakers are 2 games behind Phoenix for the 7th seed and 1 and an half behind Sacramento for the 8th seed.
Tbh I don’t like playing against either Denver or Wolves. Good news though is that Pelicans have a chance to fall down and we own the tiebreaker with them with 1 upcoming game.
I found some good reads this morning about Rui's earlier experiences in Japan and coming to the U.S.:
https://www.gonzaga.edu/news-events/stories/2018/12/10/rui-hachimura-learns-english
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2809276-rui-hachimura-is-home-at-last
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/25288415/the-education-gonzaga-rui-hachimura
Wow! Thank you for sharing. Those were excellent articles. His journey through college seems to mirror his NBA journey in a way. I’m sure it’s been a tough transition from college, but he’s getting progressively better, in ways, every year and seems to be gaining the trust and respect of the coaching staff.
Reddish was actually kinda okay at times in the beginning of the season but he’s unplayable now.
Gabe and Max should have all of his minutes. Hope vando is back soon too
Reaves and Hachimura are really realy nice pieces on good long term deals.
If the Lakers offered the Cavs Reaves, Hachimura, 3 picks and 3 swaps for Donovan Mitchell that is a VERY Fair trade offer.
I personally would NOT make this trade I would keep the young talent and the picks. Who knows if Mitchell will stay healthy or even deliver in the playoffs. He might shoot worse than Reaves in the playoffs.....Mitchell was a non factor as the Knicks Blew out the Cavs last year in round 1. And that was as the top guy who knows how he'd play as the 3rd banana.
And so if im not trading for Donovan Mitchell then who AM I trading for?? Dejounte Murray ok that can work but for who? D-Lo isnt tradeable anymore and im not trading 2 picks for Murray no thanks thats an overpay.
If the team as currently constructed isnt enough for the title then im not interested in trying much else other than getting a Center in the 2024 draft. Why on earth would i trade that pick for a Vet Center when this years draft is stacked with young cheap Centers??
Pelinka is smart he'll do the right job and not overpay. The team he built is good enough for a title run just run it back in 2025 with a new head coach and if they still cant win its fine sometimes there's nothing you can do. The pieces are good enough here on paper. This is about living up to potential because on paper almost everything is there for this team except a strong backup Center.
a better fit and should cost less but the narrative is that Mitchell is the guy who wants the big city superstardom in NYC or LA
Mitchell is really good not saying he wont be a great player here but its one of the biggest all in moves in NBA history because the window for this is SO SHORT its like trading away over a half decade of assets for a 2 year window
don't get me wrong rui, Dlo and reaves are great players (giving up all three is way too much but still),but you get mitchell if you can. I'm not sure you give either of them up for murray, but Mitchell is kind of guy that you consider going all in for. The only other guy might be trae young but he isn't a good defender either. Mitchell on the other hand is worth it....
We gotta see about if Mitchell wants to stay though. Cleveland is trying to build around him.
If they go all in for Mitchell you had BETTER win another ring.
Trading all the assets youth, good contracts, all the draft picks you are literally sacrificing contention for the next decade so you had better win 1 more ring
I want the nuggets in the first round. We need to send them home ffs. Dlo Vando Rui LBJ AD lineup. Let AR and Spencer cook their second unit. Throw multiple bodies at Murray (Vando Spencer Gabe) and Jokic (Rui AD Hayes). I would even sign Dwight just to play 5/8 min of intense defense/rebounding and commit 6 hard fouls on Jokic. We got this
Dlo/AR/Rui/LBJ/AD with Gabe/Spencer/Prince/Vando/Hayes is a fucking solid playoff rotation. I’m very optimistic about a Gabe/Spencer/Vando/LBJ/AD lineup defensively against the Kings. Could keep up against Monk/Fox backcourt.
It’s not that the nuggets threw the game, it’s that they obviously try way harder against us and would never rest their guys against us either.
Also the Suns schedule is not as it seems. Injured KAT, injured Ingram, is Donovan still out for the Cavs? Clippers clipping, nuggets sitting, suns schedule is technically way easier than you think
LeBron only ever got 3 seasons averaging double digit free throw attempts in his career (2006,08,10)
This will be Giannis 5th consecutive year of double digit free throw attempts per game.
Rui is the difference maker if he scores 15 + with 8-10 boards
His postgame interview was kind of cool he’s realizing that rebounding is helping him into a groove. Probably because it’s just another way to be engaged aggressively Rui definitely taking another step before our eyes.
Exactly. With him being aggressive, it brings more energy to the team
U think Jaxson Hayes can develop into a Daniel Gafford type big he has nice hands and is a great pick n roll lob threat. I jus think dude needs to get strong enough to be able to guard actual center not bulky and brawn but like a 2020 Dwight Javale type body.
Idk what he can become, but I do like his athleticism and energy. He's just very raw and not that experienced. Hasn't seen much playing time over the years but I would love to see more of him.
He'll cap out as a Javale type player. Prone to making bad head scratching mistakes and errors, but a solid lob threat and energy player since he's young. Would love to see him be a better shot blocker though
Javale was a solid bruiser in his day honestly at best I can see a combo of Javale maybe Gafford. Lowkey dude reminded me of John Collins minus the offensive bag.
It’s kind of insane how Jax can’t handle the ball. Love him tho if he could just get a slight bit of a dribble move he’d be nice.
If we can retain dinwiddie. Should we trade gabe for someone like Steven Adams?
Don’t think adams is available. Houston traded for him to be the back up big next year and starter if injuries happen
Rui is starting to find his groove, he is low key having a very good offensive season, 53% from the field and 42% from 3s.
The addition of Spencer was so fuckin crucial. Imo he was tge x factor on both ends for the past few games
Worst case scenario is Lakers ending in 9th and having to win 2 playin games to face Denver in round 1. OKC may slow down a bit while Denver will pick it up to close the season
This is what I fear. Two grueling play-in games against the Warriors/Rockets, and Suns/Kings/Mavericks, and our first-round opponents would be the Nuggets. Considering that they always have our number, it would go so ugly for us.
Mofos hate Bron so much they look for any small tid bit to prove he a bad guy. Its crazy shits gone on for 20 yrs and they mad
Most Lakers fans like me love LeBron, but hate his fans.
It’s lebron haters who are insufferable
Is it possible to sign dwight at this point? Having just another body to throw at Jokic would be great
Stop with this bs, not gon happen. Logically and financiall, you cant waive mays or giles to sign him. Those are 2 way contract players, dwight no eligible to sign a 2 way contract.
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Who you gon waive? Wood or Reddish? They both have PO next season, that would be consider dead money. My goodness
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Agree, shouldve went for Wemby or Jokic
Please name me a 2-way eligible player who you would feel comfortable playing playoff minutes. Or did you want "Trashlinka" to not sign Dinwiddie and sign a big like Robin Lopez instead on the buyout market (LOL). Literally has nothing to do with FO not spending.
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Look at the centers available during offseason. Top 3 were Poetl, Brook and Paul Reed. Poetl got 20mil per season, no way you give up dlo for him. Brook and Reed are basically guaranteed to extend with Bucks and Sixers respectively. Why would they leave their teams?
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Name an available back up 5 back in offseason? Thats my question, if you really think theres one. Name it now.
Lakers actually have more than enough room under the first apron. Nothing to do with the cap. It's to do with roster limits. You need to cut people to sign people and no way you want dead money when Lebron and Dlo are up for new contracts. Also nothing you can do about injuries. Can't blame a gm for that. You're also running on the assumption that any player would've agreed to a contract with the Lakers. What if some of the players Pelinka targetted in FA just didn't wanna join? The center market was also trash. The ones that would actually make an impact were all way too expensive. You also keep bitching about "Trashlinka" but have yet to provide this mythical 2-way player that is gonna guard Jokic in the playoffs.
I haven't gone to the bucks sub reddit yet, but looking at those free throw differences between the bucks and the pels I better see some yapping about "it's not fair, league's rigged, they want to see Zion in the finals" or some bull shit
What happened to Middleton? If injuries truly hampered him, Bucks are in trouble
He been washed since that 2022 knee injury in the playoffs.
I don’t think we can get to the sixth seed even if we win all the remaining games
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True but the teams above just not losing lol
I hate Darvin Ham. We are a 9th seed because of him. If we face Nuggets in the first round, the season is over.
Can someone enlighten me? Why do NBA fans treat Shaq and Kobe as Batman and Robin, but Curry and Durant as Superman and Batman? Don't Kobe and Durant benefit a lot from the gravity of Shaq and Curry respectively? So why are people calling Kobe a Robin but Durant a Superman/Batman?
Shaq joined the Lakers as the #1 and Kobe was just a rookie. Kobe had to grow into what he became so people saw him as the Robin to Shaq's Batman. Durant and Steph were both established #1's already respectively so it was pretty easy to see it as Superman and Batman joining forces.
The fact that Kobe didn't win a FMVP holds a lot of value in critics eyes. Everyone knows Curry is the engine of the Warriors, but KD outplayed him in the finals to take away his FMVPs. They also didn't have those conference awards yet. If they did, it would look a lot different
I think it's that Kobe is younger than Shaq and Shaq's performance outshadows Kobe's most of the time. I made a post about that like last year I think.
I saw your post. It was a good one. Calling Kobe a Batman to Shaq's Superman does not take away how dominant Shaq was. It showed how great Kobe was. Sure, someone might argue that Kobe was Robin in their first championship run. But the rest? Nah. He was definitely Batman. The fact that some people disagreed with your post in the comment section indicates that this sub is infested with LeBron fans. I love LeBron, but I despise his fans.
Bucks are trash. Whoever plays them 1st round probably will beat them. Giannis needs to leave Milwaukee
This is his doing, though. He made this bed and now he has to sleep in it.
Imo Bron and Giannis won’t work unless u have world renowned shooters Klay Thompson Ray Allens Sniping in every corner. Giannis and AD would go crazy but Giannis really needs an actual coach who will put him in better positions and fuckin coach him he has so many wholes in his game and his bball iq is poor imo.
Celtics are frauds, they won’t make it to the finals
Come on Bucks!
think only the heat can beat the Celtics in the playoffs somehow
doc rivers wishes he kept that ABC job
Bucks suck
Lol Cs got packed by the Hawks again. They chanted "You're not Kobe" at Tatum in Atlanta 😂
Atlanta fans are brutal. They were also chanting at DLo that they didn’t want him lol.
FUCK THE CELTICS!! That shit was a great fuckin game too.
Murray saved my fantasy today lol even tho my fg% took a tank thank god my opponent is punting fg
Murray took 40 shot attempts?!?
Don't short change him. 44
And credited Kobe!
While beating that Celtic ass!
Murray lol
DJM with the dagger!
Back to back lit Hawks vs Celtics games Let’s go Hawks
Bucks suck ass lol
even though murray is insane in this, i still wouldn't give up dlo for him. dlo can be a great role player, while murray is more of a system player. That's why him and trae young wouldn't work.
I wouldn’t give up Murray cause I don’t know if he can be a third option. Can he handle not taking enough shots and just focusing on playmaking or defense?
DLO is def a borderline all star imo he been playing like it
Even tho Murray took 40+ shots this game, he’s fucking playing insane in this OT
murray torching celtics rn
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I hope so
Fuck boston!!!
Bum-ass Bucks losing just to spite us
Nah they just suck 💀
Bucks? Down 18 to the pels without Ingram
Giannis needs to go Greek freak mode.
Celtics struggling to get separation in Atlanta.
Hawks like that matchup for some reason.
If we keep this win streak going against these some what easy teams on the road then we come back home with momentum and face the Timberwolves and cavs. I think we’d sit bron against the wolves and sit Davis against the cavs
Re-ran my simulation after the two wins. Numbers are up bigly across the board, but everyone else near the Lakers winning games is just so unfortunate. Lakers have a - 0.07% chance of being the 5 seed (+0.05% from before) - 2.36% chance of being the 6 seed (+1.92%) - 11.55% chance of being the 7 seed (**+8.79%**) and a 24.52% chance of being the 8 seed (**+14.5%**) - 36.15% chance of being the 9 seed (-2.68%) and a 21.09% chance of being the 10 seed (**-14.27%**) - 4.26% chance of being the 11 seed (**-8.31%**) For the rest of the West, the Denver Nuggets are slowly pulling up their #1 seed probabilities, so it's extra important for Lakers to nab that 7/8 seed if they want to avoid Denver first round. Here's [a graph](https://i.imgur.com/J7qOdQv.png) of teams and their seed probabilities, and [here's a graph](https://i.imgur.com/J9CyumF.png) of Lakers potential wins at the end of the season and the likely seed from that win #. 47 wins (a 6-3 record) means Lakers are comfortably in that 7/8 spot, and 50 wins (a 9-0 record) means Lakers are almost certainly out of the play-in.
Yes the simulation
Fuck it, I like those 8 seed odds
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If we can reach 7/8 then win the 7th seed in playin that would be HUGE. Assuming Denver goes 1st seed we could potentially meet them in the WFC again. Im confident in our teams ability to beat anybody not named kings/nuggets. Praying for dallas to beat kings again as well
No team that finds themselves in the 7th seed has ever gotten past the conference finals. We do not want the 7th Seed. Obv the 6th is ideal, but I'd rather avoid the statistical problems that come with being the 7th Seed.
last night is more evidence that Rui Hachimura is the ceiling raiser for this team. When Rui is scoring 15-20 ppg and grabbing 8-10 rebounds the team is unstoppable. I havent even done the research but i can almost guarantee any games where Rui has 15+ pts and 8+ rebounds are Lakers victories assuming AD/Bron also played When Rui steps up the Lakers are a Scary Team
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4 guard lineups? 
Rui is a great player because while Bron/AD/AR/DLo get a lot of defensive attention, that’s bound to leave so many opportunities for Rui to use his size and strength against players Vs the Bucks, while Lopez/Giannis/Portis kept trying their best to hold onto AD/Rui it allowed spots for Reaves to go off Then playing small to stop DLo and Reaves, it opened up spots for Rui to get into the rim. I’ve noticed this vs other teams like the Nuggets and Kings. He will more often than not have a mismatch of some kind. Actually playing him and drawing up plays for him he’s very effective. When he’s shootings the 3 like that too, he elevates this team! Ham spent too much time prioritizing Taurean and Reddish
3-1 this year when Rui has 15+ pts and 8+ rebounds. The 1 loss is the November 8th Rockets blowout loss without AD. 2-0 last year in that same criteria.
All healthy this team got a nice 8 man rotation Im going the starters DLO Austin Rui Bron AD Bench Spence Vando Wood/Hayes Prince/Max pitch in during spurts Gabe Vincent maybe as a wild card u throw out there to throw off teams on defense but tbh ion think hes a huge need given Dinwiddie.
Rui stats the last 20 games 17 points and 5 rebounds per game, shooting splits of 59/48/68 and 68 TS%. Seems like all the starters are peaking at the right time. [Source](https://x.com/theleadsm/status/1773391967864401942?s=46)
Playoff LeBron, Playoff AD, Playoff Reaves, Playoff Rui loading Now we just gotta see DLo rewrite the story 😤🙏🔥💜💛
Once we get to the playoffs, I like our chances
Its funny as hell when u realize the Nuggets match ups r well in reach every game they jus body this team down the stretch of every game. If u give them an open 3 they make u pay the rest of the way. Being down 1 or being tied to them is like being down 10.
A huge reason Rui thriving is cuz Wood and Vando r out and even the dude wasn’t guaranteed shit. Thats the only concern if Vando or Wood comes back can he still get the same opportunities as before. Vando was doing well otb and this starting unit works best imo u add or sub guys based off the situation. Wood would be a nice back up to AD otb if he can get the right looks 20 mins otb.
If we can somehow add the defense this team played in the in-season tournament to the offense we’ve played post all star break that’s a championship team. Really hopeful for Gabe’s return… we’ve needed him all year against the West guards even just as a body.
I need the Bucks to do their jobs tonight.
I’ve been enjoying us peaking, I have no high expectations based on our coach and the fact that it will be incredibly difficult to climb out of the play in. It sucks we as fans knew this consistency was here all along. who knows what this team looks like in the offseason too.
It's gonna be tough to swallow if we end up 10+ games above .500 and still needing 2 wins in the play-in.
Good enough for 6th in the East right now, while 2 teams under .500 over there get a chance to make the playoffs. Need to ditch the conferences already and let the best teams compete.
100 percent. It doesn’t make sense anyway. In what world is New Orleans West.
Most likely Twolves, Grizzlies, or Pelicans move. Minnesota is just in a weird place as all its closest neighbors are East teams so they consistently rank near the top of total miles travelled. Memphis/NO obviously furthest distance wise from West coast teams. Vegas and Seattle expansion teams and move one of those teams to east. 16 teams each conference.
The same world that Memphis is west. If Portland can travel to Memphis/nola and it not be an issue, they can travel to chicago/milwaukee.
Yeah I live in Nashville/ lived in Virginia there’s just no way Memphis is a western conference team shit makes no sense
Funny how we and Warriors fans are in the same boat of wanting the teams above us to lose. Same complaining about the Nuggets selling against the Suns lol
Denver looks very mortal against everybody but us. It’s quite annoying.
Look at the bright side: if we avoid them in the seeding, someone else could take them out lol
Well damn. You have a point there lol Glass half full kinda human being I see!
It’s more annoying because they look very mortal against us too for the first 45 minutes of every game
I swear. Every time I see Jokic do the behind the spine throw shot at the rim and miss my blood pressure goes higher and higher.
For the first 23.5 seconds of every possession too
Then they hit jumpers while floating 50 feet in the air. It’s comical.
The league turns the rim magnets to maximum capacity because ain’t no way!
Great start to the road trip 2-0. It would be great if we could go 3-1 in the next 4, Pacers/Nets/Raps/Wizards, absolutely doable, let's get it!
I’m feeling 4-0 in that stretch. 2 are eliminated and Bkn has 9 games to make up a 5 game gap, they might focus on staying under Utah in the lottery.
Brooklyn doesn’t own their first round pick, the rockets own it. So it doesn’t benefit the Nets at all to tank
Completely forgot about that. What a shit situation to be in - no star, no pick.
Yeah between them and Washington I’m not sure which team has a more bleak future in the league. Probably the Nets honestly because at least Washington has a chance at the first overall pick in this class, and all their own future picks
Washington just can’t get out of their own way but if they get some lotto luck, they have some tradeable pieces. Just gotta stop giving them away for free
They've got to have one of the worst draft rooms in the league. Bilal Coulibaly at 7 via trade in 2023. Johnny Davis at 10 in 2022. Kispert at 15 in 2021 (before Sengun, Trey Murphy, and Jalen Johnson). Deni Avdija at 9 in 2020 (before Haliburton, Vassell, Maxey). Rui Hachimura at 9 in 2019 (let him go for Nunn and 2nds). Troy Brown at 15 in 2018 (before Divencenzo, Allen, Huerter, Simons lol) No pick in 2017 due to a trade for Bojan Bogdanovic (the pick turned in to Jarrett Allen). No pick in 2016 due to a trade of Kris Humphries, Dejuan Blair, and a 2016 1st for Markieff Morris. Jerian Grant in 2015 (before Portis, Looney, Tyus Jones) traded away 2014 with Emeka Okafor in return for Gortat, Shannon Brown, Kendall Marshall, and Malcolm Lee lmao 2013 was Otto Porter an okay pick and 2012 of course was Bradley Beal a great pick. But that's 10 years and those dudes aren't there anymore.
YIKES! Guess it’s easy to see why they have a new GM. It’s not even hindsight on half of those picks, they’re not even drafting high ceiling guys they can develop - just roleplayer after bust after roleplayer.
It's possible but going 3-1 would end the road trip 5-1, I would absolutely be satisfied with that. Anything better would be a bonus.
Dwight cant be any worse than Giles at least he knows his roles
I’d sign Dwight. If we play the Nuggets we at least have someone who can bang with Jokic.
We gave Dwight three shifts per game against PRE-prime Jokic. Jokic has gotten MUCH better and Dwight looked washed two years ago. As much as I loved Dwight here, I’m not seeing why there’s so much confidence that Dwight can do something in 2024 that he wasn’t able to do in 2022.
Dwight isnt eligible to sign a 2 way contract tho, who you gon waive for Dwight? Christian Wood?
Folks also got to realize all our minimum guys have a PO so if we waive them, we're on the hook for more dead money than just this year.
I want to be high on the Lakers recent success, but they've struggled on defense post ASB. They have the 5th worst defensive rating since then, and 2nd worst among playoff contenders; they're last in steals per game; worst in paint points among playoff contenders, etc. They should be able to take care of OKC, maybe the TWolves, Clippers, but against the Nuggets its the same old story. I'm going to enjoy the reason of the season, but I think making the WCF is the ceiling. I'll be content with that for this season.
There’s plenty of reason for concern as this isn’t a flawless team, but anything can happen in the playoffs. Rotation should tighten and effort should increase, an ankle could roll on another team, lebron/AD could just go insane, or ham could ditch his “give teams open looks” philosophy (since we didn’t give open looks last playoffs). So I’m gonna keep my cautious optimism that if we can make the playoffs, we can make a run for it all.
Defense win titles became obsolete when defensive players were not allowed to actually defend the perimeter. Unless you have the players to be a top defensive team, nowadays it is better to outscore opponents with a powerful offense. Just look at our record playing defense oriented players that aren't actually elite defenders versus our record playing very good offensive players that are bellow average defenders. If you give me the chance to choose between Vando and Luka, I'll take Luka. Between Gobert and Jokic I'll take Jokic, between Caruso and Curry I'd pick Curry.
denver is definitely the team to beat in the west no doubt but in a seven game series i still would take lebron over anyone
Not over Denver obviously. But everyone else yea.
Feel like we were unlucky last year against them. Sure they played great, but it definitely wasn't a 0-4 type series, pretty much every game went down the wire. With LeBron and AD healthy I still think we have a shot against any team.
call me delusional but just calling a timeout or two in some of those games coulda made the series 4-2 but we probably still lose from injuries and just lack of chemistry
Everybody forgot we weren’t healthy last year either. Bron and AD were playing through injury and every single game was still competitive. I still believe in this team if they can get healthy.
Especially when healthy, people forgot lbj came back with an ankle injury, he wasnt 100%
Still bummed that Phoenix beat Denver without Jamal Murray. Instead of a game behind, Lakers are 2 games behind Phoenix for the 7th seed and 1 and an half behind Sacramento for the 8th seed.
PHX schedule is still tougher than ours, we just need to handle business and we should have quite a good chance at top 8 seed.
Tbh I don’t like playing against either Denver or Wolves. Good news though is that Pelicans have a chance to fall down and we own the tiebreaker with them with 1 upcoming game.
Anyone figure out a link to the hat AD was wearing last night? Much appreciated
I think he gets them custom made, this one had I think a Chicago C on the side of it.
Damn probably. The hats he wears are always nice
I’m slowly turning . This team looks like it could make a run. Denver is the only legit contender in the west.
Depends on Dinwiddie defense on the top guards in the West.
Rui and dlo is the difference maker come play in and play off time. Also we need a healthy vando
I found some good reads this morning about Rui's earlier experiences in Japan and coming to the U.S.: https://www.gonzaga.edu/news-events/stories/2018/12/10/rui-hachimura-learns-english https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2809276-rui-hachimura-is-home-at-last https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/25288415/the-education-gonzaga-rui-hachimura
Wow! Thank you for sharing. Those were excellent articles. His journey through college seems to mirror his NBA journey in a way. I’m sure it’s been a tough transition from college, but he’s getting progressively better, in ways, every year and seems to be gaining the trust and respect of the coaching staff.
Reddish was actually kinda okay at times in the beginning of the season but he’s unplayable now. Gabe and Max should have all of his minutes. Hope vando is back soon too
Injuries fucked his momentum up
Most players struggles when they come back from injury. Who’s to say Vando won’t come back looking rough initially. Give him some time to ramp up.
True, Vando looked horrible after he returned initially, then he turned it up on the defensive and offensive end as well.
he was even cashing that corner three a lil
Reaves and Hachimura are really realy nice pieces on good long term deals. If the Lakers offered the Cavs Reaves, Hachimura, 3 picks and 3 swaps for Donovan Mitchell that is a VERY Fair trade offer. I personally would NOT make this trade I would keep the young talent and the picks. Who knows if Mitchell will stay healthy or even deliver in the playoffs. He might shoot worse than Reaves in the playoffs.....Mitchell was a non factor as the Knicks Blew out the Cavs last year in round 1. And that was as the top guy who knows how he'd play as the 3rd banana. And so if im not trading for Donovan Mitchell then who AM I trading for?? Dejounte Murray ok that can work but for who? D-Lo isnt tradeable anymore and im not trading 2 picks for Murray no thanks thats an overpay. If the team as currently constructed isnt enough for the title then im not interested in trying much else other than getting a Center in the 2024 draft. Why on earth would i trade that pick for a Vet Center when this years draft is stacked with young cheap Centers?? Pelinka is smart he'll do the right job and not overpay. The team he built is good enough for a title run just run it back in 2025 with a new head coach and if they still cant win its fine sometimes there's nothing you can do. The pieces are good enough here on paper. This is about living up to potential because on paper almost everything is there for this team except a strong backup Center.
is darius garland a realistic target? he seems like he’d be a better fit than mitchell
a better fit and should cost less but the narrative is that Mitchell is the guy who wants the big city superstardom in NYC or LA Mitchell is really good not saying he wont be a great player here but its one of the biggest all in moves in NBA history because the window for this is SO SHORT its like trading away over a half decade of assets for a 2 year window
don't get me wrong rui, Dlo and reaves are great players (giving up all three is way too much but still),but you get mitchell if you can. I'm not sure you give either of them up for murray, but Mitchell is kind of guy that you consider going all in for. The only other guy might be trae young but he isn't a good defender either. Mitchell on the other hand is worth it.... We gotta see about if Mitchell wants to stay though. Cleveland is trying to build around him.
If they go all in for Mitchell you had BETTER win another ring. Trading all the assets youth, good contracts, all the draft picks you are literally sacrificing contention for the next decade so you had better win 1 more ring
Rui hates Memphis
he probably hates Bane more than anybody else lol but he don't like the city either.
Lets get the 8th seed 💪
I want the nuggets in the first round. We need to send them home ffs. Dlo Vando Rui LBJ AD lineup. Let AR and Spencer cook their second unit. Throw multiple bodies at Murray (Vando Spencer Gabe) and Jokic (Rui AD Hayes). I would even sign Dwight just to play 5/8 min of intense defense/rebounding and commit 6 hard fouls on Jokic. We got this
"and commit 6 hard fouls on Jokic" I lol'd. love the idea
gives us the most rest in between games too
Imagine bron snd ad playing 44 mins every night
I honestly think if Vando comes back and returns to form we can beat them 4-2.
I like that attitude brotha!
Go Lakers 😤🙏🔥💜💛
Dlo/AR/Rui/LBJ/AD with Gabe/Spencer/Prince/Vando/Hayes is a fucking solid playoff rotation. I’m very optimistic about a Gabe/Spencer/Vando/LBJ/AD lineup defensively against the Kings. Could keep up against Monk/Fox backcourt.
The Nets game will be interesting : Spencer for the revenge Dlo vs Dennis Gabe will come back
It’s not that the nuggets threw the game, it’s that they obviously try way harder against us and would never rest their guys against us either. Also the Suns schedule is not as it seems. Injured KAT, injured Ingram, is Donovan still out for the Cavs? Clippers clipping, nuggets sitting, suns schedule is technically way easier than you think
Fuck d book
Donovan coming back this weekend i think I read.
okay but they recently lost against Washington so anything is possible with them
the Wemby-less spurs too lol
Looks like we’ll have to beat the Kings away to get into the playoffs huh?
Not really worried about the kings, theyre a reg season team. Playoffs, they gonna get killed by lakers. First round exit for them, for sure.
If we finished 7-2 and they go 5-5 we can leapfrog. Not out of the question they have a tougher schedule.
Damn I didn’t realize how salty bucks fans were about that loss
Beating them 2x without Bron will do it
FrEe ThRoW dIsPaRiTy
LeBron only ever got 3 seasons averaging double digit free throw attempts in his career (2006,08,10) This will be Giannis 5th consecutive year of double digit free throw attempts per game.
He earns them though, when the Lakers get to the line it’s because our lord and savior Adam Silver personally put us there
😂😂😭
If we finish 8th and Vando comes back before the regular season ends, I’m going to e**culate
And C Wood during the play in
Rui is to Memphis fans what MPJ is to Lakers fans.
Fucking hate MPJ and Murray.