The number of minutes we’ve seen Russ, AD, and LeBron play. While I would like for Russ to have made his dunk last night with less than a minute to play that did not lose us the game. We lost the game on defense where we allowed Wayne Ellington and THT far too much time guarding James Harden. We’ve suffered a talent drain from the coaching staff and on the bench and tried to bandage it up with David Fizdale and 33 year old and up minimum deals.
I stand by the point I’ve made a couple of times now: you cannot spend on three superstars and be unwilling to surround them with the proper personnel. Ownership saw the bill with Russ, AD, and LBJ and then blanched when it came time to add desert and appetizers to the three course meal. That’s just unacceptable. Adding Caruso would have given everyone more tools. Rob in trades, the coaches on defense, and LeBron and AD a guy who they had been in the trenches with. No offense to THT but he wasn’t an instrumental member of a championship team.
Trading away most of the team for Russ was a gamble I can live with. Not going to the proper lengths to assure them of having a quality team around them is a dereliction of duty. Given the tools Rob had after trading, two Bird’s Right deals he could re-sign, there were few options available and we blew one of them completely.
Now, having said all that, Russ needs to make shots. He’s paid to make shots. Yes, he brings a lot of other things to the table but at the end of the day you either need to be responsible for points scored or points taken away via solid defense. Russ and his 11 assists accounted for at least 22 points but his shots missed took away a lot of that good. That’s the thing, though. Kobe would have kept shooting, LeBron keeps shooting, Russ kept shooting. You can’t ding a superstar for trying to be, well, super.
There are far more problems with the array of minimum deals to one-dimensional and/or old players than with Westbrook’s play and there’s certainly not an easy path around that fact. Swap Russ for Ben? You take away even more points and no guarantee one man adds a defensive presence when he won’t be the one targeted. Just because Ben is on the team doesn’t mean teams won’t focus on picking on Wayne, THT or Monk. We need a defensive presence in the paint more than maybe any other team with playoff hopes.
Sadly, Dwight is not the answer. He’s even older when he only had a minimum role 2 seasons ago and now is recovering from COVID, as he said in the post gamer. DAJ was never the answer and was a terrible addition especially when one considers the players that were available at the time (Damion Jones and Nemanja Bjelica come to mind instantly). If there is a way on Earth we can trade THT and Nunn for Turner it has to be done in the name of giving the Lakerteers and the coaching staff the proper tools to win now. The choice of THT was something that, likely, was trying to keep an eye on the future and in the hope of adding someone who was more of a dynamic scorer than Caruso. The sad truth is they made the wrong choice by choosing not to retain Caruso AND Talen as that would have given Rob the most tools to do his job properly, as well.
It’s absolutely fine to critique the players, coaches and team. As fans we have zero true input but we do pay money to watch these guys on TV and in arenas, and are more invested in the team than many of the players are. As a kid from Long Beach Russ grew up loving the team we all love. So yes, his game has holes that need the right teammates to fill, so does LeBron and AD. We didn’t deliver them those teammates, we didn’t give Frank the right tools to execute his defense, and for Rob to be able to make bigger moves. None of that is on Westbrook.
I agree with your assessment of the situation the Lakers are in right now, and the “113” minutes the big 3 spent together is very depressing and don’t help at all. What happened to Russ’s banked shots? I agree he needs to be counted on as a scorer and those missed wide open shots are becoming very common and unbearable. THT? Ever since his 6 steals game that saw him crawling out of the bottom of the barrel and looked promising, he has been on a tailspin since he cleared the health and safety protocols. Could be the side effects of the virus. Only a confidence boosting game could help change that.
Our biggest problem has been with the paint area where we keep getting out-hustled every time. With the team decimated by injuries and the infiltration of the virus, the team’s mentality of “next man up” has completely turned into a “next man down” fiasco with players going in and out of the revolving door of health and safety protocols.
Blaming one individual won’t do any justice. We need guys with energy who are not afraid to do the dirty work and get muddy. Forget about the standings for now and let’s experiment with energy guys like Jemmerio Jones, Stanley Johnson, and even Jay Huff to see what else we got in hopes of minimizing the porousness of
our paint defense. Paint defense by committee is actually the best option right now in my opinion. I agree with your take on Dwight and DJ. But we have seen enough of what they can or can’t do to justify the need for a new strategy. We need to try something different if we are to expect a different result. And there is no better time to audition than at this point in time.
Allowing teams to score 100 points in three quarters is very aggravating and the coaching staff shares blame for such futility. Again, let’s audition the aforementioned players and see what their energy infusion could entail.
Excellent post, Jamie. Can’t disagree with any of it. Lakers clearly traded Caruso to save luxury taxes when they desperately needed a tradable contract, not to mention a player who can play elite defense. But that’s always been the Lakers’ approach to paying luxury taxes. Jerry never paid them. Jeanie’s the same.
As for Russ, I do agree the Lakers’ mess is not his fault but he also is responsible for doing what he can to make it work. Playing too fast and out of control and missing layups, making dumb turnovers, and playing kamakazi defense are not how you lead by example. Sorry, but Russ is not the problem but he’s also not the answer. Lakers must trade him. No other way out imo.
Lakers need to think about going all-in on rebuilding their defense to be the best in the league. That means trying to get defensive difference-makers like Ben Simmons and Myles Turner to transform the Lakers size and defense. It won’t be easy but there is a path to the Lakers salvaging this season.