Not sure why I keep tuning in to watch the never ending train wreck that is this season. Frankly I ran out of adjectives that express dismay and disappointment awhile ago. Phrases like “bad joke” and “poorly assembled” now fail short. The outcome was never in question as the Raptors won wire-to-wire.
- Small ball can’t clean the glass. Nor does it dissuade points in the paint. James can’t do it all so if we want to get the most outta him at the 5 down the stretch of games we need an infusion of talented size.
- Waiver wires are trying. It’s not lost on me that the guys who have a lot of NBA experience that weeent picked up off the waiver wire at some point aren’t playing. Melo is the only one getting consistent minutes. The rest barely crack the garbage time rotation. Bradley, Johnson and the 2 ways all get bigger roles over the more “talented” or “experienced” players.
- Don’t bother rushing AD back. Just don’t see it mattering much given the way the team performs on a nightly basis. Get right for next season.
- What’s worse, losing to NOLA or Portland or the ghost of the San Antonio Spurs or falling all the way out of the playin. Might as well go full tumble and and give NOLA a sort of thank you tip for the AD trade.
- I dunno. THT has a nice-ish game so I guess we’ll see something bad from him in the next one since he is still incapable of sustaining decent play?
Anyhow, this team isn’t going to fight it’s way into anything. They haven’t enough fight in them. LeBron is going full Quixote trying to save the world alone, Russ is going full Van Exel (1-2-3 CANCUN!) and the rest just don’t have it in ‘em. AD is like Lieutenant Dan out of Forrest Gump thinking he’s the one saving something when it’s him that needs the saving. Love the franchise but have pretty much come to find this team unwatchable.
True to the point, Jamie. It is very painful to watch this team play, yet I can’t stop watching. I feel like being tortured every time I watch the team play. I guess it’s the die-hard fan in me that is so stubborn. I have never been this sad as a Lakers fan. We need a better team than this, and we Lakers fans deserve better. At least LeBron finally got his triple quintuple, 30k 10k 10k. That’s a testament to his hard work and dedication to his job. Congratulations LeBron!!
Yeah I keep watching, too, hoping something can jolt the team out of this funk.
“hoping something can jolt the team out of this funk.” Exactly. That’s what gets me curious, and curiosity kills the cat.
Firing Frank is the only thing that would get their attention at this point in time.
The question that still remains unanswered to me is why this team is in such freefall. We know about the injuries to LeBron, AD, and other key players, how LeBron, AD, and Russ just do not fit well, and the galling unforgiveable lack of size on the roster. But a team with LeBron James has never been this bad.
This team simply has no identity, no chemistry, no continuity, and no size. The coaching has been negligent, the lineups ludicrous, and excuses more nonsensical after each loss. Frank Vogel has lost this team and the players as a collective have thrown in the towel. All that remains is for the Lakers to wave the white flag.
It’s stupid for the Lakers to not fire Frank Vogel right now. It’s the one thing the front office can do that’s not going to affect the team long term and will give us a chance to isolate how much of a problem the coach was in this situation. Let Fizdale or Handy see if he can get the team to win some games. Let’s see if the team responds to a new voice. They obviously can’t hear Frank.
Only reason Lakers are not firing Frank is the crazy hope that AD will solve everything when he comes back. Lakers just refuse to let that pipe dream die. Not many more optimistic than me but even I’ve buried that dream.
Time now to get information to help make decisions going forward. Let take Frank out of the equation. Let’s start Gabriel over Johnson. We need size. We won with small-ball-on-steroids with AD, LeBron, and Markieff. Playing LeBron, Stanley, and Austin is not the same thing. That’s not even small ball. It’s micro-ball. Problem is we don’t have the horses to play big or small. Let’s not waste the last 16 games of this season.
You touched on the coach being the issue but its’s your second point that is more salient. This roster was constructed so incredibly badly I think it’s amazing it’s done as well as it has. I actually don’t think Frank has lost the team, it’s just a really really really really really bad team. Once we got scouted and Russ didn’t change that was it. It’s not like Russ not changing is on Frank, either. Westbrook isn’t changing for anyone now, in the past or on down the line. We play a starting 5 of a rookie, a guy who started one game prior to this season, a waiver wire pickup, James and Westbrook. That’s because everyone else has shown us they can’t defend or score reliably. We’re playing our best players. Frank is to blame for much but definitely not all. The only reason, though, that I think Frank is still around was that he won is a banner. They’re letting him try. Either way, Jesus couldn’t get more out of this team. It’s a crappy team built by ridiculous analytics and not smarts or trust in past accomplishments.
It’s probably around 50/50 between Frank and Rob.
Definitely not a good job by either. No synergy.
They actually did not work together well at all this year.
Well said, Tom. The only thing I would hesitate to see happen is having Handy taint his resume by taking a risk coaching a team with no identity and the size to compete this late in the season. He’s too respected for what he does to have everything go down the drain. It’s too late and too risky.
I am ready to see Vogel finish the season knowing that he is not coming back and also out of respect for him winning a chip with the team. It’s not his fault for having a roster full of flaws. Sometimes I even wonder how he gets the guts to keep coaching with all the headaches that come with the freefalling this team is going through. I would quit if I can’t get the job done. That would be much better than having to go through this hell. I like your point on player adjustments. Good points.