Great fiver with the right focus, Jamie. Perfect photo for the article highlighting the Lakers championship, which was the real news of the night. Loved LeBron still honoring Kobe. As Kobe himself would have said, flush this game and win the next ten.
(1) Despite being a far better team than the Clippers, you can’t spot a team with Kawhi and PG 20 points in the first quarter and expect to win. Write it off to the ring ceremony.
(2) LeBron and AD will definitely did not have great games but they’ll still dominate Kawhi and PG when it counts. This was really just an extension of preseason and it will take a few weeks for the real games to start to be played.
(3) There was some excellent play by Trezz, Keef, THT, and Kuz. I Tweeted the individual players plus/minus and defensive and net ratings and these guys all had excellent games. Bodes well for team going forward. We just need to be patient. Domination will eventually emerge.
(4) Way too early to worry about Marc although Frank needs to make some adjustments defensively to account for the lack of rim protection when we play a team with a stretch five but it’s not like we never saw this last season with Jokic and other modern centers. May mean more AD at the five, which is always our best lineups and what we go to when games count.
(5) I liked what we saw from Dennis and his ability to get to the rim is going to be a big factor, especially when Marc is at the top of the key creating spacing. I also liked Dennis’ aggressiveness and quickness when he attacks the rim. It was not a coincidence that the young legs looked the best in this game while the older players, including LeBron, Garol, and Matthews are going to need more time to get going.
Looking forward to a Lakers win for Christmas. Glad you’re OK, Jamie. Thought about you several times yesterday and sent prayers your way. This will be a special Christmas for you so cherish the good fortune. Hopes and prayers to those not as fortunate. Things will be better next year. And Lakers will be champions again.
LOL. Considering how poorly Russ played, his inability to shoot the three, and the $132 million and 3 years left on his contract, and the fact that the Rockets have no picks to include, this is a totally ridiculous idea.
But just for fun, here are some positive points:
1. He was coming back from coronavirus so was not in shape.
2. He is no worse a 3-point shooter than Kuzma or Rondo.
3. He was 2017 MVP and averaged 27/8/7 this season.
4. The price does not include any long term assets.
5. He could turbo charge the Laker transition game.
6. He solves the third scorer and second playmaker issues.
7. Healthy, he can be an outstanding defender.
8. He’s still only 31 years old and still an uber athlete.
9. He could be dynamite in a 5-out offense with AD at the 5.
10. We still keep Kuzma, Caruso, THT, and our pick.