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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
Michael H wrote a new post
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Michael, double click the title of the article to go to the landing page.
Then click Edit Post at top and you can change or correct title or body.
That’s how I fixed it. You should have the ability to do that. Please check and confirm.You should also be able to edit comments by clicking the edit button.
Thanks.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Lakers should make move for both players.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Dan Woike
@DanWoikeSports
Source confirms Stanley Johnson will sign for the rest of the 2021-22 season with a team option for next year. Lakers keep a young, athletic defender who has 100 percent earned his spot on the roster![Profile Photo]()
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Lakers had been discussing some two-for-one trades along the roster margins, but ultimately landed on keeping Johnson in 15th spot, especially because of his willingness to agree on a team option for year, per sources. That keeps some deal-making flexibility for LA this summer.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 26, 2022
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Smart move by Lakers and Stanley. Next move is use 2 of the three picks from Russ deal to move DJ and either Baze or Ellington to the Pacers for Justin Holiday. And talk about including Myles Turner for THT, Nunn, and the pick. We get Turner and Holiday, a 3&D wing and big.
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![Profile picture of Jamie Sweet]()
Awesome stuff, glad he’s back in the NBA and we’ve needed him more than I think anyone…including Rob Pelinka…realized.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
While it was clear that this team still has a lot of work to do, with AD back we caught a glimpse of what this team can be going forward. Having AD back changes everything. Yes he was naturally rusty. He needs to get his wind, legs and timing back but just having him in the middle was a game changer. Besides the 4 blocks and multiple altered shots, he turned a lot of guys away from me he rim and seamlessly was able to switch everything. He challenged several 3 point attempts that helped hold the Nets to only 27% from 3. A few other thoughts.
LeBron continues to amaze on offense but he is still impacting the game on defense. He demonstrated again why I’m against adding another center like Turner. His days of being able to defend wings and 3’s on a consistent level are past him. But when he plays the 4 or 5 he sits back and plays free safety with steals and off ball help. With AD back this is Lebrons best role.
Positive effort and energy was on display most of the game. We need this every game.
Our switching defense does allow for more offensive rebounds. But 18 offensive is ridiculous. This has to be cleaned up. Those rebounds along with Westbrooks turnovers that led to 10 points is the only reason that the Nets were able to hang around. It’s frustrating when you play blow out basketball only to give up all those 2nd chances.
Lunch pail basketball. Austin and Stanley both put on their hard hats and went to work. Austin’s assists, rebounds and defense was a game changer. And Stanley played his usual hard nosed defense with seamless switching 1 through 5. Today is Stanley’s last day of his 10 day. They better sign this kid. Ariza didn’t see the floor because of his effort. You are not going to get that out Trevor.
Isn’t it amazing how good things happen when you actually look for your 3 point shooters? Malik was 6 for 12, that was with 2 percentage busters that he had to take. And Melo was 3 for 7. We don’t have to trade for a 3 point shooter, we just have to utilize the ones we have.
Malik was a +14, Austin +13 and Stanley + 10. The only old guys with pluses was Melo +15 and LeBron +10. This actually been trending this easy for awhile with our younger players having the stronger +/- If you don’t count Bazemore 3 minutes of garbage time 5 of our 9 guys were 28 and younger. That mix of of young and old is what this team needs to employ going forward.
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![Profile picture of Jamie Sweet]()
Great post. I think Austin’s shot has hit the rookie wall but his overall game has not. I wouldn’t trade Austin or Monk for anyone but a game-changer whom the team intends to keep. The mix of young and old in all our line ups is the key going forward, though.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Aloha and Mahalo, Michael.
Spot on post. This Lakers team is like lethal memory that’s faded so much you can only see the outlines. Last night, there were solid periods where the vision could actually be seen. LeBron’s offense, AD’s defense, Malik’s stroke, Reaves intangibles. Like a ghost ship floating invisibly in the harbor slowly taking potential championship form and dimension.
I agree with you about LeBron at the 4/5 being LeBron’s best defensive role. He is so engaged when he plays the five. Frankly, his best position as well as AD’s best position is probably the five. LeBron is like a middle linebacker or free safety viewing the play and deciding where best to blow it up. Those back-to-back steals yesterday were killers. I love LeBron at the five.
But that doesn’t deter me from wanting to trade for Myles Turner. While trading for Turner could result in LeBron playing fewer minutes at the five, I think that can be adjusted by having LeBron play the five in certain matchups with AD staying at the four. Who plays the five should be matchup oriented.
Tomorrow night we go up against the 76ers and Joel Embiid. Who do you think would be a better starting matchup for Embiid? I might even see Frank start Dwight rather than AD because of the size and weight issue. But Turner would be the best option. With AD and LeBron helping when needed. They’re both better shot blockers as help defenders anyway. And we can still play 5-out as Myles can stretch fhe floor.
What Turner brings is a true stretch five who wants to shoot more from outside. He is the player that would enable the Lakers to matchup with any team. He’s the answer to teams that have Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid at center. Yes, we can probably scramble and find ways to make up for our lack of size. Why not just address the issue. Lakers won in the past because they had great size at every position and played small. Small ball on steroids. With Turner, we will never lose the rebounds or points in the paint battles and can play five-out centerless basketball 48 mpg.
In the end, I believe in being able to play any styles or matchup against any opponent is a huge edge. The Lakers have too few assets to add a bigger 3&D wing and stretch five rim-protecting center. Myles Turner would solve the Lakers philosophic dysfunction over the center position and force the Lakers into the modern NBA. Lakers would have an elite shot blocker putting a lid on the basket 48 minutes of each game.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
While Frank is under a lot of heat, some of it well deserved, I still look at Rob as the biggest culprit, outside of injuries for our poor play. We run a LeBron centric offense. And in a LeBron centric offense the goal is to find the open man. When it’s Melo, Malik, Wayne or even Avery, great. But it’s often Russ, THT, Trevor and Austin. Not so great. LeBron centric offenses never feature volume 3 point shooters. I was not in favor of the Buddy trade because of this and was foolish to believe this would change this year when we brought in shooters this year. Also thinking that Russ would change the approach was wrong headed as well. Rob should have known this, I mean I did and I’m just a lowly blogger.
What makes LeBron centric line ups work is defense. Rob should have know this as well but our defense was traded away or let walk. When you look at our guard play, the best rated defense is Bazemore and Russ at around 110 and it goes down from there bottoming out with Austin at 114. Now it has hurt not having AD in the middle because everyone gets beat in the NBA but we were without him for long stretch last year and still were able to maintain that number one rated defense. Rob never took any of this into consideration when he traded for Russ.
So what can be done. Well of AD coming back will be huge but it won’t matter without us playing harder as a team.
I don’t think we we will be able to land any meaningful players with our assets. because of the play in tournament and the decreased odds of landing a top 3 pick, there are very few names on the market and a lot of competition for the names from teams with more to offer. As far as the buy out market, I’m not hearing any rumors at all about who will be let go. In past years one already had an idea about several players.
The good news is we have an opportunity to add two impact players. The first is Stanley. He MUST be offered that 15 roster spot. If a trade or a buyout player surfaces, we a couple of guys we can cut. If Jeanie is worried about the tax then she will be just as responsible as Rob and Frank.
You also have to look at Nunn as a mid season acquisition. He was a big part of the plan coming into the season. He defends and he is a 3 level scorer. All Nunn has to do is play as well as he has in the past., he doesn’t even need to improve. A starting line up with LeBron, Russ, AD, Stanley and Nunn give us a younger more athletic starting 5 and upgrades our defense, which is a must with a LeBron centric offEnse. Our bench would also have a mix of youth and vets with a lot of fire power in Malik and Melo.
This is what continues to give me a little hope. Hopefully the front office won’t blow it and Frank will realize that we have played some of our best ball with the kids and not stubbornly give some of vets more minutes then they deserve.
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“What makes LeBron centric line ups work is defense. Rob should have know this as well but our defense was traded away or let walk.” This 100%. It’s why I’m far less concerned about getting a shooter/scorer and would much rather see an elite defender come back in a trade.
I’d love to see us do THT and Reaves/Monk and 1st rounder for Marcus Smart, for instance. I’d do a deal THT for Caruso straight up. I would really kick the tires on a Gary Trent Jr. for THT, Monk (Raptors would have cap space to keep him), filler and 1st rounder.
Hard for me to see any of those happening though. THT has been underwhelming, those teams are more “retool” than “rebuild” and really only teams with cap space can retain Monk if he keeps up his level of play. Our pick might as well be in another dimension it’s so far out there. Reaves is the one cost-controlled player of impact and youth that we have, hard for me to trade him and I also think he might need to be added to a potential Russ deal this summer when that becomes even possible.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
I think unless we can land a star, the Lakers stand pat Jamie. There was a reason the team was excited to land Nunn. He’s a very good player on both sides of the ball. Of course they offered him for Grant. That makes sense but I think they will see what he can bring to the table before trading for a lesser player.
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I don’t see GT Jr. or Marcus as lesser than Jerami Grant. If anything I think both those guys fit better into the kind of team Frank likes to coach than Grant does.
However, I also expect us to stand pat until the summer.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Well I posted before the game that if we came out with the same energy that we did against the Magic, we would lose. We gave up 69 points in that first half. You can’t do that against a good team. And we did. We played some defense in the 2nd half and only gave up 44 but it was too little to late. Just a few thoughts:
Shooting 28% from 3 is never good. And the Heat shot 45% but that only translated into 4 more 3’s. But the problem was that we shot 40 3’s 7 more then the Heat. That was the killer.
But the even more telling stat to me was assists. The Heat had 30 to our 20. LeBron and Russ combined for 13 assists while Butler had 12 by himself.
I wonder what our record is when LeBron shoots a lot of 3’s and misses. Sure he scored 33 but was 1 for 8 from 3 and just 4 assists. It hurts us when LeBron settles that much from 3.
Trevor looks washed.. 0 from 5 from 3 and 4 turnovers in just 15 minutes. And it would be different if he was playing lock down defense. He’s not. I wouldn’t be surprised if improved some but Stanley is playing so much better. And he brings young legs to the party.
I did love the comeback. We were down by 23 with 9 minutes to go when THT and Stanley game in. Along with Avery They both played terrific defense, they tag teamed Butler who only managed two free throws and no assists in those last 9 minutes. Both Bradley and THT also hit big 3 point shots.
Stanley not only continues to make a case to be signed for the rest of this year and next, but he should be starting ahead of Trevor.
I wonder if Austin has hit the rookie wall. He really hasn’t done much on either side of the ball over the last 5 games.
It’s a lot to ask of Wayne when you rarely play him and then put him in to hopefully hit some 3’s. He was 1 for 2 but that was 1 shot every 5 minutes he played. He’s a shooter, if you are going to put him in the game, get him shots.
We still can have a great road trip but not if we are not going to come out with energy and play hard for the entire game.
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![Profile picture of Buba]()
Well said, Michael. I felt the same way about LeBron. He needs to stop taking those 3s without making a play. If they are not going in please work on a plan B. Don’t just keep jerking them up at the expense of the team. If he’s hot from the 3 then it would make sense.
The case for Ariza is real. He should not be starting ahead of Johnson. I have also noticed Reaves’s lack of energy for a while now. Could it be due to the hits from the charges he has been taking lately? But in any case, he is going through something that’s bothering him both mentally and physically. I hope to see that changed.
Bottom line, please come to play with energy. Our season is on life support.
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![Profile picture of Jamie Sweet]()
This team is nowhere near good enough for these “we’ll turn it on late!” rallies or mentality.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
First quarter meltdown was directly because Frank Vogel started Russ, AB, LeBron, Ariza, and Dwight got the third straight game. I posted the horrible negative net ratings the last three games for this starting lineup. Yet Frank rolls them out once again. That’s it for me and Vogel.
All you have to do to analyze this game is look at Frank Vogel’s starting lineup of Russ, AB, LeBron, Ariza, and Dwight. This is the third game in a row where we have played a starting lineup that not only cannot defend but also cannot score. We’re like a team led by a coach with no clue.
The result last night? Team most 11 minutes on the floor with an OffRtg of 59.1, a DefRtg of 118.2, and a net rating of -59.1. The worst rated lineup and most used lineup by Frank Vogel, who now supposedly has full control of the rosters.
The result the last two games? Team most 17 minutes on the floor with an OffRtg of 85.3, DefRtg of 108.8, and NetRtg of -23.5. Again, worst rated and most used 5-man lineup the last two games.
The result the last three games? Team most 27 minutes on the floor with an OffRtg of 92.6, DefRtg of 101.8, and NetRtg of -9.2. Again, worst rated and most used 5-man lineup the last three games.
Shit show job by shit show coach; At this point, I would fire Frank Vogel is he comes out with AB or TA in the starting lineup. I’ve reached the end of the line with this guy. He can’t make simple logical smart lineup decisions. This team has been lost and this season is toast.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Best news we could hear.
PG: Russ
SG: Reaves
SF: Johnson
PF: James
CE: Davis -
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Via Brad Turner pic.twitter.com/uLd07ztrDK
— Lakers Br (@Los_LakersBR) January 22, 2022
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
No more freaking excuses, Frank.
Replace AB for Reaves.
Replace Dwight with AD.
Russ, Reaves, Johnson, James, and Davis.
Lakers switch everything defense!-
![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
There should be huge pressure on Frank Vogel to play smart lineups. No more playing the wrong players. No more DJ/AB.
Do it right this time or kiss your ass and Lakers job goodbye. -
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Don’t see that happening. Bradley is the starter, if AR gets hot he’ll likely finish games but Agra I’ll go with vets.
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![Profile picture of Jamie Sweet]()
…Frank will go with vets. He always has and I don’t see him changing. Remember, this is the guy who wanted a lineup “etched in stone” and AB been starting for awhile now.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Frank needs to start looking at how his starting lineups fare. Bradley has the 15th lowest plus/minus on the team. Reaves is #1. Reaves is a better shooter and defender. He should start until we bring in a new starter via trade.
Frank better start paying attention to players stats. AB is just a hurtful to the team as DJ was. Frank fucks this up, he should lose his job. Needs to be a better coach than he’s been. Taken way too long to make adjustments.
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We’ll see. I think he goes down playing his guys his guys his way but you never know.
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![Profile picture of Buba]()
That’s good news for us. A huge sigh of relief for me. My only concern is how his integration into the lineup would go without hurting chemistry. It is not like Lebron who usually doesn’t need much time to ramp up and get in the flow. But then again, we are still at a point where we don’t even have a consistent lineup. So that might a moot point. Nevertheless, having AD back healthy is huge and it’s all we can pray for. Definitely some good news.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Okay I must admit that I was frustrated by the end of the first half. If it weren’t for being gifted that last basket, we have been down by 10. Same ole same ole, we came out flat against a bad team. I told myself that it’s not unusual for a bad team, especially one with good young players to give a better team a tough time in the first half, so I decided to not change the channel and watch the 2nd half and I’m glad I did. For the First the first time in a while I was right. We inserted Stanley, brought the D and rode Melo’s surge. Just a few things that caught my attention.
Stanley Johnson had a great game. Besides his solid defense he went 3 for 4 from 3 with a total of 11 points. He also had 5 boards, 2 assists, a block and a steal in 22 minutes. I don’t expect Stanley to become a volume 3 point shooter but if he can continue to knock down wide open looks, it would be huge. It was reported that as expected the Pistons turned down the Lakers trade offer. So Stanley maybe the best we can do at the forward. Unless Trevor dramatically improves, I would like to see Stanley start. We better not let him walk or I might boycott the rest of the season.
Russ had a nice bounce back game. It seemed to me that he slowed down and was more under control then he has been for awhile.There was only a couple of boneheaded plays, like the shot on top of the backboard. He might consider giving that shot up. If he can just play under control from here on, it will be huge.
Okay Malik got 2 three point shots today. Better then the one he got last game. I still can’t understand this at all.
Melo had another explosion, 23 points in 17 minutes. Like I’ve said before Melo seems to either be hot or cold, doesn’t seem like anything in between.
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Great title to this post, Michael. “3rd quarter magic.” Indeed.
That was when the Lakers show up after a nonchalant play in the first half. Their abysmally poor performance in the first half and especially the second quarter had me worried as I thought they were going to resort to their season-long habit of letting us down when it comes to winnable games. Thank God they were able to shake off any lingering effects from the long flight and different time zones just in time to put the game on cruise control in the second half.
I didn’t sense any panic from the team. Instead, their composure gave me a feeling that they are going to take care of business, just enough to squeak by. They meticulously executed well in the second half to start the trip on a positive note.
I would like to shout out to the whole team for figuring out how to get it done when it mattered. I am 100% on board with you on Sir Stanley Johnson. There is no way the Lakers should not grab this man for the rest of the season, if not beyond. Anything he brings offensively is a big-time bonus. His defensive acumen is one to boot and he fits in our style of play seamlessly. Great to see Russ being Russ while under control. Ariza? I don’t know what it is but it seems like he was contributing great without showing up on the stats sheet. His presence had a calming effect on the team. Not sure how others see it, but it is definitely worth having a debate on that.
Holding Cole Anthony the Magic’s leading scorer to just 4 points for the game? Well, there must be something magical about that. And that’s the “3rd quarter magic” sneaking in and saying: not tonight.
Great post.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Aloha, Michael,
Yeah, it was tough watching the first half. Much better job in the second half. Lakers finished first half with 96.4 OffRtg, 108.8 DefRtg, and -12.3 NetRtg. Second half was 129.2 OffRtg, 87.8 DefRtg, and +41.4 NetRtg. Game was 111.5 OffRtg, 99.1 DefRtg, and 12.5 NetRtg.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha
We sucked against the Pacers but not as bad as the Warriors. Pacers just beat the Warriors without LeVert, Brogdon or Sabonis. 😂
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Now, that’s all the saving grace the Lakers need to rejuvenate themselves. I have always said that any team can beat any other team on any given night in the NBA. It is a marathon that can be very unforgiving especially if you are caught napping.
Unfortunately, the Lakers are in a situation where the margin for error is almost extinct. They can’t afford losses anymore. They should use this road trip to toughen their mental resolve. Coming home from this trip with a winning record is all they need to boost their confidence and prepare them for the final stretch of the season.
So, yeah, the Warriors losing tonight helps neutralize the sting of our loss to the Pacers big time. What’s even more relieving in their win is that they won without their best players, and on the second night of back to back games on the road.
No team is immune to losses and such is the nature of life in NBA’s long season. You either have to show up, or else…
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Wow, is right, Michael. These Covid seasons are like no other NBA seasons.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha
Looking at our next 7 games, there are several crucial games.
Must wins
Magic
Nets (no Durant or Irving)
Hawks
Trail BlazersOne upset win from remaining teams
Heat
Hornets
76ersThat would be 5 and 2 and would go a long way in righting the ship. AD could be back for the 76ers or Hornets. That could help get that extra win.
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Good to see some positivity, Michael. We absolutely need to go at least 4-3 and 5-2 would be great considering the competition.
No doubt this will be Frank Vogel’s biggest road trip of his career as an NBA head coach. Good luck, Frank.
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5-2 would be good. But as we have seen plenty of times this season you could lose to any team if you don’t show up. The best thing for the Lakers to do is to go on an all-out war on this road trip. Their season depends on this trip.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
You’re right Buba. We have to go out and play like it’s the finals every game.
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![Profile picture of Buba]()
Yup, I agree. And you know what else I am feeling? I feel like they are capable of overachieving on this road trip if they set their minds to it. Sometimes it is trips like this that set the tone for collective awareness and growth.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha
I’m going to keep this short. We still suck. We are not going to win many games when our superstars are -20 (LeBron) and -18 (Russ).
LeBron looked tired in the 2nd half. 1-4 from 3 and 4 for 12 overall. And one of those makes was an uncontested lay up wit 3 seconds left.
It was nice to see Russ knock down some 3’s but my goodness he was 1 for 11 inside the arch and 1 for 9 in the paint. He only had 1 turnovers but only 3 assists and a couple of boards. Along with poor defense. Buba was right when he pointed out that Russ has been less effective since cutting down on his turnovers.
How can Malik play 28 minutes and they only find him for 0ne 3? Sorry but that on the coaching staff. A scorer like Malik should get more then 6 shots in 28 minutes. Another example of why I have never believed that a volume 3 point shooter could help this team. They don’t look for shooters unless it’s maybe Melo who was odor 5 from 3.
The bright spot was THT who has quietly been putting together a decent month. He had 20 and a team high 7 assists.in 25 minutes. He was also a +12 for the game. It will never happen but Frank should start THT at PG. he would do a better job than Russ. One last thought. On a night where we were killed in the paint and on the boards, Dwight got 13 minutes. He had 7 boards in his run. The first was the only quarter we won and it happened to be the quarter where he got most of his minutes. Again Frank failed to make proper in game adjustments, with the exception of sitting Russ in the 4th because he was killing us. The Pacers out scored us 14 to 6 in the 4 minutes Russ played in the 4th.
This road trip could be brutal. Somehow we will have to pull it together and at least break even. Right now I don’t know if they can.
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One of my faults is after Bradley or Reaves or on and on have a good game I think here we go, only to be disappointed in them later. Same with THT. Westy is a mess, that’s a shame. LBJ shouldn’t be blamed for playing like a 32 yr old every so often. Triple Double. Still on no AD, but lose to Indy? Wow!
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![Profile picture of Buba]()
Michael, I don’t know if there is a better way to sum up the game than what you stated here but you are on point. From Monk not having enough shots in 28 minutes, Dwight not being given enough minutes, to not game planning to cater to shooters is really mind-blowing.
A lot of things went wrong in this game, but LeBron looking tired in the second half was the most glaring, and that was a factor in his play in the second half which also affected the overall performance of the team. Having THT with a great night like this should have alerted the coaching staff to make the proper adjustments accordingly than running LeBron to the ground. The same goes for Monk who was left with way too few shots. Dwight giving us a lift with just few minutes when it was obvious that the Pacers are more than glad to have a free pass in the paint as they pummel us by going to the rim with such ease. Sir Stanley Johnson not seeing enough minutes did not sit well with me.
How to get Russ to help in this area is becoming more and more challenging. Just not long ago his chemistry with LeBron, and even AD, was becoming a thing of beauty. But he has tempered his aggressiveness and thus his confidence in the process since the turnovers went down. He is not playing with a style that suits his profile ever since. Yes, he’s not shooting very well for a while now, but shooting slumps are part of every player’s career. And if you lose an element of your game such as your aggressiveness that makes you whole, then you end up losing the confidence that in turn, puts you in a big hole. That’s what THT had to go through before finding his groove slowly and eventually getting himself back on track. If you ask me what my choice would be when it comes to Russ I will prefer his assists go up even if that means a few more turnovers. Sometimes it is better to let a player be himself in order to get the best out him. Doing otherwise could be counter productive. I wasn’t sure what we are going to get from Russ when we traded for him but since we have him now we just have to find a way to maximize his production as it is going to be nearly impossible to trade him.
But you made very tangible points.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
There comes a time when a team’s ceiling and floor slowly get closer and closer together. That almost seems to be what is happening to this team right now.
I thought there were great moments when Lakers players made great decisions and plays. In the end, there were still some very questionable lineups.
Frank did the right thing in pulling Russ but, as always, not soon enough. We were getting killed by Russ’ nonchalant defense and erratic play. A 3 to 1 assists-to-turnovers is great but not when there are only 3 assists from your starting point guard who also shot 1 for 11 in the paint and had a team second worse -18 +/-.
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![Profile picture of therealhtj]()
When teams make this many wrong decisions, there’s always plenty of blame to go around. Despite his finals record, Lebron is batting .1000 on his GM skills. Once he and the Klutch Klowns get involved, he leaves the franchises in shambles as he runs off to greener pastures.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Not this time, Stan. Lakers are Bron’s final stop and Home.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
we our a -34 in the 4th with Russ on the floor. a +50 without him. also read that Frank was given permission to bench Russ in the 4th. thats sad when w coach has to get permission. just another example us how disfuctional this organization is.
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![Profile picture of LakerTom]()
Yep. Too many cooks and no chef.
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![Profile picture of therealhtj]()
Guess we’ll see. A return to Cleveland may prove tempting and a great narrative, which he’ll love.
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![Profile picture of Michael H]()
Michael H wrote a new post
LeBron -3
Westbrook-4
Ariza -3
Bradley -2
Dwight +3Bench
Monk+7
Melo +9
Reeves+11
THT+10
Johnson+2 -
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
As both the trade deadline and buyout season approaches I’m left with this uneasy feeling that there won’t be any moves available that can significantly improve the Lakers. There are a couple of reasons for my lack of optimism. The NBA made two changes that probably will change this time of year forever. First they lowered the odds for a tanking team gaining a top 3 pick by being awful. With no reward more teams will try to win. The 2nd is the play in format. In the past you might have 10 teams vying for the playoffs. This year there are 13 teams with a realistic shot of making the 10 team playoffs. Both the Kings and the Pelicans are currently on the outside looking in but are hungry to make the playoffs and have reasonable shots at making it.
These two things mean, first there will not be as many rebuilding teams dangling vets to try and gain assets. And 2nd this increases the competition for difference makers that do hit the open market. And the same things applies for the buyout market. Fewer vets hitting the market and more competition for those that do. This will make it extremely difficult for the Lakers to land a real difference maker with there
Limited resources.Which brings me to Stanley. Sometimes you just get lucky. He had signed with the Bulls but went into Covid protocols and never played for them. He fell to the Lakers and he just might be the missing piece we have needed. He maybe better then trade or buyout options available. His defense up to this point has been outstanding. At 6’ 7” he has the size to guard big wings, power forwards and even centers as big as Rudy. His offense isn’t great but it’s been better than anticipated and he does one thing that has been lacking. He moves without the ball.
Stanley kind of reminds me of KCP. KCP like Stanley was also a high draft pick that never lived up to expectations. But he has become an excellent role player with his defense. Stanley’s offense has never caught up with the defense that made him a lottery pick. But while other teams gave up on him being a star the Lakers only need him to star in a role. Which I believe he is capable of. Stanley has shown me more then Bazemore or Trevor has. While Trevor might improve as he rounds into shape I don’t believe he can be better for this team than Stanley. For the reasons mentioned above it would be stupid not to sign him for the rest of this year and next. And if a buyout candidate comes along we can cut Bazemore or DJ. Just don’t be cheap Jeanie, sign him, we need this guy.
THT is in the unenviable position of being one of our few trade chips. He is the center of every trade imaginable. Unfortunately like most of the writers out there agree that he won’t be enough to land a big name. And names like Terrance Ross and Eric Gordon doesn’t move the needle for me. If the Lakers truly want to trade THT the best thing they can do is wait. Hopefully he can become consistently good over the 2nd half and raise his trade value. We just won’t get much of a return if we trade him now.
It also occurred to me today that we may actually have Nunn for next year. He has a player option and if he doesn’t play or comes back late he might be forced to exercise it in a tight free agent Market.
I would love to keep Malik but it would probably take Westbrook opting out and signing a 3 to 4 year deal for around 25mil. He could opt in but he might not get much the following year. So we will have to wait to see how that plays out.
For now if we are going to have a shot in the playoffs we need to get healthy, sign Stanley
And then play with the same energy and sense of urgency that he plays with. -
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Of course Franks is on the hot seat, even though the there was continuity issues coupled with a revolving door of players, the lack of energy this team has played with for much of the season is unforgivable. I can get past his love of the twin towers concept and I can even look past his inability to create looks for 3 point shooters but the lack of energy is something that as a coach he can not allow to happen.
But that seat is actually a long bench with room for many. You can start with Magic. Yes the same Magic that tweeted his disappointment with the team. Many of his blunders still haunt this franchise today. Everything from using DLO at the height of his trade value to dump salary, which of course he admitted was a mistake , to drafting Lonzo instead of Tatum, the staff favorite, to letting Randle walk for nothing, to dumping promising young players like Thomas Bryan’s and Zubac for cap space that was never used. Imagine if we would have had Tatum, Dlo, Randle, BI, Kuzma, Bryant and Zubac available when we traded for AD, we certainly would have a few valuable pieces left to develop or trade.
And then there is Jeanie pinching penny’s like a small market team. It is supposed to be all about championships. Hopefully she won’t let Stanley walk to save a few bucks.
This brings us too our current roster construction. A 3 star model is very difficult. You almost always have had to draft at least one star. The Nets are the exception not the rule. And they had to get lucky because the Rockets turned down Simmons for Harden just to spite Morey and Harden.
Since Dr Buss the Lakers have always been a star driven franchise but what our championship teams had in common was star role players. Rob forgot that part . The 3 stars also have to fit together, Rob forgot that part as well.
Russ was supposed to take the playmaking burden off of LeBron but they forgot one thing. LeBron is going to be LeBron. We would have been better off with a secondary ball handler like Caruso who played well with LeBron then a true point guard. I know we panicked last year because of injuries but we haven’t been any better with Russ and if LeBron or AD were to go down in the playoffs like last year, it wouldn’t matter if we had a 3rd star or not.
We have had a massive turnover in personnel since LeBron arrived. There has been little continuity that has made all the injuries even more glaring since this team has never played together.
LeBron maybe the GOAT but GM LeBron isn’t very skilled. Perhaps he feels he is so good that he can make any player fit. That’s not the case. He is also more concerned with resume than fit. And this lack of player evaluation has hurt every franchise he’s played for.
AD and until this year has refused to play the 5. Even though he is one of the best centers in the game. We won a ring with him at center. I don’t buy the argument that he gets too beat up inside. 80% of the centers in the league would have been fours back in the day. AD is as big or bigger then most centers. This team might have a different look if AD had agreed to play center last year.
This team would be a true contender if we had added Guys like Malik, Melo and eventually Nunn to the players we shipped out or let walk. Even Wes is thriving with the Bucks. A deep team with star role players would have been the much better option to our failed 3 star model.
You don’t get do overs in the NBA but going forward my only hope is we don’t compound our problems with more stupid moves.
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Thank you, Michael. My main thing with Vogel is his inability to create shots for our three-point shooters. That is one area he has lagged badly.
The lack of energy was also a glaring problem but one he seems to have heeded, as demonstrated by the whole team’s energy
right from the opening bell last night. Great points on how Magic squandered our chances to retain our talents. That still hurts me the more I think about it. -
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Great stuff, I like how you connect the dots back to some of the missteps of the previous GM. I’ve been on a similar bent these days. It’s easy to see the Lakers as being spendy: they went out and offered LBJ a max contract from minute one of free agency, we have a “big three” trio of high money (also cap destroying) contracts and even hard-capped ourselves a season ago. The Lakers have, for most of their time under a Buss or another, functioned as the most popular small market team of all time.
Frank has his drawbacks, I have been a 50/50 Vogel supporter from day one when he was the 4th choice. I love how he approaches the defensive aspect of NBA basketball. I do not in any way like how he caters to superstars on offense. But it’s hard to pin what all of what ails us on Frank simply because of the moves Rob has made over the last couple seasons. Granted, those have had at least a cursory (at best) nod of approval from the coach and likely LBJ and AD, but ultimately these are the teams Rob has built. These are my 3 worst Rob moves:
-Trading Green for Schroeder at the cost of a valuable first round draft pick only to let Schroeder walk? That’s draft insanity and wasteful on every front. Penny pinching doesn’t begin to make it sound good. That’s juts bad GMing. Green was either a perfect fit for us (my still to this day opinion) or a player we needed to do a lot better job or recouping the investment we made in. Ultimately that money became absolutely nothing. No pick, no trade exception, nothing.
-Letting Caruso walk for nothing. Again, you can argue that Caruso may not have helped this team much given our lack of a center for him to help funnel his man into. that’s what AC (and guys like Green and Rondo) do best. They don’t “stop the ball” they gum it up and help to force bad shots. Caruso was always good for picking up a charge and a steal or two, as well. Same as Green, ultimately: no exception, no draft compensation, no capable replacement…just nada.
-The penultimate one though has just gotta be letting Julius Randle walk for nothing. I just…it doesn’t make sense from any standpoint except for keeping the team cost down. So, as a result, we as lifelong fans begin to discover that indeed it is not all about winning banners but also about not breaking the piggy bank. So the mega TV deal, all the sponsorships, all the outreach…can’t take a year or two every 5-7 seasons of paying the luxury tax? Nope, do not get that one at all.
So, for all our late-round draft success and scouting acumen (which has been great, don’t get me wrong) we’ve basically let a lot of those dues walk for nothing. So, while the Luol Deng/Timofey Mosgov kind of deals were ludicrous and awful in and of themselves, Jimbo and Mitch did a better job of getting value back.
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Thanks guys. Magic’s tweet really got to me. The failure that this team is so far this season has been a long time in the making. Robs stab at damage control with proclaiming that it was either THT or Alex was total bunk. We could have kept both. Jeanie just cheaped out. Frank is a defensive guru but Rob totally over estimated what Frank could do with the pieces he gave him. Perhaps the defense can become functional but this team won a ring with defense and probably could have won last year without the injuries as well. Considering we could have added the same offensive pieces we did this year to last years defenders I think Rob is more to blame then Frank. But Robs not going to fire himself.
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Man, both you and Michael brought in some very painful reminders of the inept leadership of our front office. Their ineptitude is beyond me and will continue to haunt us for a long time. All these blunders? From Dann Green, Caruso, Randle, Jordan Clarkson and beyond? That really hurts, man. Makes me want to scream at somebody right now.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Game ball to Stanley! The Lakers have to sign this guy into that open roster spot. And if they are smart they give him a 2nd year even if it’s a team option.
We finally saw some defensive energy against the number on offense in the league and It was
our young guys that actually won this game. LeBron was the only starter with a plus. +11.Stanley +18
Malik +17
THT +15
Austin +13
They brought energy to both sides of the ball. It maybe the young guys that will turn this season around. With AD cleared for contact and a Nunn getting closer this old team just might have a couple more younger guys to energize this team.![Profile Photo]()
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Stanley starting to collect those. Great drives to the rim and defense. Kid deserves a real contract.
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Great points, Michael. Do you know what else I was surprised to see and liked? Vogel resting Russ for that long stretch of the fourth quarter, and bringing him back looking fresh with a ton of energy while the youngins were busy doing a helluva job taking care of business.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha
Our role players continue to impress. Kuz continues to build his case for most improved with a 15 point 16 board, 4 assists, 3 blocks and a steal game. KCP chipped in 14 points, while Harrell added 18 points and 7 boards! What a great group, oh… never mind. But hey we got Russ! 👍
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Kuz has more double-doubles than KAT, Embiid, Luka, Tatum, KD and LeBron this season.
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Kuz had a career-high 23 rebounds the other day. I have said it last season that he is going to blossom in another system somewhere. We have a system that doesn’t cater to many players’ styles because of having two superstars.
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What comes first? The Fire Pelinka or Fire Frank signs?
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In my opinion Frank has been dealt the dud. If he does have input (which…honestly…I kinda doubt he does) then he, too should get canned this summer. But Rob, and the ownership, need to hold themselves more accountable for not using what assets we had going into free agency better. To not get even a trade exception for Caruso, let alone letting him walk, was a travesty in every measurable way. Even letting DS walk for nothing and not maybe swallowing a little pride and helping him find a S&T scenario (which by everything I’ve read we basically stopped taking calls from his agent) that could have netted us another useful player is an example of how the penny-pinching has undercut and defined everything about this season.
It’s sad that one of the franchises consistently ranked as the most valuable spends like a small market team.
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Frank has his (numerous) faults but on the roster construction I have hard time hanging that on him. Now, what we’ve done with said roster, how he doesn’t seem to be able to reach the team unless it’s via players like Rondo and Dudley…that’s a horse of a different color and a reason he could be looking for another job if this season to go as it has.
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Actually that should have read trade competition