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Lakers Fast Break wrote a new postPinned Post
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Lakers Fast BreakPinned Post
Lakers Fast Break- NBA Playoff Ideas To Make Your Eyes Roll…with LakerTom!
LakerTom from lakerholics.net returns with more insight and opinions as he always does as he and Gerald ponder the NBA’s season and playoff format when the league returns to play on July 31. They break down all the questions being asked about the format, the challenges, and the proposed ideas being bandied a…Read More
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OK. I see you used the Front-End Editor above to create this post. This timeline is from Youzer, which is a version of BuddyPress, which adds social media features to WordPress and treats entries created by the above Front-End Editor as Activities rather than Posts. You should test using the Gutenberg Editor to create posts. You can make the posts FEATURED and add a FEATRURED IMAGE.…Read More
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
1) This going to get worse before it gets better. We lost the series in the first 2 games, have to win 1 in Denver and the “easiest” 2 chances were the first games of the series when we had been in Colorado a couple days before and acclimated to the altitude. Sweeping Denver fro here out? Please.
2) Would you rather get swept and have it end, mercifully, at home? Or do you want to go out listening to Colorado shout “WHO’S YOUR DADDY?!” at a maniacal pitch? My vote is the sweep, nothing to be gained from a moral victory at this point.
3) This Denver team reminds me of the Gasol/ Bryant Lakers when flanked by Lamar, Fish and a defensive ace SF who could score in the clutch. Hard to load up the defense, especially when Kobe was open to passing the ball, and they were a great rebounding team. Remember when Rui was super focused on rebounding? Yeah, me neither. Feels like a lifetime ago.
4) No one is immune, there will be blood. Something will change this summer for sure now. What that looks like is, as of now, a mystery. I’m sure speculation will run rampant. The thing is, it’s not one thing. It’s like 7. I know we’ll hear how injuries affected everything. Tell that to the Knicks, 76ers and Milwaukee. I get it, we’ve been banged up all season. Feel free to attend the Pity Party but we have had AD and LeBron playing in the vast majority of the games. Maybe Vando, if he was scoring like he showed he was capable of doing, could have altered some of this but I’m personally not seeing what more of Vincent or Wood or Cam would have brought to the table. All of them are one-dimensional and not elected at a role like the role players in Denver are. Simple as that. Can’t just blame the coach and ignore the on-court focus of multiple players (LeBron and Rui have gotten back footed so
much in this series they could star in a film produced in the Valley if ya know what I mean) or the GM/owner who focuses far too just h in wattage or voltage and not enough on Ohms or resistance. This team lacks grit and looks to the refs to bail them out far too often.
5) I guess I did have a lot to say. While I’d like to avoid a sweep, the gentleman’s sweep will be far more embarrassing so just as well to get it over with.-
Hey JS or whomever, if LBJ just walks out the door, what is the Least $$ he could take from another Team. I see callers like Miami, Philly perhaps Warriors? NOT SAYING he won’t play for nothing. just if he agreed to take the least he could be paid by NBAPL and NBA. PLMK when you can. : )
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Thanks JS. I thought that, but was not sure. So LBJ can go to win a Chip or stay and make more $$. I remember what Robbie Benson said to his mean coach .”I don’t need your Scholarship. I can go anywhere I want!” It’s funky, but fun movie. Those last lines were classic!
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He’s shown no willingness and in fact has gone on record as saying he won’t take less than the max. I wouldn’t expect any less of him. But I also wouldn’t expect to be much more than a low-to-mid 40’s wins and early playoff exit team if you’re paying ultra max money for a guy who doesn’t elevate his team any more. He’d need to land somewhere he can be the 2nd or 3rd option if championships were an actual desire.
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I am out of words for how disappointed I am right now. I am preparing myself for another long off-season, but something definitely has to change. Also, do we even have a bench?
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Hang in there BB! We really knew all season that we had too many Inconsistent Starters (save LBJ and AD) and Benchers. I did not expect LBJ and AD to be, to a degree, the healthiest and most consistent players. We are wasting LBJ years just like we did with Kobe. I don’t want LBJ to leave, but for him, he’s got the whole basketball world in front of him for perhaps 3 years. He’d be perfect for Miami, Philly, OKC and even Denver.
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DJ2KB24 wrote a new post
from 3. That’s not gonna work.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
While we may still win a game or two, especially if DLO stays hot. I have a hard time believing that we can win 4 of the next 5. This game came down to one thing. An array of missed easy shots. Rui, AD, LeBron, DLO and Austin all missed an assortment of lay ups, put backs and easy baby jumpers. If we had made some of those we would have lead by more then 20 and would have done a better job of holding off the Nuggets run that everyone knew would come.
I believe the Nuggets will win the west and I think they beat Boston. The Lakers are a very good team but going up against the best you can’t miss so many bunnies. Those misses fueled the Nuggets comeback. And please be a coach Darvin. In no universe should AD get one shot in the 4th. Try running some plays will ya?
I still would have liked to see what this series would look like with a healthy squad. I mean, the Nuggets are. I’m sure Vando would have been very helpful in both games. Even Wood a very good rebounder would have helped. Both maybe back for game 3 but after so much missed time, I’m not expecting big contributions.
It’s not over till it’s over and we have for the most part played well, still like everyone says, we have to be perfect to beat the Nuggets and that’s hard to do.
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
1) Be a multi-dimensional scoring team. 3 guys took 59 out of 79 shots for the Lakers. That’s a very one-dimensional offense for the playoffs and it won’t work against Denver. Maybe against other teams but not this one. Speaking of shots, the Nuggets out attempted us by a whopping +23 (102 -79). As we’ve all said and read turnovers and offensive rebounds were our Achilles Heel…again…last night.
2) Better staggering. Any 2 out of LBJ, AD, Reaves and DLo need to be on the floor at all times. We cannot win the just 1 superstar and 1 star role-player minutes without having 2 of that group out there. Figure it out, coach.
3) Box…out…Aaron…Gordon…for @#$%’s sake!!!! Dude had 6 offensive rebounds and led Denver in +/-. He kills us on the regs. Everyone focuses on how great Jokic and Murray are, and deservedly so, but the other real issue for us is keeping AG off the glass and neutralizing his impact.
4) Don’t force the 3 ball game. It’s not like Denver shot lights out from 3 because they didn’t need to. 15-42 (good for 35.7% is fine and all but we shot a far worse (8-29, bad for 27.6%) and the Nuggets outscored us by +10 PIP and and +7 fastbreak points. Can’t lose all these stat categories and expect to win. Make Denver, especially Jokic, play defense by attacking him from the perimeter. That’s not necessarily all on AD, either.
5) Get Rui involved in someway other than occasionally guarding Jokic. 2-4 in 31 minutes with 3 rebounds and an assist. Our 4th highest paid player needs to generate more, well, anything at all. The team needs to figure out a way for him to generate more offense and rebounding, some of that is on him and his effort/focus but some of that is on us choosing to attack the same way over and over and over again.
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Good fiver, Jamie. Lakers other starters need to step up. All three were outplayed by their Denver counterparts.
And we need to take and make more threes. It’s the key to creating more space for LeBron and AD to attack the paint. Way to crowded and too many people in the paint because we have zero threat from deep. That needs to change.
Can’t take 13 fewer threes than Denver takes and win game.
This is the modern NBA, Darvin. Don’t by Byron Scott.
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
I’ve seen this movie plenty and reviewed it before. It always ends poorly, for us.
1) Flat second half. All the energy we played with in the first and some of the second quarter never made it out of the locker room. Need to play with focus and power for 48.
2) DLo vs. his narrative. We all know the story, only one man can change it. Russell.
3) Killed in the glass. Going small killed us every time. Coach needs to figure out how to get his guards to rebound or consider playing AD and Hayes maybe? Nothing should be off the table.
4) LeBron with $ TO’s will never get it done. He keeps talking about mistake free basketball. It starts with him.
5) Still can steal a game in Denver, flush it and move on. Can’t let the past or the media affect your mentality, just keep focused on the next game.Bonus point I think we need to have Reaves attack more often, unless he’s got a nagging injury preventing him from attacking the basket he generates pretty decent offense that way. Didn’t see much of that yesterday.
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DJ2KB24 wrote a new post
ain’t winning without help for LBJ and AD. Our 3pt shooting besides LBJ and Hachi are 0-10 at half! That’s not gonna get it done.
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After LBJ’s 3-3 3pointers, we went 5-26. Welp DLO sure should us, huh? Couldn’t even carry a Cup of Water! And LBJ shooting and all was great along with AD, but LBJ cannot have 7 TO’s. And you can’t play AD and LBJ 40 minutes.
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You can’t pay a “next” tier star that kinda massive contract and still expect to build out a real championship contender. It’s why he’s always got them chasing that third star, even though the realities of the CBA make that impossible unless you draft that guy. We know he damn sure ain’t taking a paycut. The sad reality is they are what their record says they are.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Both Tom and Jamie had great posts breaking down the series. Here are a few things I will be watching.
1.AD’s back. He was visibly laboring against the Pels. For the Lakers to have a chance AD has to be as close to 100% as possible this time of year. He needs to score and rebound to negate what the Joker will do.
2. DLO. Like everyone else I think DLO is key. Now he doesn’t have to be great, just decent. If he were decent last year we may have won.
3. The bench. This is a possible advantage that isn’t getting a lot of attention. Last year Bruce Brown and Jeff Green were huge for the Nuggets. While a couple of young guys have stepped up, they still are not as impactful. Gabe, Prince and Spencer are all experienced vets that should give us the advantage. Gabe in particular could be huge. I’ve been impressed with his defense since he’s returned. The last game he found his shot, if that continues he could play important role, especially defending Murray.
4. The starters defense. Both DLO and Austin have slow feet. They will never become lock down defenders but they are becoming better in a team scheme. DLO in particular has been better on that side of the ball with steals, deflections and the occasional sneaky blind side block. I think AD has to guard the Joker much of the time straight up. The Joker shines when you send doubles. The last time we played the Nuggets we did a good job on Murray but we left Porter Jr open and he went 10 for 10 five of which were 3’s. Ball game. Let the Joker score 35, just don’t let other guys beat us.
5. Rui. Rui has grown a lot over the last few months on both sides of the ball. Defensively he has become one of the best defenders on the team. He’s also been good on the boards which I thought was the weakest part of his game. And can we please the guy a few more shots? He’s our best shooter. Rarely have I seen a guy that shoots as well as Rui get under 10 shots a game. And from 3 he’s shooting 42%.
6. The first 2 games. It’s simple. Win one and I think we can win the series. Lose both and we lose the series.
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
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Thanks, Jamie. Great fiver, and thanks for keeping things real. You hit the nail squarely on the head. If I could wrap this fiver like a gift and drop it off at coach Ham’s door, I will do it in a heartbeat. But I am resting right now after returning from a long and exhausting, but a memorable trip to my home country of the Gambia. I miss you all but I am glad the blog is still up and running gazelle. Thank you!!
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Great fiver, Jamie.
1.Live with Joker’s greatness.
While I opted to have AD guard Joker because I think he needs to prove he can do it for the Lakers to win, I also did consider LeBron guarding Joker. My only concern with that is whom does AD guard. Whomever he does will be a 3-point shooter who will simply go and stand in the corner, effectively neutralizing AD. That’s why I want him on Joker. LeBron on Gordon. Rui on MPJ. I do agree with you that LeBron is going to play defense. In fact, I could see him closing on Murray.
2. Neutralize Aaron Gordon.
We’re both in the same vein that we need to shut this guy down. He’s been killing us. I don’t think Rui can handle his physicality, which is why I want LeBron on him. Going to be interesting to see what Ham ultimately does and whether he adjusts.
3. Make life miserable to Murray.
I put Austin on him and play him one-on-one. If Austin struggles, then bring in Vincent. I would attack Murray on defense every single halfcourt possession. Same with Jokic. Make them work hard on defense, be extremely physical. He averaged 21 ppg, 1 point more than last year. Can’t let him average 32.5 ppg like he did in the finals.
4. Don’t get outcoached.
Darvin’s definitely done a better job with timeouts and solid lineups. I think Rob and others discussed this with the coach and it’s helped. We have a solid 9-man rotation. Just keep AD or Hayes and AD or LeBron on the court for all 48 minutes.5. Key to winning.
Key is to bury them early and don’t let them come back. They beat us from the 3-point line by 5 threes or 15 points per game in a series where the average loss was just 6 points. Since Feb 1, Lakers no longer are losing 3-point differential by -10 per game. Instead, they lost only by -1.5 per game while winning PIP and FTM by +10 per game. Solution is to have 10 point lead heading into last 5 minutes.
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DJ2KB24 wrote a new post
question. Maxey is a RFA. Is that where we could Offer $35 or such Mil per and Philly has to match to keep him?
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DJ2KB24 wrote a new post
ain’t the same game as Sunday. AD better show up and stop missing gimmies! Reavsy and Dinny doing nothing.
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Jamie Sweet wrote a new post
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Wow, LeBron had an amazing game. While a lot of the attention is going towards his offensive game, his defense was impressive as well.
The Lakers are a bad matchup for the Pels. Zion doesn’t have much of a perimeter game. He makes his living in the paint, overwhelming his opponents with his strength and athleticism inside. Now we all know that LeBron’s defense has fallen off, particularly on the perimeter. But with Zion you don’t have to worry about the perimeter. Lebron just waited for him. LeBron is one of the few players in the league that can match Zions strength inside. And when you have AD behind him, we effectively bottle Zion up and disrupted the Pels entire offense. And a shout out to Rui as well. At times he was on Zion and he also held his own. But then Rui is also extremely strong with a 7’ 2” wing span.
After the Grizzlies debacle I was really worried about our focus, but it was laser sharp, with everyone contributing. If we continue to play defense with this much energy we have a real chance at a run.
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Very nice post, Gerald. Like the embedded audio. I’m surprised you got the read more to work. I’ve had problems with it. Also, don’t know how you created a post without a title, since I’ve tried to make titles required.