The terribly mediocre Lakers
- Thread starter smastroyin
- Start date
And this is the Lakers team that I was looking forward to, getting drilled by Orlando. I'd like this to be the start of something.
His last 6 games have been ridiculous. I hate his entire existence.
I think we’re still rooting for ping-pong balls — so long as they miss the playoffs, we have a chance of landing the 2nd or 3rd pick. But yeah, I’m focused on next year’s Kings at this point, because that’s likely the pick we’re getting.
Edit: Why does “Kings” autocorrect to Kong’s?”
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Combined odds of landing #2 or 3, based on draft slot:
6- 15.2%
7- 10.7%
8- 7.2%
9- 4.4%
10- 2.9%
11- 2.1%
12- 1.8%
13- 1.6%
14- 1.3%
If the Lakers end up at 6 or 7, lottery night will still be pretty exciting.
I think there's a pretty significant drop off in talent, particularly upside, after #7 this year, but outside of those guys, I think Mikal Bridges will be a very good player and a great fit for the Sixers, so I'd like to see him off the board before they pick.
For those subjecting themselves to watching this team, does their recent uptick in play have anything to do with Lonzo being out, or is it just coincidental timing?
I think so. Ingram is handling the ball quite a bit more with Lonzo out and playing something of a point forward, which seems to be helping him. Also, Josh Hart is getting a bunch of those minutes Lonzo isn't playing and he has been very good for the 28th pick.
Just FYI, Hart was pick #30. LAL traded pick #28 to UT (who took Tony Bradley) for picks #30 and #42 (Thomas Bryant).
They really missed Ball until they stopped playing Ennis. But since putting in Josh Hart (and Caruso as his back up) they haven’t missed him as much (sort dsetuThat said, he’s still terrific and Ball had been especially good until his injury. Lakers might well end up in a push for.500 once Ball is back
this is the sort of post that happens when you drink too much, can't sleep, and decide to read/post on your phone in the middle of the night.
soortalikjfsdk;lasfdkl;afsd bottom line: Ball, over a short period prior to injury, seemed much improved with his shot (but still very small sample size) and was already quite good in other elements of the game; Ennis starting in his place exposed a huge lack of depth and emphasized how good Ball had been; Walton eventually benching Ennis, inserting Hart, and using Ingram quite a bit as a point forward has been much better for the Lakers; I'm curious to see Ball on his return and if he'll reinforce the Lakers' recent improvement or bring them back a step.
Was that all in English?
Interesting. I'm still bullish on Lonzo. Wouldn't mind him on the C's actually.
As the terribad Laker pick is almost certainly going to be the Sixers pick at the moment, I guess we might as well root for them.
Obviously the 1.5% lottery ticket could hit on Draft lottery night, but almost no chance of them finishing bottom 5 at this point. Especially now with the Knicks likely going to go hard into the tank now as well.
Actually there are going to be so many teams actively tanking the next 2 months, it is really going to be a challenge to lose games some nights
Obviously the 1.5% lottery ticket could hit on Draft lottery night, but almost no chance of them finishing bottom 5 at this point. Especially now with the Knicks likely going to go hard into the tank now as well.
Actually there are going to be so many teams actively tanking the next 2 months, it is really going to be a challenge to lose games some nights
Yup. I’ve already given up and started rooting for them. Hope Philly gets #12 or something. Still valuable but far less likely to be thorn in our side.
More evidence Ball's shot is improving:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2758288-report-lonzo-ball-girlfriend-denise-garcia-expecting-1st-child
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2758288-report-lonzo-ball-girlfriend-denise-garcia-expecting-1st-child
Definitely makes them worse, given their somewhat surprising strength on D this year, and considering what you might expect from IT the rest of the way suddenly playing on a bad team (well, worse team). Just not sure how much worse.
We'll be able to tell right away--4 of their next 7 are against Mavs (2x), Kings, and Hawks.
Can someone explain what's so attractive about the Lakers next year besides the cap room? Is say Lebron/George/Ball/Ingram really a contender?
It's not that good on the surface, but Ball/Ingram/Kuzma would all be very, very tradeable if another disgruntled superstar becomes available (Kawhi?). I still think it's a lot of wishcasting on the part of the LA media and fans, but I think it's significantly more plausible today than it was yesterday.
There was a Chris Broussard report that Isaiah Thomas was certainly not beloved in the Celtics locker room. At the time people shouted it down, but it seems like there's a lot of truth to it.
And that brinks truck stuff was getting close to team cancer. Imagine how bad it would've gotten this year if we kept him
He was very disliked in both Sacramento and Phoenix, too. Boogie wouldn't play with him and Goran requested a trade to get away.
Except he was. He was just our cancer so we looked the other way. The Brinks truck comment is proof of his ego.
Geez, I'm certainly not going to take Boogie's word on who is and isn't a locker room problem.
IT's an impending FA. There are questions about his hip/health, and I'm sure he wants the opportunity to play significant minutes to work his way back and prove his worth. I can also appreciate his lack of excitement about getting traded off a title contender onto a young rebuilding team, with the apparent role of coming off the bench behind an inconsistent rookie.
But yeah, I can absolutely see how people would see this as clear proof that IT is a cancer.
IT's an impending FA. There are questions about his hip/health, and I'm sure he wants the opportunity to play significant minutes to work his way back and prove his worth. I can also appreciate his lack of excitement about getting traded off a title contender onto a young rebuilding team, with the apparent role of coming off the bench behind an inconsistent rookie.
But yeah, I can absolutely see how people would see this as clear proof that IT is a cancer.
There was also talk of him being a cancer in Phoenix, too. So that's the Kings, Suns and Cavs.Geez, I'm certainly not going to take Boogie's word on who is and isn't a locker room problem.
IT's an impending FA. There are questions about his hip/health, and I'm sure he wants the opportunity to play significant minutes to work his way back and prove his worth. I can also appreciate his lack of excitement about getting traded off a title contender onto a young rebuilding team, with the apparent role of coming off the bench behind an inconsistent rookie.
But yeah, I can absolutely see how people would see this as clear proof that IT is a cancer.
edit: He has a Rodney Dangerfield complex.
Lakers fans see the trade as a salary dump so they can add LeBron + another max guy in the summer while picking up a draft pick. IT is seen as a total non-factor and won't compete with Ball for minutes. I am guessing the Lakers FO sees it the same way, but who knows.
Dallas wins, and scores a season high points in the victory. IT's D is already bearing fruit fr the Lakers.
Well, thankfully, Magic doesn't care about wins this year, he cares about selling tickets. And if there's one thing Isaiah Thomas does at a macro level, it's sell tickets. They'd be cool losing every game 123-130 like tonight, you'd have to think.
If you hover over a tied win percentage at Tankathon, it tells you: "Tiebreakers for this site: current streak, last 10 win percentage, overall losses, and finally a power ranking. In real life it is a coin flip at the end of the season."
I wouldn't put much into the exact order of finish as it stands today regarding the Nets. Incredibly, the worst 8 records all have between 17-19 wins. Unfortunately the Lakers are not one of those bottom 8 teams. Their pick will probably have a 2-3.5% chance of conveying. It is time to hope for King's wins, so they get as little help as possible this off-season.
