Oh I fully expect the Jazz to get something juicy. What other options do the Lakers have absent keeping him?
2022-23 NBA Game Thread
- Thread starter Deathofthebambino
- Start date
How the F is LeBron “probably the GOAT”. We are just pretending we didn’t watch MJ play?
I think the probably insinuates that there is some debate between he and Jordan
Ok, it is debatable. I’ve thought that at various times a debate was to be had.
As I posted about last night in-the-moment, a minute or two before Lebron's record-breaking basket, Davis was in a scramble for a loose ball which he retrieved as it was going out of bounds, managed to throw back in to a teammate, and then crashed into his team's bench while running full speed. The guy made a big hustle play worth at least one tommy point, and it probably hurt enough they pulled him out to rest for a few minutes.
I dunno where this criticism is coming from, but it seems to be missing the game context.
I always waver on the GOAT conversation and I want to say this. Steph Curry rolling is the craziest shit I have ever seen on a basketball court. I don’t even like that it’s true but the amount of pressure he puts on a defense is nuts.
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I just want to say that Russell Westbrook is unquestionably my favorite all-time Laker. In part, that observation is sincere: he remains an absolutely spectacular athlete and his effort level usually is off the charts. He's also still an excellent passer, which is the part of the game I most appreciate.
But mostly, I watch the Lakers for schadenfreude and no one has filled that cup quite like Russ. The Lakers mortgaged everything that wasn't nailed down for him. His style of play is a terrible fit for them. He is a complete agent of chaos. Laker fans and announcers audibly go "nooooo Russ" whenever he jacks up an outside shot. And because he has become a target of blame, Russ also has displayed a "fuck it" attitude, which drives Laker fans that much more bonkers.
I am really, really, really going to miss him as a Laker. It's been the best 130 game Laker stretch I've seen in the many years I've lived in LA (there were dreck teams at the end of Kobe, but they were boring).
If they do dump him, I hope the cherry on the sundae is Russ coming back to Staples with his new team and going all Kill Bill on the Lakers.
Steph’s window of greatness is extremely narrow compared to MJ, LeBron and the bigs discussed. I’d place Steph on the short list of guys who changed the game with Iverson, Mikan, etc but as great as he is during his prime I can’t consider him in the GOAT conversation. It’s been LeBron passing Jordan the past few years with an enormous gap to the conversation for 3rd….at least to me.
I love this post and I too share the joy that comes from watching Russ play a different game than the rest of the Lakers.
That errant pass during the first half of last night's game that resulted in LeBron gesticulating in Westbrook's direction seems pretty telling. Russ and LeBron were never going to be hand in glove but it seems really broken vs clunky.
I do wonder if Russ could ever morph into a more efficient version of himself ala Harden. I would love to see it. Westbrook is a fascinating player on many levels.
No beef with anyone debating between Jordan and Lebron. I have the former #1, but understand arguments for the latter. Agreed on the dropoff to #3. Then 3-10 is an interesting mix of high-peak vs. longevity guys and RINGZ vs. transformed-the-game guys. How much one value's a guy's peak alone is huge, also how much one is willing to mentally adjust for era. Like Giannis would eat up 1965, but what would Russell and Wilt have done in 2022 growing up with Giannis's doctors & chef. I like to put in some mental work there, but most people just think that anyone before 1980 was junk. It's always interesting.
I think Steph is quite a bit higher than Iverson/Mikan in terms of all-time lists, but to even be considered in the GOAT conversation, you need to be a great 2-way player. Kareem made all defense 11 times, Jordan 9, Lebron 6, and of course Russell is the greatest defensive player of all time. The kindest thing you can say about Steph's defense is that he's not a liability, which has been enough to win multiple MVPs and lead the best team of the last decade, but he just doesn't belong in the same breath as the guys at the top.
If we're talking about best offensive players ever, he gets a say in that conversation. Even when he's not shooting well, his mere presence completely bends the court as the defense has to no where he is at all times. When he's hitting his shots, no one could ever pile up points faster. Generally I don't think title teams can thrive when their best offensive player is a small guard (because contact picks up in the playoffs and it's easier to smother them with bigger guys), but his shot is so fast and his range is limitless, it doesn't even matter.
I don’t have any in the GOAT convo but my preference is to separate GOAT and GC (Game Changer). Both are rare but have two very different characteristics. MJ is on both of my lists and the only one to do so. There are second tier or honorable mention GC just as their are GOAT but the real list/convo is extremely short to me.
If Jokic wins this year and gets MVP again it is a very impressive 3 year run
Excellent article from Kareem, reflecting on the scoring record:
https://kareem.substack.com/p/what-i-think-about-lebron-breaking
https://kareem.substack.com/p/what-i-think-about-lebron-breaking
Haha, no. I won the race to the bottom by doing that.At least he didn’t start a new thread about it.
This is such a weak ass call. My god
View: https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1623528964852686848?s=20&t=vyXv8xMKmpRysG8GzhbC3w
View: https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1623528964852686848?s=20&t=vyXv8xMKmpRysG8GzhbC3w
That's why I don't bet on sports, right there. Why the hell can't the refs decide to review their own game-deciding call?
That’s one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen. This league is worse than WWE. It’s beyond pathetic what it has turned into. Lebron & Harden would be proud of that flop job. This is embarrassing. One of these days a coach needs to grow a pair and pull his team off the floor when something like this happens. Forfeit? So be it. Unwatchable garbage.
C
Gut wrenching. I hope the refs can sleep tonight. I expect their tweet soon.
Mavs rallying around their new PG tonight up 9 in 4Q over Clippers. Why can’t we get leaders like this?
Theo Pinson emerging from his cocoon may well be rallying round the Kyrie (with a pocket full of...) but that's not my first thought. Pinson and guys like Green are getting minutes and fighting to keep them.
First home game after a long ass road trip. Most predictable let down trap game there is in the league
The good ol grammy trip.
Bites every team at Staples (im not calling it crypto) every damn year.
Kings, lakers, clippers.
Attention Members & Lurkers:
Please adjust your Sarcasm Meter. I repeat, please adjust your sarcasm meter!
Sincerely,
Kyrie’s friend.
The first date is always exciting, even when you know the relationship will end with her killing your dog. Have fun, Dallas.
With Poeltl/Vanderbilt's defense off the board, can we get an update on the State of the Warriors
Bob has to be doing something in this buyer's market? The WC just got real.
Do Wiseman/Moody still have some believers?
Kyrie has the Mavs in 4th now so his job is complete.
Bob has to be doing something in this buyer's market? The WC just got real.
Do Wiseman/Moody still have some believers?
pure gold
Kyrie has the Mavs in 4th now so his job is complete.
GS stock is certainly lower than it was a couple days ago, with the infusions of talent in LA, Dallas, and (especially) Phoenix.
On court ... despite another late game collapse last night in PDX, things are looking sort of okay, I think. Steph's injury (knocking wood) seems to be a non-structural 2-3 week thing, which with the conveniently-timed AS break probably amounts to another 4-8 games; Klay is looking very much Klay; Poole is finally starting to kill it; Donte continues to be ideal Kerrball 7th man; Kuminga continues to round into an uber-versatile defensive force at 8th man; and (most recently) JaMychal Green is healthy and hitting threes, ripping boards and knocking people around inside, looking like the 10-15 minute rotation big they were envisioning when they signed him.
That's nine quality guys. I won't be surprised if they make a move today involving Wiseman and/or Moody to add a bit more depth, clear a guaranteed roster spot for Ty Jerome, and save a few $$$ (more than a few $$$, of course — recent Athletic article pointed out that just trading Wiseman into another team's cap space would save the team **$131M** in luxury taxes over the next 1.5 seasons). But I think the emergence of Kuminga and JaMychal as credible big man depth decreases the trade urgency a bit. I think there's a scenario where Myers refuses to be held over a barrel today and just waits to see if anyone interesting shakes out in the buyout market.
I'd love to see a trade, tho. My fantasy for today...
• San Antonio gets Wiseman and Ryan Rollins (with the departure of Poeltl, they now have tons of minutes to try to develop JW into Admiral 2.0; and it's not like Khem Birch at 30 is part of their plans)
• Brooklyn gets Moody (who knows what their plans are, but a 20 y.o., versatile, high-character wing who can shoot it fits well in any plan)
• GS gets Zach Collins and Seth Curry (on top of adding big man depth, rim protection, and shooting, both come off the books after this season)
Overall, if I had to pick one team to make it out of the West, I guess I'd go (1) Denver, (2) Phoenix; (3) GS; (4) LAC (depending somewhat on what they do today); (5) Maybe Dallas, or Memphis, or New Orleans, or the Lakers...?
Meanwhile, Ja is still "good in the West"... https://emojipedia.org/face-with-tears-of-joy/
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Klay is very back. Loon in the starting lineup is the right move with the Poole microwave off the bench (where his defense won't get as exposed).
Banking on JaMychal is dicey. Adding a cheap, defense-first 5 would make them my WC favorite
Poeltl was too expensive, so don't blame them there.
I called it a "seller's market" for weeks with a flat WC, and play-in battles galore.
Then KYRIE happened, Durant followed his girlfriend out of town & Danny started handing out players like a pez dispenser.
Boy was I wrong, maybe play-in games aren't that interesting to some teams? Now I expect plenty of buyouts & traffic in the trade market today. Being a buyer today won't be the problem I thought it would be.
Just so it gets some visibility here, the Magic beat Denver tonight in Orlando and everyone important played for the Nuggets.
My takeaways are twofold here. First, February road games are always kind of tough. More to the point, the Magic arent a pushover team. They are going to be an increasing irritant to the rest of the EC for the next few years. They could become scary real quick too if Paolo realizes his full potential.
My takeaways are twofold here. First, February road games are always kind of tough. More to the point, the Magic arent a pushover team. They are going to be an increasing irritant to the rest of the EC for the next few years. They could become scary real quick too if Paolo realizes his full potential.
Good catch - I did omit Murray's absence. Apologies.
My points still stand - good teams can lose games to ostensibly bad teams - it doesn't just happen to the Celtics. And the Magic are kind of a dangerous team.
They've also beat the Warriors x2, Mavs, Suns, Clippers, Pels, & Wolves. They should reconference themselves.
v. West 12-10
v. East 11-23
I agree.
I wonder how much players are distracted by all of the trades today (not that this is an excuse for the Nuggets).
Threefold: another game in the loss column for the Cs. Should they meet in the finals, you definitely want a Game 7 against Denver at home.
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Third takeaway is that the Nuggets are a mediocre road team, 12-14. Their great overall record is due in some part to their incredible homework advantage.
The Lakers add 5 new players. Short roster.
& LeBron is wearing a suit with Giannis in town...that sucks
Damn, one of the few times I was actually rooting for L.A.
& LeBron is wearing a suit with Giannis in town...that sucks
Damn, one of the few times I was actually rooting for L.A.
Perusing the BRK / CHI box score, DFS was +32 and Patty Mills was -23. That seems unusually high differential. I wonder what's the largest +/- differential among teammates in one game. Anyone know how to search for this?
Not sure if this is actually the record, but...
On November 22, 2017, in a 125-95 Rockets win over the Nuggets, Luc Mbah a Moute had a record +57 off the bench. He had 3 teammates each put up a -17 in 8 minutes of garbage time each, for a total differential of 74 points.
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/game/11-22-2017-den-@-hou-67119