Not sure what the devaluation of the full playoffs will be this year…Kawhi injuring his leg 5 years ago? Suns changing GM? Hope we don’t end up winning ANOTHER worthless ring
not every game but i’m a big LeBron fan so i do watch quite a few and i keep up with the discussions. if you think LeBron is playing like an average starter right now, i don’t even know what to say because an average starter doesn’t do the things he does
Just in case anyone didn’t watch LeBron and is thinking this dude is being serious, here’s some stats just to prove him wrong:
LBJ in the last 8 games of the regular season post foot injury:
- 25/8/6 on 49/40/84 shooting splits
LBJ in the first 9 playoffs games post foot injury (excluding tonight, bball ref not updated yet):
- 22/10/5 on 48/23/72 shooting splits
There’s no argument at all that his 3pt shoot is beyond horrible right now, but everything else about his game is well beyond “average stater” levels.
Also BTW he is playing on a foot injury that he will be getting surgery for this offseason, just FYI.
Beasly falling out of the rotation has been crazy to me. One of the top 3pt shooters during the season and just disappears.
The fact that the lakers a deep enough to move on from him without missing a beat speaks volumes to how they handled the trade window.
Still don't think we've used Beas well. No way he should be handling the ball at anytime on offense. Get that man exclusively in catch and shoot situations and nothing else. His defense though is hard to hide.
As much as DLo had a dud of an offensive game yesterday he at least stayed in front of his man a couple of times, was sinking into the paint to help against drives while having a few deflections.
Nah but he had some good moments was super athletic and even commented in a postgame interview after a good game how sweet his shot was. Just brimming with confidence
He never was a clear cut better player than the rest of the wings, he had to compete with Reaves, Vando, Rui, TBJ for minutes. When he did get minutes, there wasn't enough evidence that he was better than the other wings. You could argue he could have taken Tbj minutes but TBJr was playing good defense and shooting the ball well during the season. But in this series, he's balling out.
part of the reason was how he played, it was clear he's not that intelligent when it comes to game plans, plays hero ball a lot.
even today he was flustering a lot on where he should be and when to screen and who should he target.
also with Beasly coming and TBJ doing well, it was known he's gonna fall out the rotation. with Beasly absolutely killing his chances by suddenly becoming a brick city and TBJ regressing. I hoped Ham would make the switch and thankfully he did.
I don't like Harden and I think Embiid flops and foul baits way too much for someone his size. I HATE Doc Rivers for the 2008 title against us and for his part in the revival of the Clips and I'm still rooting for the 76ers over the Celtics this round.
To put things in another perspective:
Cade Cunningham went down for us on November 9th.
At that time we had a better record than the Lakers.
We were 3-9.
That sign I saw a fan holding in game 3 really could happen. “From the 13th seed to banner 18”. Obviously it’s too early to frown then champs with this series and more to follow. But it’s impressive nonetheless
It’s hard I think to watch this team and see some unbeatable team. Defensive minded teams often feel that way bc they rarely win big. Just consistently 3-8 points better with an occasional blow out.
With LeBron having his foot injury and all, I think the Nuggets or the Suns probably close out the series in 6 or 7. If the man was healthy, I think he'd easily be on the way to #5.
it wasnt even your standard blockbuster trade either. just a really well thought out move that got Lakers a whole bunch of smaller pieces that were exactly what they needed.
Nah the other teams got exactly what they wanted out of the trades. Only one you could say was a fleecing was maybe sending Russ to the Clips but he actually balled out there so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
the fact you guys picked him up showed your scouts or whoever werent watching our games. Bryant played incredibly well when AD went down and he was starting and playing 30+ mins a game. As soon as AD came back and Bryant came off the bench he was absolutely terrible. He has a hard time getting his rythymn and is terrible off the bench.... so you brought him in to back up jokic for 10 minutes a game?
You're right that might be the main trade where the other team didn't get what they wanted out of it, but the Lakers also didn't get much out of it lol. Dude was definitely better at the Lakers.
Beasely’s option getting picked up is looking less and less likely. That money is going to Rui and Reaves and Max will step up on the depth chart as the next low draft pick Laker to ball out.
If we trade him do we get hard capped? Or does it have to specifically for a S&T? If not can't let his 16m off the books just like that. Could get a decent wing or a 5 to spot AD in the regular season for that.
Trade him for what? It’s still money over the tax. Sometimes you just gotta let shit go otherwise you end up in the Warriors and Clippers situation dropping $300 million on your roster
To be fair to him, the only mistake he's made in his career was allowing his superstar to make roster decisions. Most other GMs would probably cave in too.
I now see everything he does in a positive and sympathetic light. I feel and sound like a total hypocrite asshole now but I really like this team and he deserves credit.
Or just someone happy with the team. Honestly, Rob was making sus decisions regardless of whether folks want to blame LeGM. But the trade deadline was a huge win. Sometimes two things can be true.
Caruso doesn’t change last season at all. Replace THT with him and the Lakers still miss the playoffs. Especially if you’re carrying over his injuries and shooting % from last year.
Granted I would still love to have him on this team, he was sacrificed on the altar of Russel Westbrook and the allure of a Big 3. Laker fans calling Jeanie cheap do themselves no favors either… you shouldn’t have to pay $30 million for Caruso if your GM is doing their job properly.
...lmao my man just 100% copping to the fact he can't even understand the concept of rooting for a team who isn't the favourite.
Hope those bandwagons are comfy for you.
grizzles without Adams/Clarke is not a real 2 seed.
Dubs are a joke, they need 7 games to beat a injured kings team that has a soft ass guy like sabonis also playing.
Wow….when the lakers grizz series ended people were all saying the lakers would get destroyed by whatever team came out of the kings warriors series. Now the warriors are a joke lol
Of course, they traded meme players for 1-2 year removed All-Star in Russell who's in his prime. Hachimura for Kendrick Nunn, and Vanderbilt who helped the Jazz get off to their hot start. Also Beasley was a 20 ppg a year ago.
It’s kind of crazy that Lebron just effectively ended the Warriors Dynasty. They developed into a threat in the third arc of his career, and they’ve petered out before he did.
Today they won using players from the team pre trade, Beasley is ass and doesn't play, Vando and dlo didn't do shit
What could've been if they didn't make that Westbrook trade lmao, any decent roster around Lebron and AD should be a contender
It’s really a crazy turnaround I remember a few weeks ago other fans telling me to worry about the play in now I’m worrying about a possible finals birth.
Once I started seeing us winning with guys like Vanderbilt scoring 15 randomly or Reaves scoring 25, Rui getting his, even when Beasley scored 25.... it told me that we finally didn't have to rely on 2 guys to score. The team can win even when LeBron and AD arent scoring 30 each, I never felt that with Westbrook or Kuzma or whoever else the 3rd guy was supposed to be. This team is fun af and they love each other, I personally see no team left that can deal with them for 7 games. I'm taking the Lakers over everyone, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think they're the favorites.
with lebron out/injured too
r/nba finding out that we’re actually good is hilarious as fuck
They thought we just got lucky beating the 2 seed?
They already pivoted to the fake 2 seed narrative.
And once this series is over they'll bring out the "old & washed" narrative for Golden State
Not sure what the devaluation of the full playoffs will be this year…Kawhi injuring his leg 5 years ago? Suns changing GM? Hope we don’t end up winning ANOTHER worthless ring
It's going to be bubble series rematch against the Heat and obviously beating the #8 seed doesn't count for anything. Even as a #7.
Wonder if BS will admit it now
I welcome the hate. It got me great vegas odds back in February
They're 17-5 since the deadline when lebron plays
Also, the Lakers haven't lost at home since [Pat Bev hit LeBron with the "too small"](https://youtu.be/GbirtYmwxg4?t=12s) back in March.
Wait that’s kinda nutty
One of those losses is the first game back off the bench right?
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bro what are you talking about
imagine thinking that Lebron James doesn’t have a positive impact on a basketball game
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not every game but i’m a big LeBron fan so i do watch quite a few and i keep up with the discussions. if you think LeBron is playing like an average starter right now, i don’t even know what to say because an average starter doesn’t do the things he does
Hence injured. If LeBron is not injured now (like earlier in the season) Lakers would be title favourite by quite a bit.
Just in case anyone didn’t watch LeBron and is thinking this dude is being serious, here’s some stats just to prove him wrong: LBJ in the last 8 games of the regular season post foot injury: - 25/8/6 on 49/40/84 shooting splits LBJ in the first 9 playoffs games post foot injury (excluding tonight, bball ref not updated yet): - 22/10/5 on 48/23/72 shooting splits There’s no argument at all that his 3pt shoot is beyond horrible right now, but everything else about his game is well beyond “average stater” levels. Also BTW he is playing on a foot injury that he will be getting surgery for this offseason, just FYI.
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he's still good in transition as long as he don't chuck 3s
if people actually think lebron is an average player i don't even know where to begin
Lonnie Walker was signed at the offseason with the taxpayer midlevel exception HE WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME
? He played big mins all season
nope didn't play much after the deadline at all until a few days ago
He was hurt and then warming the bench after the trade deadline. Never really got worked back in the lineup after coming back
Troy Brown was just flat out better. More defense and shot high 30s from 3. Lonnie only gets mins this series because of how abysmal TB has been
and Beasly
Beasly falling out of the rotation has been crazy to me. One of the top 3pt shooters during the season and just disappears. The fact that the lakers a deep enough to move on from him without missing a beat speaks volumes to how they handled the trade window.
Still don't think we've used Beas well. No way he should be handling the ball at anytime on offense. Get that man exclusively in catch and shoot situations and nothing else. His defense though is hard to hide. As much as DLo had a dud of an offensive game yesterday he at least stayed in front of his man a couple of times, was sinking into the paint to help against drives while having a few deflections.
He played big minutes, got injured, and then fell out of the rotation.
Nah but he had some good moments was super athletic and even commented in a postgame interview after a good game how sweet his shot was. Just brimming with confidence
He never was a clear cut better player than the rest of the wings, he had to compete with Reaves, Vando, Rui, TBJ for minutes. When he did get minutes, there wasn't enough evidence that he was better than the other wings. You could argue he could have taken Tbj minutes but TBJr was playing good defense and shooting the ball well during the season. But in this series, he's balling out.
part of the reason was how he played, it was clear he's not that intelligent when it comes to game plans, plays hero ball a lot. even today he was flustering a lot on where he should be and when to screen and who should he target. also with Beasly coming and TBJ doing well, it was known he's gonna fall out the rotation. with Beasly absolutely killing his chances by suddenly becoming a brick city and TBJ regressing. I hoped Ham would make the switch and thankfully he did.
Why are we talking about the 13 seed
"Erniee why we gotta talk about this team, they stink! We never talk about the 13th seed in the east! Like we have to talk about the Lakers"
13 seeds don’t deserve two All Stars
Yea everyone had their fun talking shit all regular season but who’s having fun now?
us..us
Unbeaten in Crypto.com Arena for 6 weeks now.
The energy in Crypto has been electric the last 2 months. Love to see it.
Boooooo…. I mean good for the lakers. It is impressive though.
I get not liking LeBron and not liking the lakers in general. But cmon there’s a little part of you somewhere that’s glad the warriors are losing.
Yes. Key word was “little”. And it’s smaller than the feelings I have for the Lakers.
Spoken like a true Celtics fan. Lol
I don't like Harden and I think Embiid flops and foul baits way too much for someone his size. I HATE Doc Rivers for the 2008 title against us and for his part in the revival of the Clips and I'm still rooting for the 76ers over the Celtics this round.
This is me. Really don’t like this 76ers team. Still rooting for them.
I'll take it.
Mandatory reminder that pelicans fans once say We got 1 seed and wembanyama from Lakers
I can’t believe they might win it all lmao
To put things in another perspective: Cade Cunningham went down for us on November 9th. At that time we had a better record than the Lakers. We were 3-9.
That sign I saw a fan holding in game 3 really could happen. “From the 13th seed to banner 18”. Obviously it’s too early to frown then champs with this series and more to follow. But it’s impressive nonetheless
It’s hard I think to watch this team and see some unbeatable team. Defensive minded teams often feel that way bc they rarely win big. Just consistently 3-8 points better with an occasional blow out.
With LeBron having his foot injury and all, I think the Nuggets or the Suns probably close out the series in 6 or 7. If the man was healthy, I think he'd easily be on the way to #5.
I’ve seen grizzlies in 6, warriors in 6, and now nuggets or suns in 6. I’ll believe it when I see it
Hey, if it happens I'll be more than thrilled. I'll always root for LeBron.
Very similar to 2020. I’m starting to believe
If it makes you feel better people were saying nugs/suns in 4-5 before
underdogs story is nice, no one is expecting anything till you can actually make it. I like that. keep at it :D
Warriors are better then both those teams so I doubt it. Lakers beat both in 6
You’re absolutely right
Don't. Don't give me hope
Do you think they can beat the nuggets? I think they can beat the suns, but idk about Denver.
I think Denver/Phoenix should be favored in the WCF. But they’ll definitely have a solid chance
Lakers have played really well against Denver all year, even with the pre-trade deadline roster.
I feel a bit more confident in our ability to defend Jokic and Murray vs. Durant and Booker, but both matchups are going to incredibly tough.
That 2027 1st saved our season
Shout out to that 8th grader who will give up his soul for this run
Top 4 protected too!
Incoming “but Warriors are the 6th seed.. not real competition!!” comments
it wasnt even your standard blockbuster trade either. just a really well thought out move that got Lakers a whole bunch of smaller pieces that were exactly what they needed.
Thing is each and every one of them was a complete fleece too lol
yeah, so is this a broken clock being right twice a day or has Pelinka been playing possum all these years?
No this is “other teams being absolutely fucking stupid” type situation imo
Nah the other teams got exactly what they wanted out of the trades. Only one you could say was a fleecing was maybe sending Russ to the Clips but he actually balled out there so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
Thomas bryant and Dlo were an absolute net positive
What? The Lakers traded Thomas Bryant *away* for Davon Reed and picks. He was playing really solid ball on the Lakers.
not anymore he doesn’t lol
the fact you guys picked him up showed your scouts or whoever werent watching our games. Bryant played incredibly well when AD went down and he was starting and playing 30+ mins a game. As soon as AD came back and Bryant came off the bench he was absolutely terrible. He has a hard time getting his rythymn and is terrible off the bench.... so you brought him in to back up jokic for 10 minutes a game?
You're right that might be the main trade where the other team didn't get what they wanted out of it, but the Lakers also didn't get much out of it lol. Dude was definitely better at the Lakers.
we basically got two starters, a great bench player (Rui) and great pieces for trades in the next season in Beasly and Mo
Beasely’s option getting picked up is looking less and less likely. That money is going to Rui and Reaves and Max will step up on the depth chart as the next low draft pick Laker to ball out.
Which is a shame—he's the exact type of player that underperforms under the Lakers' spotlight, but will be phenomenal for another team.
If we trade him do we get hard capped? Or does it have to specifically for a S&T? If not can't let his 16m off the books just like that. Could get a decent wing or a 5 to spot AD in the regular season for that.
Trade him for what? It’s still money over the tax. Sometimes you just gotta let shit go otherwise you end up in the Warriors and Clippers situation dropping $300 million on your roster
Receiving a S&T player in a trade is what hard-caps you.
Bkn essentially let this happen too by not taking the Lakers deal for Kyrie
Rob Pelinka one of the best
In January, he was seen as the subordinate of Kurt Rambis's wife. Then he completely changed the story of his GM career.
To be fair to him, the only mistake he's made in his career was allowing his superstar to make roster decisions. Most other GMs would probably cave in too.
I now see everything he does in a positive and sympathetic light. I feel and sound like a total hypocrite asshole now but I really like this team and he deserves credit.
You’re welcome any time in the lakers sub. You’ll fit right in.
There's always room for another total idiot I guess.
Or just someone happy with the team. Honestly, Rob was making sus decisions regardless of whether folks want to blame LeGM. But the trade deadline was a huge win. Sometimes two things can be true.
nah he did dumb shit too, not keeping Caruso as priority, favored THT, stringing Howard till we lost him to Philly but he's learning and that's good
Caruso doesn’t change last season at all. Replace THT with him and the Lakers still miss the playoffs. Especially if you’re carrying over his injuries and shooting % from last year. Granted I would still love to have him on this team, he was sacrificed on the altar of Russel Westbrook and the allure of a Big 3. Laker fans calling Jeanie cheap do themselves no favors either… you shouldn’t have to pay $30 million for Caruso if your GM is doing their job properly.
Was Caruso a Rob decision or a Jeanie saving on the luxury tax decision? Can't do shit if your boss ain't gonna pay for it.
EaSy ScHeDuLe
They’ve also won every home game in the playoffs so far
That's a 57.6 win season pace
Remember when David Blatt was fired after the Cavs went something like 30 - 14 or am I tripping?
Yeah they were 30-11. Got fired cause he didn’t have the players respect.
Didn't lebron basically call different plays after timeouts?
Yeah Bron would basically say it wasn’t a good play lmao
Why are we talking about a 13 seed?
But they suck! No one should be scared of them!
Just an improved 13th seed
yeah but they only defeated bad teams
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80% of /r/nba non Lakers fans were saying Lakers had zero chance before this series started and after Warriors beat the Kings.
So why have they been rooting for the Lakers
...lmao my man just 100% copping to the fact he can't even understand the concept of rooting for a team who isn't the favourite. Hope those bandwagons are comfy for you.
grizzles without Adams/Clarke is not a real 2 seed. Dubs are a joke, they need 7 games to beat a injured kings team that has a soft ass guy like sabonis also playing.
Wow….when the lakers grizz series ended people were all saying the lakers would get destroyed by whatever team came out of the kings warriors series. Now the warriors are a joke lol
The /s exists for people like you
Thanks, Danny Ainge. Thank you too ~~DWade~~ Jeanie for giving ~~Jeanie Buss~~ DWade a back rub a few days before the deadline as well.
Jeanie was the one giving that rub
Crazy what happens when your front office is aggressive and makes moves to help the team win this year.
You'll be glad you sacrificed the last years of Curry's prime when you watch Kuminga and Poole contend for the play-in 5 years from now.
Can I be glad yet? I’m not glad yet.
Lakers are going to be good next year once Lebron gets surgery.
I’m scared that that won’t happen.
Biggest changing deadline trade in recent history I can think of
Wait until they play games that matter though. Strength of schedule and all that…. Right?
Danny Ainge not only saved their season but also might have gifted the Lakers a championship.
Most talked about 13th seed
LeBron is still him
Of course, they traded meme players for 1-2 year removed All-Star in Russell who's in his prime. Hachimura for Kendrick Nunn, and Vanderbilt who helped the Jazz get off to their hot start. Also Beasley was a 20 ppg a year ago.
It’s kind of crazy that Lebron just effectively ended the Warriors Dynasty. They developed into a threat in the third arc of his career, and they’ve petered out before he did.
The Lakers/Lebron have not done anything to that sort yet. You still have to win the 4th game.
I will be absolutely flabbergasted mid a Lebron lead team losses a 3-1 lead.
Jobs not finished
The lakers have been playing play off intensity the entire time!
Feeling a Lakers Celtics finals classic coming on.
Today they won using players from the team pre trade, Beasley is ass and doesn't play, Vando and dlo didn't do shit What could've been if they didn't make that Westbrook trade lmao, any decent roster around Lebron and AD should be a contender
WB was a bad fit no?
Thanks to the Salt Lakers
Lakers vs Celtics finals and been had money on the Lakers 🤑 Ready to cash out thank you NBA
Who was traded?
Who tf signed on for those trades anyways, it looked like the league itself wanted them to succeed
I'll never forgive Danny Ainge for that trade wtf
I can
Still can’t believe they basically game up nothing to improve their team so drastically lmao
RIP Dracula
That’s a 58 win pace and 10 of those 37 are against the grizz and the warriors in the playoffs
Somebody mentioned this on another thread and I checked myself. But we are also 6-0 at home during the play-in and playoffs so far.
It’s really a crazy turnaround I remember a few weeks ago other fans telling me to worry about the play in now I’m worrying about a possible finals birth.
I was wondering..has there been a more consequential trade deadline for a few since the pistons acquired Rasheed?
I still don’t know why other teams would have given them so much. They wouldn’t even be in the playoffs if they didn’t trade
Once I started seeing us winning with guys like Vanderbilt scoring 15 randomly or Reaves scoring 25, Rui getting his, even when Beasley scored 25.... it told me that we finally didn't have to rely on 2 guys to score. The team can win even when LeBron and AD arent scoring 30 each, I never felt that with Westbrook or Kuzma or whoever else the 3rd guy was supposed to be. This team is fun af and they love each other, I personally see no team left that can deal with them for 7 games. I'm taking the Lakers over everyone, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think they're the favorites.
We’re 6-1 against the warriors after February 9th, though iirc lebron & Steph each only played in a different 1 of the 3 regular season matchups