Lakers are OLD and They Are Mediocre

asdfasdfa wrote:

Peder wrote:

Except LeBron is no longer the best player in the league.

Then he's what...maybe the 3rd best player in the league? (behind KD and Giannis?)

He takes more plays off on defense than he used to, but offensively he's still fairly close to his peak.

There's really no precedent for a team as talented as the Lakers being mediocre. They're probably going to figure it out and be a very good team, as every other team with 3 perennial all-stars has been. Old LBJ is still one of the best players in the league, while AD and Westbrook are still in their physical primes.

The 04 Lakers with Payton and Malone is the only team I can think of with this type of makeup.

coach wrote:

asdfasdfa wrote:

Then he's what...maybe the 3rd best player in the league? (behind KD and Giannis?)

He takes more plays off on defense than he used to, but offensively he's still fairly close to his peak.

There's really no precedent for a team as talented as the Lakers being mediocre. They're probably going to figure it out and be a very good team, as every other team with 3 perennial all-stars has been. Old LBJ is still one of the best players in the league, while AD and Westbrook are still in their physical primes.

The 04 Lakers with Payton and Malone is the only team I can think of with this type of makeup.

That's an interesting comparison, although I think the current Lakers team has more a much better collection of talent, given that Karl Malone was fairly washed up + injured that season and Shaq was already declining.

Sure, the Lakers are old. But the 3 guys who are expected to carry the team are still capable.

The league is really evolving toward 3 point shooting being indispensable to winning. The Lakers apparently do not recognize this. They will not win a championship any time soon. This group would win 4 in a row of this was 2012-2015.

asdfasdfa wrote:

coach wrote:

The 04 Lakers with Payton and Malone is the only team I can think of with this type of makeup.

That's an interesting comparison, although I think the current Lakers team has more a much better collection of talent, given that Karl Malone was fairly washed up + injured that season and Shaq was already declining.

Sure, the Lakers are old. But the 3 guys who are expected to carry the team are still capable.

I agree, and stated in a previous post that they'll figure it out.

Although the league has moved toward 3 point shooting for awhile, spacing is the key. The Bucks (yes they were lucky) didnt shoot that well last year but they spaced the floor for Giannis. This Laker team hasn't shown it can space the floor and might not be able with Rondo, Lebron, and Westbrook on the floor together

coach wrote:

No system, they can't shoot and poor defense tonight. Nevertheless they'll make the playoffs and will be dangerous because of talent.

They will make the playoffs but they will NOT be dangerous. They only have two talented players (Lebron and AD) and Lebron is no longer LEBRON. The rest are washed up never weres (Westbrook and Carmello were always about numbers and not about winning - now they are old to boot).

Lakers have no shot at title.

Real Obvi wrote:

coach wrote:

No system, they can't shoot and poor defense tonight. Nevertheless they'll make the playoffs and will be dangerous because of talent.

They will make the playoffs but they will NOT be dangerous. They only have two talented players (Lebron and AD) and Lebron is no longer LEBRON. The rest are washed up never weres (Westbrook and Carmello were always about numbers and not about winning - now they are old to boot).

Lakers have no shot at title.

I remember hearing that they had no shot 2 years ago. I dont think any team wants to go against a healthy Laker team in the playoffs (not that they'll necessarily be healthy).

coach wrote:

Real Obvi wrote:

They will make the playoffs but they will NOT be dangerous. They only have two talented players (Lebron and AD) and Lebron is no longer LEBRON. The rest are washed up never weres (Westbrook and Carmello were always about numbers and not about winning - now they are old to boot).

Lakers have no shot at title.

I remember hearing that they had no shot 2 years ago. I dont think any team wants to go against a healthy Laker team in the playoffs (not that they'll necessarily be healthy).

It doesn't matter what was said or what happened two years ago. It matters what they are capable of this year. And the answer is "not much."

Westbrook? Rondo? Carmello? At this point, all three are net negatives.

Sorry, but anyone who thinks that the Lakers have a chance this year is living in the past (as you have just aptly demonstrated).

Without Alex Caruso, the bald eagle, AC fresh their chances are slim. If they had one decent outside shooter they'd be fine. Of course they won with Danny Green and he sucks more often than he is ok. They'll figure it out. Ideally Russ would come off the bench and lead the second team. He's ball dominant and needs the offense to go through him. If Isaiah Thomas is still available they should get him cheap. I'd rather have him on point than Russ at this point.

Real Obvi wrote:

coach wrote:

I remember hearing that they had no shot 2 years ago. I dont think any team wants to go against a healthy Laker team in the playoffs (not that they'll necessarily be healthy).

It doesn't matter what was said or what happened two years ago. It matters what they are capable of this year. And the answer is "not much."

Westbrook? Rondo? Carmello? At this point, all three are net negatives.

Sorry, but anyone who thinks that the Lakers have a chance this year is living in the past (as you have just aptly demonstrated).

Four of their players are injured, two of them will get playing time. They'll pick up players after waivers late this winter. Lebron will figure it out.

I'm neither a Laker fan or a Lebron fan.

Magic had Paul Westhead fired in favor of Pat Riley. Lebron favors veterans over young players, which has harmed this team, but then they got Anthony Davis in losing Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, which led to the Lakers' first title with Lebron in 2020. What have you done for me lately? They won the title one year ago, not two years ago. One year. And Russell Westbrook may not ever gel with this team, but he still has the talent. He has averaged a triple double four of the last five seasons. It takes time for teams with new personnel to get it together. And if it doesn't work, they'll try to trade him. But this team has too much veteran talent, with too much left in the tank, to not be contenders this year.

zxvczcxv wrote:

Magic had Paul Westhead fired in favor of Pat Riley. Lebron favors veterans over young players, which has harmed this team, but then they got Anthony Davis in losing Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, which led to the Lakers' first title with Lebron in 2020. What have you done for me lately? They won the title one year ago, not two years ago. One year. And Russell Westbrook may not ever gel with this team, but he still has the talent. He has averaged a triple double four of the last five seasons. It takes time for teams with new personnel to get it together. And if it doesn't work, they'll try to trade him. But this team has too much veteran talent, with too much left in the tank, to not be contenders this year.

Nah, the team can't shoot. Can't run the floor. Can't really defend either. They'll make the playoffs and then get run off the floor by the Suns, Jazz, or Warriors

coach wrote:

Real Obvi wrote:

It doesn't matter what was said or what happened two years ago. It matters what they are capable of this year. And the answer is "not much."

Westbrook? Rondo? Carmello? At this point, all three are net negatives.

Sorry, but anyone who thinks that the Lakers have a chance this year is living in the past (as you have just aptly demonstrated).

Four of their players are injured, two of them will get playing time. They'll pick up players after waivers late this winter. Lebron will figure it out.

I'm neither a Laker fan or a Lebron fan.

Best case scenario for the Lakers is a first round win and being competitive (but losing) in the second round.

Lebron "figured out" to get Russell Westbrook on his team which is about the worst possible fit for Lebron & Co.

Peder wrote:

LeBron has built a team designed to fail except in having a team with many future Hall of Famers. These guys might squeeze into the playoffs. Maybe…

The same thing has happened to many sport teams .

LeBron could potentially win the title this year if he were added to this year’s Cavaliers team. They are younger and better than the Lakers (by that I mean that if LeBron were not playing on either team the Cavs are better, and therefore they are a better bet to win with LeBron than the Lakers). Of course the Lakers are not going to win the title so there is that.

Peder wrote:

The league is really evolving toward 3 point shooting being indispensable to winning. The Lakers apparently do not recognize this. They will not win a championship any time soon. This group would win 4 in a row of this was 2012-2015.

The Bucks just won a championship with terrible outside shooting. So did the Lakers. There’s your last two champions. The three is overhyped.

roho the ho wrote:

Peder wrote:

The league is really evolving toward 3 point shooting being indispensable to winning. The Lakers apparently do not recognize this. They will not win a championship any time soon. This group would win 4 in a row of this was 2012-2015.

The Bucks just won a championship with terrible outside shooting. So did the Lakers. There’s your last two champions. The three is overhyped.

The Bucks were 10th in the league last year in 3 point shooting %. That is what you call terrible and others would say is above average.

coach wrote:

Real Obvi wrote:

They will make the playoffs but they will NOT be dangerous. They only have two talented players (Lebron and AD) and Lebron is no longer LEBRON. The rest are washed up never weres (Westbrook and Carmello were always about numbers and not about winning - now they are old to boot).

Lakers have no shot at title.

I remember hearing that they had no shot 2 years ago. I dont think any team wants to go against a healthy Laker team in the playoffs (not that they'll necessarily be healthy).

This Laker team is so bad. Just horrible. Currently down by like 31 pts to Portland.

Lakers are 10-11. Nobody is afraid to play this team.

Milkyio wrote:

Lakers are 10-11. Nobody is afraid to play this team.

Lakers have pretty much declared regular season isn't important, real basketball starts with the playoffs.

The older guys are trying to save themselves for the playoffs.