yeah, this has been my argument against the bubble title being "fake". if anything, it was a better measure of which team was best and not just most durable.
The biggest problem is our superstars. AD hasn't played like a top 10 player when he's been available. Lebron has been sensational on offense but inconsistent on defense and he cannot play off ball. Westbrook makes too many mistakes we can't afford to make up and he cannot play winning basketball with Lebron. That's the truth. Lakers may have a hard time finding a trade partner for Westbrook so they're going to ride the big 3 and blame the coach (Who deserves a fair amount of criticism too.). If your big 3 haven't been as good as advertised no amount of moves will propel you towards a championship. It doesn't matter if we get Grant or Turner or whoever. It doesn't matter if Reaves and Ariza are available more often. Your role players compliment your stars and ease their burden. But our stars haven't played winning basketball this year (which was also the issue in 2020-2021 season)
If your team hasn't been healthy enough to play 25 games together as a complete unit. Nothing is going to go smoothly. AD isn't even available. Lebron is only just now playing a long stretch of consecutive games. Westbrook is the only one that has played in every game. That means something, let's not even talk about the role players. I'm not sure what you expect, if guys aren't actually physically on the court. It's an 82 game season, to make declarations after 15-20 games is unrealistic. The idea is to improve as the season goes along. Injuries/Covid has derailed everything.
The Rock’s point is that even before AD went down, the “big three” individually were not playing up to their high standards previously seen, combined with the fact that the three were not combining to create a sum greater than the parts. The role players level of play, injuries, and Covid are separate issues.
They didn't play together long enough to determine anything. The season is 82 games long. A handful of games here and there, doesn't represent some kind of good reference point.
I swear folks just have preconceived notions that are hard to refute: lebron just literally finished off the Rockets with two plays where he was off-ball. the problem is that he is just better than anyone else as the creator. Westbrook theoretically could be that guy but he just makes too many dumb mistakes
And we didn't see any of this against Memphis last night. Its one thing to do it against a scrub team like Houston. We have the hardest remaining schedule lets see if we see this type or buckets vs GSW, PHX, Utah etc.
I think the poor record, while having the easiest schedule to start with, is more than enough evidence.
You mismatching cause and effect IMO. The team lack of playmaking and Westbrook mental midget moments is what is causing to be Lebron on ball. Lebron is a fine cutter and catch and shoot 3s are actually a lot easier for him than the tough pullups but when you're a generational talent level of playmaker and you're playing extremely high minutes for your age: the team is going to maximize efficiency. In other words, if a team wants to play Lebron off the ball, they have to trust the other option and you have to keep his minutes down so that he has the energy off the ball. I
lebron can play off the ball, but finding a player who's good enough on the ball to justify moving lebron off of it is harder than lebron or the FO thinks, imo.
i don't even think then. remember--the team has to be better off with player x on the ball and lebron off than lebron on the ball and player y on. player y is much easier to find. we just have failed to realize it, even after winning a title with a bunch of player ys and no player xs.
Yep this is what the bubble team makeup was so good at and I would argue similar to To and Mil. If you have a generational x in Kawhii and Lebron: you are going to lose if they go down regardless. So it's better just to get as many really good ys which tend to be lower rated on the market.
We have failed to find this floor general since it was time to move Kobe off ball. That being said, when you have guys with Saturn sized egoes, who have been running the show since they were in grade school, finding that guy with whom they feel comfortable with is extremely difficult.
Then he and the team are not gonna win games and win a ring. His offensive efficiency has been prioritized and it has not resulted in wins while we have enjoyed the softest schedule. Several of his teammates have to continually re-adjust to him. Monk, Melo and Reaves have been very good next to Bron and surprise surprise they're snipers. Im not denying Lebron is not a sensational playmaker but need to get more players involved in their comfort zones and they're more likely to play better defense and hustle. We barely see any Russ pick and roll with anyone to be honest. We don't see THT just run the 2nd unit out there. ^ I'm sure Lebron is better than any of those guys in those departments too but what the hell, this is a team game, empower the teammates and maybe they'll fight a little harder for you defensively
