It’s not about being spoiled and not appreciating that we have big names on this team. It’s that we WASTED the big names. We won by playing bigger and stronger than everyone, and players like KCP, Kuz, and Caruso allowed us to do that, so we got rid of them. Now, we have no future when LeBron retires, no picks, no assets, we MUST win the title now, that’s why they went all in on Russ. So you can’t have it both ways if you’re the Lakers, you can’t be cheap on the fringes and whine about luxury tax while you have probably the last truly great year of LeBron James, if you’re gonna go all in, go all in. Context matters, I’ll watch teams like the one with the kids and know that 19-20-some wins is meeting expectations, THIS team sucks because they’re mediocre, and there’s almost nothing worse. They made a point at the end of the I Love Basketball podcast the other day that we continue to be .500, we were like -3-3, 5-5, 8-8, 12-12, etc, etc, etc. We are mediocre, it is what it is.
That's true too. I actually said the same thing about being mediocre earlier. It's not that we're horrible, we're not. We're so mediocre and it hurts to watch.
We had a winning formula and LeBron and Rob decided to foolishly blow it up based off one injury plagued season. By doing this, they ruined two seasons worth of Championship Contending.
We are mediocre because our best defender and second best player has been out for a month! We had the 7th best D in the NBA before AD went down and the 27th since he’s been out.
I don’t have the tweet in front of me that mentions the defense number that you quoted above but there was a big increase in offense mentioned in it since AD went down.
The problem with this team is their attitude, approach and outlook. The Ryan Kelly, Sacre, Lonzo, Kuzma years we knew those guys didn't have the talent to compete but they tried hard and many of us Laker fans were satisfied. The 2020-2021 team and 2021-2022 team DOES have the talent to be in the mix for a title but their attitude, approach and entitlement is major turnoff. They are selfish and don't play for the Lakers glory. Especially this 2021-2022 team has the gunners, the defenders, the scorers you need to compete. But they're hell bent on appeasing Lebron's stats, legacy, resume and accomplishments. Rob hasn't told him no (Ex: Westbrook). Vogel hasn't criticized him and AD (2 years running now for their non-MVP type play). The pieces are there but the process they are implementing is wrong and has not produced a title contender. They are walking on eggshells especially around Lebron. It's no surprise that when Lebron lead the league in assists the team was quite deadly too in 2019/2020. He needs to find his teammates IN THEIR COMFORT ZONES. This Lakers team looks exactly like the 2019/2020 Rockets where its all your turn my turn type gimmicky offense. The 2019/2020 offense wasn't the greatest but we had a reliable defense and everybody played their role AROUND THEIR STARS. It starts with the stars and it ends with the stars. AD and Lebron haven't played like top 5 NBA players for 2nd consecutive season now. Another factor is continuity...the 2019/2020 team had guys like KCP, Caruso, Kuz who had played together for a few years and were vital role players. LBJ, Jeanie did not appreciate what they brought to the table and just thought replacing and getting new guys would cut it.
But like I said, those bad teams, at least they were trying. At least the kids were fun to watch grow. This team isn't fun to watch. They're quite the opposite. They are infuriating as they often show about as much effort as a sloth post climax. I can stand a team that tries, but just isn't good enough or athletic enough. What I can't stand is a bunch of guys who are playing like, "I am a star (even though most of them are well past that point in their career), and I am above trying hard." But the rotten cherry on this elephant diarrhea sundae with pube sprinkles is it was completely self inflicted. The stars (AD and Lebron) who we should be happy we have and enjoy rooting for, are the same two knuckleheads who came up with this masterplan.
I expected to lose this, at Denver is almost never a win, but god damn, show some pride. It only gets tougher from here too, shouldn’t have messed around when we had a cake schedule and blew games to OKc, Houston, etc.. But sure, AD and Nunn are gonna save us haha. Blow this crap up, trade for anything and everything, rearrange these deck chairs on the titanic.
This season can’t end soon enough. There are no trades on the horizon that will make this roster championship material. This is like a bad dream that I can’t wake up from.
