Official Wmc Thread: Um Those Too Many W's! Fix The Tank!

I'm not all that surprised they have beat the likes of the C Bags, Jazz, and Bucks, just disappointed in a looking ahead kind of way. All three of those teams have disrupted their team chemistry with trades. I for see a nice losing streak on the horizon that should solidify the 4th spot and there is still a good chance the Wolves could put together a string of wins to pass us, moving us to 3rd...... Have Faith in the lack of talent!

 

Saw a Yahoo blurb on line this morning that Byron is reportedly going to try starting Lin at the 2 paired with Clarkson at the 1. The way Duke has been balling, hopefully this helps us ..... errrr.....hurts us more than keeping Ellington with starter's minutes.

 

That's assuming Scott isn't just too thick headed to get with the program, and doesn't mean all the rah rah win win we don't tank talk he's always putting out. As you would expect him to do. Here's Pincus' take on the game.


Five takeaways from the Lakers' 101-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks
Basketball

• Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers (16-41) won their third straight game Friday night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks (32-26). Here are five takeaways from their 101-93 victory at Staples Center.

1) Wayne Ellington scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on six-of-seven shooting. He was the difference as the Lakers made their push from 11 points down.

"Wayne obviously got hot," said Milwaukee's Khris Middleton after the game.


Lakers have something left in tank, beat Bucks for third straight win
"At the end of the day, we are competitors," said Ellington. "We're not coming out here trying to lose any games. Obviously we've faced a lot of adversity .... We've had some tough situations and as a result, our record is what it is. But at the time, we're out here fighting."

2) Though Jordan Clarkson was playing well, Coach Byron Scott went with Jeremy Lin down the stretch. Lin finished with 14 points and six assists, along with a team-high plus-minus of plus-18.

The combination of Lin and Ellington was working in the fourth.

lRelated
"[Lin is] a guy that can get the ball in the paint and cause two guys on the ball," said Bucks Coach Jason Kidd. "He found open guys and also got to the free-throw line. He played a great fourth quarter."

Lin has averaged 16.3 points a game, while shooting 50.0% from the field since the All-Star break.

Clarkson gave the Lakers 16 points, on seven-of-nine shooting, but the Bucks outscored the Lakers by six over the 30 1/2 minutes the rookie was on the floor.

"We're starting to grow as a basketball team," said Scott. "I hope we just continue to play this way. We've been playing hard all season long, but we just haven't been able to put it together for four quarters."

The Lakers were strong in the first and fourth, enough to offset sizable lulls in the second and third.

4) Is Carlos Boozer the difference-maker? Since Scott put him back into the starting lineup, the Lakers haven't lost. While that's likely coincidental, Clarkson recently gave Boozer some credit for helping the rookie guard develop.

5) The Lakers' positioning in the NBA draft lottery took a hit over the last few games. The Lakers are "behind" the Minnesota Timberwolves (13-44), Philadelphia 76ers (13-45) and New York Knicks (11-46). With the Lakers winning, other teams are "gaining" ground, including the Orlando Magic (19-41), Denver Nuggets (20-38) and Sacramento Kings (20-36). If the Lakers do keep winning, they may find themselves without their first-round pick in June, since anything but a top-five selection will go to the Philadelphia 76ers (via the Steve Nash trade with the Phoenix Suns).

The Lakers still play the Wolves and Sixers twice each, and the Knicks once. The Knicks and Sixers still play each other twice as well. The only way the Lakers would be 100% guaranteed a top-five pick is if they finished with the worst or second-worst record in the third. At third from the bottom, their odds would still be high at 96.0%, but in their current fourth position, it's a less comfortable 83.8%.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.


http://www.latimes.com/sports/laker...kers-bucks-five-takeaways-20150227-story.html

 

Can we send Scott to the D-Fenders for a stretch and let Madsen coach them for the final stretch?

And playing vets is so damn stupid right now. I'd still toss Booz a handful of minutes because he's been a real pro about all this. But Lin and Young (when he comes back) should be wearing a suit and not logging a single second. Black should not be getting DNPs under any condition. Hill's minutes should be reduced. If you cut Booz and Hill's minutes in half, that's 22 minutes Black could've played right there.

Hell, bring in a couple guys from the D-Fenders, give them an extended look and see if they're worth a camp invite next year. Jabari Brown is putting up 24 PPG. Roscoe Smith is averaging 19/12. I'd gladly cut into the PT of Boozer, Hill, Young, and Johnson for those two to get some time and see if there's anything there.

Playing vets extended minutes accomplishes nothing. It hinders development of the kids who will be or could be here next year. STOP IT ALREADY!

 

This one stings, considering he's ballin' out of control.

 

^ He'd be sitting next to Black getting DNPs for the likes of Boozer and Hill.

 

Yes, I'm about to do it because he just won the damn Finals MVP and it's well deserved.....

Even though it was the right decision, damnit we could have had Iggy for Andrew Bynum in that D12 deal.

Dude just absolutely proved in this series he's the new age Scottie Pippen and seeing that with Kobe would have been awesome to see. Bitter Lakers fan talking but damn this is the Iggy everyone expected him to be. Props to him for stepping up.