Watching the Lakers only #3 seems high as they seem to squeak out victories... but then if you watch the NBA it doesn't. I think the migration of all the power duos has created parity and maybe only the Clippers stand out above the pack. If Kawhi and PG struggle with their health, it's anyone's ball game. If they are fully healthy it will be difficult unless Dwight stays the way he is all season, Kuzma finds his outside shot, and we get Boogie back for the playoffs.
I'm actually surprised we've had the toughest schedule yet. Even more so considering the next 3 games.
lots of noise early due to the small sample size (e.g., lakers and clippers constitute 15% of each others' schedules right now). feel like we need to be 20-25 games in before taking this stuff too seriously.
Yes. But my comment refers specifically to the conclusion made based on the above chart. Unless you are playing fast and loose with the degree of toughness, by all accounts we've had an absolutely average schedule.
New Power Rankings: 2 Last week: 3 Los Angeles Lakers Record: 7-2 Pace: 101.2 (21) OffRtg: 105.5 (20) DefRtg: 98.1 (2) NetRtg: +7.4 (3) The Lakers' loss to the shorthanded Raptors on Sunday was their worst defensive game (Toronto scored 113 points on 101 possessions) since their opening-night loss to the Clippers. But maybe it puts the spotlight back on an offense that ranks 20th in the league, even though LeBron James is averaging a career-high 11.0 assists with his lowest turnover ratio (9.8 per 100 possessions) of the last seven seasons. They rank second in field goal percentage in the paint (61%), but rank 21st in the percentage of their shots that have come from the paint (48%) and 28th in effective field percentage on shots from outside it (43%). The issue on the perimeter is partly because they haven't shot well and partly because their ratio of 3-point attempts to mid-range attempts (1.7) is the third lowest in the league. Anthony Davis ranks 31st in mid-range field goal percentage (34.9%) among 33 players with at least 25 attempts.
OK, so were ranked #3, then #2... let's see where we are now; but first, +/- player of the week: Plus-Minus Players of the Week Right Way: LeBron James (LAL) was a plus-54 in four games last week. Previously... Last week: C Bags grab No. 1 spot, Lakers rise and Sixers fall 1 Last week: 2 Los Angeles Lakers Record: 11-2 Pace: 100.2 (23) OffRtg: 109.3 (9) DefRtg: 99.9 (1) NetRtg: +9.3 (1) The Lakers still have the league's top-ranked defense, and now their offense has climbed into the top 10, having scored more than 120 points per 100 possessions in three of their last four games. Full-strength small-ball lineups -- with Kyle Kuzma, LeBron James and Anthony Davis up front -- have been underwhelming offensively (112 points scored on 111 possessions) thus far. But Kuzma (12-for-25 from 3-point range last week) has been heating up and though James' 3-point numbers are mediocre, a 49% mark from mid-range has him registering the highest effective field goal percentage on shots from outside the paint (50.4%) of his career. Their game in Oklahoma City on Friday is the start of a stretch where the Lakers are playing 12 of 15 on the road, but they're currently 4-0 outside of Staples Center and they're just three games into a stretch of nine straight against teams that are currently under .500. Oh, look: We're #1 defensively, and our offense went from 20th in the league to #9. Things are clicking and Vogel is doing a great job so far. :Carusohearthands: We're still slow. And I mean S L O W.
I told you that San Antonio is will miss a playoffs.They lost 5 in a row ,8 out of 10 ,losing big to Dallas
We're in a good spot - but I wanna see how we do against Houston/Denver/LAC/MIL/BOS/PHI type of teams now that we're about 14 games in...I feel like we're winning games we should at this point....
it's a long season, but yeah, they don't have their mojo right now for sure. don't jinx it. we have several games coming up that are "expected" wins. dropping a couple of those could cause problems. as i said in another thread: we have to win as many games as possible while AD and lebron are both in the lineup, because there will certainly be times that we won't have one or both available--and those will generally be losses, even against the dregs of the league. get a cushion. btw, houston is so getting that 1 seed this year.
I guess we're doing what we're supposed to be doing: 1 Last week: 1 Los Angeles Lakers Record: 14-2 Pace: 100.3 (23) OffRtg: 110.5 (8) DefRtg: 102.5 (5) NetRtg: +7.9 (3) The Lakers have played one of the league's easiest schedules and they have three more games on a stretch of nine straight against teams with losing records. They've won seven straight, but with some defensive slippage, five of those seven wins (including each of the last three) have been within five points in the last five minutes. They're a league-best 7-1 in clutch games overall, with their opponents having scored just 58 points on their 70 clutch possessions. The biggest shots of the week were 3-pointers from Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the Lakers have shot 41% from beyond the arc - with Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma a combined 44-for-88 - over the winning streak. Their 3-point volume remains relatively low, but they have two of the nine guys who have averaged double-figures in the restricted area. LeBron James' 20 restricted-area points in Memphis on Saturday were a season high and tied for the second most he's had in 71 total games with the Lakers. Week 6: @ SAS, @ NOP, vs. WAS, vs. DAL
Basically, our offense is getting better, but without Bradley and Caruso we have slipped defensively.
So, is anyone still predicting this team will only win 50 games this year? I think we are going to win more than 60, but doubt we stay on the pace we are currently projecting. To win 50 games means we go 36-30 the rest of the year. That ain't happening! Even 46-20 seems like something we can beat. Guess it will depend on injuries, always does. But barring a major injury to Davis or Lebron, we got 60+ wrapped up. Wins- Loses- Percent Current 14- 2- 87.5% Continued 72- 10- 87.5% Needed 46- 20- 69.7% Projected 60- 22- 73.2%
We start off December in pretty brutal fashion... at least harder than what we've seen so far. - Mavs at home. Then Den, Utah and Portland away. Ending with Minny at home. All within a week. Then we end December pretty brutally as well. - Bucks, Denver, Clips, Portland and Mavs. We might not hold this pace much longer. I do want home court advantage for the playoffs though, at least up to the Conference Finals. We have a veteran heavy team but we're going to need Staples going bonkers against the tougher teams.
