Optimism Discussion: The Laker's Sky Is Not Falling

It's amazing what Boogie's been able to do with a good roster around him finally.

 

I'm serious. Make it two

 

Bron Sucks,
Rondo sucks,
Dwight likes farts,
Boogie is fat,
AD is not an "alpha",
We need more white players...

 

You're mixing up sarcasm and facts lol

 

My feelings about Our team? Well, I'd usually charge at least $3 for this, but for BTHC, I'll make an exception.

I love the Lakers. They are my team, and it's the only team/sport I follow throughout the year. It really stinks when your team stinks for years at a time. In spite of our success so far this year, I've caught less games than at any time in the last 20 years I bet. But that only means I've missed a handful, and it was mostly related to work travel and time zone stuff.

I was never thrilled about having Lebron on our team because he has been such a douche of a person in the past. There is no denying his talent. This year, he really has been anything but a douche. He's been easy to root for this season. Yes his game has flaws, and like any fan, I'm concerned about them getting exposed when it matters most.

The rest of the team?

Original Starters:
Anthony Davis (I'm seeing some Batman feathers sprouting. For a bit there, I was concerned with his lack of post game and giving his defender the easy way out with fade-away jumpers. Health affects his play, so I imagine this is a roller coaster we will remain on as long as he is a Laker.
LeBron James Addressed above. Amazing talent that has decided he'd like to lead the league in assists this year. To do it at age 35 playing 35 minutes a game is pretty absurd. I'm thankful he's growing as a person and is easier not to hate, as in the past, I truly detested him. I'd still like to see him work on his flaws, but he seems determined to just let the team fill out around him what is needed. Drives me crazy as a Kobe fan to not have a star that demands the ball in crunch time and dares you to stop him. He's big, he's strong, he's athletic, he's fast, and yet he's still limited when the game slows down. Like the Magic Bulls series when Pippen locked up Magic on D, I think we will see our offense sputter when a top tier team with the right horses decide to clamp down the defense on Lebron. Our other guys and our offense needs to be ready to handle that. Only the best coached teams have exposed that so far, and we lost those games.
Avery Bradley Nice to see him healthy this year (LOL? I say that as he's out on injury for a month) and hounding opposing players on D. Such a nice fit. Does KCP stay in the starting lineup upon his return? I actually think it will work either way since the defense had tightened back up. A great pickup, and a hungry guy leading the defensive energy charge.
Danny Green Disappointing results so far, but if Danny Green has shown anything, it's that he can show up when it matters most. Intelligent, solid D, team player, fits in.
JaVale McGee Another year of solid results. Lost his mojo the end of last year, and it was natural to be concerned if Dwight would have the same effect as Zubac. So far things seem to be ok. Solid but unspectacular. There are times our bigs combined stats look like Wilt played. Kudos to effort, defense, blocked shots, rebounds, and fear of abnormally large insects.

The starters have gelled quicker than pretty much anyone anticipated. I believe the Finals will be the Lakers and Bucks, and it goes 6-7 games. (Assuming everyone is healthy) Our 6-10 can fill in reasonably as needed, but there is not mistaking that Lebron is the engine for this team. That is both encouraging and scary as hell considering his age and high mileage.

Rotation Players:
Alex Caruso ACFresh is a cult hero for a reason. Balling like a dude with a fro and with skin a few shades darker. Humble, easy to like and root for. I've changed my mind about shaving the hair like AD chose not to shave the unibrow. Roll with it Balding Eagle!
Dwight Howard This man is an encouragement to all humanity. Detested wherever he went, always chewing on his foot after stupid things fell out of his face, and then a mysterious rectal injury basically took a year of his career. As he sat there in the hospital with his colostomy bag, he said, "Enough of this s***!" After that, he got himself in shape, did some fasting, truly looked inward to make some change, and actually did it. He turned into a genuinely happy person that people like, teammates like, and that fans can root for. I've even noticed a declining urge for me to bring up his constipated past, but this is Frozen 1. I don't just let things go. (See Lebron)
Kyle Kuzma I have every confidence he'll hit his stride, and the team will continue to improve on finding ways to get him in the flow. He needs to be hit with passes on the move to be effective. Catch and shoot, pick and roll, curls, etc. He's out there making cuts Rondo, so let's quit ignoring his effort to get open shall we? Hard to see games with such little statistical impact when you know the guy can drop 30 in a hurry. Downside of having a defense minded coach as the priority, but there is time for the offense to round into form and get him more involved.
Rajon Rondo Pleasant surprise this year. It started to be a real head scratcher that Lebron and others wanted him around. His play was full of Dumb passes, missed layups, nitpicking injuries, crappy defense, and then Lebron took him to Miami. (Allegedly) I personally gave him a pass because of the stiff jab to CP2's grill, but I actually thought he'd ride the bench all year. If Caruso, Rondo, and Bradley are healthy, we seem to have the PG duties covered as much as needed. Lebron is really the main ball handler when he's in anyways.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Temporary Starter) Slow start, and then his mental ankle bracelet was removed by Dwight in the realm of social media. At first he was concerned when Dwight said he had his back, but then it turned out it was legit, and he wasn't just starting at his glutes and drooling. (Sorry Dwight, but I did say this isn't Frozen) When he turned down Detroit's Mega Offer, he was gaining a reputation of giving the leagues top offensive talent fits on defense. I feel like some of that is coming back, stupid shots are fewer and further between, his teammates love him, he looks good in orange, and he's playing quite respectably. No complaints except that I can't say KCP without thinking KFC.

End of Bench:
Quinn Cook
Jared Dudley
Troy Daniels

Nice to have some shooting in garbage time. When called upon, it's great to have experienced NBA vets who can come through, play more minutes when needed, and already know the game and advanced tactics. (Unlike young players still learning the game)

G-League:
Kostas Antetokounmpo
Zach Norvell Jr.
Talen Horton-Tucker

Intriguing young talent, and signing with a purpose. I'll have an opinion when they can do something of note, but post stuff I see about them when I come across it.

Injured List:
DeMarcus Cousins

Interesting situation, and hope he stays out the rest of the year. I can't see the benefit of him making a comeback.

Do I PM my Paypal link?

P.S. I actually don't care about the skin tone, sexual preference, gender, height, skin conditions, how much Preparation H is used by player X, etc. The qty of white players we had referenced over the years ended up being a running joke that transferred over to the light skinned bros, etc. What I care about is having the best assembled roster possible with the highest possible character with it. I think the Lakers have always done a pretty solid job balancing that out. But there is no denying that when it came to filling out the roster with cheap players in years past, there did seem to be a sudden moratorium on melanin. Just a truthful observation.

If we had a team full of dudes as dark as Michael Cooper, a guy you really don't want to play hide and seek in the dark with (Except Dwight), I'd be completely happy if we were winning. Lighter skin has typically associated with suckage or soft play in the last 40? years of the NBA with a few notable exceptions. Remember this?





Kobe told him he was going to the rack like a light skinned dude.

 

TLDNR







Kidding of course. Good read and takes.

 

That was way to long for a ronstu post. Maybe he forgot to switch accounts back to his vash account.

 

more than half of LB's conversations are between ronstu and his burner accounts

 

Where's Real? Such a good team, great time to be around and he's missing. He just teased us with his short comeback... what a d***

 

Have I ever told you how appropriate your handle is? Actually...check that, you’ve written the book on it, so you’re way past 101. Don’t fake the Ph.unk on being a grade-A D.***.

[We could just get Fuzzie with it and ban his a**, Ronnie.]
{Yeah, good thinking Va-sash-i.}
[Man I hate it when you call me that.]
{Well, I hate it when you call me Ronnie...how many times I gotta tell you, it’s Ronda? s***, I’ll just start calling you Vanda.}
[Alright, whateva #Stu-pid. Anyways, let’s hit up Barnie and punk his a**.]
{Yasss! He won’t know what hit him. None of them will tbh!}

 

Wow @RonStu thank you, was not exoecting such a detailed summary. Not surprised to see I agree with most of your takes my man .

PM the details of your account, a deal is a deal and I feel like that was a well invested 2 dollars

 

The starting lineup has felt like the second string all year other than LBJ and AD and now we know why.

 

Your Los Angeles Lakers are now shooting 37% from three this season. 10 games into the season, I believe we were at 32% or around that percentage. We are now tied for the 5th best shooting in the league... This team is clicking on all cylinders and once we get Bradley+Rondo back healthy, our defense and offense will be next level.