WMC 24-25: Seasonal Highs And Lows!

been saying it for a while. not sure why our own management acted like we didn't win a title with two stars + role players who defend. weird panic reaction to star injuries, which, as we're seeing, can't be overcome simply by MOAR STARZ. hell, bkn had three last year and couldn't sustain injuries to one (and a half i guess).

when your stars are hurt, you lose. who went to the finals last year? let me guess: the only teams that had all their stars left? it would have been us if AD wasn't hurt, probably with a repeat title, tbh.

anyway, water under the bridge now, but i've been baffled the whole time.

 

Weakest schedule in the league by far to date. This can get ugly quick if the injuries don’t lighten up

 

yeah, as i said before the game, fumbling two against okc is going to really hurt later in the year when we're having to play lebron 45 minutes per game to try and get better playoff positioning instead of resting guys.

 

There's no joy in watching this team. I had to turn the game off midway through the 4th quarter.

Russell Westbrook's play, how he plays has completely ruined the games for me. I just hate the way he plays. It will be tough watching games as long as he's here. He's the epitome of playing the game the wrong way. His defense is dreadful. He turns the ball over. His shot selection is dreadful. He stays in the backcourt and complains. He's always played this way, we saw it in the bubble as his reckless low IQ game and emotional meltdown sunk the Rockets. Good for us then, bad for us now.

Instead of making winning basketball plays, he stat hunts. That's why he gambles on defense. He assists hunts so he racks up turnovers left and right. He rebound hunts, so he leaves his man wide open to chase a rebound. His stats are a reflection of just how terrible he is, and how he plays losing basketball.

I want him off my team.

 

it was more than that they specifically went against getting player who have high basketball IQ. Westbrook, Monk, and Nunn aren't known for being the sharpest basketball minds and guess what it shows on the basketball court.

FO/Lebron/AD shooting themselves in the foot so far. Strange to think it could all still work out as the Lebron AD combo plus guys like Dwight/Ariza/Bazemore/THT/Reaves/Melo is still a frightening good team but the Westbrook fit is causing as many problems as expected without the benefit: ability to rest Lebron and still pull out regular season wins.

The Cavs got rid of Wade so I don't think Lebron is going to be emotional about letting go of Westbrook but who the hell wants that contract?

 

no one. the lakers are stuck with russ

he should lead the second unit and be on the bench when it's closing time

 

Yeah.. This is gonna be a rough Team to fully get behind with Russ out there.
I actually cringe when he starts getting hot because I know he's eventually gonna shoot us out of the game.

We're still missing a few key, rotation Players, but this Team has no identity right now.

 

I think having two healthy stars WAS the reason Russ was brought in. He’s obviously not a good fit, but he’s talented enough to get us into the playoffs while AD and Lebron half@$$ it all year, staying fresh and healthy.

Now, I’m not defending that strategy at all. Just pondering if that’s what rob, lebron and AD were thinking…

It may backfire because:
1. There’s no guarantee that Lebron and AD stay healthy even with Russ carrying more of the load.
2. Russ’ terrible fit may result in Lebron and AD having to play harder than normal to get a decent playoff position.

 

Russ on the Drive & Dish or attacking the basket is lethal.
Russ in the half court or Russ as a shooter is a recipe for disaster.

 

hes missing layups on consistent basis, not exactly lethal

 

if russ and AD can't win us the okc games with lebron out, you have to start wondering if this theory holds water. again, even bkn, who doesn't have nearly the dropoff among its stars, couldn't withstand losing one and still win it all. if your stars can't go, you're not going to win, period.

i just liked our previous philosophy, as i said over the summer before the westbrook trade. i didn't even like the hield trade, tbh. i thought and still think that lebron/AD plus a balanced 2-way supporting cast is a title team. we could have gone that route again and didn't.

anyway, it's AD and lebron's fault, so they have to live with it, too. that's honestly the biggest silver lining for me--they can't blame the FO for not getting them what they wanted or for making poor roster choices. you asked for russ specifically, and you got him.

 

I think their hope was that bringing in Russ would both lower Lebron’s usage rate and allow he and/or AD to take nights off to heal up from little injuries while not sacrificing wins. Last night against Okc was exactly what that theory was made for, and it didn’t work.

I’m with you, totally, in sticking with the two star and great role players strategy. Let’s hope these winnable games are due to lack of chemistry and underestimating opponents and will be resolved later. TBD…

 

On the flipside...judging from last year's team, if Lebron and a couple of key rotation players are out, we lose this game anyway.

 

We have two more years of this garbage

 

it's not a great testament to Rob Pelinka that each year since he took over, the team has gotten increasingly worse.

and we've kind of cornered ourselves with Russ here for this and another season, since he does not seem tradeable.

 

nah; Russ will move again this summer if we look like this all year. Whether it’s an improvement…

 

I need to see how we look with all of our guys before calling this whole thing a failure.

Two losses to OKC will come back to haunt us though unless we go on a big time run at some point.

 

I actually think the losses against the Thunder is a good thing. It was a much needed wake up call. Adversity is an excellent opportunity to see what this team is made of. I am actually curious to see how they respond.

The team was in full blown denial from Lebron, Vogel onwards to the end of the bench about their pathetic, shameful and embarrassing display from pre season to the opening few games. They were covering up with lame excuses.

No more hiding. Everyone is under the scanner now. Let's see who they are.

Ariza is ancient with a ton of mileage under him, he should be used in emergency situations I dont expect him to be a consistent rotation player now or in the playoffs. His experience and wisdom can be invaluable for guys like Baze, THT and Monk.