Anthony Davis Discussion: Only Player On Both All NBA + All Def

been hearing "need to play better" all season, getting to he a corny cliche now

 

Yeah, sure, Anthony...lol

 

Nah, I say leave it up to the sportscasters to say that.

 

i'm missing the problem with his statement. and the talk i'm tired of is about playing hard, but that's not what he said. he said "self-inflicted" wounds, meaning mental mistakes, etc. (at least that's my interpretation).

remember: that was like the 95th starting lineup we've had this year. guys aren't going to know where others are, etc. the hawks have had largely the same group for two years, and that familiarity matters. the toll of our injuries AND roster turnover has just been too much. you can't just roll the ball out there and beat quality nba opponents. and with AD and russ has your two stars, you're expecting to be a 7th-8th place team. such teams lose to other similar teams on the road.

seriously, folks: it's AD, old russ, and vet mins out there right now. i'm not sure what one can expect.

 

Well, I make the deal for AD every single time even if we only end up with one asterisk title.

That said, I don't think it necessarily has to be another extended period of hell. I think guys will want to play with AD and we will have cap room particularly once LeBron and Russ are gone.

I do hate that it doesn't appear we will be able to get more out of the LeBron/AD combo.

 

i think AD's going to figure out his body and stay on the floor more often, or at least as much as he did before he got here.

i also think the shifting narratives around the team are strange. when we were trading for AD, everyone said we wouldn't win anyway, kawhi, blah blah blah. but then we did, and it's either "well that one doesn't count because AD wasn't injured" or something, or 1 title out of them wasn't enough.

remember, when lebron signed here, he was already finished as a superstar according to the press. he was retiring and playing golf here.

instead: title.

anyway, i don't think AD's career is over at 28 years old, and i think having him under contract is huge and important and not a bad thing.

 

The problem is we thought AD was going to be THE guy and Bron would slowly step back and AD would take the wheel and be in the driver's seat for the better part of next decade for us.

Now, he's not that and he's not going to be that. We have to go look for another #1 option and a durable one at that. Bambi Brow can't make it through 5 minutes of play without getting hurt to some degree.

I agree there will be guards who will be down for playing for us and with him, but it's certainly not the situation I foresaw after The Bubbleship.

 

or maybe you're not right about AD?

 

I hope I'm not. BUT he's shown he doesn't know the answer regarding how to take care of his body and how to prevent injuries. The fact that the Lakers haven't been able to help guide him here either is a little troubling. Our past 3 training staffs have all had me uneasy. I'm sure the mom and pop shop is going cheap here too instead of hiring a staff like the Suns have had for 15-20 years... not even sure how many different crews they've had during that time.

He's 29 next month and hasn't figured out it. He's not going to. His body is going to change in his 30s and anything he'll figure out by then, he'll have to figure out another way. Bulking up wasn't the answer. I don't think he put the proper strength into his legs to support the mass, either. Then the fact that he reached out to Dudz, a Mavs coach, on how to drop that weight instead of his personal strength coach or anyone on the Lakers sounds to me like he doesn't trust the advice he's getting.

When AD is healthy he's a top 5 in the league. But when ranking him you have to take the full view into account and all the injuries. If Rob doesn't take that into account when building, after Bron, it's extremely foolish and is him trying to pray health onto AD. AD has to show me he can stay healthy for a season with us. He hasn't yet and I'm not holding my breath either. But that doesn't for one second mean that AD isn't the make or break piece to this team's success. He's the most versatile elite defender in the league. I just don't think he's built for the grind and need someone to do the heavy lifting and let him do his thing when it really counts.

 

he was healthier than most admit until he got here. i'm willing to chalk up last year's struggles to the lingering injury from the title. this year, he was fine until someone got tossed into his leg.

i'm not sure who the iron man you're looking for is, but really only giannis, jokic, and luka fit the bill of guys i'd take over AD to build around for the next three to four years. if AD's not good enough to build around, are you suggesting we just go full philly or back to hoping guys like ingram or lonzo or dlo are going to be franchise anchors?

i'm just worried we're going to keep emptying the cupboard every year so that when lebron isn't fit as a #1 (which may be as soon as next year, given how this year's gone), there will be no way to re-tool with AD as the centerpiece (he most certainly hasn't been featured as such yet).

 

Completely agree. The goal posts definitely keep moving.

 

I still think AD can be a 1. But if he is a 2 that’s still a great piece for us to build around.

I agree that a top guard would probably bite on playing with him and being the next Laker great.

 

That's going to happen.

Don't you know the plan?

 

Everytime I think I know what we are doing we throw a curveball - see Westbrook.

 

Lol

 

He's been banged up his whole career except for 16-17, 17-18 seasons. I think you have to expect him to miss an average of 20 games and hope it doesn't end up higher. He sat through a lot of small injuries with NO because he was tired of competing for no reason, the team was going nowhere. It's why he toughed it out in the bubble. Hoping to shake the perception.

I'm fine with a top tier AD for 60 games a year. No problem. But some of these injuries have caused a deterioration in play either on the front or back end of them.

I'm not remotely saying I want player X over AD or I'd rather watch the s*** show of the Laker Infant years. AD is not a #1 offensively on a contender and I think it's foolish to push him to be one or expect him to develop into one on the other side of his prime. He is the best #2 in the league. It's a perimeter based league, you want a SF/SG/PG in that spot in today's league. It's why there's 10 great bigs to every 50 great wings and guards.

If AD is the focal point offensively, you're taking away from his greatest strength... his defense. He's one of the few players who can guard 1-5 at an elite level. He has shown he can be the best defensive player in the NBA. He will never be the best offensive player in the NBA. Pushing that on him is shooting yourself in the foot and every other NBA team will thank you.

Ideally you get Luka. His game isn't predicted on speed. Regardless of injury, he's coming back the same player. Style contrast: I really like Ja, but I get Rose flashbacks. Don't think we have a shot at Ja anyway. I think we have a really good shot at Jayson Tatum, especially with his love for Kobe. Donovan Mitchell is another one who I think we have a shot at because he wants the big market. Both have held up pretty well, I know Mitchell has had a few injuries recently though and his attacking style will cause him to be more prone to injuries.

We're definitely going to empty the clip. Every Bron team has. In that Bobby Marks piece from the other day, he said that in Bron's career that his team has traded away 15 1st rounders. I imagine it would be higher if not for the every other draft rule that has limited the teams a little. Bron on our roster still gives us our best chance and as bad as we look, I still am not going to bet against Bron and AD in a 7 game series IF healthy.

 

If him and Lebron can stay healthy I’m optimistic. This guy is a beast. I wish he could get back to 80% from the line though.