Optimism Discussion: The Laker's Sky Is Not Falling

For ONCE - Ham put out the right starters and the right rotations!

This was the most comfortable win we've had all season - I'd love to start actually winning games with a comfortable lead and not have anxiety every single game.

The ASB could not have come at a better time too - maybe our guys can get some valuable practice time in?

there's 23 games left...wondering if we can go on a crazy run similar to the C Bags last year? At one point, they were 25-25...and then they made a midseason trade (Derrick White I think), and they went on a fricking TEAR. I think they finished like 26-6 or something crazy.

Would love if we went like 18-5 the rest of the way. But honestly just make the damn play-in and give yoruselves a chance to make the playoffs and we're good.

 

really interested to see how we come out of the break. will we sleepwalk or seize the moment?

dubs
mavs
grizz
okc
wolves
dubs

grizz, mavs, okc are on the road. we go 5-1, and i'm a believer. 4-2 i'm nearing the train. anything less and the season is probably over, as we're chasing 5 of those teams.

 

I agree we need to go 5-1 or 4-2 but really actually. need to go 5-1 at this point since we are chasing the mavs, dubs, wolves and thunder. I think you gotta win all of these games actuallly with the exception of Memphis.

 

Not one .... not two .... three .... maybe more? Counting Hachimura we have at least 3 guys that actually freaking jump into the air and shoot real jump shots. Beasley and Reaves .... beautifully, technically perfect .... and Rui, don't have a pic here but seems to have good form too. Look at the elevation Beasley gets and for a white, unathletic dude Austin gets up fine as well. Love it!!

 

Edit .... proof reading is your friend youtube Guy .... not Beliver .... "Believer"

 

Wow, what a game. Haven't had this much fun in a long time.

We really lucked out with 3 of the players we got back have experience playing together. It really chops off some time needed for chemistry to build. Everyone finding everyone on cuts and drives.

 

tbh i havent watched games since i left for my business trip and i havent watched when i came back outside of it being on at bars/ resturants because it was just an eye sore to watch.

Now I feel like we're starting get back lakerball and im interested in the rest of the season.


the past 3 seasons have been a wash.

 

Most def. That starting of the game was so good. Even when we lost the big lead, team always looked like they had answers.

LeBron shot 4 shots in the first half. It's amazing how we can run the game through DLo/AD and have LeBron just watching and drawing attention without being active. He can definitely use that additional rest to then take over in the 2nd half.

This is the best forward-looking Lakers version since 3 seasons ago

 

nobody in those pictures is anywhere close to a rebound

sorry, wrong thread

but they are being optimistic if they think the ball is going to bounce out to them at the 3 point line.

 

https://theathletic.com/4209378/202...bron-james/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983

The Lakers, with new look and at full strength, bring emotion entering All-Star break

By Jovan Buha
Feb 16, 2023
43

LOS ANGELES — D’Angelo Russell took two dribbles and pulled up for an uncontested 3-pointer from 27 feet in transition.

As the ball swished through, Russell turned around and skipped and bounced toward the opposite baseline. The 3-pointer capped a 6-0 personal run by Russell, which helped the Lakers turn a six-point lead into a 12-point lead and forced a New Orleans Pelicans timeout with 3:21 left in the third quarter.

Russell, who played for the Lakers from 2015 through 2017, was overflowing with emotion in his first home game as a Laker since April 9, 2017. On his way down the floor, he yelled to the Crypto.com Arena crowd, “Like I never left!” He repeated himself, yelling louder and pointing to the Lakers logo on his chest, “Like I never left!”

“Just embracing all those emotions,” Russell said of the moment. “… Just kind of embracing it with my own persona, and I love those moments. I play for the fans that are fans of me. I always appreciate them, and when I have an opportunity to embrace it and go out of my way and do something like that, I always think of the fans when I’m doing that, for sure.”



Russell was one of five newcomers — along with Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba and Davon Reed — making their home Lakers debut on Wednesday. More importantly, LeBron James returned after missing the previous three games because of a sore left ankle.

The collective energy, spirit and complementary skills the additions provided, as well as James’ scoring and playmaking, helped the Lakers go into the All-Star break on a high note, blowing out the Pelicans 120-102 to improve to 27-32. Los Angeles is now two games out of the No. 10 spot and 3 1/2 games out of the No. 6 spot in the West.

At full strength, the new-look Lakers were impressive, posting one of their few wire-to-wire wins of the season.

“It was good,” Anthony Davis said of the win. “One, for us to get on the winning side of things going into the break, to feel good about ourselves and not let a loss kind of linger over the next six, seven days. … And two, just standing purposes.”

While the win was certainly important — head coach Davin Ham labeled it a“QOL win” aka “quality of life win” — it was the manner in which the Lakers won that was most notable.

In a season that has been largely bereft of fun, joy and happiness, the Lakers played with all three for nearly 48 minutes Wednesday. Whenever the Pelicans made their inevitable run to make things competitive, the Lakers always had a swift response, often followed by smiles and high-fives and interactions to hype up the crowd. They were happy, which has been rare during this dispiriting campaign.

“When your mind and spirit is right, the body usually follows,” Ham said. “… We are playing for the best franchise in the world, so it’s like the excitement of stepping out there on that stage under the lights, representing what we are representing.

“And the new guys coming in, bringing that positive energy, the excitement of being a Laker. Just having that being rubbed back off on us. We’ve been here all year, and sometimes we had some tough moments, some tough losses. But those new guys, they’re bouncing off the walls with excitement just to be here and have the opportunity to play with these Hall of Fame guys in LeBron and AD.”

Ham teased pregame that he had “a few surprises” up his sleeve with the starting lineup and rotation given the team was finally whole with its new group.

The Lakers deployed their league-leading 30th starting lineup, with Vanderbilt and Beasley joining James, Davis and Russell. Rui Hachimura and Dennis Schröder moved to the bench, joining Austin Reaves, Troy Brown Jr. and Bamba.

The new lineup placed three former Timberwolves around James and Davis, allowing the group to jell immediately despite having never played together before. As a result, the Lakers jumped out to a commanding 12-2 lead and were in control of the game, leading by as many as 20 points.

“I think it was just about trying to create as much balance as we possibly could,” Ham said of the lineup change. “… I think just moving Dennis to that second unit along with Troy and Rui, those guys have a great symmetry together. Our new guys that have come in, particularly Beas, D-Lo and Vando, and putting those guys with ‘Bron and A, and it worked out. I thought we had a well-balanced attack. Different guys had different moments. And we were great defensively. I expect it just to get better and better and better.”

James added: “I think we’re going to continue to build off tonight, and I think our skill set all kind of fit each other. With Vando and D-Lo and Beas, three guys that just know how to play the game. We all just tried to get the ball popping, get the ball moving, have equal opportunity and everybody is just trying to play to their advantage out on the floor.”

Davis (28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists), James (21 points, six rebounds and six assists) and Russell (21 points and seven assists) combined for 70 points and flashed a synergy that Davis and James never quite had with Russell Westbrook. Russell is a more natural offensive fit with his off-the-dribble shooting and crafty pick-and-roll navigation.

Russell found Davis for multiple alley-oops and struck the proper balance between pushing the pace and running the Lakers’ offense. He scored at all three levels and was often the catalyst during the Lakers’ runs. He played with a sense of joy and freedom that rubbed off on his teammates and ignited the crowd.

Vanderbilt enveloped Brandon Ingram on the perimeter and combined with Davis and James to form a long, physically imposing frontline defensively. Vanderbilt was everywhere — tipping out offensive rebounds, rotating and scrambling, running the lane in transition.

Beasley only made two of his seven 3-point attempts, but the Lakers used him off pindowns and flare screens — with the Pelicans needing to defend him — opening up driving lanes, post-up opportunities and cuts. He held up fine defensively.

Bamba struggled to find his rhythm after his four-game suspension, ceding offensive rebounds and put-backs to Jonas Valančiūnas and Willie Hernangomez. He fouled out in 16 minutes but had an emphatic block on Ingram and began to look more comfortable as the game progressed. His penchant for spacing the floor in the corners also added a new wrinkle to the offense.

With James back and Bamba the new backup center, Wenyen Gabriel and Lonnie Walker IV were outside of the 10-man rotation, only logging minutes in garbage time.

In his first comments since the trade deadline, James addressed the team’s activity. He thanked his former teammates — Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant — who were traded last week.

“First of all, I shout out and salute the guys that left,” James said. “Russ, Pat, JTA, DJ and Thomas. Those five guys. We all started the season together and tried to work to make some things happen and be the best that we could be out on the floor. So I salute those guys and their commitment to us trying to be as good as we could be on the floor.”

James then put on his basketball analysis hat, providing the scouting report for each of his new teammates.

“I like the guys that we have coming in,” James said. “I mean, it’s going to take some time for us to get to know one another, but I know that they play the game at a high level. I know D-Lo is a really good, shifty point guard. He can space the floor. Very crafty. Very deceiving with his quickness, the way he plays the game. Obviously we got a laser in Malik that we just never had this season. A guy, whenever he’s on the floor, no matter if he’s making it or not, you have to respect him because of his ability to shoot the ball. …

“Vando is a Swiss Army knife. He can do a little bit of everything. His defensive ability, his offensive rebounding ability you saw tonight. … And then Mo, I think Mo is going to give us a lot of presence as well. You saw his shot-blocking ability and his ability to shoot the 3. … I just love what we were able to pick up. And Davon as well, if his opportunity is called. His length, his ability to play multiple positions helps as well. So, I thought we did a really good job in the activity bracket on Thursday.”

Considering the Lakers were in control of the game, Ham was able to play James a season-low 29 minutes — a welcomed development ahead of the Lakers’ eight-day break.

James is participating in Sunday’s All-Star Game in Salt Lake City but will otherwise be resting and gearing up for the final third of the season.

“That was a goal to hold him at a hard stop at 30,” Ham said. “And the more balanced your lineup is and the more pieces you have, it allows him to do that. Not only him, but AD as well. You don’t have to run those guys into the ground. You can kind of manage them a little bit better and they’re fresher down the stretch, they’re fresher in key moments of the game.”

The Lakers are off until Wednesday, when they will practice before hosting the Golden State Warriors Thursday. Aside from James, no one else has any obligations in Utah. The team is exhausted and ready for a break.

When they get back, the Lakers have 23 games to jump at least three teams in the congested Western Conference standings. But the joy and fun the Lakers played with on Wednesday could be the key to saving their season. That’s not enough by itself — they still need to execute and play with the energy, effort and urgency they did against the Pelicans. But if they can find a way to generate and sustain that spirit consistently, they’ll have a reasonable shot at reeling off enough wins to achieve their postseason goal.

“We got a lot of work to do still,” James said. “And every game is going to be tough for us, especially going down the stretch, knowing the type of push that we need to make. … I feel really good about what we have brewing, but it’s going to take a lot of commitment from us going down the stretch, so I’m looking forward to that.”

(Photo of D’Angelo Russell: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

 

I don't agree with only practicing Wednesday. In 2 months these guys can all be in a beach somewhere chilling for 5 months.

We have a whole new lineup. Half of our rotation is new and we need to gel pretty quickly to have any shot of making the playoffs. It's absolutely 0 margin for any mistake.

I think it would pay off to have practices from Monday, they would still have 4 days off and would get to know each other better. LeBron and AD could return Wednesday

 

It's possible, but I do not have confidence yet. 5 more games and I can decide witch bandwagon I am getting on!

 

4-2 with wins against Dubs , OKC and Wolves would be great .

Curry is likely out until mid - March and Dubs will likely play around 0.45 ball without him