WMC 24-25: Seasonal Highs And Lows!

Dlo checked out/got hurt and Gabe got hurt. I think this is still the most underrated story of the season. Team needs a point guard.
Guard play outside of Reaves has been atrocious

 

yep. and part of it is because...those are the only guards on the roster. those three, christie (a 20 year old second year player with no experience), and JHS (a 20 year old rookie with even less experience).

we put a lot of eggs in the dlo/gabe basket. and that made sense! we're actually seeing why it made sense in a perverse way.

 

I think we had a lot of eggs in the Max basket too. Early word from camp and Ham was he would have a significant role off the bench. Then they saw he wasn't ready for that 16-20 minute role this year and had zero backup plan for if that were to happen.

There just wasn't any fall back plans on this roster is any of their plans or vision didn't pan out or if real injuries hit. Which I don't think is a smart way to deal with reality.

 

not sure why gave was so vital, he had a great playoffs run and laid bricks vs Den just like Dlo, Denis was working and the continuity was there, im hated Ds 1st stint here but proved alot the 2nd time around

 

hmmm...i feel like max was largely an afterthought/insurance. i was expecting gabe/dlo/reaves to eat the majority of minutes at the 1 and 2. there's only 96 minutes there, and all three are paid to be 30mpg types. reddish and christie were always spot guys in my mind.

i think gabe was vital because a) we didn't trust dlo and b) schroder wanted to start.

gabe was the best pg on the market other than schroder (well, the mle and lower market)

 

Time to start putting a trade package together to get us some legit 3 point shooting...
LeBron is our leading 3pt shooter right now & that just ain't gonna cut it.
Outside of Reaves, I don't care who you gotta move. Get it done or waste another year where LeBron & AD are both playing at a high level.

 

Sorry but every team has to battle with injuries every year.
Our top three guys haven’t been out so far due to injuries and yet we still suck.
I’m blaming the coaching staff because they were given a very good roster to start this season.

 

if true bout DS I can understand but had thought he was willing to do what needed to be done to help team win

 

preaching to the choir; i liked DS (and actually didn't hate him after the first stint, either). i just think he got a starting job at slightly higher pay.

his being here instead would probably have us looking quite a bit better, if only because he doesn't tend to miss games.

 

Prediction (which is like an Opinion, which is like an a-hole: everyone's got one):

If MEM waxes us, Ham is kaput, and quickly.

Which would add to the WHIPLASH we've all been experiencing: beat IND in IST: we're one of the best teams in the NBA! That was December 9th: less than a month ago. Now we're one of the worst teams in the NBA, and a loss to MEM - especially another ugly one - would make any franchise react by firing the coach. Fire Ham? It would put a charge in the emotional aspect of the team. Whether that solves the problem (I don't think so) is another Q.

 

Austin Reaves's quotes in locker room after the MIA loss: (from the AP):
>Reaves said the team's mood was "s---ty."<

I would hope so!

>"We're losing," Reaves said after his 24 points and eight assists went for naught. "Anytime you lose, the vibe should be off, you know? If I went in [the locker room] and the vibe wasn't off after the rough stretch that we've had, then I'd be concerned. That's really it. You know, I don't expect for us to be happy with how we've played. So, until we figure that out, you know, the vibe should be off. We got to win games."

>Reaves later clarified his remarks, adding: "When I say the vibe is off, it's not like we don't like each other. It's we're losing. ... But I don't want to get that twisted on us not liking each other. Everybody in the locker room gets along."<

Hmmm: Until we figure it out...

From Darvin Ham:
>"It's a little bit of everything right now," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said afterward, explaining how his team has gone 2-8 in its past 10 to fall to No. 10 in the Western Conference. "We're not executing. That team played harder than us tonight, executed better than us tonight, more physical than us tonight. We got outworked tonight, so it's a bit of everything right now.

>"If we keep on this train, it's not going to be good for us."<

Not exactly a revelation.

WHY, suddenly, can't we "execute"? Ya gotta wonder.
WHY, after the lull from the IST, "that team played harder than us"?

Later, Ham said nothing's going to get better until they "get healthy." Yea, it would help to be healthy, for sure. But all of this from Ham doesn't add up to why we went from Dec 9 and beating IND and looking like THAT, to looking like a bad team on the road (at home!) and losing to MIA who were without Jimmy.

All of this - AR and the "mood" - to Ham's non-revelations about why we're suddenly one of the worst teams in the league? None of it adds up. Time for something to change, and change ASAP. I woke up today with a hangover...and I didn't even drink a drop last night: it was the game. That first Q. So bad. So bad in so many ways. Whiplash!

 

i think there are various veiled shots being taken. ham's effort stuff is definitely going in a direction...he's tired of being on the hot seat for guys who won't show up for him. but his whole thing is supposed to be getting guys to show up for him, so...

i thought AD saying folks basically don't know what they're doing on defense was pretty f***ing crazy at this point in the season. like having guys on the floor that don't know what the coverage is. you could tell AD was being charitable, too, in that he said guys were basically making solid instinctual reads...they just cut against the scheme. whose fault is that? to me, that's the coach for either not communicating or not immediately benching the perpetrators. and i think that's what AD was insinuating.

something has to change. if i'm ham, i'm having an airing of grievances--both separately and collectively--like, tomorrow morning. and i'm definitely asking lebron and AD what it is they want to see happen--because they're both making little comments and nonverbals that indicate non-confidence.

 

Yea, and not only that, personally speaking, because of the dark descent immediately following our win in the IST, I can't help but link the two and so going forward into next year, I hope the Lakers NEVER win the IST again. We should be able to opt out. I'd rather Silver and the NBA just do away with it, but they won't.

May prove to be Hood-Schifino's big payday, though: how embarrassing to see his play vs. Jaquez's this season. Does JHS even belong in the NBA? 'Cuz I've seen ZERO evidence for "yes."

 

Worst team I’ve seen in a long time at defending the three. Smart with FIVE already!?!?
I thought our fool of a coach was supposed to be a defensive one???

 

our defense sucks, and the attack is completely static and reliant on iso plays.

whatever Ham is selling, this team is not buying.

 

Stab them with a fork. This team as it is currently constructed is done.

Some of the worst three point defense I've seen any Laker team play.

 

They need to sign a PG to have any hope before they make a move.

Lakers had lineups where Max was the PG which was expected lol. Reaves wears down the more he play point

 

That IST banner looks more and more ridiculous by the minute.

 

3-10 and counting in the last stretch.

 

I think the NBA made us put that up..

A part of our problem is an over reliance on vet min guys. Cam Reddish couldn't make a rotaion on average to below average teams and now he's starting for us and playing heavy mins every game. Prince is making 7 mil and is solid but his role should be much smaller..

This team needs to play Lebron, Davis, Dlo, Reaves, Rui, Vando, Gabe (when healthy), the lion share of the minutes. I'd like Prince at 25 TOP if he's feeling it... Wood backs up AD and Cam gets 10-15 for defensive purposes at most.