Game Debrief: What Went Right And What Went Wrong?

needs to be a recommitment to that from the top down. i don't know who decided to shift to an offense-first philosophy, but with lebron and AD as the centerpieces, that's a bad idea, imo.

abandon the 5-out. find guys who can and will defend all game long.

 

As usually with your posts, couldn't agree more. It's about time this organization seriously shifts its focus back to D.

 

WOW Shaq, Kenny, Ernie and Chuck may be out of a job. Not a lock at all the network keeps even a lesser version of their current contract …. because the top ranking Sports dude at 50M a year who gets to sit courtside when he’s in the mood popped his mouth off 2 years ago questioning whether or not fiscally TNT needed the NBA. Now in a battle with NBC around 2.6B for the last contract to join ESPN and Amazon Prime.

https://theathletic.com/5478528/202...deal-david-zaslav/?source=user_shared_articleTNT Sports’ boss said they didn’t need the NBA — we’re about to find out

 

It’s Slick’s fault!



Further proof everyone in the organization lurks here and someone got fooled and made that decision.







…. JK sorta

 

I began to dream of the Lakers' organized play, including defense, when Kobe Bryant was there, and the Lakers' game with LeBron and AD is merely a shadow of that.

 

I still think LeBron is sticking to his own approach and doesn't want to adapt to the Lakers' style of play, which is why it's been tough for the Lakers, and LeBron has only managed to secure one title with the Lakers so far.

 

What exactly is the “Lakers style of play” that LeBron is keeping the team from running?

 

team ball, non hero ball? Just a guess.

Easy to scheme for when you are a fading star in the playoffs.

 

Last season we were great defensively and mediocre to bad offensively, got swept by the Nuggets. This year we were very good offensively and mediocre to bad defensively, won one more game against the Nuggets.

You have to be good at both. We don’t have enough players that are at least competent at both. Schematically, Ham did a lot right this year to get the half court offense in a better place. 5-out was objectively more effective than 4-out from a points per possession standpoint, except for a few specific matchups (like the Nuggets) where the lob threat in the dunker spot causes them more problems due to how they prefer to rotate.

 

The Lakers have their own distinctive culture, which you need to get along with if you aim to achieve success with the Lakers. It seems LeBron had just enough energy to mesh with the Lakers' distinctive culture for one championship title, and now that bond is showing signs of wear. Back in 2020, the Lakers' gameplay felt much more focused and powerful to me as a fan, and now it feels like I've been swept out to sea by a wave, with only memories of the Lakers' championship games with LeBron remaining.

 

I feel the concentration as a Lakers fan, which I had in 2020, started to come back to me in the past season only in the last two games with Denver, and the Lakers began to actively improve.

 

Did we have that culture the 6 years prior (to LeBron’s arrival)? Kobe's my Guy so don't twist this, but a local radio show host spent an entire season calling him Ball Hog Bryant. Wasn't totally undeserved to be honest, and a lot of talk of hero ball right here on this site after it was created in 2014. We vacillated between Good Kobe and Bad Kobe per who showed up in any game. Kobe just wanted to WIN and often thought he had to do what he did with the hero ball. I don't see a huge difference in that regard, and objectively LeBron has been a lot more efficient in his scoring often with 5-10 less shots for the 30 or 30+ point games. Just sayin'.

 

I've been thinking that LeBron doesn't take all the best from Kobe's game for the Lakers, and in my opinion, LeBron will only surpass Kobe when he wins more for the Lakers than Kobe did.

 

It’s not some competition, they have had very different career paths and different personalities and all around types of games, not to mention size differences. Each an all time great in the totality of their careers. James can never surpass Kobe as a Laker he spent his whole career here and won 5 rings.