Jake LaRavia Discussion: Lah-Rave-E-Ya!

Lol...JJ is just winging it, as he's going along folks! Whatever it takes, to get to 50 wins. I'm pretty sure that his line of reasoning is..." If I bomb again in the Playoffs...that will be negated by back to back 50 win seasons!!"

He's most likely right too. That presents an interesting paradox..we have enough talent, to win 50 games in the toughest Conference in the League. However we are soo devoid of talent, that we can't win a playoff series!

 

Rui should watch tape of Jake..

Hustles every play defensively, battles for rebounds, and gets his opportunities by just moving around and being active.

Rui is just too stationary so he doesn't get enough shots being so inactive.

 

I like Jake overall activity but he has been scared to shoot the ball lately

 

lol, for good reason...

but regarding Astros's comment: it's easy to be like "well, if you combine player X and player Y they're superstar Z!", but what they're referring to here is stuff in rui's control. this isn't like, give vando luka's eye-hand coordination or give luka vando's lateral speed. rui could, you know, move around more and find that the ball finds him and he finds the ball.

 

Meh he's horrific on offense and it's getting old trying to do stuff with his handle like he's AR. I get it, it seemed to work in the beginning of the year and he hustles etc but you can't have a player who can't shoot and tries to do stuff that is way above his paygrade.

 

Glass half full I expect him still to contribute a great deal on defense these playoffs, cut down on the TOs trying stuff he's not 100% ready to do, and score the ball often enough in other ways to make up for the not currently passable 3pt shooting. And then after a full summer of hard work come back shooting better next year again, if not sooner. I still want him here going forward unless he helps us get someone clearly better at his size and D.

 

The moment this guy starts making threes regularly, watch out. I'm a big fan of his. And he has the talent to be a good, or at least average 3pt shopter.

 

i'm a fan, and i think he's just got some yips. he'll get over them. hopefully this year. but he's not as bad a shooter as he's looked. same with eason in houston, actually. neither guy is as good as their peak percentages, but neither is anywhere near as bad as their recent play in that regard.

 

I agree. he's not elite at any one thing but is just a solid player overall.

good size, doesn't get injured, and doesn't do more than he should which is good if he's on a team with Luka, Reaves, and Lebron.

Once he gets his 3 ball to 37%+ consistently and maybe add a few lbs to his body, he's going to be a serviceable player for many years to come.

only getting 6 mil next season. Lakers should extend him before he starts getting expensive

 

otoh mayne he just not that good? downtrending for a long time now

 

It depends what you expect from your 8th/9th man... I know you've been critical of him for a few weeks. But the expectations are he defends with effort consistently, his rebounding has been excellent and offensively he chips in here or there. If he was shooting at a high level consistently, then he could be a starting rotation player in the league because he is just solid.

Maybe he can get there, but he has been useful this year. I imagine he won't play much in the playoffs, it'll be our starting 5 with Kennard, Rui & Hayes off the bench.

 

Would not explain that airball that missed the rim by 2 feet, nor the opposite “who is that guy” game in Oct against MN when he had 27 points, was 10/11 and 5/6 from deep …. but anyone else think Jake makes it harder on himself besides being in his head about it now, that he puts so much arc on his shots? To me it looks excessive?

 

An offseason with Kennard would do wonders for him

 

He probably does need a sports therapist. It worked wonders for Ron Artest.

 

yeah, it's in his head. he has decent eye hand coordination. like vando, he just doesn't have terrific hands/dexterity, so him not being able to shoot isn't shocking. laravia isn't steph curry or luka or reaves, but he he's got some touch. he should be able to shoot in the upper 30s on the looks he gets.

 

Umm can we at least stop starting him?
HIs season is going the way of a once inflated balloon with a big hole in it.