I know he wasn't even 100% but at least try for professional pride. That was his worst game as a Laker
Yeah. Felt like having AD out there not at 100% was a detriment to our Team. Not gonna read too much into this game, but AD probably should've sat that one out.
The Lakers lack that Mamba in their lineup who kicks butts in these games, leaving no bullet in the chamber. LeBron and AD are more like Teletubbies out there. To me it is pretty obvious that Kobe cared about Lakers nation, the rivalries, the stats and all that stuff that is related to the Lakers history. These new guys just don't really pay attention to this stuff. That is what you need in these games...and we don't have it. Lakers pride.
Definitely the worst game he's had as a Laker. Between foul trouble and rust, it was ugly. He needs to be out there to work himself back into game shape, but damn it, it sucked having his conditioning game be against the C Bags and not the Knicks. Out of position, no D, no rebounding, weak offense, limited communication. A rare night when we were much worse with him. Just as long as he gets back to the DPOY and MVP candidate level by the time we play the Clippers.
I would have thought it made more sense to let him get some practices in, but I also wonder what was behind the collective low energy. Unusual for it to affect a whole team at once. For Dwight to be the sole positive plus/minus is pretty hilarious. Mr Moody was not affected by everyone else's mood? He's truly in a good place. Heal up that butt AD. Also see Dwight for advice on that if needed. Butt injuries will turn your smile upside down he said once. Allegedly.
One day when heads are cooler I'd like someone to explain the difference between Dwight insisting on being the number one offensive option when he was younger and AD insisting on playing the 4. One player is given a pass for not wanting to play a position that might help the team... the other has been demonized for selfishly wanting the ball. Both behaviors seem wrong to me in terms of being a team player.
In terms of the 4 wanting to stay the 4, Duncan did the same thing his entire career and he was bigger than AD. So did KG. The big difference is they get more worn down playing the 5 and for a guy with injury issue that makes sense. Neither the player nor the team would want that to happen. Plus the numbers point out that he's both great at 4 or 5 Dwight OTOH: well I think listening to Shaq verbally bully him for all those years really messed him up. He never had a great post-game and the stats all bore out the team did worse when he was the focus of the offense. He could have been the greatest roll man of all time but trying to dominate the paint in this modern era just hurt the team short and long term
I only thought about this as a way to integrate Kuzma into the lineup more effectively until we sign different players. I get that the two headed center is doing very well... and I also want to see how Boogie will do at the 5 next season. But preference shouldn't really have anything to do with things other than we must keep him happy until he signs. It's just the double standard I found odd... Dwight was routinely lambasted for wanting to be the number one guy... and no one has a problem with AD wanting to play the 4 and also getting his touches. And yes I understand that AD is a more versatile offensive player than Dwight. But he still shouldn't whine about doing what is needed until we can reconfigure our roster.
Truthfully I don’t get your point. We’ve already seen AD and Kuzma seem to operate in the same areas and don’t work together. Kuz just disappears when playing with AD. So why would we upset our center rotation that is doing great, and have AD playing the 5 picking up more wear and tear just to see if Kuzma playing alongside AD is gonna work. We’ve already know it doesn’t. No need to upset one of Dwight and McGee along with AD at the same time.
I agree with this, but I was thinking what if Kuzma took on his old role and AD tried to be a low post beast in order to inject more scoring into the lineup. And then it got me wondering why people viewed the two so differently. It all comes down to the reality that Kuzma and AD will probably never coexist as AD is a better Kuzma so we may as well trade Kuzma when his value goes up. It's the same conundrum as when we had BI and Bron... except I always saw BI as the successor to LBJ while Kuzma and AD are not far apart in age. I like Kuz's scoring potential... I just don't see how we make it work with this group.
Another huge difference for me is that Dwight was a liability in the 4th because of his terrible free throw shooting. It's very rare to be able to leave a starter on the floor in crunch time when they're missing every free throw they shoot. And for you to want to be THE guy with that glaring weakness, you gotta be s***ting me. You have to be dominant to Shaq levels to be able to justify that. Dwight was never that guy, but thought he was.