WMC 24-25: Seasonal Highs And Lows!

I missed the game last night (thank God) but I feel like this sums up the team right now. Gonna be a bumpy ride until we get everyone back and even then this team is going to have a long way to go.

 

What are your expectations?

 

Good news / Bad news department. Since this is the WMC thread I'll start with the good news, all my opinion of course that no one asked for. With health and getting everyone back plus whatever Rob pulls off at the deadline this team can win it all, with ONE caveat. It's a big one. In a vacuum here Frank is allowed to coach and run this team as he sees fit with all the inputs from his staff. Who starts. Minutes allocated. Who finishes. Who doesn't play some games. All dependent upon who performs most closely to what he is looking for BOTH sides of the ball. With health for LeBron and AD and our important role players.

The BAD news. Because of egos and politics it's extremely unlikely they let him do that. Ergo .... benching Westbrook's a** when he needs it because of stupid play and sh***y defense or taking vital long shots when other shooters are on the floor to find first.

 

Yuck!

 

well before LeBron went out I thought we could get 15 or so wins heading into December given the weak schedule. Now I think we will be lucky to be at .500 as no game can be considered an easy win.

The defensive struggles were expected but the team and staff don’t seem to be holding up that well to the early season adversity. This team gets punched and immediately folds which I didn’t expect given the vets we have.

it’s clear to me that the guys out right now including Ariza were very important to whatever the team had planned and that Vogel a) can’t do what he wants with the current group and b) isn’t going to be able to adjust things based on the current personnel.

The hope for a good playoff run is still there but I’ve definitely lowered my expectations for the season based on this start. We’ve got a lot of work to do and there’s not a lot of reasons for optimism outside of us getting everyone back.

 

Looking back, it's kind of insane how we were planning on getting key contributions from:

- A 36 year old who hasn't played more than 70 games since 2017 in Ariza
- A undersized SG in Nunn who isn't known for his defense and kind of a streaky on offense.
- THT who has wingspan and hands to be a good defender, but is not proven in that department yet and is still undersized to be playing SF at 6'4

Also, this is the first time since Lebron joined the Lakers, where I think father time has finally caught up. Two separate injuries and we are not even 20 games into the season.

Then, there is AD. The guy is always dealing with something and i'm convinced now that he can't be relied on without Lebron being out there on the floor too.

If i'm being completely honest, the word "rebuild" has come across my mind in the last few days. Probably an overreaction due to being frustrated, but the thought is there.

 

My WMC. I only watched 3 minutes of the game. I decided to watch The Harder They Fall on Netflix instead (great movie btw).

 

That word has come across thousands of realistic Laker fans minds over the last few days. We all know AD has proven he is not an alpha and is only dominant when paired with LeBron. I’m very concerned about the ongoing health of both LeBron and AD moving forward. I actually think because of the mileage on LeBron, this is their last chance to go all the way. If they aren’t healthy and clicking by the trade deadline, I would blow it up, but I bet Rob won’t. I don’t think he has the balls to do it.

 

I think LeBron goes out on his own terms and we’ve got AD for the long haul. I do expect the team to look different next year and possibly even after the All Star break if things continue like this. The staff isn’t really safe either.

 

I think Frank is safe- he just signed an extension. I hope we exchange Westbrick for a decent SF and whatever else we can get.

 

I opted for Narcos: Mexico, but yea, didn't bother watching the game because I knew it was a lost with Damian Lillard having just scored 4 pts the game before. Getting a twitter notification that AD was out with stomach illness pretty much guaranteed that I didn't tune in either.

 

I watched the cheesy “Earth Girls are Easy” starring young Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, Jeff Goldblum, and Geena Davis.

 

I thought the rumor was that the extension was only one year?

 

Through next year.

 

This team isnt just losing but they look unwatchable. They’re not a good product to put out there. There is obvious chemistry issues too. Too many parallels with Mike Browns 2012 Lakers before he got fired.

 

Ricky Rubio dropped 37 on the Knicks. It's like every damn team has a vet PG that is doing great and that the Lakers could have had at 1/2 the price of Westbrook

 

It’s a big problem that comes along with bringing in a guy of LeBron’s stature. Sometimes he forces the GM to bring in “one of his guys,” no matter how bad the fit is. Obviously, this one hurts big time with Russ’ massive contract.