WMC 24-25: Seasonal Highs And Lows!

How are we sub .500 with this team.

 

Fish is right: Kuz's D had gotten WAY better his final year with us.

I hate this effing team because the D blows soooo bad. The older I've gotten (I became a fan when we still had Elgin Baylor, folks: yea, call me Methuselah), the more I watch the D more than the offense. We have so many guys who have lost a step, step and a half, that teams are getting into the paint and scoring with EASE against us. It shows as the game wears on. Why? Because the team is OLD. Doris Burke said she thought Ariza's D when he comes back will make a difference and it probably will - although he's lost at least a step, too. I don't think it'll make much difference.

I remember when Bazemore had plus D. No more.

And if Ellington can't shoot the 3 at 40%, why do we even have him? He's down around, what? 36%. Wide open...brick.

We suffered for many years, then got all those high draft picks. They started to learn how to play in the NBA. Now they're all gone, we have AD and one ring and that's it: now we have Lebron and AD and a $44 mil/yr stats collector who has never WON. And then a bunch of over-the-hill vet min guys who are far too comfortable with their careers and money. And you know what? They hear all that stuff about the storied Laker tradition, and if the team keeps losing and they get booed? They quietly tell us we can go eff ourselves. They've been PAID. They don't need to take this s*** from us. And they just kinda play half-assed.

What WERE Jeanie and Pelinka thinking when they refused to pay our solid chemistry players and instead went for a horde of vet-min contracts? Did they not realize D is a younger man's game? That it takes all-out effort and communication and lots of physical energy to play lockdown D? They thought a bunch of vet-min guys would just come in and play lockdown D?

If the team can't play D and doesn't care anyway, or if they care but can't keep up on D, this season is already as bad as I imagined it would be when I read how we weren't going to sign Kuz/Caruso/KCP...hell, even Montrezl. We got rid of our solid hustling, role-players. Caruso. KCP. Kuz. Our chemistry is not there. Not even close. We suck.

Yea but you have Lebron and AD.

Yea, but if you don't have D kiss all that stuff goodbye.

Can things improve? Yes, but you have to stop giving mins to guys who can't play up to snuff anymore. We need some younger guys and we need them to learn how to play D ASAP...or we aren't making the playoffs. (Pssst!: we aren't making the playoffs. Or, okay, okay, I'm over-reacting to yet another we-got-blown-out-in-the-2nd-half game: we can make a play-in game. Then lose. Man, someone tell me why I'm wrong, because I can't stand this losing.)

When a team gets consistently killed in the paint and gives up too many 2nd and 3rd chances, they are done. They're either not coached well (I don't think this is the case); or they haven't played together long enough (this is quite true, but I'm not sure it's going to get much better, because...); or they're too old and have lost a step. When ONE guy has lost a step it affects the entire team's D. That player is the weak link. We have a few guys who are too old, can't cut it on D, don't care 'cuz they've been paid over their 10+ seasons, or all of the above. So far, this season, it looks like "all of the above" to me.

When they were all 22 year olds and losing, there was still a s***-ton of promise that they'd improve. We don't have that anymore, and it's really effing depressing, man. But hey: we won one ring after mortgaging our entire future. That team played D like mad. It was a beautiful thing to watch. Was it worth it? One ring? Win NOW, at any cost?

 

A lot of us (not me) are convinced Lebron (and some add AD) have enormous say over roster moves. I'd like more substantiation for these assertions.

No, seriously: maybe I missed it: send me some links. It's EASY to imagine Lebron has some say in roster moves. Maybe AD does, too, but I suspect Jeannie and Pelinka are more at fault for this crappy team that can't play D and has zero chemistry.

Asterisk: I would believe that Lebron had possibly an outsized influence in getting 'Melo. But that's it. Lebron is a basketball Einstein: he knew how well KCP, Kuz, Caruso worked with his team. I just don't believe he said, get rid of these guys and sign a bunch of over-the-hill guys for vet mins.

Edit to add: I never liked 'Melo's game. He can score, of course. A great scorer. But not good on D, even when he was a pup. Also, he lacks in moving without the ball. Also: he commits idiotic fouls and for some reason cracks a huge smile when he does it. He's just never been a player I admired. And that scoring pop? It somehow wanes in the clutch. Bank on it.

Gawd I hate losing to the C-Bags. Especially the way it went down today. Gave me a bad flashback to ML Carr waving a towel on the bench.

 

I don’t think even the most optimisticLaker fan thought this Westbrook experiment would be easy. I thought that it would be a dumpster fire but still watchable, boy was I wrong

 

Maybe... but what good is Vogel for if we suck at D?
He might not make it thru the season. Lakers drama here we come...

 

We hate wings and like collecting small guards for seasons ... I don't get it

 

Vogel can’t bench melo and Russ. So he can’t craft a top defense.

Zoyd: it’s common knowledge that lebron and AD literally conducted meetings and crafted trade proposals and such this summer. It’s been corroborated by the players themselves, including derozan, who handed us an L for his trouble.

I doubt Vogel told them not to pay Caruso nor find a big wing defender.

anyway, I’m pretty close to declaring the season done. Simply no way you put a game like that out after our recent stretch if you’re a functioning team. With or without lebron, you don’t give the jaylen brown-less C Bags 130 points in regulation .

my god the horror.

 

I don't enjoy watching our games. Our defense is a disaster, we are one of the worst teams defending the paint. It's just painful to watch

 

I was trying hard to give this team until Christmas before hitting the panic button but last night took out a lot of my patience and good will.

 

Seems I’m glad to have missed the game

 

Definitely a good move

 

Buddy please accept my apologies for beating on you to watch the games first, when you were going through your (turns out well placed) doom and gloom period before the season began. For the ones you have seen.

 

^^^ to add to that pretty picture how bout when we get to the end of AD’s contract he too hates what the team has become and signs somewhere else …. and once again premiere FAs won’t look twice at us. How am I doing? I think I’m getting the hang of this thread.



PS …. eff the injury bug. Go the hell away already.

 

because they sacrificed defense to bring in westbrook and a bunch of old shooters, none of whom play any defense. this team can barely beat teams like the rockets and couldn't even beat OKC twice. lol @ thinking they'll be able to hang with contenders

and westbrook is the worst possible fit alongside lebron. simple as that

 

Too slow on Defense & no Offensive system.. This Team has a lot to overcome.

 

Out of those four, only Nunn can play a lick of defense. Also, Melo has been just as bad away from the Crypt as he has been good in it.

 

I forgot to mention the obvious: Nunn has yet to play, so yeah, our defense has been bad for numerous reasons.

 

That's f***ing pathetic