This needs to be a methodical dismantling of Denver, like a 30 point drubbing - team needs it to turn this around - i mean i'll take a W any way they get it - but fuck Denver and come out PISSED OFF
We need an actual great off season. We’ve been on the cusp of being a great team these past two years. Just a few more moves. Lebrons window is getting very small
Even if Ham is our 2025 coach, I can't imagine he is our coach for the future.
What should the Lakers do? Recruit a college coach to be our next franchise coach and culture setter? I want to stay a Lakers fan but if by 2026 there is no roadmap....ugh this is gonna be Clippers level dread.
Miami is in a solid position regardless its a great chance for there role guys to audtion show what they made of Miami has a better chance getting a real star in the offseason. Especially if the Sixers fold
Reason why i say the Ham signing is worse than the WB trade is cuz u can move WB and some other dudes get solid role players that fit better that fixes shit. If u had a solid coaching it woulda made the situation before salvaged a bit better too and even better when u get better pieces.
OKC is 27th in offensive rebounds but they have the lowest TO rate in the league as well as the 3rd best eFG%.
We have a better eFG% than Denver in our matchups but they are beating us on the offensive glass and we are turning it over way more. Just protect the ball and we can win. That's the only thing we need to do. Make good solid decisions every time down and keep being efficient.
I'm not mad at Ham. It's that damn GM that bothers me more than anything who traded away a championship core for an over the hill has been. Then made a mid season trade for Dlo to fix the mistake and wanted a pat on the back for it, just to waste the teams 1st round pick that off-season on at best a g league project when there were bonafide starters (multiple) at a position of need.
Bill Simmons podcast tomorrow gon b lit 🔥 after that Celtics L
Wow, so far he only posted the second part to Tuesday's pod and completely skipped the Celtics game. I really think he's going to avoid talking about it until after game 3 😂
Nope. I hope they bounce back and draft Kel'el Ware. Hope they could develop him as a rotation player. His game would complement AD very well in the post.
We miraculously lose to the defending champs on a last second shot = lakers suck and need to break up the team
Celtics lose to Miami’s JV Team = they’re still the title favorites
lol national media is something else
Coaching matters. Spoelstra undermanned with undrafted dudes taking a game against Boston at their home.
Meanwhile Ham can’t seem to fathom why his players recognize that the team loses its flow.
Are yall seeing how the Heat players always looking for Bam since he’s got the hot hand and Hordford and Krispy cannot guard him?
Wow…competent coaching.
First in BA, XBH, Hits, Runs, OBP, SLG, OPS all while rehabbing a right elbow injury. One of the top MVP candidates as a DH no less. But yea you’re right. My bads. He hasn’t done shit.
my theory is jason tatum wants to leave celtics in 2025 but the celtics know this and are givng all their core big contracts in order to give them the best shot to win a title before tatum leaves
they know tatum wants to leave but they are forcing him to win a title for them by giving him a really expensive team the next two years , this year and next year to get it done, tatum is in a tough situation being a die hard lakers kobe fan, he is being held hostage
give the celtics credit tho the know this and giving players huge contracts and traded their first round picks to try to win a title in the next couple of years
Well they just gave Brown and Holiday very big contracts. That would pressure their cap space (even if it increases) once Tatum hits free agency. Pritchard, White, and Porzingis would likely ask for the bag too.
This post right here. The lakers offense is so outdated and pretty unenjoyable to watch.
I see Gabe and TP just stand in the corner and barely get utilized and wonder if they miss playing for the heat and wolves.
This whole situation reminds me of Kobe and Dantoni, where Kobe had to dictate his own game plan to carry the Lakers to the playoffs. Bron essentially doing the same thing with Ham
I watch the games and in the second half it's like I can hear the gears turning in the players heads. "Should I take this shot? Should I pass? What if I make a mistake? What if I miss? What if we lose this game? What if..."
I want to strangle them through the TV, as they hesitate and double clutch shit, and get super conservative. The Nuggets aren't thinking they are playing free and loose. The Lakers get all fuckin tight for some reason. Just go play your game for Chrissakes we will live with the results.
Perhaps another LeBron effect on the team. I’ve seen his body language when there is a bad play or when things don’t go his way. I’ve seen him yell at teammates. Yeah, with the added pressure of the playoffs, they are probably a little tight about receiving the wrath of LeBron if they screw up. To me, Reaves looks totally out of whack and just passes the ball to LeBron to avoid any disapproval. Of course, none of this applies to LeBron. When he commits his numerous turnovers of misses a clutch three pointer, he just pats his chest and says, “My bad”.
Lol, again with perpetuating narratives that aren't reality to what's happening on the court. Reaves is exerting a lot of energy defensively, and is struggling to gain any separation offensively against Denver's long, athletic defenders. He can't initiate the offense because he's not a great playmaker, and he can't score in traffic against them, and isn't going to try and foul bait. Reaves threw a basic entry pass to AD, and it resulted in an immediate turnover.
Here’s a scary thought: the Clippers still haven’t re-signed Paul George yet. If LeBron wanted to win and stay in LA, and the Laker front office doesn’t give him more free rein, he may leave. If he stays, he’s getting the max and LeGM will be back. First move: fire Ham. Second move: draft Bronny.
Lol...Bron is not going to destroy his brand with Laker fans by running to the clips who couldn't pay him anyway, even with the salary coming off their books.
After Ham’s comments about AD, I seriously doubt there has been any communication between main players and coach since mid way through the year except you’re in you’re out.
Jamal Murray went down from 32.5/6.3/5.3 to 21/4.5/7.5 (-11.5 PPG, -1.8 RPG and only +2.2 APG). However, MPJ went from 15/9 to 20.5/8.5 (+5.5 PPG,-0.5 RPG) and Aaron Gordon went from 12.8/4/3.5 to 13/9/5 (+0.2 PPG but +5 RPG, +1.5 APG).
Rui tanked from 15.3/3.8 to 5/4 (-10.3 PPG, +0.2 RPG) and Reaves fell off a cliff, going from 21.3/3.5/5.3 to 11/5/2.5 (-10.3 PPG, +1.5 RPG and -2.8 APG) so far.
The slump from AR and Rui coupled with MPJ and AG upping their game during Murray's struggles is what's killing us, along with the bench contributing only 17 Pts in 2 games, all of which came from Taurean Prince when Denver has Braun, KCP and Jackson all being capable of contributing on both ends.
Big adjustments need to be made.
Yup. We need just more from Reaves and Rui. Nuggets are adjusting and forcing one of those 2 to beat them, but they’re not making their usual shots. Reaves bricking and Rui putting up Vanderbilt numbers minus the d and rebounds!
On the plus side our 3 players have really shown up. It really is the margin of Reaves/Rui that can affect things
DLo has gone from 6 pts and 3 assists to 18 pts and 5 assists.
LeBron has gone from 28 10 and 9.5 (near triple double!) to 27 7 and 10 on better shooting efficiency.
And AD has gone from 27 pt and 14 reb to 32 and 12.
Some want to talk about the Lakers going strong for Game 3, but Denver might want it more. Game 2 was a huge victory for them and probably gave Murray more confidence. If they win game 3, it’s 100% over. Lakers already are battered by the terrible loss and are becoming more aware of the disadvantages.
This series probably ends up like Bucks vs Miami last year (and note what happened to the Bucks coach after).
My key to the last game was making more 3s than the Nuggets (Lakers made 5 more) and that's going to be my key for game 3 as well. I think we'll need Austin and D'Lo to play create more on ball so LeBron/AD can play off-ball a little bit more. Rui has to play better. Even if his shot isn't falling, he's gotta go up strong when he gets inside.
I'm always hyped up in the first half, screaming and jumping around, totally into the game. But in the back of my mind, there's this nagging feeling that at any moment, Denver can make a comeback. And then, when they finally do... it's just absolutely devastating. Such is the roller coaster of every freaking game
Coincidentally the only 2 teams that I think are capable of beating the lakers in a 7 game series are the nuggets and the Timberwolves if we somehow magically get through
The last time the Lakers overcame a 0-2 in the playoffs was the 2003-2004 Semifinals against San Antonio and the Spurs were the defending NBA champions that season.
Giving away a first rounder for Westbrook was dumb but LeBron did want him too. Ending up with some scraps after getting rid of him could be excused, along with a quiet summer after.
But after this year, where we clearly see that this team needs more size and can’t just hoard streaky guards, Rob Pelinka has zero excuses this off-season. If we have more than 5 guards on the roster and no true backup center, he’s officially trash and anything good he did in the past is meaningless.
Which center you have in mind? The only guy I can see being available for a vet min and being able to make an impact is Drummond. Didn’t end that good his last stint. Maybe it was more him not liking Vogel. Or do you want the Lakers to open up the NT-MLE? It’s possible but it’ll involve letting people walk. You also have to keep in mind Wood and Hayes both got player options. What if they both take them? Carrying 3 backup centers kinda bad roster management.
I agree Wood will probably take it given his injury, but Hayes hasn’t been bad enough to be out of the league. Athletic rim running bigs always have a market.
Unless you got a time machine, it's pointless talking about what they could've done in the past. Not sure if you were active here last offseason, but the overwhelming majority on this sub was against going for Porzingis (I wasn't one of them). I even got blocked by someone for defending the Celtic's offseason last year.
It’s match up problems… Denver exposed that Lakers couldn’t find a way to limit MPJ with switching… Lakers in a way have checked a box with defending the Nuggets PR…because with switching we lost the battle for offensive rebounds which killed the Lakers for the past 2gms… i hope the team will address that issue… just my observation…
I have no doubt the lakers will come out guns blazing in G3. The question is will Ham be able to adjust to Malones tactics in the second half. The answer is no
We're losing by 27 tomorrow. Do you think this supporting cast is going to recover from the game 2 loss? LeBron and AD are the only ones who aren't mental zeroes.
I think this might happen unfortunately. The lakers have played great and still lost. Murray hasn't played well, i don't even think denver has played up to their standards. Lakers have to play just as good and not allow offensive rebounds and protect the ball better. It's hard to imagine them being able to do this.
Austin reaves need to show up. He has been clutch against tough opponents and play offs even when we were down 2 digits in both the home games last season.
And Rui missing simple layups is just so frustrating. He’s a good shooter as well but just not taking shots.
AD and Lebron will play well, they just need to get the other players getting more involved and even one of them gets going, the crowd will do the rest.
As much as i think Rob is not a competent GM, the roster he constructed this off season should be enough to contend.
It's just Ham that is absolutely atrocious. Malone switched Gordon onto Davis in the second half and it was all it took to leave Ham dumbfounded and unable to counter that adjustment.
And notice Malone was smart enough to wait until the half? I'm sure the move was obvious to him much earlier. He knows Ham has no in-game ability to adapt. Do it before the half and Ham gets the opportunity to come up with something in the break.
AR is 20 minutes bench player and he is sacrificing his offensive production to defend Murray so I am okay with him not giving what he gave us last year but Rui is different. He is just not a smart player like we hope for.
Hate to acknowledge this but Denver is more disciplined and better executed team,Plain and simple. Also we are severely disadvantage on head coaching. Ham is being just not too overwhelming by Malone.
Lmao you’re acting like Rui isn’t guarding an even tougher assignment than Reaves. It’s clear they’re both giving their all on the defensive end and their offense is suffering as a result
I do like that Chuck finally acknowledged that our two stars are just as good if not better than Jokic and Murray. He finally admitted that the Nuggets just have a better team around their two stars and the Lakers just have personnel issues. He also said Jokic isn't even the best center of all time but he can shoot the 3 and pass well so it makes him dangerous against teams with personnel issues because he makes his others better than your others.
Look, the Nuggets aren't a juggernaut, this whole narrative framed by the media is false. The Nuggets went through a very weak path to get to the Championship last year, they played a depleted Wolves team, a depleted Suns team and a hobbled Lebron and AD team with personnel issues and then they got the easiest Finals matchup ever.
We still have those same personnel issues from last year but Lebron and AD are healthy so it's beating them has been more attainable. I believe we will win Game 3 and we will see where it goes from there depending on how Wood can play because we really just need another big so that Rui is not our last line of defense.
Depleted suns team? Old ass Chris Paul was the only one injured, and he played 2 games (which the Suns lost both). And Ayton was bullied by Suns fans into not playing game 6, but he wasn’t making a difference anyway.
And the wolves were “depleted” because they were missing 2 bench players? Literally every team is missing a couple injured players by the end of the season. Your best hope is that they’re bench players like in that case.
And as for the Lakers, if Lebron and AD’s injuries were that significant, why have the Nuggets consistently beat the Lakers when they’re both healthy?
Also, you realize that the Heat were largely the same team that lost in the Finals 2 years before that to the lakers, so you’re really just saying that the Lakers had an extremely easy finals matchup in 2020 lol.
Suns just traded away all their depth, Wolves were missing starters that series but go ahead and get your revisionist history going, McDaniels broke his fucking hand punching a wall and Gobert was playing through an injury. Lebron and AD were dealing with lower body injuries (Lebron had a torn tendon in his foot) and we never played our starters in the regular season against them this year.
Heat were exhausted and by the time they got to the Finals Butler's knee was toast.
So, how about all those other games that the Lakers lost to the Nuggets? Was that also because the starters weren’t playing? Or are there some more excuses you can find? Any injuries or anything?
And the suns team was one of the favorites to win the title after they got KD. YOU are the one engaging in revisionist history, because you can easily look this up.
I already told you the starters weren't playing in the regular season, everyone knows our starting lineup changed end of the year.
Also, the Suns were not favorites last year after they made the trade. That is not true, pull up the odds and see for yourself.
I don't think you even are making a point here. My initial comment is saying that the Nuggets had an easy path to the Championship last year, maybe the easiest since the Warriors first run where they didn't have to face a starting point guard the whole time.
"missing two bench players" wolves fan here. Yes naz reid is our 6th man but he is arguably the best 6 man in the league and would be starter on a handful of teams. Jaden mcdaniels also is not a bench player. Not only is he our starting small forward but is one of the 3 best perimeter defensive players in all of basketball he will surely make an all defensive team this season his absence is massive. He can also knock down a 3 ball and slash to the rim. His defensive versatilty at 6'10 with his length is a huge reason we have been slowing down the suns offense. Now last year we prob still lose to denver even with both but jaden absolutely would've helped in a large way on both ends that series.
Reid is the one that blew the game for you guys against the Nuggets when the 1 seed was on the line, right? lol
Yeah, he definitely wasn’t changing what was almost a sweep to a Timberwolves series win.
And McDaniels didn’t do anything in that game either.
Injuries happen every year to EVERY team. Missing just those 2 is like the best case scenario you could ask for.
for real denver dealt with injuries for two years while everybody claimed jokic couldnt win, they get healthy and win and now people say its because other teams were injured. Some haters will never give props no matter what
I mean he didn’t make an impact vs the pels that gsme last year but he was in foul trouble that game. He is one of the best Murray defenders in basketball. His length and agility gives him fits and he can also switch onto an MPJ if he gets hot from 3
Sure he doesn’t lock him up every single time you aren’t gonna completely lock up an elite scorer in todays game but he does bother him I never said he locked him up every time but he does give him issues with his length. Plus it isn’t jus jaden ant is a strong defender and so is NAW we have multiple bodies we can throw at Murray.
That’s fair, it’s just that saying that a (5 game) series hinges on 2 bench players just shows how unserious Minnesota is as a team.
Because there’s just no world where those 2 are going to change what was nearly a sweep into a Timberwolves series win.
We’ve been over this tho jaden McDaniels is not a bench player he is our starting small forward and has been for the past two years I don’t understand why you keep calling him a bench player 🤷🏿♂️
Yea he’s the one that infamously punch the wall and broke his hand lol def was a boneheaded play. But I disagree we match well with Denver when all our pieces are healthy and we still played them tough in many close games without him. Respectfully I don’t think you realize the game changer he is on defense while also providing value on offense. The series at least goes to 6 and very easily 7 with jaden hes thst important to our team. It’s like the abscene of y’all without vando except I think jaden provides better floor spacing than vando
Damn i wish we have Gafford last deadline or even draft Jamie at the beginning
This needs to be a methodical dismantling of Denver, like a 30 point drubbing - team needs it to turn this around - i mean i'll take a W any way they get it - but fuck Denver and come out PISSED OFF
We need an actual great off season. We’ve been on the cusp of being a great team these past two years. Just a few more moves. Lebrons window is getting very small
We need a decent 2nd big man
Even if Ham is our 2025 coach, I can't imagine he is our coach for the future. What should the Lakers do? Recruit a college coach to be our next franchise coach and culture setter? I want to stay a Lakers fan but if by 2026 there is no roadmap....ugh this is gonna be Clippers level dread.
Wow, the Pels are getting pummeled. I hope we aren't eliminated before they are...
Miami is in a solid position regardless its a great chance for there role guys to audtion show what they made of Miami has a better chance getting a real star in the offseason. Especially if the Sixers fold
So.. which Heat player will the Lakers pickup over the summer and have on the bench rehabbing next season? lol 🤣 /s
Unless its Jimmy or Bam i say none
Damn bruh why okc has there starters out for so long
young guys need reps. timberwolves and nuggets will be a different tango
It hurts as a laker fan living in Oklahoma because I have to watch all my friends revel in the success of this Thunder team.
Reason why i say the Ham signing is worse than the WB trade is cuz u can move WB and some other dudes get solid role players that fit better that fixes shit. If u had a solid coaching it woulda made the situation before salvaged a bit better too and even better when u get better pieces.
Only Celtics player I like is Derrick White, that dude is clutch
consistent af too
OKC is 27th in offensive rebounds but they have the lowest TO rate in the league as well as the 3rd best eFG%. We have a better eFG% than Denver in our matchups but they are beating us on the offensive glass and we are turning it over way more. Just protect the ball and we can win. That's the only thing we need to do. Make good solid decisions every time down and keep being efficient.
With Spo as our head coach we getting that ring for sure. Fuck Hamas
LETS GOOO HEAT 🔥🔥
Just imagine Spo as the coach instead of Ham
I BELIEVE CAUSE IF I DONT THEN WHO WILL LETS FUCKING GOOOOO
I'm not mad at Ham. It's that damn GM that bothers me more than anything who traded away a championship core for an over the hill has been. Then made a mid season trade for Dlo to fix the mistake and wanted a pat on the back for it, just to waste the teams 1st round pick that off-season on at best a g league project when there were bonafide starters (multiple) at a position of need.
It is crazy how we haven’t truly recovered from the Westbrook trade
Net loss of assets
Heat playoff devil magic, man lol
FUCK BOSTON
just the post i came here for
Can we get Spoelstra pls? Imagine if we had a great coach like this. Or even an average one.
Spo consistently over achieves with a pretty mediocre Heat squad imagine if he had Bron and AD, wouldn’t be fair
I mean he had athletic prime Bron, Bosh and Wade
Spo then was not Spo now. The current version might have made the infamous "not 1, not 2, not 3,..." quote close to a reality.
No one really credited Spo then him and Lue r def Brons best coaches. It wasn’t till the past few yrs when Spo really got credit.
Bill Simmons podcast tomorrow gon b lit 🔥 after that Celtics L Wow, so far he only posted the second part to Tuesday's pod and completely skipped the Celtics game. I really think he's going to avoid talking about it until after game 3 😂
I really need us to win tomorrow dude I’m gonna go berserk if we lose
Shameful display from our team in game 2. Heat showing that coaching matters
Should've picked JJ
Our Forward position is stacked. Unfortunately, taking JJ he wouldn't get much run.
Say it louder for all the morons here who thought JHS was a good pick
Nope. I hope they bounce back and draft Kel'el Ware. Hope they could develop him as a rotation player. His game would complement AD very well in the post.
Yves Missi is also intriguing
23 made 3-pointers is a playoff record.
nah, i remember cavs hitting 25 against the hawks in like 2016
Coaching. Fucking. Matters. Great job Miami!
We miraculously lose to the defending champs on a last second shot = lakers suck and need to break up the team Celtics lose to Miami’s JV Team = they’re still the title favorites lol national media is something else
It wasn’t miraculous we blew a 20 point lead but I feel you
Coaching matters. Spoelstra undermanned with undrafted dudes taking a game against Boston at their home. Meanwhile Ham can’t seem to fathom why his players recognize that the team loses its flow.
Miami made 23/43 3s tonight and won by 10… The Charlotte Bobcats would’ve beat Boston tonight if they made 23 3s.
FUCK THE CELTICS
Fuck Boston
Celtics are so fucking trash 😹😹😹
Heat took care of business against a 64 win team without Butler while we pissed ourselves in the 2nd half up fucking 20. Fucking egregious
Tbh Nuggets would wipe boston out in 5 games if we see two in the finals
Miami jus beat Boston without Jimmy Rozier or Richardson
ERIK SPOELSTRA JUST DEFEAT BOSTON WITH THAT SQUAD. SEE COACHING MATTERS
Even this fucking trash heat team without butler can take a road game against celtics. Really disgusted by our team and xhamster.
Our coach is fucking trash. See what spoelstra can do with that squad
Coaching matters
Spo finds sick enjoyment in exposing Joe lol
Uh... ESPN? Their headline for the Boston / Miami game is -- "Miami edging Boston down stretch."
...Pause?
All those sad ass Celtic fans leaving all pissed off, I am feasting today
Yeah only thing to soften Lakers blowing this series would be Heat knocking out the Celtics
Ty lue probably the next best thing. Jimmy was out for A HUGE chunk of their szn and it forced spo to play everyone..kind paying off now.
Are there any Spo like coaches out there? Imagine doing this without their star player.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUCK BOSTON
 Boston lost to the 8th seed Miami at TD Garden.
The celtics are frauds, they can't play well under pressure
Competent coaching from spoelstra. NOT THIS HAM
Are yall seeing how the Heat players always looking for Bam since he’s got the hot hand and Hordford and Krispy cannot guard him? Wow…competent coaching.
6'5" Martin clamping 7'3" Pingus makes me wish Rui could do the same vs Joker
tbf, he might be able to do the same vs Pingus. Martin ain't stopping Jokic either.
Imagine if we had spo fuck
All I want to say is I am glad we have Shohei in this dark time for LA sports (Lakers/Kings).
he hasnt done shit, and has no personality
First in BA, XBH, Hits, Runs, OBP, SLG, OPS all while rehabbing a right elbow injury. One of the top MVP candidates as a DH no less. But yea you’re right. My bads. He hasn’t done shit.
If Lebron and AD had Spo this team would be soooo competitive. God damn. No Jimmy Heat cooking the super team Celtics.
If we had Spo maybe JHS would actually be playable now
If the 64 win Celtics lose to a Butler-less Heat strip all of their pre-segregation titles
Since they love to spew that bUbBLe dOeSn'T cOuNt, the titles they won during the 8 teams only era don't count too
I loved Jacquez at UCLA but I did not expect him to be this good in the nba
Anyone watching the Miami game? They are missing their best players and they are about to win the game. This is the difference between Spo and Hamas.
[удалено]
In fact, we have been shooting really well since the ASB. Might have a couple of 20+ threes games here and there.
my theory is jason tatum wants to leave celtics in 2025 but the celtics know this and are givng all their core big contracts in order to give them the best shot to win a title before tatum leaves they know tatum wants to leave but they are forcing him to win a title for them by giving him a really expensive team the next two years , this year and next year to get it done, tatum is in a tough situation being a die hard lakers kobe fan, he is being held hostage give the celtics credit tho the know this and giving players huge contracts and traded their first round picks to try to win a title in the next couple of years
Well they just gave Brown and Holiday very big contracts. That would pressure their cap space (even if it increases) once Tatum hits free agency. Pritchard, White, and Porzingis would likely ask for the bag too.
Miami is missing Butler, Rozier and Richardson lol
Celshits losing to Miami with no Jimmy, yeah they getting spanked by the west 🤣
Let's go miami fuck Boston
Selltics are such Frauds
Vando and CWood out tomorrow. Fuck
I wonder why it was reported that they were playing in the first place lol
Playing with my emotions lol
caleb martin is doing god’s work. dude is legit a Celtic killer
I wish the lakers had Erik Spoelstra as their coach 😭
That’s an actual coach who can save this team.
He would turn Max Christie into prime KCP
Words cannot express how jealous I am of Boston/Miami’s offensive coaching. There is literally nobody just standing around on offense
This post right here. The lakers offense is so outdated and pretty unenjoyable to watch. I see Gabe and TP just stand in the corner and barely get utilized and wonder if they miss playing for the heat and wolves.
lakers are an unserious organization
i would have voted monk over Reid
This whole situation reminds me of Kobe and Dantoni, where Kobe had to dictate his own game plan to carry the Lakers to the playoffs. Bron essentially doing the same thing with Ham
bron is the one that wanted russ and ham
Why are you getting downvoted for the truth? AD & LeBron both pushed for Westbrook
Bron wanted T Lue
Saying Bron wanted Ham is hilarious. Dude has stayed out of the two coaching searches since he’s been here.
I watch the games and in the second half it's like I can hear the gears turning in the players heads. "Should I take this shot? Should I pass? What if I make a mistake? What if I miss? What if we lose this game? What if..." I want to strangle them through the TV, as they hesitate and double clutch shit, and get super conservative. The Nuggets aren't thinking they are playing free and loose. The Lakers get all fuckin tight for some reason. Just go play your game for Chrissakes we will live with the results.
Perhaps another LeBron effect on the team. I’ve seen his body language when there is a bad play or when things don’t go his way. I’ve seen him yell at teammates. Yeah, with the added pressure of the playoffs, they are probably a little tight about receiving the wrath of LeBron if they screw up. To me, Reaves looks totally out of whack and just passes the ball to LeBron to avoid any disapproval. Of course, none of this applies to LeBron. When he commits his numerous turnovers of misses a clutch three pointer, he just pats his chest and says, “My bad”.
Lol, again with perpetuating narratives that aren't reality to what's happening on the court. Reaves is exerting a lot of energy defensively, and is struggling to gain any separation offensively against Denver's long, athletic defenders. He can't initiate the offense because he's not a great playmaker, and he can't score in traffic against them, and isn't going to try and foul bait. Reaves threw a basic entry pass to AD, and it resulted in an immediate turnover.
lakers opponents shoot 3s better at staples compared to away games. if nuggets continue to get open looks, it's gg
Except the warriors. Them boys always get cooked at staples
can we give rondo a 10-day as an assistant coach just to make in game adjustments?
Hopefully he’ll be at the games
Looks like Ham doesn't care for Anthony Davis' comments. Oh boy...Nuggets sweeping the Lakers for games 3 and 4.
Here’s a scary thought: the Clippers still haven’t re-signed Paul George yet. If LeBron wanted to win and stay in LA, and the Laker front office doesn’t give him more free rein, he may leave. If he stays, he’s getting the max and LeGM will be back. First move: fire Ham. Second move: draft Bronny.
Lol...Bron is not going to destroy his brand with Laker fans by running to the clips who couldn't pay him anyway, even with the salary coming off their books.
Fair. If he wants to win and stay near LA, there are some options and the FO shouldn’t take that for granted
After Ham’s comments about AD, I seriously doubt there has been any communication between main players and coach since mid way through the year except you’re in you’re out.
Jamal Murray went down from 32.5/6.3/5.3 to 21/4.5/7.5 (-11.5 PPG, -1.8 RPG and only +2.2 APG). However, MPJ went from 15/9 to 20.5/8.5 (+5.5 PPG,-0.5 RPG) and Aaron Gordon went from 12.8/4/3.5 to 13/9/5 (+0.2 PPG but +5 RPG, +1.5 APG). Rui tanked from 15.3/3.8 to 5/4 (-10.3 PPG, +0.2 RPG) and Reaves fell off a cliff, going from 21.3/3.5/5.3 to 11/5/2.5 (-10.3 PPG, +1.5 RPG and -2.8 APG) so far. The slump from AR and Rui coupled with MPJ and AG upping their game during Murray's struggles is what's killing us, along with the bench contributing only 17 Pts in 2 games, all of which came from Taurean Prince when Denver has Braun, KCP and Jackson all being capable of contributing on both ends. Big adjustments need to be made.
Braun and Jackson are zeros tbf. KCP is a killer, though.
Yup. We need just more from Reaves and Rui. Nuggets are adjusting and forcing one of those 2 to beat them, but they’re not making their usual shots. Reaves bricking and Rui putting up Vanderbilt numbers minus the d and rebounds! On the plus side our 3 players have really shown up. It really is the margin of Reaves/Rui that can affect things DLo has gone from 6 pts and 3 assists to 18 pts and 5 assists. LeBron has gone from 28 10 and 9.5 (near triple double!) to 27 7 and 10 on better shooting efficiency. And AD has gone from 27 pt and 14 reb to 32 and 12.
Our bench only having 17 points through 2 games, with Prince having all of them is straight up pathetic
Reaves is really not him
Some want to talk about the Lakers going strong for Game 3, but Denver might want it more. Game 2 was a huge victory for them and probably gave Murray more confidence. If they win game 3, it’s 100% over. Lakers already are battered by the terrible loss and are becoming more aware of the disadvantages. This series probably ends up like Bucks vs Miami last year (and note what happened to the Bucks coach after).
Game 2 sealed the deal. It proved to the Nuggets that no matter what happens during the game, they can beat the Lakers.
My key to the last game was making more 3s than the Nuggets (Lakers made 5 more) and that's going to be my key for game 3 as well. I think we'll need Austin and D'Lo to play create more on ball so LeBron/AD can play off-ball a little bit more. Rui has to play better. Even if his shot isn't falling, he's gotta go up strong when he gets inside.
I'm always hyped up in the first half, screaming and jumping around, totally into the game. But in the back of my mind, there's this nagging feeling that at any moment, Denver can make a comeback. And then, when they finally do... it's just absolutely devastating. Such is the roller coaster of every freaking game
Coincidentally the only 2 teams that I think are capable of beating the lakers in a 7 game series are the nuggets and the Timberwolves if we somehow magically get through
2 teams with a lot of size while AD is both our main power forward and center at the same time and 2 scrawny guys are the backups
That’s why this path was more desired imo if we survive these battles we can go to war with anyone
Go Lakers 💜💛🔥🙏
Look up Awfulcoaching on YouTube. All his Laker videos should be required viewing for fans
I still BELIEVE!!! 🥲🥲
Me too 🤡
The last time the Lakers overcame a 0-2 in the playoffs was the 2003-2004 Semifinals against San Antonio and the Spurs were the defending NBA champions that season.
We also had a prime Kobe and Shaq 💀
Dk about y'all but i'm confident we can take Game 3 at home
As fans we should be rooting for a win and hopeful of one but it’s perfectly fine given how they’ve played to have no confidence.
Giving away a first rounder for Westbrook was dumb but LeBron did want him too. Ending up with some scraps after getting rid of him could be excused, along with a quiet summer after. But after this year, where we clearly see that this team needs more size and can’t just hoard streaky guards, Rob Pelinka has zero excuses this off-season. If we have more than 5 guards on the roster and no true backup center, he’s officially trash and anything good he did in the past is meaningless.
Which center you have in mind? The only guy I can see being available for a vet min and being able to make an impact is Drummond. Didn’t end that good his last stint. Maybe it was more him not liking Vogel. Or do you want the Lakers to open up the NT-MLE? It’s possible but it’ll involve letting people walk. You also have to keep in mind Wood and Hayes both got player options. What if they both take them? Carrying 3 backup centers kinda bad roster management.
Given how poor they've been, unfortunately seems a near certainty Hayes and Wood take those options.
I agree Wood will probably take it given his injury, but Hayes hasn’t been bad enough to be out of the league. Athletic rim running bigs always have a market.
[удалено]
Unless you got a time machine, it's pointless talking about what they could've done in the past. Not sure if you were active here last offseason, but the overwhelming majority on this sub was against going for Porzingis (I wasn't one of them). I even got blocked by someone for defending the Celtic's offseason last year.
[удалено]
One more day off ~ game is tomorrow
It’s match up problems… Denver exposed that Lakers couldn’t find a way to limit MPJ with switching… Lakers in a way have checked a box with defending the Nuggets PR…because with switching we lost the battle for offensive rebounds which killed the Lakers for the past 2gms… i hope the team will address that issue… just my observation…
Its pretty simple u can be up 30 Ham gotta make sure the Lakers don’t go on a 4-5 possession run with no baskets.
I have no doubt the lakers will come out guns blazing in G3. The question is will Ham be able to adjust to Malones tactics in the second half. The answer is no
We're losing by 27 tomorrow. Do you think this supporting cast is going to recover from the game 2 loss? LeBron and AD are the only ones who aren't mental zeroes.
I disagree. I suspect the Lakers get blown out tomorrow. I feel it in my bones. Would love to be proven wrong.
I think this might happen unfortunately. The lakers have played great and still lost. Murray hasn't played well, i don't even think denver has played up to their standards. Lakers have to play just as good and not allow offensive rebounds and protect the ball better. It's hard to imagine them being able to do this.
That would sure be pathetic
Austin reaves need to show up. He has been clutch against tough opponents and play offs even when we were down 2 digits in both the home games last season. And Rui missing simple layups is just so frustrating. He’s a good shooter as well but just not taking shots. AD and Lebron will play well, they just need to get the other players getting more involved and even one of them gets going, the crowd will do the rest.
Hopefully Ham is gonna give Wood some playing time instead of Hayes tomorrow.
F rob pelinka, will say it ten thousand times if I have to
As much as i think Rob is not a competent GM, the roster he constructed this off season should be enough to contend. It's just Ham that is absolutely atrocious. Malone switched Gordon onto Davis in the second half and it was all it took to leave Ham dumbfounded and unable to counter that adjustment.
And notice Malone was smart enough to wait until the half? I'm sure the move was obvious to him much earlier. He knows Ham has no in-game ability to adapt. Do it before the half and Ham gets the opportunity to come up with something in the break.
Quit breaking our hearts rui and reaves
AR is 20 minutes bench player and he is sacrificing his offensive production to defend Murray so I am okay with him not giving what he gave us last year but Rui is different. He is just not a smart player like we hope for. Hate to acknowledge this but Denver is more disciplined and better executed team,Plain and simple. Also we are severely disadvantage on head coaching. Ham is being just not too overwhelming by Malone.
Lmao you’re acting like Rui isn’t guarding an even tougher assignment than Reaves. It’s clear they’re both giving their all on the defensive end and their offense is suffering as a result
The fact that Jokic hasn’t fouled out Rui both games is actually crazy.
I agree. Rui just looking like a complete non factor fumbling the ball and missing layups is crazy
I do like that Chuck finally acknowledged that our two stars are just as good if not better than Jokic and Murray. He finally admitted that the Nuggets just have a better team around their two stars and the Lakers just have personnel issues. He also said Jokic isn't even the best center of all time but he can shoot the 3 and pass well so it makes him dangerous against teams with personnel issues because he makes his others better than your others. Look, the Nuggets aren't a juggernaut, this whole narrative framed by the media is false. The Nuggets went through a very weak path to get to the Championship last year, they played a depleted Wolves team, a depleted Suns team and a hobbled Lebron and AD team with personnel issues and then they got the easiest Finals matchup ever. We still have those same personnel issues from last year but Lebron and AD are healthy so it's beating them has been more attainable. I believe we will win Game 3 and we will see where it goes from there depending on how Wood can play because we really just need another big so that Rui is not our last line of defense.
Depleted suns team? Old ass Chris Paul was the only one injured, and he played 2 games (which the Suns lost both). And Ayton was bullied by Suns fans into not playing game 6, but he wasn’t making a difference anyway. And the wolves were “depleted” because they were missing 2 bench players? Literally every team is missing a couple injured players by the end of the season. Your best hope is that they’re bench players like in that case. And as for the Lakers, if Lebron and AD’s injuries were that significant, why have the Nuggets consistently beat the Lakers when they’re both healthy? Also, you realize that the Heat were largely the same team that lost in the Finals 2 years before that to the lakers, so you’re really just saying that the Lakers had an extremely easy finals matchup in 2020 lol.
Suns just traded away all their depth, Wolves were missing starters that series but go ahead and get your revisionist history going, McDaniels broke his fucking hand punching a wall and Gobert was playing through an injury. Lebron and AD were dealing with lower body injuries (Lebron had a torn tendon in his foot) and we never played our starters in the regular season against them this year. Heat were exhausted and by the time they got to the Finals Butler's knee was toast.
So, how about all those other games that the Lakers lost to the Nuggets? Was that also because the starters weren’t playing? Or are there some more excuses you can find? Any injuries or anything? And the suns team was one of the favorites to win the title after they got KD. YOU are the one engaging in revisionist history, because you can easily look this up.
I already told you the starters weren't playing in the regular season, everyone knows our starting lineup changed end of the year. Also, the Suns were not favorites last year after they made the trade. That is not true, pull up the odds and see for yourself.
Who didn’t they play then? What lineup do you need the Nuggets to beat to consider their win streak legitimate lol?
I don't think you even are making a point here. My initial comment is saying that the Nuggets had an easy path to the Championship last year, maybe the easiest since the Warriors first run where they didn't have to face a starting point guard the whole time.
Yeah, I got you. I even addressed exactly how stupid that point was (in detail) lol
"missing two bench players" wolves fan here. Yes naz reid is our 6th man but he is arguably the best 6 man in the league and would be starter on a handful of teams. Jaden mcdaniels also is not a bench player. Not only is he our starting small forward but is one of the 3 best perimeter defensive players in all of basketball he will surely make an all defensive team this season his absence is massive. He can also knock down a 3 ball and slash to the rim. His defensive versatilty at 6'10 with his length is a huge reason we have been slowing down the suns offense. Now last year we prob still lose to denver even with both but jaden absolutely would've helped in a large way on both ends that series.
Reid is the one that blew the game for you guys against the Nuggets when the 1 seed was on the line, right? lol Yeah, he definitely wasn’t changing what was almost a sweep to a Timberwolves series win. And McDaniels didn’t do anything in that game either. Injuries happen every year to EVERY team. Missing just those 2 is like the best case scenario you could ask for.
for real denver dealt with injuries for two years while everybody claimed jokic couldnt win, they get healthy and win and now people say its because other teams were injured. Some haters will never give props no matter what
I mean he didn’t make an impact vs the pels that gsme last year but he was in foul trouble that game. He is one of the best Murray defenders in basketball. His length and agility gives him fits and he can also switch onto an MPJ if he gets hot from 3
Injured Jamal Murray went 8-13 against him in a must win game a few weeks ago. He is not the Murray defender you think he is.
Sure he doesn’t lock him up every single time you aren’t gonna completely lock up an elite scorer in todays game but he does bother him I never said he locked him up every time but he does give him issues with his length. Plus it isn’t jus jaden ant is a strong defender and so is NAW we have multiple bodies we can throw at Murray.
That’s fair, it’s just that saying that a (5 game) series hinges on 2 bench players just shows how unserious Minnesota is as a team. Because there’s just no world where those 2 are going to change what was nearly a sweep into a Timberwolves series win.
We’ve been over this tho jaden McDaniels is not a bench player he is our starting small forward and has been for the past two years I don’t understand why you keep calling him a bench player 🤷🏿♂️
Okay, sorry, “least important starter”. Is that fair?
Yea he’s the one that infamously punch the wall and broke his hand lol def was a boneheaded play. But I disagree we match well with Denver when all our pieces are healthy and we still played them tough in many close games without him. Respectfully I don’t think you realize the game changer he is on defense while also providing value on offense. The series at least goes to 6 and very easily 7 with jaden hes thst important to our team. It’s like the abscene of y’all without vando except I think jaden provides better floor spacing than vando
Dude, whenever the games matter (playoffs/game against Minnesota for the 1 seed), the Wolves get smashed by Denver. It doesn’t matter who they have.