A40:
Lmaoo you people hyping AD after that Disney ring owe me an apology. I take them in Bitcoin, AVAX and XRP.

And don't tell me I was hyping this team entering the season. A nigga was playing devil's advocate. This team should not be 17 games under .500 in a conference with 3 teams openly tanking

Anyway what we have established is that the bubble ring was a dodgy one like we knew all along

This is a wack@ss take. You played seven games and got beat 4 times. Wether it was played in the bubble or the moon, those were the champs that year. It is not our fault you couldnt visit your favorite strip club to destress because of covid. Your indiscipline cost you a ring, take the L like that.

Who do you guys think won the Harden - Ben simmons trade given how things are turning out now

felix00:
Who do you guys think won the Harden - Ben simmons trade given how things are turning out now

Looking like Sixers. They got something for nothing

birdman:


This is a wack@ss take. You played seven games and got beat 4 times. Wether it was played in the bubble or the moon, those were the champs that year. It is not our fault you couldnt visit your favorite strip club to destress because of covid. Your indiscipline cost you a ring, take the L like that.

Alaye make we hear word. Time has since proven that that Disney ring was a fraud. I no get time for the remaining salaye. Under real basketball circumstances it has ended in tears since

There is talk of Pascal Siakam making All NBA team. Hmmm. I am not looking so crazy now for dropping that AD comparison now am I?

felix00:
Who do you guys think won the Harden - Ben simmons trade given how things are turning out now

It's difficult to tell. What I do know is if Philly give Brick Ross the max they will regret it for a long time. Present James Harden cannot be your second best player if you're serious about winning a chip

birdman:


Looking like Sixers. They got something for nothing

Hmm. I don't know. The nets got Seth and Drummond too who have both been massive so far

steady986:
So the Suns really don't want to see the Lakers in the playoffs Even as we bad reach. They rested Book, Ayton and Crowder against OKC and now they're going to deploy all of them against the sorry Lakers to extinguish any chance of us making the play-in and thus 8th place.

for years,the sun's av always been at the bottom in d conference season end,they got players now,let them enjoy too

birdman:


The biggest blame goes to Lebron himself. See, when you talk too much, you better back it up. That is why even Steve Kerr was throwing shade openly. I have been following Lebron for a minute, and he tends to do badly when people are heaping praises on him. He needs this dose of humility, after all this foolish goat talk.

No GOAT refers to themselves as GOAT. It is a conferred title, it is not you that will use your hand and take it. I hope people keep throwing shade all off-season. It will get so hot all the sycophants will leave and we can get a grounded Lebron next year.

Mohammed Ali started the goat acronym....he said..."and I'm the greatest of all time".....isn't he?

I am sorry but I don't want to see these Nets!

My goodness.. Yes, they are horrible on defense but boy can they turn it up offensively.

hkidola00:
Mohammed Ali started the goat acronym....he said..."and I'm the greatest of all time".....isn't he?

And you remember how his career ended right? took like 3 decades for people to forget how sad the ending was.

felix00:


Hmm. I don't know. The nets got Seth and Drummond too who have both been massive so far

Would they do that trade without Simmons? Nah

I can't imagine how gutted and heart broken the family of Dwayne Haskins are right now.

This life no pure for settings at all at all

#RIPDWAYNE

birdman:


The biggest blame goes to Lebron himself. See, when you talk too much, you better back it up. That is why even Steve Kerr was throwing shade openly. I have been following Lebron for a minute, and he tends to do badly when people are heaping praises on him. He needs this dose of humility, after all this foolish goat talk.

No GOAT refers to themselves as GOAT. It is a conferred title, it is not you that will use your hand and take it. I hope people keep throwing shade all off-season. It will get so hot all the sycophants will leave and we can get a grounded Lebron next year.

Lol. In other words you're saying the blame should go to LeBron because he talked too much. Perhaps he would receive less blame if he didn't talk too much. LeBron is LeBron, what he said is irrelevant. Everything should be analysed from a basketball point of view. When you pay three people over 80% of the team's salary, you know the rest of the team would be trash. The only scenario where this team would have functioned properly is if the three of them were healthy and playing. As fas as I'm concerned LeBron has an excuse. And people should realise this isn't 2016. This is 2022. LeBron is 37 years old and in his 19th season. We've seen LeBron carry worse teams to the playoffs before. The receipts are there. Everybody knows it. But that was in his physical prime. He played 56 games this season, not because of choice but because of injuries here and there. I dare say that if AD was playing and the team was doing OK, LeBron would have sat out more games. I don't get how people cannot understand that the end is near for LeBron.

Don't be surprised that during the off season, people like Stephen A would tip LeBron as the player with the most to prove going into the new season. A 38 year old man in his 20th season would have the most to prove going into the season. I'll be here to remind you when that happens. Bros, the real analysts out there are blaming everything but LeBron. The only thing they blame LeBron for is putting the team together. It's the Jordan fanboys that are blaming LeBron because of their insecurity.

*PS, if you watched NBA countdown a couple of days back, the same Stephen A had an entirely different view about the Lakers' failure this season. That man just loves to have notorious takes on his own show.

birdman :


This is a wack@ss take. You played seven games and got beat 4 times. Wether it was played in the bubble or the moon, those were the champs that year. It is not our fault you couldnt visit your favorite strip club to destress because of covid. Your indiscipline cost you a ring, take the L like that.

People are still crying about our "Disney" ring? Let them keep crying, I want to bathe with their tears

birdman:


The biggest blame goes to Lebron himself. See, when you talk too much, you better back it up. That is why even Steve Kerr was throwing shade openly. I have been following Lebron for a minute, and he tends to do badly when people are heaping praises on him. He needs this dose of humility, after all this foolish goat talk.

No GOAT refers to themselves as GOAT. It is a conferred title, it is not you that will use your hand and take it. I hope people keep throwing shade all off-season. It will get so hot all the sycophants will leave and we can get a grounded Lebron next year.

Like Muhammad Ali? Like Cristiano Ronaldo who keeps saying it and thrusting himself into the goat conversation?

I am sure many of you crucifying Lebron here for hyping himself are big fans of these two 'braggarts'.

Abegi, let me dance to R. Kelly's The World's Greatest.

Damn. We were still talking about Dwayne Haskins the other day not knowing a much crueler fate was on the cards

This life no really make sense if we reason am well.

hkidola00:
Mohammed Ali started the goat acronym....he said..."and I'm the greatest of all time".....isn't he?

Ali is not even the greatest of all time. Only casual fans think he is

Besides boxing na individual sport so wrong comparisons

steady986:


Lol. In other words you're saying the blame should go to LeBron because he talked too much. Perhaps he would receive less blame if he didn't talk too much. LeBron is LeBron, what he said is irrelevant. Everything should be analysed from a basketball point of view. When you pay three people over 80% of the team's salary, you know the rest of the team would be trash. The only scenario where this team would have functioned properly is if the three of them were healthy and playing. As fas as I'm concerned LeBron has an excuse. And people should realise this isn't 2016. This is 2022. LeBron is 37 years old and in his 19th season. We've seen LeBron carry worse teams to the playoffs before. The receipts are there. Everybody knows it. But that was in his physical prime. He played 56 games this season, not because of choice but because of injuries here and there. I dare say that if AD was playing and the team was doing OK, LeBron would have sat out more games. I don't get how people cannot understand that the end is near for LeBron.

Don't be surprised that during the off season, people like Stephen A would tip LeBron as the player with the most to prove going into the new season. A 38 year old man in his 20th season would have the most to prove going into the season. I'll be here to remind you when that happens. Bros, the real analysts out there are blaming everything but LeBron. The only thing they blame LeBron for is putting the team together. It's the Jordan fanboys that are blaming LeBron because of their insecurity.

*PS, if you watched NBA countdown a couple of days back, the same Stephen A had an entirely different view about the Lakers' failure this season. That man just loves to have notorious takes on his own show.

I will say he deserves at least half of the tonnes of criticism so far. If what Magic Johnson said is true that Demar Derozan was about coming to Lakers until Lebron started talking with Russ, and I'm sure Lakers top echelon must have asked him to leak that to the press, then Lebron should take more responsibility for how everything panned out, in his utterances, in his comportment.

Lebron, AD, Pelinka and Buss should share the blame for how the season turned out. Period.

Does it detract from his greatness? No. It just shows he has weaknesses like all the rest.

Sad no one in that organization had the cojones to stop him from blocking his own success and the team's.

steady986:


Lol. In other words you're saying the blame should go to LeBron because he talked too much. Perhaps he would receive less blame if he didn't talk too much. LeBron is LeBron, what he said is irrelevant. Everything should be analysed from a basketball point of view. When you pay three people over 80% of the team's salary, you know the rest of the team would be trash. The only scenario where this team would have functioned properly is if the three of them were healthy and playing. As fas as I'm concerned LeBron has an excuse. And people should realise this isn't 2016. This is 2022. LeBron is 37 years old and in his 19th season. We've seen LeBron carry worse teams to the playoffs before. The receipts are there. Everybody knows it. But that was in his physical prime. He played 56 games this season, not because of choice but because of injuries here and there. I dare say that if AD was playing and the team was doing OK, LeBron would have sat out more games. I don't get how people cannot understand that the end is near for LeBron.

Don't be surprised that during the off season, people like Stephen A would tip LeBron as the player with the most to prove going into the new season. A 38 year old man in his 20th season would have the most to prove going into the season. I'll be here to remind you when that happens. Bros, the real analysts out there are blaming everything but LeBron. The only thing they blame LeBron for is putting the team together. It's the Jordan fanboys that are blaming LeBron because of their insecurity.

*PS, if you watched NBA countdown a couple of days back, the same Stephen A had an entirely different view about the Lakers' failure this season. That man just loves to have notorious takes on his own show.

I dont disagree with anything you said. Just saying LBJ did not handle this situation with the appropriate level of tact. If we are talking technical reasons for Lakers failure, here are my top 3:

Injuries: Im not just talking about AD. Im looking more at Kendrick Nunn. This was the sleeper trade that I knew the team needed. Young legs, can get his own shot and would have greatly complemented Lebron even when AD was not playing. Btw I hear he is opting in to return to the Lakers next year, so this is some good news.

Westbrick: From jump, I knew this would be a minus. People (including you!) kept looking at his stats, and ignoring how it weakens every one else's game and destroys offensive sets. Magic is saying they are keeping him for next season. I hope not, because this guy is a camouflaged locker room cancer.

No Fizdale effect: Getting Fizdale as an assistant coach was another sleeper move I was sure would take Lakers to the Finals. But I saw none of his trademark defense being implemented this season. If Vogel leaves, I would hope they let Fizdale run things for a season. This will put Westbrick in the doghouse btw, because their bball philosophies will not mesh.

DeeMain:




Like Muhammad Ali? Like Cristiano Ronaldo who keeps saying it and thrusting himself into the goat conversation?

I am sure many of you crucifying Lebron here for hyping himself are big fans of these two 'braggarts'.

Abegi, let me dance to R. Kelly's The World's Greatest.

How do you dance to that song
We all know Ronaldo na stat padder, come and beat me if you disagree
Ali's career didnt end well. The mouth no work in the last part of his career

Lebron needs tough love right now, not excuses. Guy man was waxing poems about playing with his son while Lakers was burning.That is a lack of focus and situational awareness. This is not what we want from GOAT

Bronsexuals are wailing cause nobody rates their Disney ring. It's not a coincidence that since all the unique circumstances and variables that made that Fugazi ring happen disappear your guy failed to win a single playoff series.

The much derided play in game LeNomad was dissing would have been their savior from epic humiliation this year

There is nothing left to be insecure about LeNomad, he is the first man in basketball history to fail to make the playoffs with a championship betting favorite. No amount of future statpaddin and empty calorie buckets can change that fact. This man made the conscious effort to stop playing defense, just spam 3's and not play the type of basketball that would give his team a chance to win games.

There are worse rosters in the league that are in play in spots. In a weaker Western conference where you have OKC, Portland, Rockets openly tanking and yet the Lakers could not finish top 10??

If 2011 was the nadir. 2022 is the coup de grace to any arguments about who the GOAT is.

birdman:


How do you dance to that song
We all know Ronaldo na stat padder, come and beat me if you disagree
Ali's career didnt end well. The mouth no work in the last part of his career

Lebron needs tough love right now, not excuses. Guy man was waxing poems about playing with his son while Lakers was burning.That is a lack of focus and situational awareness. This is not what we want from GOAT

Haaa bro, if the spirit is willing enough you can dance to any song.

You last paragraph, fully endorsed.

DeeMain:


I will say he deserves at least half of the tonnes of criticism so far. If what Magic Johnson said is true that Demar Derozan was about coming to Lakers until Lebron started talking with Russ, and I'm sure Lakers top echelon must have asked him to leak that to the press, then Lebron should take more responsibility for how everything panned out, in his utterances, in his comportment.

Lebron, AD, Pelinka and Buss should share the blame for how the season turned out. Period.

Does it detract from his greatness? No. It just shows he has weaknesses like all the rest.

Sad no one in that organization had the cojones to stop him from blocking his own success and the team's.

Hindsight is 20 20, anyone who says they foresaw the season DeRozan is having now is a big fat liar. DeRozan is not a good fit with Lebron if you take his last 3 years with the Spurs as a measuring stick, he is a better fit than Westbrook but still not a perfect fit, so let's not use that as a yardstick.
On paper the idea of trading or signing a PG who can takeover some playmaking from Lebron and allow him to take sets off and also carry the load when he is on the bench was and is still a great one. The Lakers just chose the wrong guy.

PS: I recall saying on this thread that the roster was not good enough anyways.

Whatever you feel about the roster no way 10 teams should be ahead of them. I don't care if they had Magic and Kareem

A40:
Ali is not even the greatest of all time. Only casual fans think he is

Besides boxing na individual sport so wrong comparisons

really,so who is the goat in boxing....klitchko

DeeMain:


I will say he deserves at least half of the tonnes of criticism so far. If what Magic Johnson said is true that Demar Derozan was about coming to Lakers until Lebron started talking with Russ, and I'm sure Lakers top echelon must have asked him to leak that to the press, then Lebron should take more responsibility for how everything panned out, in his utterances, in his comportment.

Lebron, AD, Pelinka and Buss should share the blame for how the season turned out. Period.

Does it detract from his greatness? No. It just shows he has weaknesses like all the rest.

Sad no one in that organization had the cojones to stop him from blocking his own success and the team's.

If that's the blame we want to apportion to LeBron, I'm cool with it. Rather than all these extremes I'm seeing in the media. But in hindsight, it's easy to say that he should have gone for DeRozan instead of Russ. Who knew DeRozan was capable of producing the kind of performance he produced this season? We all thought he was on the decline. Russ on the other hand was instrumental in the Wizards' run to the playoffs. The plan was to be able to afford LeBron a lot of rest and let Russ and AD bear the brunt of the season. But AD's injuries happened. And Russ became the scapegoat of the team. And so he tried to be who he isn't. There were games where he had 2-3 assists. That is not Russ. We wanted him to be the 11 assists per game Russ. I don't care about the turnovers. That is who he has been his entire career.

But by and large, it all boils down to injuries. AD and Bron barely played 20 games together this season. And the big 3 played just about that same amount. Of course it wouldn't work that way.

birdman:


I dont disagree with anything you said. Just saying LBJ did not handle this situation with the appropriate level of tact. If we are talking technical reasons for Lakers failure, here are my top 3:

Injuries: Im not just talking about AD. Im looking more at Kendrick Nunn. This was the sleeper trade that I knew the team needed. Young legs, can get his own shot and would have greatly complemented Lebron even when AD was not playing. Btw I hear he is opting in to return to the Lakers next year, so this is some good news.

Westbrick: From jump, I knew this would be a minus. People (including you!) kept looking at his stats, and ignoring how it weakens every one else's game and destroys offensive sets. Magic is saying they are keeping him for next season. I hope not, because this guy is a camouflaged locker room cancer.

No Fizdale effect: Getting Fizdale as an assistant coach was another sleeper move I was sure would take Lakers to the Finals. But I saw none of his trademark defense being implemented this season. If Vogel leaves, I would hope they let Fizdale run things for a season. This will put Westbrick in the doghouse btw, because their bball philosophies will not mesh.

I honestly think Vogel should go. I think a lot of our failure was down to him. I know the personnel we had was not good enough for us to play the kind of defense we wanted but damn, some of his schemes were atrocious.

And our free throw shooting was abysmal to say the least.

Final day of regular season.

So if you are the Boston Celtics, which opponent would you rather face in the first round?

Nets or Raptors(with unvaxed Jaylen Brown)

Bucks are probably gonna lose to the cavs as they are resting most of their key players

felix00:
Final day of regular season.

So if you are the Boston Celtics, which opponent would you rather face in the first round?

Nets or Raptors(with unvaxed Jaylen Brown)

Bucks are probably gonna lose to the cavs as they are resting most of their key players

The Nets is the better match-up for the Celtics. Playing a team with no defensive identity when your calling card is a fluid passing offense, that's the dream.

PS: If the match-up happens Tatum will average 35pts easy

I don't understand anyone would be scared of that Brooklyn Nets team. They can't guard nobody. Steve Nash's coaching is dodgy.

A40:
I don't understand anyone would be scared of that Brooklyn Nets team. They can't guard nobody. Steve Nash's coaching is dodgy.

His in play adjustments consists of two things,
1) play Kyrie for 40+mins
2)play KD for the whole game and only rest him during timeouts

A40:
I don't understand anyone would be scared of that Brooklyn Nets team. They can't guard nobody. Steve Nash's coaching is dodgy.

Hmm. It's looking like Ben Simmons might return for the play off
Ben Simmons being available should limit Taytum to an extent