**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins

[grittyman]

Okay.

 

[pmatic]

 

[grittyman]

Is there going to be a special in season court?

 

[lovehateself]

Is there going to be a special in season court?

this thrash

 

[pmatic]

Is there going to be a special in season court?

 

[jpzx]

But why.

 

[grittyman]

Gives me All Star Game vibes… we’ll see, maybe once the action starts it will grow on me like the entire IST concept has.

Actually bought one of the new city jerseys the other day.

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

Hey since we’re reminiscing I also recall sometime telling me that the Suns would be better this season because Nurk > Ayton



EYE don’t know what you’re watching but please stop sharing these awful takes with me

Lol talk about a shortsighted comment.

Last year with AYTON, the Suns finished 45-37 (.548 winning pctg)

This year so far with NURKIC, Phoenix is 12-9, which is a .571 winning percentage.

Based on that basic math lol, the Suns are winning at a better clip with Nurkic this year than they did with Ayton last year.

Is 2 + 2 = 4 or we not counting correctly?

So therefore, yes....the Suns ARE IN FACT better this year with Nurk than they were last year with Ayton. And this season ain't even near done. My money says PHX wins more than 45 games. Wanna bet?? Lol

Nurkic with PHX > Ayton with PHX. Too bad you can't retract your awful take cause i just blasted your silliness and sarcasm out into oblivion and showed you FACTS that you cannot argue against

EYE definitely know what you are watching and trust me, you watching the wrong thing

 

[grittyman]

Tl/dr

Stop spamming the thread w/ this nonsense man.

 

[moonman818]

You're up two points with two timeouts....

Why isn't the team automatically calling timeout so they can advance the ball to half court?
Glad we won, but these guys have to be more aware.

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

Tl/dr

Stop spamming the thread w/ this nonsense man.

By that comment I already know you read the facts.

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

You're up two points with two timeouts....

Why isn't the team automatically calling timeout so they can advance the ball to half court?
Glad we won, but these guys Darvin Ham has to be more aware.

Fixed

 

[MVP]

You're up two points with two timeouts....

Why isn't the team automatically calling timeout so they can advance the ball to half court?
Glad we won, but these guys have to be more aware.

Can call timeout with ya hands in ya pockets.

 

[grittyman]

 

[moonman818]

I mean technically you could... But I feel you. Everyone on the team, including Lebron needs to be more aware.

I didn't watch the Spectrum broadcast last night, but I'm willing to bet Stu was hollering for them to call timeout

 

[CP1708]

So......we 5-0 IST

8-9 in regular games??

*Petitions for 82 game IST*

 

[frink85]

this is gonna burn my retinas

 

[pmatic]

 

[pmatic]

How Is LeBron James Still Pulverizing Teams at the Rim?
Twenty-one seasons in, there are occasional nights when LeBron can’t reach the gear he used to. When he looks like a sluggish designated hitter who doesn’t make defensive rotations and delegates offensive responsibilities to his teammates. Overall, turnovers are up, post-ups and pick-and-rolls are down, he’s averaging the fewest shots per game of his career, and he’s never had more of his own baskets assisted by teammates.

For all intents and purposes, this is normal. It’s the expected path for a man who’s about to turn 39 years old and has spent more minutes of his life playing NBA basketball than any other human being.

But on Tuesday night, throughout the Lakers’ 106-103 win over the Phoenix Suns, LeBron did indeed have it: 31 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. The performance captured what has been, on the whole, a season for James that defies logic on virtually every level. He’s making a career-high 62.6 percent of his 2-point shots and averaging his most points per shot attempt since he left the Miami Heat. The only players with more total field goal attempts in the restricted area are Antetokounmpo, Williamson, and Anthony Davis. LeBron’s making 76.5 percent of those shots, one of the highest marks in the league.

These numbers touch on something that just kinda doesn’t make sense: how truly great James still is when attacking the paint. Get a load of this: In Second Spectrum’s entire database, there are 1,641 examples of a player logging at least 200 drives in a season. Right now, LeBron’s 1.23 points per direct play are 10th (!!!) best and his highest ever. He doesn’t blow by opponents like he used to, but thanks to his respectable 3-point percentage, defenders usually go over screens and stay higher on the floor than they probably want to. Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks had no shot bothering James on Tuesday once he got by the first layer of defense:



In general, despite less-than-ideal spacing, whenever he puts it on the deck and barrels toward the hoop, LeBron hardly ever turns the basketball over. He can go either direction at whatever speed he wants, always a threat to pass or float toward the middle of the floor and hit his signature leaning jumper.

It’ll be interesting to see if and when other players realize they should probably duck under some of these ball screens a bit more than they have been. It’s not a foolproof plan, but when done properly, it halts some of the downhill drives James can otherwise enjoy:



Going back to what I wrote about New Orleans, the Pelicans will likely stick Jones—one of the most capable pick-and-roll defenders in the league—on LeBron and force him to beat them with his pull-up jumper. Switching ball screens when Williamson or McCollum is put into the action probably won’t lead to the outcomes the Pelicans want. Expect Jones to duck under screens, with some hedging done by the screener’s man. This can create issues elsewhere, but thwarting LeBron at the point of attack, delaying L.A.’s offense, and forcing the Lakers to execute against a ticking shot clock are common denominators for teams that fare well against the Lakers. In Vegas, it may be one of the more critical games within the game.

Previewing the NBA In-Season Tournament’s Final Four

With Thursday’s semifinal matchups set, we preview Bucks-Pacers and Lakers-Pelicans and give you one critical thing to watch for each team

www.theringer.com

 

[noblekane]

this is it guys. tonight is the lakers toughest test of the season yet.

 

[moonman818]

Obviously, I want them to win the trophy, but this still counts as a regular season game so I just care if they win this one.

They can lose to the Bucks for all i care

 

[jpzx]

Does the Final count as a regular season game?

 

[moonman818]

Nah, it doesn't. It doesn't count towards any stats.

 

[akajae]

Does the Final count as a regular season game?

No

 

[lovehateself]

finalists for the ist will end up playing 83 games because of it