The Official NBA Season Thread: Las Vegas Summer League | USA VS South Sudan at 3 ET on Fox

T0INE said:
The **** have they done to the ninja turtles?
1704603848491.png
Click to expand...
Calm down old man, new Turtles was good.
 
How important is it for the Lakers to acquire an impact center to play next to AD?

Here's yet another sample:

The Lakers snapped their 100-game losing streak vs the Clips this season. In that game, Ivica Zubac, who I've clowned the last three years saying the Clips won't win a chip cause their only big is Zubac, had only 7 pts and 9 rebs. Because LAL used 3-Big and 2-Big lineups vs the Clippers back in Nov, they were able to limit Zu's effectiveness and beat them in OT.

But...

Ever since the Lakers got rid of Dwight and Javale, Ivica Zubac has thrived against the Lakers overall.

I expect Zubac to have another solid big man game against the Lakers tonight and have a double-double since I expect Darvin NOT to use a 3-Big or 2-Big lineup tonight like he did in the Lakers win last time they faced.

Ivica Zubac vs Javale and Dwight from 2019-2020 (7 games) = 7.8 ppg, 5.2 reb per game, 0.5 blks per game

Ivica Zubac vs Lakers since 2021 (9 games) = 12.6 ppg, 11.4 rebs per game, 1.7 blks per game.

Crazy how much of an impact a Javale and Dwight made three years ago. Ever since the Lakers have put AD on Zubac exclusively, Zubac has DOUBLED HIS PRODUCTION and been a double double machine and is averaging almost 2 blocks a game with AD the PF guarding Zubac the True Center.

Meanwhile AD's production has DIPPED vs the Clippers the last 8 games without Javale and Dwight on the roster, averaging only 21 ppg and 9 reb per game. Hmm........
 
freeze said:
Click to expand...


Im not the biggest Book fan but he should be 7th, Kyrie and Ja move down. I get fans wanna see Ja but hes had only a few games, shoudnt be an AS anyways for missing 25 games and Kyrie has been..regular?

Speaking of Book, the Suns have a little dilemma with Grayson. Hes expiring no? They should keep him, hes been arguably their 3rd most important player and been playing really well but can they even pay him. Hes top 3-4 in minutes and having a 50/40/90 season. That dude about to get paid, but if they cant afford him and he goes somewhere itd be interesting where.
 
picasso swerve said:
Im not the biggest Book fan but he should be 7th, Kyrie and Ja move down. I get fans wanna see Ja but hes had only a few games, shoudnt be an AS anyways for missing 25 games and Kyrie has been..regular?

Speaking of Book, the Suns have a little dilemma with Grayson. Hes expiring no? They should keep him, hes been arguably their 3rd most important player and been playing really well but can they even pay him. Hes top 3-4 in minutes and having a 50/40/90 season. That dude about to get paid, but if they cant afford him and he goes somewhere itd be interesting where.
Click to expand...
I believe Suns have his Bird Rights. So even if they are way over the cap they can throw money at him if they want

But since we are past Jan 6th, I expect his production to decline , and should trade him
 
addict4sneakers said:
Lakers been trotting out no one shorter than 6’8” the past few weeks and been trash
Click to expand...
Exactly.

A bunch of 6'8" guys playing next to AD is a fake xxx "big lineup." That ain't good enough, its not like they have Dennis Rodman next to AD.

Get a 6'11" - 7'2", 240+ lb REAL CENTER like Vucevic, Valanciunas, Turner, or Poeltl next to AD and we can all enjoy watching the Lakers' fortunes change.

BOS is dominating largely because they got 7-foot plus KP, who not only can make threes but also blocks 2 shots per game and can get you 10 boards any given night. One would think Big Al Horford is loving all the big man help!
 
Last edited:
Brosizzlew30.23 said:
Exactly.

A bunch of 6'8" guys playing next to AD is a fake xxx "big lineup." That ain't xxxx.

Get a 6'11" - 7'2", 240+ lb REAL CENTER like Vucevic, Valanciunas, Turner, or Poeltl next to AD and we can all enjoy watching the Lakers' fortunes change.

BOS is dominating largely because they got 7-foot plus KP, who not only can make threes but also blocks 2 shots per game and can get you 10 boards any given night. One would think Big Al Horford is loving all the big man help!
Click to expand...
Porzingis isn’t playing next to Horford though. And realistically, who do you think is available. REALISTICALLY. Not poetl. Not Turner. Not Travis kelce. So vucci? Good luck with that
 
addict4sneakers said:
Porzingis isn’t playing next to Horford though. And realistically, who do you think is available. REALISTICALLY. Not poetl. Not Turner. Not Travis kelce. So vucci? Good luck with that
Click to expand...
Playing 2-Big with Al and KP is not the Celtics winning formula. So if they're thriving with KP plus Tatum-Brown and White-Jrue, then don't change what's working. That's their winning formula. The bottom line is, the C's didn't rest on their laurels and they went out and got a true big who is more impactful than Timelord. It didn't work with Timelord so the C's stayed aggressive and got them an even better replacement that works better for their system. Isn’t it great though to have the option of going ultra big with KP-Horford-Tatum in case you need to!

Well, the Lakers currently don't have a system. No identity whatsoever.

They've been tinkering with so many different lineups since they won the chip that they've somehow forgotten the championship formula that allowed them to win it all in 2020, which is to always put an athletic, defensive minded true center next to AD and slide AD to PF, which is his natural position, while still employing the AD-at-the-5 lineupin certain situations where AD has the total matchup advantage against the opposing center. But in 2020, Lakers ran 2-Big lineups more than 60% of the time. Now they're only doing it about 25% of the time it seems.

Can AD thrive Playing center FULL TIME while surrounded by two 6-8 forwards and two big guards? Sure. He'll even put up impressive MVP type numbers because simply put, he's Anthony Davis, future HOF'r.

But has AD ever won a title using that model? Of course not, because it's been proven that AD is at his absolute best and makes the most impact to winning when he plays next to a center.

Vucevic is better than Wood and Hayes so yes, I'm all in on Vuc and his bargain contract.

I'm all in on Capela as well.

If Lakers can acquire either of them plus 2 defensive minded guards who are decent in shooting from deep and has playmaking ability at the same time a la Jalen Suggs/Alex Caruso/Gary Harris/Dejounte, they back in business.
 
Last edited:
Glad one of the greatest coaches ever finally decided to put a point guard in the starting lineup after 35 games.

Spurs are actually competitive in the first & third quarters now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Thread Gallery

View Full Gallery

The ultimate sneaker enthusiast community.

NikeTalk was created as a way of giving back to both the sneaker enthusiast community and to the greater global community of which we are all a part.

NikeTalk is NOT affiliated with Nike Inc. in any way, shape, or form. All opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Nike, Inc.

© 1999-2024 NikeTalk.com

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom