Defense is the problem right now, emphasis on points in the paint. Hopefully Wagner will help out, he can also play the 4 and they can even go big at times. But yeah still hard to say if Luke will survive because he's just not their hire and if they feel Ty Lue is in an upgrade and the team is still sort of scuffling as the season goes on I could see them switching up. And not only is Ty Lue familiar with the west and the Lakers, but he worked for Boston back in the early Big 3 days with Rondo running PG of course. What if they traded Zo in a package for Anthony Davis and rolled with Rondo full time, then hired Ty Lue, Rondo having worked with both Ty Lue and Anthony Davis..I know that if I've thought of that, they probably have too. I imagine they have 100,000 scenarios, at least that's what Kobe said about Pelinka. Lol But yeah the problem with stretching and waiving Deng is it still sort of hurts LAL cap wise, a wasted 5-6M or whatever it is..having Rondo around on a smallish deal could be that impact move that lessens the blow of Deng's wasted space come playoff time when he turns into an all star.
I love how this opened the door for Lavar to throw his hat in the ring for head coach though Lol He was way too quiet, felt like LeBron had a gag order on him
Lakers might make a small move to get a backup big man of Wagner doesnt work out. After the season they will sign a big FA that can slot in at SG. Kawhi, Durant, Klay, Butler. The quickly they can trade Ingram some picks and KCP to New Orleans for Anthony Davis. PG: Lonzo, Rondo SG: Klay, Hart SF: LeBron, Lance PF: Kuzma, Wagner C : Anthony, Javale That the team you want.
Luke should be on his toes. We will see if he can handle this pressure or will fold. We need a coach that will motivate and lead. We need one that will WIN us games with late moves. We need one that will develop a clear offensive strategy geared towards specific opponents. We need a coach that will at least motivate these guys to try at least an extra 5 percent on D. Luke knows hes gonna be under the gun. This isn't rebuild mode. This is getting to the next level mode where all we need is one star player next year to get that ring. to me that's nothing less than a 3 seed. Bron got a short window here and that's where magic knows we need to be. cant fall too behind out west. Luke if you wanna job......win.
Paul George having a terrible season, says he has drop foot/nerve issues from his broken leg years back or at least that's his excuse, went 0-10 from 3 the other night When LAL reaches final form with AD they're going to crush OKC's ass
Zo Ball 2017 - FG% 36, 3pt% 31 2018 - FG% 46, 3pt% 41 But he's still shooting less than 60% at the free throw line. What is it about the FT line that has this whole fucking team shook? That may be why they need Durant most of all, at least Durant is like 90% at the free throw line
Tyson Chandler bought out by the Suns is now a Laker. I HOPE he can rebound the ball unlike his teammates!!!!!!!!!!!
Kuz connection. Chandler has been mentoring Kuz for some years I believe. I hope he can rebound too and help Kuz there
Sean HighkinVerified account@highkin 44m44 minutes ago The Lakers' defense is 18.3 points per 100 possessions worse with JaVale off the floor than on. If Tyson Chandler has anything left at all he'll help a lot to fill that hole.
Just heard about this news I'm wondering how much Chandler will actually help at 36? That's old in today's NBA. Even though Phoenix likes uptempo I can't see Tyson on a D fed fast break or anything close. But as a seasoned spare backup capable of not embarassing us too much he should be good for his 10-12 mpg
Agreed mostly.. except that even if Magic didn't personally hire Luke, he knows Luke is a smart hard, working kid who has been well schooled competitvely, and he's having to accommodate 'whatever' LeBron wants, so I'd expect a rather long leash placed on a very soft padded furry collar. Luke's a die hard Laker too whom Jeannie wanted... and she tends to get what she wants.
We all LOVE Magic but damn dude who are you to talk about coaching!! Can anyone explain why the Lakers are back IN Portland so soon???
OK I'll start by waving the #racist tag but.. I have found over many years of watching the NBA that, on average, smarter players make more FT's. Fact. FT's require solitary focus and an extremely precise muscle memory. Most NBA level players have zero excuse for not practicing enough FT's to develop the muscle memory But focus? That is a rare commodity among mouth breathing knuckle draggers that tend to grow 7 foot tall. LOL per basketball-reference.com the bottom 7 this season... DeAndre Jordan - .4498 Dwight Howard - .5665 Emeka Okafor - .5858 Tyson Chandler - .6459 Nene Hilario - .6605 Derrick Favors - .6630 Blake Griffin - .6840 Stupid players almost never lead the league in FT %. So it appears that our miserable team FT% will be dropping further OK I led with #racist so don't tar and feather me... again
I'm just thinking that at more than one juncture Luke has been told (by Magic, Jeannie, LeBron) in no uncertain terms to let LeBron do "his thing" because it will all work out. So he's doing it.. I guess
Los Angeles Sports Nation@LAXSportsNation Interesting fact: #Lakers are 3-1 when Lonzo Ball plays at least 28 minutes in games and are 0-4 when he plays less than 28 minutes Hoop Central@TheHoopCentral The Lakers and Celtics are reportedly keeping a close eye on how things play out with Anthony Davis and the Pelicans this season, per @AmicoHoops.
In today's NBA, having a slow traditional big that can't switch, is not mobile, and is not an offensive threat is just not workable. That is why Chandler is not desirable in anyway. How he is some kind of improvement over McGee I really don't know. We had that guy in Randle, but can't cry over split milk. If we get a Davis or Leonard in the coming off season, then all is forgiven. Frankly, Randle deciding to pout instead of realizing that this team with Lebron and possibly Leonard maybe the next dynasty was childish and short sighted considering he took a crap deal to go to another team.
Somebody told you 36yr old Chandler was an improvement over this Javale McGee? I think they're looking for Chandler to chip in, it's already been reported that Chandler is accepting a bench role to back up Javale, so it's Javale and then Chandler and Wagner..which is better than having just Javale. For now.
