You can’t be serious. Being 0-4 is NO WAY worse than the post Shaq years, when we had Rudy TJ for half the season and we had guys like Smush and Kwame.
But Rudy kept the team over .500 and its not just that the Lakers are 0-4. Its that they are 0-4 for the second year in a row while going on a five game road trip. The team is just so bad yo. Like how does Hibbert only play 17 minutes even though he only committed two fouls? How does Russell sit out the forth quarter if the Lakers are supposed to be re-building the franchise around him?
I mean Emmanuel Mudiay is a turnover machine and isnt that good a shooter right now, but gets he to play most of the game and gain experience from just being on the court in crunch time so he can figure shit out for himself. Something you usually do for the players you want to go all in on for your rebuilding your team thats probably isn’t going to get to the playoffs anyway in that players rookie year. Russell cant even play in the 4th. Lets play Tarik Black instead!
Clippers at Warriors tonight who you got? I got Clippers getting blown out cause the Warriors got hot early and established a huge lead that the Clippers have to try to spend the rest of the game trying to come back from.
Well i basically was talking about how Russell was supposed to be the primary ball-handler and all the stuff that comes with being the 2nd pick in the draft. Though i did grandstand by saying that the Lakers are building the team mainly around him even though of course its around Randle and Clarkson as well. That was because Randle and Clarkson are already getting some production out of their still-too-limited playtime and I just wanted to mention how Russell is being used.
Byron was influential in getting Mitch that the team should pick Russell over Okafor.
Granted, I’m fine with the Russell pick but I am not happy the way Byron is utilizing him.
Not enough minutes and not enough time of him getting the ball.
But for real dude, the Lakers were mediocre in the post Shaq years and were kept afloat by Prime Kobe but I have NEVER EVER seen the Lakers getting booed at Staples Center.
And yes Russell didn’t play in the 4th which is a dumb decision but hey Tarik Black is getting minutes and that’s good.
After all, would you rather have Ryan Kelly aka the “Stretch 4” shooting 31% and awful defense?
If anything, Lou Williams should have been benched a few minutes he played too long.
Lots of people shit on that 04-05 Laker team, but in actuality they were fun to watch and had some convincing wins up until the mindfuck of Rudy T stepping down. And then, the injuries started happening.
Kobe, Lamar, and Caron Butler could of turned into a dangerous Big 3. Chris Mhim was healthy and turning out to be productive at the 5, and they were a good ballhandler away from probably contending a deep playoff run. That’s the main reason why fans were pissed off when they failed to get Baron Davis all those years ago. They also could of made some deals to improve the bench, which they never done. Back then injuries would not stop Kobe from playing, and he would still remain a consensus Top 3 player even when injured.
This Kobe is far less efficient due to age. He jacks up shots that have no hope of going in, and he’s slower on the court. I said it before that the Lakers essentially have 3 rookies starting for them right now, so one would expect defensive collapses but not at the peak of this level. The Pacers GM (or Larry Bird I don’t remember) might of been on to something when he claimed Hibbert has no value in today’s NBA. Natural centers don’t exist anymore, you need to be able to play 3 positions on the court if you are a big man and spacing is important. That’s the reason why Byron was forcibly playing Bass/Kelly together and trying to get it to work. They just don’t have that kind of talent and in realizing this, he was forced into giving Tarik Black some more playing time (something he should of already been doing).
I really hope Randle turns into a monster on the defensive end because he’s the only one that I see capable of doing so. Lots of people shitted on Amar’e for years because of his defense but he did have some impressive blocks when he was younger. Watch the tape it’s there if you can find it, and I think Randle is capable of doing the same thing in time.