OFFICIAL Season in Review
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How do you rate the season?
Extremely pleased (A)
11%
 11%  [ 13 ]
Pleased (B)
65%
 65%  [ 77 ]
Not happy, but not displeased (C)
21%
 21%  [ 25 ]
Displeased (D)
1%
 1%  [ 2 ]
Bring back Jim Buss; this team was a failure (F)
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Total Votes : 117

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Chronicle
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 7:40 am    Post subject:

Between C and D for me.

As all of you have seen, we could have easily won 40+ games. We could have easily been an above .500 team and maybe even have made the playoffs.

We have the talent. Which means we underachieved.

Of course we did a lot better than last year but that doesn't mean we didn't underachieve.

What happened was poor rotations, injuries, and pisspoor out of bounds execution. Two of those are on Luke. Rotations in particular is something he has been poor at ever since Golden State! While Luke is getting better across the board, I see no improvement when it comes to rotations. If it's going to take half a season to find a rotation that works every year, then that's a sign of bad coaching.

Failing to start Randle, and needing an actual team meeting to even consider doing it is the biggest blemish on what is otherwise a nice improvement in coaching over last season. But just because it's basically one of only two blemishes, that doesn't mean it's not a considerable one. He needs to seriously improve in this regard. The same with out of bounds plays. If you go over the close games we've had, we've lost at least 10 games to poor out of bound plays (or lack of out of bound plays... he's had games where he wouldn't call a time out with less than 10 seconds to go despite the ball being on the other side of the court..!). Obviously we won't win all of those because players miss shots, but we should have won more.

Luke walton needs to get serious help with these two things if we want to become a better team. I can easily see this being the difference between our 35 win record and a 40 win record with just the talent we have right now.

The next part is the injuries. Is that on the medical staff, or the players? With the considerable redo of most of the staff, who knows. But this is definitely something to consider going forward. If our starting point guard is going to miss half the games of the season, we essentially need two starting guards.


I'm also still iffy on the clarkson/nance trade. It really depends on what happens in the offseason. I think it is unlikely that we bring back 2 of the thee new FA's we got: Lopez, KCP and Thomas. It's not all that far of a stretch that we don't bring back a single one. But this is something for the offseason, not something to grade this season by, so I won't get into that. But I do wonder if we would have won more games with clarkson/nance.

There's also releasing Brewer right as Ingram got hurt. It took too long to find a replacement (did we even find one?), and that cost us more games as well. And Brewer ended up killing it on the thunder. In fact I wouldn't even argue against you if you say Brewer was the difference between the thunder making or missing the playoffs. Which would mean indirectly that we got the thunder into the playoffs...



Ball has shown a lot of promise but overall has been a dissapointment, mostly because of the injuries. On the other hand, Hart and Kuzma were about as great as anyone could have hoped for. We had a very good draft. This is also why I hope we keep that cleveland pick. Draft scouting has to be one of our biggest strengths right now, why waste that?

I attribute our improved defense to all of the players and the coaching, but in particular replacing russell with Ball is what I think made the most difference. Ball has been an extremely pleasant surprise on the defensive end, and is already one of the best defenders at his position in the league. But again, if he misses half the games of the season, then what's the point.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 7:44 am    Post subject:

Philly playing like a dominant team might drive LeBron out of the east... It could also drive LeBron onto their team... but if he analyzes that it is no longer the cakewalk it once was... he might think it's time to get out of there before he starts losing to Boston, Toronto, or Philly.

Philly with a renewed Fultz and the 10th pick.

Celtics with a healthy Kyrie and Hayward.

Scary stuff.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 7:47 am    Post subject:

LA's pitch the past few seasons was location, location, heritage, location.

Now we have an actual team to show prospective FAs. They're not in a place where they are all star level talent right now, but if you're a max FA, having a core of Lonzo/BI/Kuz/Jules/Hart surrounding you must be appealing.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:40 am    Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:
But they have set the table to either:

1. have a spectacular (reminiscent of 1996) summer with LBJ/PG13, possibly keep Jules/Brook.

2. sign PG13, keep Jules, live to fight another day in 2019 with 1 more max.

3. make smart signings using the constrained cap market in their favor, and punt 1 max to 2019.


4. Totally whiff on everything, have Randle get poached while they wait around for Lebron to reject them, and wind up making panic moves just like their predecessors.

I'm not really that negative about the situation, but I've been saying for almost a year that none of these moves make any real sense unless we can land a couple major free agents this summer. If Magic pulls it off, I will tip my cap to him. However, I am not going to hand out kudos based on potential. If the true worst case scenario occurs (#4 above), then Magic may have set the franchise back by 3-5 years.

In my opinion, the minimum passing grade is landing Paul George and making the correct decision about Randle (in other words, correctly assessing whether he was a contract-year wonder and avoiding giving him a big contract if he was). This would not be a good result, given how many assets we would have squandered. We would have a shot at making the playoffs next year, however, and there would still be a possibility that Magic could bail himself out by picking up Leonard.

In my opinion, the minimum good grade is landing one of the game changing players, namely Lebron or Durant (and yes, I think there is a real possibility that Durant will be in play, given the luxury tax apocalypse that the Warriors are facing).

But anyone, this is getting off your topic, so I'll leave it at that.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 9:17 am    Post subject:

I'm not happy since we're here again not competing for a title and that Deng is still around.

I'm pleased at so many things this season:
-Kuzma, Ball, Hart, Ingram, B. and Randle's development
-Freeing up cap space for Paul George
-Winning the DLO trade, any way you cut it
-Defensive improvement across the board, which is why I think getting Paul George puts us in the Finals against our bitter rivals the Celtics next season. Elite defense with high octane offense wins chips.
-Actually knowing how to run breaks
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 9:18 am    Post subject:

diando wrote:
I'm not happy since we're here again not competing for a title and that Deng is still around.

I'm pleased at so many things this season:
-Kuzma, Ball, Hart, Ingram, B. and Randle's development
-Freeing up cap space for Paul George
-Winning the DLO trade, any way you cut it
-Defensive improvement across the board, which is why I think getting Paul George puts us in the Finals against our bitter rivals the Celtics next season. Elite defense with high octane offense wins chips.
-Actually knowing how to run breaks


My friend you are more obsessed with DLO than I am, and I'm a fan of his.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 9:20 am    Post subject:

I feel that the Lakers met pre-season expectations this season in terms of record, so I am somewhat pleased about that. I am displeased about most other things. Their overall status with regards to what brought them to 35 wins is certainly not pleasant. Finishing 3-7 over the last ten is not good. Seeing Lonzo alternately prone to injury and productive at times is a mixed bag. The guys finished with a record more like the Charlotte Hornets than like any other club, so I ask myself: who could be pleased about that overall, really ?
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 9:27 am    Post subject:

Good that they increased the win total. Bad that players they depend on for the future couldn’t stay on the floor. If I were a FA I would look forward to playing with Randle, he has proven to be a solid NBA starter. Ingram has 2-4 good months out of a 2 year career, the jury is still out on him. Ball looked good when he played but that wasn’t often. Kuzma and Hart came in as 4 year college players and 30 years ago that would have been great, but with one and done they are much closer to their peaks than other rookies. Both can be extremely productive bench players on a contending team. The future looks bright, both the Mitch/Jim and Magic/Pelinka FOs did a good job adding talent to the roster. I still say that in 2020 we will be a team to deal with.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:07 pm    Post subject:

B-.

Lots of encouraging signs all over the franchise. We could've won 40+ if healthy.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:14 pm    Post subject:

Yeah. But injuries are a part of the equation. I'm pleased they won 35 games though. Exceed my expectations and it's a good improvement.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:21 pm    Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:
Yeah. But injuries are a part of the equation. I'm pleased they won 35 games though. Exceed my expectations and it's a good improvement.


No doubt. The encouraging thing was they won the games with youth leading the way (Lonzo, Kuz, Ingram, Randle). Even Hart too.

This wasn’t Lou Will and Nick Young types leading the way and then getting injured.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:38 pm    Post subject:

I gave it a solid B. They were 31-36 on March 13, and they had a top 10 offense and a top 15 defense during their run. They lost 4 rotational players after that and faded.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:31 pm    Post subject:

B.

We won 9 more games this season. So, obviously, as others have mentioned I am pleased in that regard.

Brandon Ingram appears to be more confident on the court.

Julius Randle is establishing himself as the bully we all expected him to be.

Lonzo Ball is my only concern. His offense is simply far too ineffective, for his average defense/passing ability. When was the last time a PG shot 45% at the FT? That is unacceptable. He just looks like a poor man's Rondo right now. He is a huge liability to the team, at least for now.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:40 pm    Post subject:

B-

Overall the season went as expected. But I was really hoping we'd finish in the teens in defensive efficiency, and I didn't think we'd actually do that. We finished 12th in that category, so we overachieved a bit. I was hoping Randle would average about 15 pts/game. He put up 16 on over 55% shooting, including 19, 9 and 3 as a starter in 49 games. I've always been high on Randle's potential, and I think it's fair to say this season he started to really tap into it. Kuzma and Hart also exceeded my realistic expectations.

Seems like the culture and overall structure of a future great team is there. I don't see how Lebron would want to come to such a young team, but if we sign PG13 and IT I would consider that a good offseason. Bonus points if we also sign a young defensive minded center in the mold of Deandre Jordan, Clint Capela or Tyson Chandler.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:03 pm    Post subject:

We improved so I'm not mad but its still another year not in the playoffs so I voted C.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:05 pm    Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:
diando wrote:
I'm not happy since we're here again not competing for a title and that Deng is still around.

I'm pleased at so many things this season:
-Kuzma, Ball, Hart, Ingram, B. and Randle's development
-Freeing up cap space for Paul George
-Winning the DLO trade, any way you cut it
-Defensive improvement across the board, which is why I think getting Paul George puts us in the Finals against our bitter rivals the Celtics next season. Elite defense with high octane offense wins chips.
-Actually knowing how to run breaks


My friend you are more obsessed with DLO than I am, and I'm a fan of his.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:05 pm    Post subject:

B for sure.

FO gets an A
We drafted well and I think we won the DLO trade. The Nance/JC trade success depends on what we do with the space and the #1 pick. The KCP signing was a good one. But I have confidence in them and I think that Pelinka specifically is very adept.

Coaching is a C
Eh, Walton has the guys playing hard....not a big fan of his rotations, his play calling and his inability to get guys to hit FT’s. I think he is a good coach for a young team, because he’s talking to them and motivating him, but his x’s and o’s are just ok, I think a lot of that is on his staff though..who I don’t think is very good in general.

Players get a B
Lonzo had about the overall impact I had thought, injury concerns though. BI and Randle did progress, JC and Nance did not and got traded, Zubac looks like he’s getting worse. Kuzma and Hart were impressive by any standard for rookies, considering their draft position they were very impressive. I thought our guys played hard for the most part. I think Randle took too many games “off”, Lopez had way too many bad games as did Lonzo and KCP and IT are just dumb players. So overall progression by some of our younger guys and cause for optimism.

Anybody who had the lakers making the playoffs this year were dillusional, but we exceeded expectations in general and I like the moves we made, good year.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:09 pm    Post subject:

VicXLakers wrote:
yinoma2001 wrote:
diando wrote:
I'm not happy since we're here again not competing for a title and that Deng is still around.

I'm pleased at so many things this season:
-Kuzma, Ball, Hart, Ingram, B. and Randle's development
-Freeing up cap space for Paul George
-Winning the DLO trade, any way you cut it
-Defensive improvement across the board, which is why I think getting Paul George puts us in the Finals against our bitter rivals the Celtics next season. Elite defense with high octane offense wins chips.
-Actually knowing how to run breaks


My friend you are more obsessed with DLO than I am, and I'm a fan of his.



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:10 pm    Post subject:

VicXLakers wrote:
yinoma2001 wrote:
diando wrote:
I'm not happy since we're here again not competing for a title and that Deng is still around.

I'm pleased at so many things this season:
-Kuzma, Ball, Hart, Ingram, B. and Randle's development
-Freeing up cap space for Paul George
-Winning the DLO trade, any way you cut it
-Defensive improvement across the board, which is why I think getting Paul George puts us in the Finals against our bitter rivals the Celtics next season. Elite defense with high octane offense wins chips.
-Actually knowing how to run breaks


My friend you are more obsessed with DLO than I am, and I'm a fan of his.


No offense yinoma but you talk about dlo more than almost anyone on here, you're talking about him right now
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:24 pm    Post subject:

Lucky_Shot wrote:
VicXLakers wrote:
yinoma2001 wrote:
diando wrote:
I'm not happy since we're here again not competing for a title and that Deng is still around.

I'm pleased at so many things this season:
-Kuzma, Ball, Hart, Ingram, B. and Randle's development
-Freeing up cap space for Paul George
-Winning the DLO trade, any way you cut it
-Defensive improvement across the board, which is why I think getting Paul George puts us in the Finals against our bitter rivals the Celtics next season. Elite defense with high octane offense wins chips.
-Actually knowing how to run breaks


My friend you are more obsessed with DLO than I am, and I'm a fan of his.


No offense yinoma but you talk about dlo more than almost anyone on here, you're talking about him right now


Thanks.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:27 pm    Post subject:

To be fair there are a number of folks that simply measure success not against the rest of the nba but Dlo for some reason. Trust me I’ve moved in but others haven’t it seemed. That’s obsession IMO.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 4:36 pm    Post subject:

yinoma2001 wrote:
To be fair there are a number of folks that simply measure success not against the rest of the nba but Dlo for some reason. Trust me I’ve moved in but others haven’t it seemed. That’s obsession IMO.


ok...I get it now
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:33 am    Post subject:

VicXLakers wrote:
yinoma2001 wrote:
To be fair there are a number of folks that simply measure success not against the rest of the nba but Dlo for some reason. Trust me I’ve moved in but others haven’t it seemed. That’s obsession IMO.


ok...I get it now


It's like this.

Say you get married to a wonderful spouse.

And a way to measure your happiness as a couple is to constantly point out how your previous fiancée was terrible and dwell on that. That's obsession.

Why can't we start, as a Lakers fanbase, to enjoy Kuz and Hart without constantly and instinctually having to go back to our ex-GF DLO? Let him go.

I didn't put a thread asking for a poll on DLO; I just respond to those who seem to be obsessed with him more than I am (and I'm a fan of DLO still).

We have moved on, and I think both teams benefitted from the trade, and DLO probably had no chance here in LA. So best of luck to you, and good bye.
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:48 am    Post subject:

A for me, I actually enjoyed watching the team this year which is something I haven't been able to say ever since Kobe tore his achilles (barring some feint memories of the Kobe farewell tour. )

We had probably the youngest team in the league but we played with pride and we played with professionalism, no opposition got anything easy. Magic Pelinka wanted to change our culture and it has been an unmitigated success, this team compared to last year's team is night and day.

I predicted 40 wins for us before the season, and barring some terrible luck with injuries we would have gotten there with a team of kids and journeymen. Credit to the front office, Luke and the players, can't wait for next season.
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:56 am    Post subject:

During that January-February stretch, finally felt, for the first time in a while, that we could stand toe to toe against 85% of the teams in the NBA. They were scrappy and played hard; other teams (and hopefully LBJ/PG13) noticed.
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