I don't think anyone has stood out enough to be clear MVP of this team but that could be a good thing. You could choose one of 4 or 5 guys and make a good argument.
Dlo, then Randle. Williams' scoring is good. But is a bit over and has hurted the team offense of 2nd unit. His scoring is decreasing lately and the 2nd unit is playing better team ball now
1. Randle. Has been the rock and anchor of this team. Team goes whichever way his intensity level is geared towards for that particular game.
2. Lou. His scoring has won us games earlier this season
3. DLO (only b/c he missed games due to injury). The team just plays differently with him. Those 10+ games he was out the team's 1st unit was a mess. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 5301 Location: Redondo Beach
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:37 am Post subject:
I think Randle & Russell have been the most valuable, and I think right now Randle gets the nod for the first half of the season. When Julius is "on", he's straight up dominant and takes the team to another level with his rebounding, speed, passing, scoring, and defense. His big body can really free up teammates, especially on those kickback passes that flow straight into screens for open 3's. His defense can make our tendency to switch work - when he locks in and shuts down guards who aren't used to his speed. If Julius gets the defensive rebound there's a good chance we're going to get a good look in transition, and even in the half court he can be too quick for other bigs.
Now, we haven't always seen that Randle on the floor - he sometimes seems to move slower and go through the motions like a zombie (like Russell pointed out in an interview), but I think he's starting to consistently be more engaged.
2nd half of season, I think it will be a tie b/w Randle/DLO. The synergy between the two is amazing. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
My vote is Randle. Even though he hasn't been very consistent, he's been more consistent than the other guys.
If you were to ask me again, I might switch over to DLo. When he's on his game, the team looks formidable. If DLo can put a string of 5 or 6 games together where he is consistent, then there is no doubt he's the number one pick on our team. I think that injury that he had slowed him down. Also screwed up our record pretty bad. I'm not saying that he would have won 10 more games, but maybe around 5 games that we lost simply by not having a guy who can get through the defense and pull up midrange.
Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 40345 Location: Dirty South
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:33 am Post subject:
I think the most likely outcome, and relevant to this question as the process is taking place right now, is DLo becomes the MVP on the court, while Randle becomes the team leader, or kind of MVP in the locker room. The analysts and talking heads will recognize DLo as the MVP, but the team may see Randle as the MVP internally.
I can only assume the person that voted other was thinking Walton? or Marcelo?
I voted for Randle but I see the argument for DLO as well.
Lou would probably win it in a traditional "Who's played the best on the team" vote, but since his best performances didn't translate to wins (arguably not his fault) he drops down my list.
Big Randle fan, but DLO just makes everything work. Randle's worst games were when DLO was out.
Really like their co-emergence, with some additions by Ingram as well.
Lou kept us competitive during DLO's absence, but he's more like a kick that can bring a dish to a different place, where DLO/Randle are the flavor depth that creates the space for the kick in the first place. Lou without DLO/Randle is hot sauce that is hot for the sake of being hot.
As much as I'm about the young guys, I gave it to Lou. He's arguably having a career year, and has been a stable veteran presence you can count on most days. _________________ LeBron, AD, & _________. Stay tuned.
"...there was a time when the Israelites were wandering in the desert and all of a sudden, bread came down from heaven,” Pelinka said. “That’s kind of what today feels like for us to have KCP join.”
You can make an argument for D'Lo, Randle and Lou in different ways. D'Lo runs and organizes the team the best. We're largely a mess without him. However, the team feeds off of Randle's energy in a tangible way. And his physicality creates problems for opposition. Lou has been the most capable of carrying us offensively for the longest stretches.
Randle and D'Lo haven't been consistent and there are eventual diminishing returns when we rely on Lou to carry us for too long.
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29150 Location: La La Land
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 11:42 am Post subject:
Genuinely happy for DLO and Randle.
They've been trending upward as the season has progressed. And that's vital for our future.
But objectively Lou and Young have been better, more consistently than anybody else on our roster. Especially Lou.
In terms of win/loss record with and without DLO and Randle. Between the two of them, those guys have missed alot of games against playoff competition.
We are a better team when DLO and Randle are healthy. That's undeniable.
But that goes for pretty much everyone on our roster. With our fantastic coaching, we can outperform expectations. But the margin of error becomes close to 0 if all hands aren't on deck. _________________ "Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”
Last edited by kikanga on Tue Jan 10, 2017 11:45 am; edited 2 times in total
Joined: 10 Jul 2009 Posts: 12111 Location: Bay Area
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 11:44 am Post subject:
KBH wrote:
Cutheon wrote:
Lean towards Randle, but Russell is right there - we're just so, so much better on offense with him
Lou has been the steadying force most of us expected Luol to be.
Right, but I feel like his best play as an individual has coincided with our worst play as a team. I don't think correlation - causation here, since there were a lot of variables at play (injury being the most significant), but I've never thought his play-style was conducive to winning basketball.
Lean towards Randle, but Russell is right there - we're just so, so much better on offense with him
Lou has been the steadying force most of us expected Luol to be.
Right, but I feel like his best play as an individual has coincided with our worst play as a team. I don't think correlation - causation here, since there were a lot of variables at play (injury being the most significant), but I've never thought his play-style was conducive to winning basketball.
Oh, I agree with that. Like I said in my own comment, I think there are eventual diminishing returns when you're forced to rely to heavily on Lou. I do think the reason for a lot of the team's poor play was directly tied to D'Lo's absence (not to mention some other injuries), which is why I can't say Lou's been outright the MVP. But, for the most part, I believe Lou has been a positive element for this team in professionalism and always being ready to play. And when he's been used correctly this year, he was a big part of our bench helping to overwhelm opponents.
Lou has been the necessary training wheel that this young team needed through its ups and downs.
I think we are slowly but surely getting to a point where the coaching staff/FO need to decide when to take off the training wheels a bit and let the young guys assume their roles (namely JC taking the 2nd unit lead). _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
Nick has been a lock down defender for most of this season - easily our best defender by a wide margin - all while killing it shot selection wise and hitting 3's at a very high rate.
JR & Dlo have been wildly inconsistent offensively, very turnover prone, and don't even play half-hearted defense most of the time. Across 41 games, they've probably been about 15% as good defensively as Nick. Some games they're good, some games less than zero, most games very bad. _________________ LBJ + AD = More rings
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