2021 NBA Offseason Thread

[ACisKING]

^I think it's fairly obvious that AD at the 5 is the Lakers' ace in the hole; they seldom use it both to preserve AD and to keep a lid on its effectiveness. I think they'll use the conventional 5 approach until the latter stages of the playoffs, where they'll unleash it on some of the more formidable competition.

For all the criticism he's gotten here and elsewhere, Pelinka committed larcency by signing Howard for practically nothing. His resurgence has been one of the best stories of the league this year, and he's a major component to the Lakers' elite defense. The tandem of him and McGee have ensured that they have an elite rim protector at all times and ideal lob target for LeBron. That's a perfect formula for regular season success, as well as minimizing wear and tear on AD.

I don't like that Clippers match-up, but the Lakers are right there....1 or 2 pieces will put them over the top.

That’s fair. And you are probably right. But I’ve still been surprised by just how little they’ve used it this season. I think apart from one game at Utah, where they went to for an entire half, they only really use it in the last five minutes of a close game. And even then they are just as likely to keep Dwight in at the five in close games. Even in games against teams with elite defenses like the Bucks and Clippers where it’s painfully obvious they need AD at the five, they’ve only used those lineups in spot minutes. Like at some point don’t they need to start building some reps with what will easily be their best lineups?

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

That’s fair. And you are probably right. But I’ve still been surprised by just how little they’ve used it this season. I think apart from one game at Utah, where they went to for an entire half, they only really use it in the last five minutes of a close game. And even then they are just as likely to keep Dwight in at the five in close games. Even in games against teams with elite defenses like the Bucks and Clippers where it’s painfully obvious they need AD at the five, they’ve only used those lineups in spot minutes. Like at some point don’t they need to start building some reps with what will easily be their best lineups?

I think LeBron and AD have terrific chemistry and they know that it works; probably a smart strategy to continue with what works in the regular season and maximize that lineup's potential in the playoffs.

I wonder where they're at with Kuzma; has he proven he can be a legitimate piece for that team in AD's absence, or merely enhanced his trade value in their eyes?

 

[Lee]

I'm just fascinated by LeBron's career trajectory. He has a very realistic chance to:

- Set the all-time scoring record while placing top-3 in assists, with something like a 40/10/11k career statline.

- Be the first player to lead 3 different franchises to championships.

You add to that his 8 straight Finals, fairy tale hometown comeback which culminated in the abolition of the Cleveland curse, and being the clear-cut best player in the league for over a decade span...that's as strong and convincing an argument there is for GOAT.

I know a lot of people around here still resent the guy, but fuck it, I want to see it all unfold.

I don't resent him at all, his one huge mistake was the televising the decision, but he has apologized and we are all human. He gave Cleveland 11 years and a championship. If he would have left Cleveland earlier the first time and never came back, he might have his 6 tings by now. He has done more for his home town of Akron than probably any other athlete in the history of America. So what he went to LA because of business and family reasons, he is entitled, it is his life.

 

[Pioneer10]

in my opinion the only way they are actually going to win it all though is if AD is willing to play the five in the playoffs for way more minutes than he is right now. When he’s at the four with a traditional big, the lane is just too clogged for LeBron to drive and AD is relegated to being a spot up shooter (he can do that bur it’s not one of his strengths). Teams also just switch the pick and rolls between LBJ and AD and the presence of a conventional five in the paint limits both their abilities to punish the switch.

When AD is at the five, he is able to take full advantage of being perhaps the best roll man in the league and one of the best of all time. And he has space in the paint to punish switches. Plus because AD is such a beast on defense, they don’t sacrifice anything on that end and frankly become ever scarier with the ability to switch. But they’ve barely gone to those lineups this season - usually only at the end of close games. It remains to be seen if that’s just to preserve AD or if that’s some sort of flawed Vogel strategy since he’s basically always used two conventional bigs.

They use AD at the 5 when it suits them. I think for all the disadvantages that AD at the 4 presents when he is teamed with Dwight that is a just nightmare frontcourt on defense and on the glass. They're definitely been willing to experiment and it's one reason I doubt they change Kuzma as he his size plus corner shooting matches well with Lebron and AD. They are not going to use AD at the 5 a lot till the playoffs and it makes total sense considering their record and AD's injury history

@JMoneyYourHoney beat me to take this except the Kuzma take - it's going to be hard for them to find someone who fits as well with an AD at the 5 spot then Kuzma. He's a really good three point shooter from the corner and his size makes the closeout harder and easier to switch on defense

 

[ACisKING]

I think LeBron and AD have terrific chemistry and they know that it works; probably a smart strategy to continue with what works in the regular season and maximize that lineup's potential in the playoffs.

I wonder where they're at with Kuzma; has he proven he can be a legitimate piece for that team in AD's absence, or merely enhanced his trade value in their eyes?

It’s a really interesting question. In some ways Kuzma is the key to them playing the very AD at the five lineups we’ve been talking about. Like I don’t think that kind of lineup is as sustainable against a team with big wings (like the Clippers) if the Lakers are pairing it with three guards. Kuzma will never be a stopper but he plays hard on that end, has shown legitimate improvement, has size, and is at least passable on defense. He doesn’t need the ball to score and he’s one of the few Lakers that can attack a closeout or score off a screen. He’s also the only other guy on that team besides AD and LeBron capable of going off for 25 plus against a good defense. And part of me thinks they need that offensive punch more than they need yet another defender. Finally, while he has played well with LeBron, he’s been really poor when paired with Rondo - but that might just be more on Rondo than him.

All that being said, Kuzma is their only desirable asset. And the Lakers can’t wait for him to become a championship caliber contributor in three years; their window is right now. As long as Lakers keep trotting out lineups with McGee and Howard, Kuzma is going to struggle to get playing time. Kuzma is maddeningly inconsistent. His best skill - being a volume scorer - is not really needed on that team. They need him to score on limited touches.

The biggest weaknesses of that team are a lack of a secondary perimeter ball-handler and ability to defend big wings. If Lakers sign Collison, then maybe they can get away with just keeping Kuzma and hoping he will be better with more playing time (and less time with Rondo). Especially if they have to pair him with someone useful to get salaries to match in a trade anyway. But if they don’t get Collison, trading Kuzma might be their only means of actually shoring up their weaknesses.

 

[cavsfever]

The Lakers need to sign Collison it seems to me. They just have so few options for a trade. Once you take into account that other teams will also be bidding for good players who are available, it will be like threading the needle to actually improve off a Kuzma trade, especially if other pieces are needed for salary purposes.

 

[cavsfever]

I don't resent him at all, his one huge mistake was the televising the decision, but he has apologized and we are all human. He gave Cleveland 11 years and a championship. If he would have left Cleveland earlier the first time and never came back, he might have his 6 tings by now. He has done more for his home town of Akron than probably any other athlete in the history of America. So what he went to LA because of business and family reasons, he is entitled, it is his life.

I was disappointed he went to LA but I don't resent that decision. The front office failed to build a good team around him, the last year was a complete shitshow. He wasn't obliged to single handedly drag terrible Cleveland teams through the playoffs for the entire rest of his career because the front office couldn't do their job.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Giannis is the near-consensus MVP at this point.

They'll have the best record. Best player. Best Team. Top 3 offensive player. Top 3 Defensive player?

Of course you still take LeBron in a do-or-die situation. He has the throne until he loses it. But regular season MVP should not take that into the equation.

Giannis doensn't control the offense the way LeBron does. He plays in a system built around him, but still within the system often. LeBron is the system. He controls the pace, the ball, he is orchestrating the entire game. He's got a more reliable jumper and has hit many big shots. We all know how important those shots are when it comes to playoff crunch time. We saw Giannis' remaining weakness on display vs Kawhi. To be fair, if he had a 2nd option the level LeBron has needed to win titles (Kyrie, Wade)...maybe the entire conversation is different.

Bron never had a Budenholzer though, that's for sure.

 

[Dshuks]

So this Sekou Doombouya guy actually seems to be playing pretty well. I'd have thought it would be a season or two before he started producing at the NBA level.

 

[CBBI]

 

[Pioneer10]

Fultz has an interesting game: it's a below the rim hesitation rather than a straight blowby like Morant. They both palm the ball every possession lol but Fultz has nice size/strength to take the contact and bounce of it once he gets in the lane. Andre Millerish??

 

[CBBI]

Fultz has an interesting game: it's a below the rim hesitation rather than a straight blowby like Morant. They both palm the ball every possession lol but Fultz has nice to take contact and bounce of it once he gets in the lane. Andre Millerish??

Fultz is like a drunken kung-fu master.

His whole game is herky jerky, start and stop, lull you to sleep and then make some crazy twisting Kyrie style layup.

But he's very athletic! He's thrown down some MONSTER dunks this year, but his explosive athleticism only really shows up with a full head of steam or a clear lane.

 

[cavsfever]

Kyrie being an asshole again, anyone surprised?

His on-off rating with the Nets this year is basically flat so it's not like he's lighting up the court or dragging them to wins. Jury is still out on whether he was better for them than D'Angelo Russell. Dude has NEVER demonstrated he can be the best player on a winning team, but he wants to talk like one.

 

[Derek]

Kyrie being an asshole again, anyone surprised?

His on-off rating with the Nets this year is basically flat so it's not like he's lighting up the court or dragging them to wins. Jury is still out on whether he was better for them than D'Angelo Russell. Dude has NEVER demonstrated he can be the best player on a winning team, but he wants to talk like one.

The jury is out because it's a small sample size, but the early returns certainly do not favor Kyrie.

 

[Rich]

Fultz has an interesting game: it's a below the rim hesitation rather than a straight blowby like Morant. They both palm the ball every possession lol but Fultz has nice size/strength to take the contact and bounce of it once he gets in the lane. Andre Millerish??

The game would take so much more skill if the NBA enforced palming and travel violations. Numbers would plummet.