Good for Atlanta, they seem to be a year or two ahead of the Cavs rebuild. Hopefully, we will know enough about our young players next year to be adding vets to fill out our roster for a playoff push.HOT TAKE ALERT!
Good for Atlanta, they seem to be a year or two ahead of the Cavs rebuild. Hopefully, we will know enough about our young players next year to be adding vets to fill out our roster for a playoff push.
Their roster is kind of weird, too. I’m guessing they’ll play Gordon at PF? Rozier, Ball. Bridges, Hayward, Zeller is a bit of an odd team. I don’t know if that’s really a playoff team with how the east has improved over the last several years.
Lakers replace Rondo, Bradley, Green, Howard, and McGee with Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Scroeder, Wes Matthews, and Marc Gasol. On paper it's a step up if you go by regular season stats. But they don't really get younger, and guys like Gasol and Matthews could be due for a falloff. Also, based on playoff performances in the bubble it's hard to say definitively that playoff Harrell and Schroeder will be better than playoff Rondo and Howard.
Harrell is not really a classic center, given Gasol's age they might now be a bit thin at that position.
Overall they improved but not sure it's by as much as people think. Possibly Schroeder and Harrell will really tear it up playing next to Lebron though -- those are the pickups where they added youth and skill simultaneously.
I think that they got significantly better. They kept 6 of their top 8 guys in playoff mpg, and then added Harrell, Schroder, Matthews, and Gasol. When you play a LeBron team, you have to hope you can beat them when LeBron goes to the bench. Bench scoring was a weakness for the Lakers last year. Now, they've added the #1 and #2 bench scorers in the NBA to their lineup. It's a shortened and more compact season, and the Lakers got less rest than the rest of the league (besides Miami). What they needed were guys who could help carry the load in the regular season so LeBron and AD can show up healthy to the playoffs. Harrell and Schroder can help do that.Lakers replace Rondo, Bradley, Green, Howard, and McGee with Montrezl Harrell, Dennis Scroeder, Wes Matthews, and Marc Gasol. On paper it's a step up if you go by regular season stats. But they don't really get younger, and guys like Gasol and Matthews could be due for a falloff. Also, based on playoff performances in the bubble it's hard to say definitively that playoff Harrell and Schroeder will be better than playoff Rondo and Howard.
Harrell is not really a classic center, given Gasol's age they might now be a bit thin at that position.
Overall they improved but not sure it's by as much as people think. Possibly Schroeder and Harrell will really tear it up playing next to Lebron though -- those are the pickups where they added youth and skill simultaneously.
Some people think their defense got significant;y worse with Harrell. I'd be scared to play him in the playoffs. I guess he doesn't have to play in the 4th
TLDR;I think that they got significantly better. They kept 6 of their top 8 guys in playoff mpg, and then added Harrell, Schroder, Matthews, and Gasol. When you play a LeBron team, you have to hope you can beat them when LeBron goes to the bench. Bench scoring was a weakness for the Lakers last year. Now, they've added the #1 and #2 bench scorers in the NBA to their lineup. It's a shortened and more compact season, and the Lakers got less rest than the rest of the league (besides Miami). What they needed were guys who could help carry the load in the regular season so LeBron and AD can show up healthy to the playoffs. Harrell and Schroder can help do that.
Bradley didn't even show up to the bubble. They were 33-8 last year without him playing, including 16-5 in the playoffs, so we already know what they look like without him. As for the other four guys, Javale barely played come playoff time. He only played in 14 of the 21 games and averaged 9.6 mpg in the games he did play. Dwight came up big against Jokic, but he barely played against Houston or Miami. Gasol can take his place in handling Jokic. I think that Matthews can replicate most of what Green gave the Lakers. Green was really solid on defense, but come playoff time, he was a certified bricklayer. And Rondo? Well, I couldn't be happier than I am that he's gone, lol. He played like one of the worst guards in the entire NBA during the regular season, and his playoff performance was bolstered by a hot shooting stroke that I wouldn't count on again. I agree about center though. I'd like for them to sign a guy who can just eat up some of those minutes during the regular season so Gasol can get to the playoffs healthy. I think resigning Markieff Morris was huge for them. He was great for the Lakers in their 'small ball' lineups during the playoffs.
The best chance for the rest of the NBA is either (1) a sizeable regression from LeBron or (2) and injury to one of Bron/AD. If LeBron's still LeBron and AD shows up to the playoffs healthy, there's only so much you can do.
EXACTLY! It seems the league just has things place to continue to assist the big market teams stay relevant while doing nothing to support small market teams!holy shit, they will be able to trade a role player and a draft pick for an all-NBA player if one wants out of a situation.