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To be clear, I don't mean to dump on Lonzo here. He seems okay to me. It's simply that I don't get people who say things like "Lonzo is a good player, Fultz is not" or "Lonzo is a HOFer in the making" or "Lonzo is the future of the NBA." I can't really think of any player in recent memory other than Lebron that was crowned as a basketball god without having accomplished anything in the NBA. And at least Lebron was good from his very first NBA game. Lonzo has been putrid.
If Lonzo becomes a good player, then I will acknowledge that. But I don't see any reason to treat him any different than any other high 1st Round pick who's yet to prove himself. All lottery picks have the potential to be great. How does potential make him special? You're either good or you're not and right now he's not.
Lonzo got the magical glasses treatment from Laker fans that well....have been predicting immediate returns to the finals and greatness every year for a while now.
I'm however staying out of it. Maybe he can learn from Lebron.
I like Lebron, I like Magic....I don't give a crap about Lonzo.
Lonzo got the magical glasses treatment from Laker fans that well....have been predicting immediate returns to the finals and greatness every year for a while now.
I'm however staying out of it. Maybe he can learn from Lebron.
I like Lebron, I like Magic....I don't give a crap about Lonzo.
I looked up Lonzo's stats just now. .380 FGs, .343 3pts, and .62 FTs
.343 is an improvement in 3pt shooting, and getting pretty close to acceptable in my book. .380 overall is horrible, and so is .62 FT shooting. I still give him time to develop; some guys take 2-3 years. But he's 21 and still can't shoot free throws--that is worrisome to me if I'm a laker fan. Especially given that he's a point guard. 62% is at least an improvement over last year's .451 free throw shooting (!). At least he's going in the right direction.
Overall he's looking more and more like a draft bust to me.
Ok, Lakers are on pace for about 15-26 for the first half of the year.
That means to make the playoffs based upon last years 47 win mark, they'll need to go 32-9 the second half of the season.
Just being a responsible friend and calling you an Uber before you try to drive home after drinking the playoff koolaid.
That initial poll is starting to look like Napolean Dynamites Uncle Rico's estimation of how far he can throw a football.
Three weeks later and the Lakers are on pace for almost the exact opposite record at the halfway mark 25-16. On pace for 50 wins.
I thought the Lakers were playing better than their early record indicated. Their was a game early on they should have had against the Spurs. I don't expect them to keep up this 8-2 over the last 10 pace but I can easily see them playing .500 or .510 ball from here on out which should be enough to get them in the playoffs. Standings look bizarre right now for both conferences. Could we finally have parity in both conferences? I think that would be a good thing if so. Could lead to actual meaningful first round playoff series.
Admittedly, the Lakers have had an easier schedule than some of the good but struggling teams (like the Jazz, Rockets, Warriors). We haven't played many of the top teams just yet (especially in the East), so it's hard to judge this team just yet. But regardless, their record puts them in the middle of the pack, and that's all you can really hope for through the 1st quarter of the season.
There's a lot of parity going on in both conferences, so we'll see how that lasts.
I looked up Lonzo's stats just now. .380 FGs, .343 3pts, and .62 FTs
.343 is an improvement in 3pt shooting, and getting pretty close to acceptable in my book. .380 overall is horrible, and so is .62 FT shooting. I still give him time to develop; some guys take 2-3 years. But he's 21 and still can't shoot free throws--that is worrisome to me if I'm a laker fan. Especially given that he's a point guard. 62% is at least an improvement over last year's .451 free throw shooting (!). At least he's going in the right direction.
Overall he's looking more and more like a draft bust to me.
The percentages are bad, but it's more than that. When was the last time we've seen Lonzo absolutely go beast mode in a game? We expect rookies to be inconsistent and have bad games, but we also expect them to have good games, and the fact is that good games are a rarity for Lonzo. A "big" game by his standards is 15 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds. That would be a statline worth gushing over if we were talking about a 2nd round pick, but this guy was the 2nd overall pick. He'll then follow up a 15 point performance with 0 points, 4 points, 9 points, 6 points, etc.
Lakers today (11-27) on pace to win 47 games, and that is with subpar performance from the young supporting cast. Kuzma is shooting .305 in threes, after shooting .366 last year. Also virtually no contribution from Beasley, who put up decent numbers last year, and I thought might help the Lakers this year.
They're doing better than I would have guessed, and at this rate could make the playoffs. They should expect to improve as the season goes on.
When they are on, they are firing on all cylinders, but when they are off like yesterday, they are just terrible.
No sense of rhythm, nothing, just all over the place.
At this point, no Laker besides James is off the trading block.
I think highly of Ball, and he has all the talent in the world, but I think for some reason he just cannot seem to get over the hump psychologically. Some of it is Lebron, who seems to get the ball most of the time, but at other Ball keeps going back to his old ways of simply driving the ball up the court and passing off. He needs to be the playmaker, period.
When they are on, they are firing on all cylinders, but when they are off like yesterday, they are just terrible.
No sense of rhythm, nothing, just all over the place.
At this point, no Laker besides James is off the trading block.
I think highly of Ball, and he has all the talent in the world, but I think for some reason he just cannot seem to get over the hump psychologically. Some of it is Lebron, who seems to get the ball most of the time, but at other Ball keeps going back to his old ways of simply driving the ball up the court and passing off. He needs to be the playmaker, period.
It has always been the case that every Laker but James is available. Ball really reminds me of young Jason Kidd, but with better size. He needs to be around the right kind of roster to maximize his talent, and the Lakers don't shoot well enough or defend well enough right now.
Admittedly, the Lakers have had an easier schedule than some of the good but struggling teams (like the Jazz, Rockets, Warriors). We haven't played many of the top teams just yet (especially in the East), so it's hard to judge this team just yet. But regardless, their record puts them in the middle of the pack, and that's all you can really hope for through the 1st quarter of the season.
There's a lot of parity going on in both conferences, so we'll see how that lasts.
Agreed. They had a soft stretch and took advantage, now dropped 2.
But you nailed the key point which is that they're in the pack which is good.
I'll be happy for them if they make the playoffs, with changes in the off-season it looks like it won't take the 47 games like last year but perhaps 43?
Rumors had Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the trading block for Trevor Ariza.
With the way LBJ has been playing, I believe Lakers brass are realizing they have to move sooner than later. As incredible as LBJ continues to be, he's not getting any younger and his window of opportunity to continue and get another ring is closing. The time is now.
Kuzma is a bonafide superstar.
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