Showtime - Los Angeles Lakers MyLeague - NBA 2K19

[ATLBrayden]

TRADE ALERT

The 76ers have called up the Los Angeles front office and asked for bench center Joakim Noah. Noah has been a great surprise off the bench for the Lakers, averaging about 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game in limited minutes. Noah has also been a defensive anchor for the bench unit.

The 76ers have offered the great behemoth Boban Marjanovic in exchange for Noah and a second round pick (NYK). The Lakers have agreed to this trade. The front office believes Marjanovic can provide more of what the team needs. While Noah's defense and IQ off the bench was invaluable, Boban has great size, excels at rebounding, and still provides serviceable D. The FO also believes the NYK second rounder won't be a huge loss as the Knicks are on the cusp of the playoffs thanks to Kyrie Irving.

Marjanovic is also three years younger than Noah and has less pro basketball mileage on him, so the Lakers believe they can possibly re-sign him in the offseason as he will still have tread on the tires.
Team chemistry will take a bit of a hit but coaches believe there is plenty of season left to get Marjanovic acclimated to the LA playstyle.

"We're happy to have him here. It's great to bring in big names all the time but a lot of people don't realize it's the depth of the team that wins games. Every player matters no matter the minutes, a strong bench is vital. Boban will be a great addition to our organization. We wish Joakim all the best in Philadelphia." - Ryan West, Assistant GM

[ATLBrayden]

GAME UPDATE

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER DEFEAT LOS ANGELES LAKERS 135-129

Spoiler

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS DEFEAT LOS ANGELES LAKERS 132-131

I normally don't do write-ups for simulated games like these, but I cannot help but comment on what Dame did to this franchise. This maniac of a point guard dropped 60 points on 50% shooting. He shot 13-25 from three. This is probably the best game I've seen all season. There are only three 30+ PPG scorers in the league right now. Harden at 30.9PPG, Lillard at 34.1PPG, and Curry at 35PPG. Absolutely insane stuff from Dame.

Spoiler

Not a huge fan of these random 140+ point games that keep appearing but they are so rare that it hasn't become a problem. My stats in actual games played have been fine so I'm not worried about it at the moment.

[ATLBrayden]

LAKERS RE-MATCH GOLDEN STATE

The Warriors travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers in this premier NBA match-up. Last time these two teams met it was a resounding 153-105 victory behind Stephen Curry's 37 points. The Lakers have made minimal changes since then but are still looking to change the result.

Before the game, the Lakers had overtaken the Warriors for the first seed in the western conference, they're looking to extend the lead they have on Golden State with a victory. A victory here is important because two days later they face the eastern conference winning Toronto Raptors. The Lakers had a very close game with Toronto last time they met, winning 100-93.

In this game Curry started off ice cold, the polar opposite of his performance in the first meeting. This allowed the Lakers to take a 24-17 lead after the first quarter. Curry slowly began to heat up entering the half, he led the Warriors on a run to make the game 45-44 going into the third quarter. In the second half the Lakers came out very strong, outscoring the Warriors 32-25 to extend their lead to 77-69.

Los Angeles managed to clutch up in the fourth outscoring the Warriors by 3 points to claim a 106-95 victory. Cousins was putting work in all night, he only took four shots but had 12 attempts from the stripe, converting 8 of them.

The Warriors are sure to still be a threat in later match-ups, especially when Klay Thompson returns from his torn ACL.

BOX SCORE

Spoiler

HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

[ATLBrayden]

LEBRON AND AD EXCHANGE NUMBERS

After a long dinner and discussion, superstar teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis have agreed to exchange jersey numbers. Anthony didn't feel right wearing #6, and LeBron who has donned the jersey already agreed to give up his legendary #23 as a gesture of good will. LeBron has said that he just wanted to be a good teammate, but this could also been act to help convince AD to stay in town as he has still not signed an extension yet.

Last time we saw LeBron in #6 he was wearing all black. Could this be a sign that super-villain LeBron is returning? With half the season to go and the Lakers only a few games ahead of the 2nd seed, he could be flipping the switch early.

[ATLBrayden]

KING VS KLAW: PART II

LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard take the court against each other once again. With Kevin Durant down these are easily the two best small forwards in the NBA. This will be LeBron's first game wearing #6 as a Laker.

Last time these two met LeBron struggled due to the fierce defense of Kawhi Leonard. He put up only 15 points on 5-14 shooting in 40 minutes. He still managed to dish out 7 assists but the scoring was just not there for King James. The Lakers managed to squeeze out a 100-93 victory over Toronto due to Anthony Davis' 40pts and 19reb. Kawhi put up 21/6/6/3 in the team's losing effort.

This time the King would not be taken lightly. Although the team started off ice cold (1/6 on their first seven shots), the Lakers managed to keep the game within punching distance by halftime. The Raptors lead 51-49 at the break.

In what seems to be a Golden State-esque pattern now, the Lakers turned it up for the second half once again. They outscored the Raptors 33-26 in the third quarter to take an 82-77 lead. This third quarter surge was lead by LeBron James' 17 points on 8-11 shooting in the period. The fourth is where the Lakers really locked in. They outscored Toronto 29-19 in the final period to take home a 111-96 win. AD and LeBron both had monster nights scoring 30+ points each. Kawhi was the leading scorer for Toronto once again with 21 points.

BOX SCORE

Spoiler

HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

[ATLBrayden]

AROUND THE LEAGUE: MID-SEASON UPDATE

We're just past the halfway point in the season, so below will be a look around the state of the league just a few weeks before All-Star Weekend begins.

AWARD RACE

Stephen Curry is the current leading MVP candidate in the NBA. His play has been stellar and consistent throughout the season. He is first in PPG, second in PER, second in Efficiency, first in Game Score, first in True Shooting % (70%!), first in Estimated Wins Added, first in Points Per Shot and tied for fifth in Steals Per Game. Curry is willing the Warriors to a playoff spot as they sit at the third seed in the West with no Klay Thompson. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are also in the MVP race, but the amount they play off of each other will probably result in neither of them seeing the award. We also cannot forget Damian Lillard who dropped a 60 point bomb on the Lakers earlier in the season. He's led Portland to the fifth seed in the West as of now.




Anthony Davis has been a integral part of the Lakers' success. Not only has he been an offensive juggernaut, he's be an elite defensive anchor for the team. Opponents shoot 47% when guarded by Davis, he is currently 2nd in blocks per game while also providing 1.4 steals per game (same as Kawhi Leonard). Anthony Davis has the highest plus/minus in the league at 9. He is third in PER, first in Efficiency fourth in Game Score, and fifth in True Shooting %.




Rookie Ja Morant has been seriously impressive off the bench. In just 24.6MPG Morant has been providing an impressive 17PPG and 4.6APG. This is a player to watch for the future.




To the surprise of none, Zion Williamson has been the best rookie thus far. He is averaging 20/10 alongside 4.5APG, 1.9SPG, and 2.3BPG. This is a stat line many players never see in their entire careers. Zion is a future All-NBA player.




As of now, Marvin Bagley III has been the NBA's most improved player. He's seen a +1.3PPG increase (14.9->16.2), +1.2RPG increase (7.6->8.8), +0.6SPG increase (0.5->1.1), and a +1BPG increase (1->2).

ALL-STAR VOTING

The top all-stars should be no surprise. As always LeBron leads the vote, followed by Steph, AD, Harden, and Giannis. The Lakers are the only team to have three players in the All-Star top vote getters.

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE

The West is a bloodbath as always. The gap between #2 and #3 is the same as the gap between #3 and #8. The Lakers claim the top seed in the West for now, but they've been shaking with their pace as of late. They need to tighten things up if they don't want to give up #1.

EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE

This year it's the Raptors on top of the East for the regular season so far. The Bucks seem to be a distant second but as a team that's proven they can do it big in the regular season before, you can never count them out. The East is wide open right now as the eighth seed has a losing record.

LEAGUE LEADERS

NBA League Leaders - Updated: Jan 30, 2020
Points Per Game		PPG	Rebounds Per Game		RPG
	1. Stephen Curry, PG	34.9		1. Andre Drummond, C	13.1
	2. Damian Lillard, PG	34.5		2. Clint Capela, C	12.7
	3. James Harden, SG	30.8		3. Karl Anthony-Towns, C	12.7
	4. Kawhi Leonard, SF	27.3		4. Hassan Whiteside, C	12.6
	5. Kyrie Irving, PG	27.0		5. Nikola Jokic, C	12.3
Assists Per Game		APG	Steals Per Game		SPG
	1. Luka Doncic, SF	9.6		1. Paul George, SF	2.0
	2. Kyle Lowry, PG	9.5		2. Zion Williamson, PF	1.9
	3. LeBron James, SF	8.9		3. James Harden, SG	1.9
	4. Coby White, PG	8.7		4. Delon Wright, PG	1.9
	5. James Harden, SG	8.4		5. Marcus Smart, SG	1.8
Blocks Per Game		BPG	Turnovers Per Game		TOPG
	1. Zion Williamson, PF	2.3		1. Ben Simmons, PG	3.2
	2. Anthony Davis, PF	2.2		2. Mike Conley, PG	3.2
	3. Andre Drummond, C	2.2		3. James Harden, SG	3.1
	4. DeMarcus Cousins, C	2.2		4. Stephen Curry, PG	3.0
	5. Joel Embiid, C	2.1		5. Kemba Walker, PG	3.0
Field Goal Percentage		FG%	Three Point Percentage		3P%
	1. Rudy Gobert, C	67%		1. Stephen Curry, PG	47.9%
	2. Jakob Poeltl, C	64.9%		2. Malcolm Brogdon, SG	47.9%
	3. Bam Adebayo, C	63%		3. Kyrie Irving, PG	46.8%
	4. Steven Adams, C	62.6%		4. Buddy Hield, SG	45.6%
	5. Clint Capela, C	62%		5. Damian Lillard, PG	45.5%

INJURY REPORT

LEAGUE INJURY REPORT - PAGE ONE
Pos	Player	Injury Note
SF	Michael Porter Jr. (DEN)	Spinal & Drop Foot - OUT INDEFINITELY
PG	Markelle Fultz (ORL)	Torn Left ACL - OUT FOR SEASON
SG	Cam Reddish (CHA)	Torn Right Achilles - OUT FOR SEASON
SF	Kevin Durant (NYK)	Ruptured Right Achilles - OUT FOR SEASON
SG	Eric Gordon (HOU)	Dislocated Right Patella - OUT 1 TO 2 MONTHS
SG	Buddy Hield (SAC)	Broken Right Ankle - OUT 4 TO 6 WEEKS
C	Rudy Gobert (UTA)	Broken Right Arm - OUT 2 TO 4 WEEKS
PG	Collin Sexton (CLE)	Broken Left Ankle - OUT 1 TO 2 WEEKS
C	Al Jefferson (MIL)	Lower Left Leg Stress Fracture - OUT 2 TO 4 MONTHS
SG	Klay Thompson (GSW)	Torn Left ACL - OUT 2 TO 4 WEEKS

LEAGUE INJURY REPORT - PAGE TWO
Pos	Player	Injury Note
SF	T.J. Warren (PHX)	Dislocated Left Patella - OUT 6 TO 8 WEEKS
C	Willie Reed (LAC)	Broken Left Ankle - OUT 6 TO 8 WEEKS
PG	Isaiah Whitehead (DET)	Torn Left MCL - OUT 4 TO 6 WEEKS
SF	Josh Jackson (PHX)	Severe Right Ankle Sprain - OUT 4 TO 6 WEEKS
SG	Dion Waiters (MIA)	Broken Right Ankle - OUT 2 TO 4 WEEKS
SG	Buddy Hield (SAC)	Broken Right Ankle - OUT 4 TO 6 WEEKS
SF	Maurice Harkless (POR)	High Right Ankle Sprain - OUT 2 TO 4 WEEKS
PF	Ivan Rabb (MEM)	Broken Left Toe - OUT 1 TO 2 WEEKS
SF	Terrence Ross (ORL)	Left Hand Fracture - OUT 1 TO 2 WEEKS
C	Brandan Wright (GSW)	Sprained Left Knee - DAY-TO-DAY (CURRENTLY OUT)

LAKERS STATS

Los Angeles Lakers Stats - 2020
Player	GP	MIN	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	FPG
LeBron James, SF	49	35.5	25.6	6.5	8.9	1.7	0.8	2.4	1.9
Anthony Davis, PF	49	34.3	25.3	11.7	3.3	1.4	2.2	1.5	2.1
DeMarcus Cousins, C	49	34.0	18.8	9.4	2.9	1.5	2.2	1.7	2.4
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG	47	26.9	10.0	1.7	1.7	0.7	0.2	1.1	1.3
Boban Marjanovic, C	31	18.3	9.5	5.8	0.5	0.2	0.7	1.0	1.5
Wayne Ellington, SG	26	17.5	8.1	1.0	0.8	0.8	0.1	0.8	0.8
J.R. Smith, SG	49	20.5	7.0	0.9	2.1	0.6	0.2	1.1	1.1
T.J. McConnell, PG	47	20.5	6.2	1.3	4.5	1.1	0.0	1.5	1.1
Troy Daniels, PG	44	20.0	5.4	1.2	2.0	0.4	0.1	1.0	0.9
Mike Scott, PF	36	12.6	4.6	2.8	0.7	0.2	0.4	0.7	1.0
James Nunnally, SF	49	10.7	2.2	0.4	0.7	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.5

Since defeating the Raptors on January 8th, the Lakers have gone 6-4 with wins against the Kings, Blazers, Magic, Knicks, Wolves x2 and losses against the Suns, Grizzlies, Magic, and Pacers.

TOP TEN UPCOMING PROSPECTS

2020 NBA Draft - Top Ten Prospects
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
#1	Kansas	Ochai Agbaji	SG	6'5''	211lbs
#2	Memphis	James Wiseman	C	7'1''	226lbs
#3	Georgia	Anthony Edwards	SG	6'6''	216lbs
#4	N/A	LaMelo Ball	PG	6'8''	185lbs
#5	New Zealand	R.J. Hampton	PG	6'5''	190lbs
#6	Arizona	Nico Mannion	PG	6'3''	195lbs
#7	Florida	Scottie Lewis	SG	6'5''	196lbs
#8	North Carolina	Cole Anthony	PG	6'2''	191lbs
#9	Kentucky	Kahlil Whitney	SF	6'8''	218lbs
#10	Washington	Isaiah Stewart	PF	6'10''	247lbs

TEN FUTURE STARS ALREADY IN THE LEAGUE

These are the best ten players under the age of 25 in my eyes. I also did not want to pick players that are already established stars in the league, these are guys who will be forces in the next few seasons after developing more.

1. LUKA DONCIC, SF (DAL)

2. BEN SIMMONS, PF (PHI)

3. KRISTAPS PORZINGIS, PF (DAL)

4. ZION WILLIAMSON, PF (NOP)

5. BRANDON INGRAM, SF (NOP)

6. JAYSON TATUM, SF (BOS)

7. DEVIN BOOKER, SG (PHX)

8. TRAE YOUNG, PG (ATL)

9. DEANDRE AYTON, C (PHX)

10. DONOVAN MITCHELL, SG (UTA)

Honorable Mentions: D'Angelo Russell (BKN), Zach LaVine (CHI), John Collins (ATL), De'Aaron Fox (SAC), Lauri Markkanen (CHI), Ja Morant (NYK), Marvin Bagley III (SAC)

[ATLBrayden]

LAKERS FINISH THE SEASON STRONG

The Lakers managed to finish the season off on FIRE after the all-star break, going 35-5 to cap off the season and finish with a league best 63-19 record.

AWARDS

Anthony Davis brought home the MVP award! AD finished the season averaging 24.4PPG/11.2RPG/3.5APG/1.5SPG/2.2BPG with shooting splits of 59%/37.4%/80.7% playing 33.9MPG. Davis was elite on both ends of the floor all year and was rewarded with the greatest award of them all.

Zion of course won rookie of the year, averaging over 20/10 and 2+ blocks a game is a stellar stat-line for any NBA player, much less a rookie.

Khris Middleton won 6th man of the year for the Clippers. This makes five of the last seven 6MOTY winners Clippers, truly impressive depth.

Giannis won his second straight DPOY. For someone not even in their prime yet, Giannis is one of the scariest players in the league.

Marvin Bagley III finished strong and took home the MIP award. Kings are looking very scary in the future.

Frank Vogel of course took home coach of the year after going 63-19.

Steph finished the season as the league leader in PPG with 34.9 points per game. Andre Drummond lead the league in rebounds for the third year in a row with 13.8RPG. Chris Paul was the assist leader with 10.4APG.

--

The next few write-ups are going to be a little less detailed than normal. I've been working a lot lately so I haven't had as much time to dedicate to the posts, but they should return to form very soon.

[ATLBrayden]

FO, FO, FO... FO? - LEBRON AND AD DOMINATE THE PLAYOFFS

As LeBron James has shown before, he has a switch that gets flipped when it's time to get real. That time is the playoffs. It turns out, he's not the only one with that switch. In the most dominating playoff run of all time, the Lakers took down team after team, and they did it in an embarrassing fashion.

For starters, LeBron averaged 26.6PPG, 6.8RPG, and 10APG alongside 1.7SPG, 1.1BPG and only 2.2TOPG while shooting 52.3%.

Anthony Davis averaged an equally insane 28.9PPG, 12.5RPG, and 3.5APG alongside 1.2SPG, 2.3BPG, and only 1.2TOPG while shooting 64.2%.

Cousins and KCP were key contributors. Cousins brought 17.5PPG, 10RPG, 3.6APG, 1.6SPG, and 1.8BPG to the table while shooting 60%.

KCP gave the Lakers 16.8PPG, 1.4RPG, and 2.8APG while shooting 51.3%.

T.J. McConnell gave LAL 7.7PPG and 6.3APG off the bench.

In the first round, the Lakers quickly dismantled the Denver Nuggets 4-0. The Lakers swept the Nuggets in both the regular season and playoff series.

In the second round, the Lakers took down the Memphis Grizzlies, again in four games. The Grizzlies defeated the Lakers once in the regular season but couldn't find a single victory in the postseason.

In the WCF, the Lakers faced off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder were the Lakers' toughest opponent all year, constantly taking them to the wire. In the playoffs, it was no different. The first two games ended in four and two point victories for the Lakers. In the first game, Anthony Davis put on the performance of a lifetime.

AD put up 60 points and 22 rebounds in what was undoubtedly the best game by anyone this season. The last time someone put up a statline like that? Anthony Davis in 2016 with 59/20 against the Detroit Pistons.

In Game 2, the Lakers hit a last-second putback shot by DeMarcus Cousins to give them the lead and take a secure 2-0 series lead.

The third and fourth games were a little less close, but still within single digits. Despite Westbrook and Paul George's valiant efforts (WB 30+ PPG, PG 22+ PPG), the Thunder couldn't pull it off. The Lakers secured another 4-0 sweep.

Anthony Davis averaged 48PPG/18RPG/4APG/2SPG/1.5BPG/0.5TOPG. This is one of the best playoff series by any player, ever. AD stepped up on one of the biggest stages and delivered. It hurt to lose Lonzo, Ingram, Kuzma, and Hart, but in the end AD was all worth it. LeBron averaged 23PPG/7RPG/11.5APG/4SPG/1.5BPG/5TOPG in the series.

In the finals, the Lakers met the once again eastern conference champion Toronto Raptors. After reaming the bloodbath of the west, the Lakers steamrolled the Raptors game after game after game. They took down Toronto in four games, completing the greatest postseason sweep of all time.

LeBron James won finals MVP averaging 38PPG/9.7RPG/10APG/1.3SPG/1TOPG shooting 57.4% from the field and 46.9% from three. Is LeBron now the GOAT? Is this Lakers team the greatest team of all time? Such a dominant performance tends to raise questions such as these, but that's up to the fans to debate. For now, the Lakers will enjoy their offseason as champions.