10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

[cima]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

Great b2b plays on defense by Westbrook wasn’t on my 2022 bingo card of things I thought I’d say


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[ggsimmonds]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

This is why I'm not on board with the WB hate. The run to end the first half was fueld by WB making two steals. Now he did it again. Yes the shots aren't falling and I don't like him shooting 3s, but the way he is playing is what you want from him.

Edit: Damn it WB, right after I defend you lol. That possession he let the 0-9 get in his head

[dubcity]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

Why is Pat Beverly acting like he's an offensive threat

[DamnYanks2]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

Yep some good defense by Russ. Then another brick lol

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[DamnYanks2]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

AD staying behind the arc shooting a three. Westbrook shooting a three. These guys should never shoot threes ever.

Lakers should of retained Malik Monk too. He was a bright spot for them.

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[ggsimmonds]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

This Lakers roster is built in such a weird way. They basically have a small lineup with 3 guards, LeBron, and AD. But with no shooting. How does that happen?

[cima]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

Here’s an idea, hot take I know, but if you’re not even a good 3 point shooting team, maybe don’t shoot 40+ of them?


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[dubcity]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

This is why I'm not on board with the WB hate. The run to end the first half was fueld by WB making two steals. Now he did it again. Yes the shots aren't falling and I don't like him shooting 3s, but the way he is playing is what you want from him.

Edit: Damn it WB, right after I defend you lol. That possession he let the 0-9 get in his head

I'll never doubt Russ' effort or fight, he's top tier in that department, just the basketball IQ and focusing the effort in a way that leads to the team being as good as possible. I don't think he's built for that.

[ggsimmonds]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

I'll never doubt Russ' effort or fight, he's top tier in that department, just the basketball IQ and focusing the effort in a way that leads to the team being as good as possible. I don't think he's built for that.

Most of his shots today haven't been bad. There were a couple questionable pull up 3s, but literally every player does that now.

He continues to be the scapegoat for a poorly constructed team.

[DamnYanks2]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

WB was 0-11 with 2 pts. Did have 5 steals.

Lonnie Walker was nice. Actually lead the Lakers in scoring with 26. Positives!

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[ggsimmonds]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

Chuck speaking the savage truth about AD

[ojandpizza]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

This is why I'm not on board with the WB hate. The run to end the first half was fueld by WB making two steals. Now he did it again. Yes the shots aren't falling and I don't like him shooting 3s, but the way he is playing is what you want from him.

I think he was statistically one of the worst defenders in nba history last season. On the other end the worst shooter while being the most open in the entire league. Led the league in missed layups, I’m sure the most air-balls too if they keep that stat.

He wasn’t the Lakers sole issue by any means, was made a scapegoat, and I still hate that’s how it played out. But the slander wasn’t manufactured out of nowhere, and a couple timely steals once every few games doesn’t really change that.

He’s absolutely been made scapegoat for poorly constructed teams.. but him being as bad as he has been (even if it’s all because of fit/coaching/poor roster) is part of the reason they are so poorly constructed to begin with. Nobody questions his effort and none of the pieces fit with him there, but because of that he pretty much takes their biggest weaknesses and doubles down on them.

Ham was given the go ahead to bench him as needed before the season even started. He was benched in 4th quarters last year in favor of an undrafted rookie. I’m not disagreeing that everything said about him hasn’t been a bit unfair, but to say the way he is playing is what you want from him or anybody expected to play at a star level at 40 mil is a scalding hot take.

[DamnYanks2]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

I think he was statistically one of the worst defenders in nba history last season. On the other end the worst shooter while being the most open in the entire league. Led the league in missed layups, I’m sure the most air-balls too if they keep that stat.

He wasn’t the Lakers sole issue by any means, was made a scapegoat, and I still hate that’s how it played out. But the slander wasn’t manufactured out of nowhere, and a couple timely steals once every few games doesn’t really change that.

He’s absolutely been made scapegoat for poorly constructed teams.. but him being as bad as he has been (even if it’s all because of fit/coaching/poor roster) is part of the reason they are so poorly constructed to begin with. Nobody questions his effort and none of the pieces fit with him there, but because of that he pretty much takes their biggest weaknesses and doubles down on them.

Ham was given the go ahead to bench him as needed before the season even started. He was benched in 4th quarters last year in favor of an undrafted rookie. I’m not disagreeing that everything said about him hasn’t been a bit unfair, but to say the way he is playing is what you want from him or anybody expected to play at a star level at 40 mil is a scalding hot take.

I look at that 0-11 shooting performance and I just wonder what the hell has happened to this guy. That's inexcusable. The biggest thing I noticed as you pointed out. He used to be a beast of a finisher. Now he misses shots at the rim more often then he should. He used to be money on those aggressive drives. If he got a one on one. It was over.

I agree WB is still a good player and he wasn't the sole reason for their failure. But damn if he ain't ordinary now.

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[ggsimmonds]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

I think he was statistically one of the worst defenders in nba history last season. On the other end the worst shooter while being the most open in the entire league. Led the league in missed layups, I’m sure the most air-balls too if they keep that stat.

He wasn’t the Lakers sole issue by any means, was made a scapegoat, and I still hate that’s how it played out. But the slander wasn’t manufactured out of nowhere, and a couple timely steals once every few games doesn’t really change that.

He’s absolutely been made scapegoat for poorly constructed teams.. but him being as bad as he has been (even if it’s all because of fit/coaching/poor roster) is part of the reason they are so poorly constructed to begin with. Nobody questions his effort and none of the pieces fit with him there, but because of that he pretty much takes their biggest weaknesses and doubles down on them.

Ham was given the go ahead to bench him as needed before the season even started. He was benched in 4th quarters last year in favor of an undrafted rookie. I’m not disagreeing that everything said about him hasn’t been a bit unfair, but to say the way he is playing is what you want from him or anybody expected to play at a star level at 40 mil is a scalding hot take.

Oh yeah if we are factoring in his salary he is hot garbage.

BUT, he's the same player he always has been in terms of how he plays and his strengths/weaknesses. This isn't some different Westbrook where we all go "man I didn't see this coming." The difference is just how age and roster fit are magnifying his weaknesses, but its not like he hasn't been the kind of player the Lakers thought they were getting.

The lazy media and casual fan is going to focus on WB going 0 for 11 as why they lost. Thats not why they lost. Its a part of it, the team as a whole lacks shooting, of which WB is a part of. WB is undoubtedly a part of their struggles, but just one part. But for most of the past year he has been singled out as the scapegoat and I'm not onboard with that.


TL;DR: "he pretty much takes their biggest weaknesses and doubles down on them."
Absolutely correct, but we knew that when they traded for him. Its like ordering your steak well done and then complain that it was tough.

[ggsimmonds]

Re: 10/18 - 10/31 Games Discussion Thread

Lets look at some WB stats from last season.

Last season Russ shot 62.3% on shots within 3 ft of the basket. Thats better than the following players:
Trae Young 62%
Darius Garland 60.7%
Steph Curry 59.9%
James Harden 59.8%
LaMelo Ball 58.2%

There's many more (49), I just cherry picked the most notable names.
What % of Russ' shots were within 3 feet of the basket? 33%
Only 3 guards had a higher % than that. (Ayo, Gay Payton II, and Thybulle)
What % of his 2 pt shots were assisted? 23.2% Thats the 18th lowest mark in the league.

Source: https://www.basketball-reference.com..._shooting.html

So what does all that tell us? Well that "he missed the most layups in the league" is a bit misleading. If he did, it was due to volume. He was a productive guy when attacking the rim. He's a guy that drove and created his own shot at the rim at a rate higher than most backcourt players.

NBA.com also has some relevant stats.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives?Season=2021-22&dir=D&sort=DRIVE_FGA

He was around top 10 in most drives per game. For drives that resulted in him making a FGA he was around 22nd. Keep that difference in drives and shots in mind as it will come into play later.
His FG% on drives was right there with the best finishers.
Russ: 48.6%
Ja: 51%
Shai: 49.1%
Luka and DeMarr were an insane 55%

Where did he not excel? His subpar FT% of 67.9. Secondly the % of his drives that resulted in points lagged behind other players. It was 45.3%. Most guys that got to the basket a lot had rates between 50% and 70%.

Why the discrepancy if he shot a good %? Part of it was that bad FT%, but mostly it was passing. Russ passed on 46.9% of his drives. Only two guys in the top 20 in drives had a higher rate. We can guess the next part. Russ drove to the basket and kicked out to a shooter and the shooters weren't making shots.

All this paints a clear picture. And that picture is that he wasn't as bad as the narrative makes him out to be. I'm not saying he is worth that salary at this point in his career. He did underperform and he is clearly not a $40 million player. I'm sure some of those passes on drives were not clean passes to open shooters. But he wasn't horrible.