2018-19 Los Angeles Lakers Thread

We're gonna need all 15 players on the roster this season. Not just the 12 active. Guys like Lance, you don't want to have to need them to carry the team. You just want them when you need them. When you need to buckle down on D. When you need a guy to go in and rattle the other team. It's what got him famous. It's why we brought him in.

More controlled in transition so far.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

We're gonna need all 15 players on the roster this season. Not just the 12 active. Guys like Lance, you don't want to have to need them to carry the team. You just want them when you need them. When you need to buckle down on D. When you need a guy to go in and rattle the other team. It's what got him famous. It's why we brought him in.

This. It's a long season and injuries happen. Hopefully Lakers won't need Lance and Beas for long stretches but not the worst thing to have them on bench. Lance plays and practices with high intensity. That's a good thing on a young team.

Hopefully KCP, Svi, Hart will play at a high level that Lakers won't need to rely on Lance.

Lance is looking pretty productive so far in this game. He hustles. You can't teach that. He's got the fire inside him.


I'm all about the Mud Squad! Lebron titled them that. Stands for "Misunderstood, Under-appreciated, Determined"

Shoot the ball Bonga! lol

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Shoot the ball Bonga! lol

He didn't want that at all lol

But, I thought the first team played great. Hart looks comfortable with the first unit. I still like KCP but he has really struggled at times in the first two games.

Kuzma needs to me more aggressive with the 2nd unit. I think when Lonzo returns - 2nd unit (especially Kuzma) will get a big boost...whether it is Lonzo or Rondo running it. Really liked how the first team played though.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Lance is looking pretty productive so far in this game. He hustles. You can't teach that. He's got the fire inside him.


I'm all about the Mud Squad! Lebron titled them that. Stands for "Misunderstood, Under-appreciated, Determined"

Originally posted by 4ML:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Shoot the ball Bonga! lol

He didn't want that at all lol

But, I thought the first team played great. Hart looks comfortable with the first unit. I still like KCP but he has really struggled at times in the first two games.

Kuzma needs to me more aggressive with the 2nd unit. I think when Lonzo returns - 2nd unit (especially Kuzma) will get a big boost...whether it is Lonzo or Rondo running it. Really liked how the first team played though.

Hart looked comfortable all last season. Off the bench or starting, he's ready to play and isn't afraid out there. He's just as much of a surprise as Kuzma last year.

Kuz is going to have to find himself this season. He was ready to be a starter and got lost in the shuffle with Lebron coming to town. Rightly so, of course, but if he can embrace that role as the lead scorer off the bench, it could do wonders for the team when the 2nd unit comes in.

Originally posted by TheGore49er:

Originally posted by DynastyChile:

Originally posted by Arminini:

Originally posted by socalfan21:
Lance and Beasley should not be in the rotation... hopefully luke realizes this.

Why do you say that?

Bc they are role players on fringe eastern conference playoff teams...Think we are aiming higher.

Both of them had good years for the amount of minutes they got, especially Lance, he was solid last year. I'm glad we have them and hopefully they do get minutes. Lance also plays good defense. Beasely...he might be the odd man out, not because Zubac (he's gotten worse and worse) but if Wagner looks good, he'll mostly be the stretch 5, since he can also defend and rebound better than Beasely. But he's gonna bring a lot of value to this team if one our bigs go down.

Lance is a black hole on offense. He is an Iso player and a really bad one at that that doesn't really work in the framework of our O. He can get streaky, but overall he's going to get eaten alive in the WC.
On defense, you think he is good because of his energy, but his metrics say he is barely above average. Guy has made a name for himself being over the top. He jumps when he's dribbling yells alot blows in ears. He isn't really that good. If we have injuries, different story. He would be valuable.
I think they were brought in bc of their experience in the league. Practicing playing competing etc. Lebron Rondo can't carry the whole load. I doubt they're getting too many meaningful minutes.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Originally posted by 4ML:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:
Shoot the ball Bonga! lol

He didn't want that at all lol

But, I thought the first team played great. Hart looks comfortable with the first unit. I still like KCP but he has really struggled at times in the first two games.

Kuzma needs to me more aggressive with the 2nd unit. I think when Lonzo returns - 2nd unit (especially Kuzma) will get a big boost...whether it is Lonzo or Rondo running it. Really liked how the first team played though.

Hart looked comfortable all last season. Off the bench or starting, he's ready to play and isn't afraid out there. He's just as much of a surprise as Kuzma last year.

Kuz is going to have to find himself this season. He was ready to be a starter and got lost in the shuffle with Lebron coming to town. Rightly so, of course, but if he can embrace that role as the lead scorer off the bench, it could do wonders for the team when the 2nd unit comes in.

Good point. I think our closing lineup is going to be Lonzo/Rondo - Hart - Lebron - Ingram - Kuzma. Hart is a very key part of our club.

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Originally posted by 4ML:

Originally posted by StOnEy333:

Shoot the ball Bonga! lol

He didn't want that at all lol

But, I thought the first team played great. Hart looks comfortable with the first unit. I still like KCP but he has really struggled at times in the first two games.

Kuzma needs to me more aggressive with the 2nd unit. I think when Lonzo returns - 2nd unit (especially Kuzma) will get a big boost...whether it is Lonzo or Rondo running it. Really liked how the first team played though.

Hart looked comfortable all last season. Off the bench or starting, he's ready to play and isn't afraid out there. He's just as much of a surprise as Kuzma last year.

Kuz is going to have to find himself this season. He was ready to be a starter and got lost in the shuffle with Lebron coming to town. Rightly so, of course, but if he can embrace that role as the lead scorer off the bench, it could do wonders for the team when the 2nd unit comes in.

Hart is one of the players I didn't get to see much last season. Felt he should get good minutes after watching him in summer league along with looking at some of his highlights and stats from last season.

It was good to see him fit in so well with the starters. If this continues - Luke should start him over KCP.

Originally posted by DynastyChile:

Originally posted by TheGore49er:

Originally posted by DynastyChile:

Originally posted by Arminini:

Originally posted by socalfan21:
Lance and Beasley should not be in the rotation... hopefully luke realizes this.

Why do you say that?

Bc they are role players on fringe eastern conference playoff teams...Think we are aiming higher.

Both of them had good years for the amount of minutes they got, especially Lance, he was solid last year. I'm glad we have them and hopefully they do get minutes. Lance also plays good defense. Beasely...he might be the odd man out, not because Zubac (he's gotten worse and worse) but if Wagner looks good, he'll mostly be the stretch 5, since he can also defend and rebound better than Beasely. But he's gonna bring a lot of value to this team if one our bigs go down.

Lance is a black hole on offense. He is an Iso player and a really bad one at that that doesn't really work in the framework of our O. He can get streaky, but overall he's going to get eaten alive in the WC.
On defense, you think he is good because of his energy, but his metrics say he is barely above average. Guy has made a name for himself being over the top. He jumps when he's dribbling yells alot blows in ears. He isn't really that good. If we have injuries, different story. He would be valuable.
I think they were brought in bc of their experience in the league. Practicing playing competing etc. Lebron Rondo can't carry the whole load. I doubt they're getting too many meaningful minutes.

Man you really hate Lance lol. His metrics are above average and he passes the eye test, so its not too much to say hes a good defender. His antics can be distracting but also a positive during a long season. He rebounds well for his size and does OK when switched onto big guys, so dont mind him being part of the 2nd unit until (if) Svi is ready for that role.

In the back court, I'm liking the combination of Rondo+Hart and Lonzo+KCP and a closing lineup of Lonzo+Hart. Not as much a fan of Rondo+KCP.

I really liked seeing the lineup with BI at PG and Hart/Stephenson playing the 2 and 3. Having BI at the 1 gives us ridiculous length and can get two shooters out there instead of having Rondo or Lonzo on the court.

I've been thinking of different line up combinations while balancing the distributor and finisher role.

The starting lineup yesterday can be described as 2 distributors (Rondo, Lebron) and 3 finishers (Hart, BI, McGee). The 2nd unit was BI switching to distributor: 2 distributors (Karuso,BI) and 3 finishers (KCP, Kuzma, Stephenson). It's an interesting way of thinking through lineup combinations.

Originally posted by Arminini:
1) Man you really hate Lance lol. His metrics are above average and he passes the eye test, so its not too much to say hes a good defender. His antics can be distracting but also a positive during a long season. He rebounds well for his size and does OK when switched onto big guys, so dont mind him being part of the 2nd unit until (if) Svi is ready for that role.

2) In the back court, I'm liking the combination of Rondo+Hart and Lonzo+KCP and a closing lineup of Lonzo+Hart. Not as much a fan of Rondo+KCP.

3) I really liked seeing the lineup with BI at PG and Hart/Stephenson playing the 2 and 3. Having BI at the 1 gives us ridiculous length and can get two shooters out there instead of having Rondo or Lonzo on the court.

I've been thinking of different line up combinations while balancing the distributor and finisher role.

4) The starting lineup yesterday can be described as 2 distributors (Rondo, Lebron) and 3 finishers (Hart, BI, McGee). The 2nd unit was BI switching to distributor: 2 distributors (Karuso,BI) and 3 finishers (KCP, Kuzma, Stephenson). It's an interesting way of thinking through lineup combinations.

1) He's on his 8th team in a 9 year career working on a 1 year deal in his prime (28). Unless you are seeing something a quarter of the teams in NBA haven't, let's hope he isn't a serious part of the rotation.

2) That's a great observation. I think Hart starts regardless. And he should, he's better than KCP. But his game does match up better with Rondo's. Rondo/Lonzo is going to be an interesting battle for Luke all year.

Originally posted by 4ML:
Hart is one of the players I didn't get to see much last season. Felt he should get good minutes after watching him in summer league along with looking at some of his highlights and stats from last season.

It was good to see him fit in so well with the starters. If this continues - Luke should start him over KCP.

Think its a foregone conclusion at this point. Hart greatest strengths - finishing around the rim and Defense. Two things we desperately need.