Originally Posted by KC_Connection (Post 16945574)

If you had said the Lakers were making the WCFs immediately after the trades, you'd have been laughed down just like Perkins was and you know it.

Originally Posted by Miles (Post 16945576)

I caught the latest ESPN update from Woj while having lunch and Ja sounds pretty ****ed.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 16945575)

They weren't bad.

They weren't going to miss the play-in without James. They certainly won't a disaster without him and would've very obviously finished in the top 10 of the West even had he not returned.

Again, literally every single declarative statement you made was simply incorrect.

I said then and have said all along - the Lakers NEED James to do anything meaningful in the post-season (as would any team that allocates 1/3 of their salary cap to a single player) and yes, he's been very important to their post-season success.

I'm not downplaying anything - you're the one downplaying the efforts of the 11 other guys on this roster due to your standard insecurities when it comes to anyone who doesn't genuflect at the feet of the mighty King James.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 16945579)

I hadn't seen them play together. A month later I had and absolutely said they could do damage in the post-season. I stated why.

You, OTOH, continued to double down on stupid.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 16945581)

Getting absolutely hammered by the NBA may be all that keeps him out of prison.

That dude's gonna absolutely have some guy step to him in a bar someday and do something stupid. He cannot continue to carry himself like he is. It makes him a magnet for this kind of thing.

Originally Posted by KC_Connection (Post 16945507)

I don't see any posts about the Lakers making the WCF there, do you?

That particular argument was about LeBron's on/off stats and the team being an absolute disaster this season without him on the court (at least prior to the trades):



The only part of this post that was incorrect from me was the "surefire 1st round exit" part. LeBron did come back and his return did propel them into 7th place. What I didn't see was them being better than the Grizzlies once the playoff started, but nobody else saw that here either. Once it was clear they were better than Memphis, we all did a reevaluation of them at that time.

Originally Posted by dirk digler (Post 16945664)

He didn't specifically mention the WCF but he has been steadfast and consistent in his statements that this was a good team with the new pieces with or without Lebron.

Originally Posted by KC_Connection (Post 16945688)

What does a "good" team mean in this context? Playoffs? Play-in?

For me, a good team is a contender and it only became apparent the Lakers were one during the series with the Grizzlies.

Originally Posted by KC_Connection (Post 16945688)

What does a "good" team mean in this context? Playoffs? Play-in?

For me, a good team is a contender and it only became apparent the Lakers were one during the series with the Grizzlies.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 16945741)

I said they're above average team without LeBron James post-deadline; slightly above .500 quality with a healthy AD.

So a 45 win squad without LeBron - what's that make them, a 53 win team with him? What's that make them in the West? At least a top 3 seed, if not the #1 seed, right?

This is just militantly obstinate on your part.

Originally Posted by dirk digler (Post 16945784)

So does LA beat Denver?