***Official 2022-2023 NBA Thread***

[dirk digler]

Can't believe the regular season starts tonight. Just seemed like the Finals ended a couple weeks ago.



Philly vs Celtics: 6:30PM CST TNT

GSW vs Lakers: 9:00PM CST TNT

[Miles]

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

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

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.

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.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Miles

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

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.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

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.

Well, as it turned out, they wouldn't have missed the play-in because the Mavs, Blazers, and Jazz chose to tank the final portion of the season to avoid it. This is something we couldn't have known at the time of the trades. If they hadn't tanked (and LeBron didn't return), missing the play-in was still a distinct possibility.

Because LeBron did return and decided to play through his debilitating injury, he was able to get them into 7th place rather than 10th (6-2 finish), very much increasing the likelihood they'd be able to make this kind of run.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

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.

We all knew the Lakers had a chance to advance far in the playoffs as soon as we saw that they were clearly better than Memphis. Unless you or anybody else suggested that before the playoffs started, you don't get to give me shit for not believing it.

[Miles]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

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.

Completely and his issues have apparently been on the NBA’s radar for at least the past year. I also hadn’t realized he was a prep school kid who didn’t grow up with financial hardship so this all seems like a fake tough guy act.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

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.

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.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

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.

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.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

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.

You would have to ask him. My feeling from his posts was that this was a much better team post trade deadline and he mentioned several times this felt like a "team" now.

For me, yeah it was Game 1 against Memphis and I was like they are going to be a problem if AD stays engaged and healthy.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

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.

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.

[KC_Connection]

"Underestimating LeBron is the worst bet in sports."

— @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/UY31GZs19b

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) May 15, 2023

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

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.

How am I supposed to infer that? Prior to the playoffs starting, you never called this team a contender with or without LeBron. I grant that you said they were a playoff team, but I said much the same thing (6th-8th best team in the West with both playing).

All of this was reassessed during the Memphis series.

[KC_Connection]

If you or anybody else here predicted the Lakers were going to beat the Grizzlies before that series began, I'd totally be up for giving out credit. That never happened. Nobody actually believed that this team would do this (especially with LeBron impaired).

[dirk digler]

So does LA beat Denver?

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by dirk digler

So does LA beat Denver?

Yes.