Face Facts:there is no "2nd best player" on the team.

[CabinCreek44]

[AFireInside619]

Not sure how anyone could be down on the young core after last night’s game. Zo’s defense, passing, and fast break skills were all on display last night. Kuz made some second half shots, had 12 rebounds, and plays well with Lebron. Ingram is becoming what we need him to be. Hart is Josh Hart, which is a good thing. Svi, Wag, and Bonga are waiting in the wings.

Dr Laker is right, we shouldn’t be wedded to these players, but man do we have some nice pieces moving forward. I’m happy with these young dudes and wouldn’t have it any other way right now.

[Nash Vegas]

[Dr. Laker]

Can't look at these guys on a nightly basis and make a judgement - they'll play like allstars one night and like G Leaguers the next - because they've not shown the ability to play at a consistent level every night.
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On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".

[Goldenwest]

Ingram is the second best player, whether people like to admit it or not

[Dr. Laker]

[SuperboyReformed]

I still think all this is really about that we don't have the 1st option we expected. We saw Kobe play on two garbage teams, the smush team, and the d12 team (not as garbage). In both cases, it didn't feel like it does now because our #1 option could always be spectacular and bail us out of jams. LBJ cannot do that, and neither can his teammates. And all that is made worse by the fact that LBJ is supposed to so he has to make the plays, which takes away from the others. SO we don't even know if the others can be leaders and stuff (but we saw last year that they probably can't).

With Lebron, throughout his career, its always about what HE needs, and what help HE can get. Is he helping anyone? Nope. He bricks and makes awful plays as much as Ingram and Kuz. Why does he need help, but not Ingram or Kuz or Hart? Because he's the big star.

We're doing ok right now simply because the league is f'ed. But as soon as the warriors stop sleepwalking, they will stomp us. You think Lebron was bad without Kyrie? This is Lebron without Kyrie OR Love OR Korver.

[Sentient Meat]

[Goldenwest]

[tox]

[SuperboyReformed]

[greenfrog]

[tox]

[Goldenwest]

[Goldenwest]

[BigGameHames]

[Jarmusch]

[greenfrog]

[eddiejonze]

So Kobe is our 2nd best player.
Got it.
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Creatures crawl in search of blood, To terrorize y'alls neighborhood.

[SuperboyReformed]

[SuperboyReformed]

I'll be more specific about the bailing out stuff...
LBJ can do ok if we have a decent lead with a few minutes left. Where he is really bad (compared to *previous* greats) is when we are down with a few minutes left. He can't be relied upon for difficult, contested shots (unless he gets some calls, which he will). THat is something the warriors have in spades, multiple options. THat's why he loses games at the line.
IN the same situation with previous teams, LBJ could kick out to a number of historically great shooters. SO we don't have that option either.
It's these last few minutes of close games that provides the bulk of my criticism of LBJ. Other stuff I don't sweat too much. If only he were the #2 option and we really had a #1, we could compete with the warriors.

[chrisca91]

Historically speaking Lakers do not develop players.

I think the bar for most is way too high. We are at best a 48-34 win team and maybe we can get by the first round of the playoffs but that is about it. Lebron is older, but he is still the best player on the planet. Unfortunately, our talent stops there. That is not enough to win in this league.

We MUST land a big name player this summer or I don't see us winning a chip during Lebron's tenure here.

Lonzo is good on defense, but even then it is not a consistent effort. His offense is horrendous, aggressive or not. He's worse than D Fish. We can't have a PG without a scoring threat.

Ingram/Kuzma - Yeah I'm not sure I see anything in them. Ingram is pretty decent on D but that is about it. I guess he can sometimes create shots for himself. Kuzma sucks on both ends of the floor.

...Preferably, trade for Beal this year. We can do it.

[Laker's Fan]

I wonder if NOH would trade Randle for Rondo

[CabinCreek44]

It’s not about LeBron vs Kobe. For me, it’s hard to imagine any player going forward that will wind up in my heart the way Kobe is, and I always rated him more highly than LeBron.

But LeBron is playing magnificently. Good grief, without him I shudder to think what our record might be. And the good news is he’s averaging the least minutes per game of his career. Luke actually doing a good job there.

The guy controls the game almost effortlessly it seems at times. And of course it isn’t effortless, but his making it seem that way is just one illustration of his greatness.

Been over 5 years now since Kobe’s Achilles went. During that time I had almost forgotten what it felt like to watch the Lakers knowing we had that special guy who could change the entire game, almost make it seem like a different sport, just by his presence on the floor. LeBron has given us that again and I’m more grateful to him for that than I ever would have imagined. Just the vibe he creates out there on the floor. The defense is really on the defensive again. The game just FEELS differently now. The possibility that anything can happen out there is with the Lakers once again.

LeBron is playing great, and the team is still adjusting to the newness of it all. We don’t have a reliable second option yet. If the Lakers could land a Bradley Beal they should consider it, because there are no guarantees and no one can predict whether any of these big time free agents will want to come here to be the “no. 2”.

I’ve personally seen enough of Lonzo and BI trying to run the offense. Lonzo running a fast break, ok. But in the half court just give LeBron the ball and enjoy watching him go to work. We’ve been spoiled as Lakers fans over the decades and now we’re spoiled again. Give Bron the rock and the young guys will need to figure it out as they go. That’s up to them. Just being on the floor with LeBron is a help, but he can’t make them become something they’re not capable of becoming.

The additions of Javale McGee and Tyson Chandler were just perfect moves by the FO and they’re the second and third most impactful players so far and no I don’t care what the numbers say. Magic and Pelinka have done a terrific job. We’re not great but we’re good. Not sure we can get to great this year but I’m not fretting over it right now. Not sold on the coach. But I’m sold on investing my time and interest in this team again and I’m happy about that. The last couple of years it wasn’t enjoyable anymore.

[Shaber]