AD struggling for sure the last few games. But let's be real, he's also the only one playing D, is not really being featured offensively on a consistent basis and barely gets the rock in the 4th of close games when suddenly it becomes LBJ dribble for 18 seconds time. The two of them don't seem to be blending well right now and I can't decide if that's because of the offense, Lebron's lackadaisical defense, or simply exhaustion. My guess is it's all of the above but it sucks as a fan to see these horrible games with either AD or LBJ taking turns sucking.
AD struggling for sure the last few games. But let's be real, he's also the only one playing D, is not really being featured offensively on a consistent basis and barely gets the rock in the 4th of close games when suddenly it becomes LBJ dribble for 18 seconds time. The two of them don't seem to be blending well right now and I can't decide if that's because of the offense, Lebron's lackadaisical defense, or simply exhaustion. My guess is it's all of the above but it sucks as a fan to see these horrible games with either AD or LBJ taking turns sucking.
AD played zero defense tonight. In general I wouldn't say he's been a great defender this year.
While I agree his D has been not as great as weve seen in the past on our team he seems like the only one playing any. Probably why were one of the worst defending teams period.
AD hasn't been the same ever since he missed those two FTs against Orlando. I hope he didn't catch the mentally weak illness from DLo and just shake it off. Hopefully, it's just a shooting slump and he shakes it off next game.
defense wrote:
AD IS NOT our problem
A lot of the games that we've won AD has put up MVP like numbers. We are "heavily" depended on AD. It is what it is. _________________ Lakers used to average one championship every four years under Dr. Buss but I'd gladly take one every ten years now.
AD hasn't been the same ever since he missed those two FTs against Orlando. I hope he didn't catch the mentally weak illness from DLo and just shake it off. Hopefully, it's just a shooting slump and he shakes it off next game.
defense wrote:
AD IS NOT our problem
A lot of the games that we've won AD has put up MVP like numbers. We are "heavily" depended on AD. It is what it is.
I hear you, but the team is not built around maximizing AD. It is built around Lebron.
AD is not playing well. Lack of effort. never sprints back on D. Doesn't set consistent hard screens for his teammates. Bad body language. Doesn't shoot 3's holding the ball to long on offense. Doesn't step out on screens defensively.
play with pace, force. Don't complain on non calls. I want to see him sprint back on defense consistently.
Teams are to good and any player can burn you on any given night. Any lack of effort and energy will lead to a blowout.
??
8 points, no defense, our 31 year old best player. He's only been slightly better than LeBron in the last stretch where people were calling for LeBron to retire. It was only until Bron's shooting luck rebounded that people were able to start looking at AD funny. How is he not part of the problem?
I think he's given up on this team until they get him more help with size. Good for him. But it's a problem.
AD is not the problem, but he’s not part of the solution either. He’s mentally weak, he knows the team is wasting his prime by clinging onto LeBron and he’s perfect fine with it. AD is happy with the status quo, he gets his stats and LeBron and front office get the blame.
??
8 points, no defense, our 31 year old best player. He's only been slightly better than LeBron in the last stretch where people were calling for LeBron to retire. It was only until Bron's shooting luck rebounded that people were able to start looking at AD funny. How is he not part of the problem?
I think he's given up on this team until they get him more help with size. Good for him. But it's a problem.
Defense and 3pt shooting are the Lakers problems. AD was bad yesterday, but he isnt the overall problem.
3Pt shooting:
vs Miami: 5/22
vs Suns: 8/34
vs Griz: 15/48
vs TWolves: 6/31
This is why we're barely cracking 100 pts per game. JJ is running an "offense first" line up. But where the hell are the results?
The defensive schemes/planning around AD have been not in his and the team's best interests. According to JJ we didn't even really execute them, and I believe him.
I want to go back to a transcript on AD podcast/interview.
Quote:
They start by discussing the improbability of a team like this year’s Lakers even existing 2020, as the NBA has increasingly tilted towards small ball and pace and space, and as the rules increasingly favor offensive players. The Lakers seemingly didn’t take into account any of those trends when building their roster; but they landed on a team that made sense in this era anyway, one that put all its versatility on the defensive side of the basketball.
AD does not fit in the modern offense as he can't really stretch the floor as well as some teams have their 5s doing. So you never get that elite all out offense with AD. What peak AD/Lakers brought you was elite defense and being able to beat you up inside. That got took away when Pelinka and the team decided to change the roster and fire the coaches who you a title.
Since then I've seen AD do some heavy lifting but he always seems a little overwhelmed. He seems as if he's playing out of his best role. The dominant role he was showcasing in 19-20. For a little while it was his health. His health just wasn't there. However he's been healthy now for 2-2.5 years. Now it's about his role.
Ham had him at the 5, which probably is the easiest laziest way to use him. However AD isn't even a really good stretch 5. Teams tend to play off AD. So unless he's feasting inside, and you're constantly feeding him, you're not getting elite offense. It's not like Porzingis in Boston. Boston has a legit threat from outside that can go off and constantly makes their opposing defense guess, are you going to shoot the 3 or slide/cut/dive to the basket and look for a dunk.
JJ has taken AD and featured him more, he's gotten the ball more it seems early on in the season, which worked for his numbers and our offense. Yet our offense isn't elite. It isn't the difference maker. As AD slowed down, the team went to the tank as did our offense. He's not like Joker, where you can build a MVP level offense around him where he's getting you 30 points, 10 assists+.
Now lets go back to my initial point. AD was at his best when we were able to utilize his defensive impact on the team, even if it cost us some points on offense. Maybe we couldn't always score 120 (newsflash we can't always score 120 now either) but we had the defense to hold you down and really at times go 5-6 minutes without the opponents getting a good look anywhere. That's perimeter defensive speed from your guards (KCP/Caruso) and AD at the 4 with a big body at the 5 next to him. You had the big body play the drop coverage (McGee/Howard did it best, Gasol/Drummond were just ok at it) and it allowed AD to use his length to be a secondary helper inside, a perimeter defender in the sense of disrupting passes, using length to challenge 3 points shots etc. Just think about a player with his wingspan challenging your 3 pointers. He has the footspeed to do it. Even the switches on defense were more advantageous to us.
Anyway, I doubt Pelinka ever even realizes what's going on. He probably thinks we need to make a few trades and it's enough. Trades will certainly help us if we get 2-way guys in instead of Reaves/DLO/Knecht (All 1-way guys right now who can give you 20 points if given enough shots/role). IMO though the biggest flaw in our team is that we don't even know what our strengths are wit AD. It's like we had the blue print and we just crapped all our over it.
BTW a team that reminded me a lot of us were the Wolves last year only KAT is not as good as AD at his best. As well Lebron is a better IQ/basketball leader than Edwards. Put AD/Lebron on last year's Wolves team, I think they win the West, at the very least. Of course fitting, like us, Wolves just shot themselves in the foot and traded of of their main advantages.
??
8 points, no defense, our 31 year old best player. He's only been slightly better than LeBron in the last stretch where people were calling for LeBron to retire. It was only until Bron's shooting luck rebounded that people were able to start looking at AD funny. How is he not part of the problem?
I think he's given up on this team until they get him more help with size. Good for him. But it's a problem.
Defense and 3pt shooting are the Lakers problems. AD was bad yesterday, but he isnt the overall problem.
3Pt shooting:
vs Miami: 5/22
vs Suns: 8/34
vs Griz: 15/48
vs TWolves: 6/31
This is why we're barely cracking 100 pts per game. JJ is running an "offense first" line up. But where the hell are the results?
AD scored 8 points on a team that needs (and was getting) 30 from him. It's not rocket science.
When you get outplayed by Bam Adebayo, whom Heat fans don't think is a legitimate #2 player, and the corpse of Kevin Love, it's time to go home. And I've been the biggest AD defender during his tenure. It's over.
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 36829 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2024 2:27 pm Post subject:
wolfpaclaker wrote:
BTW a team that reminded me a lot of us were the Wolves last year only KAT is not as good as AD at his best. As well Lebron is a better IQ/basketball leader than Edwards. Put AD/Lebron on last year's Wolves team, I think they win the West, at the very least. Of course fitting, like us, Wolves just shot themselves in the foot and traded of of their main advantages.
Gobert/AD/McDaniels defense would have been ridiculous. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
??
8 points, no defense, our 31 year old best player. He's only been slightly better than LeBron in the last stretch where people were calling for LeBron to retire. It was only until Bron's shooting luck rebounded that people were able to start looking at AD funny. How is he not part of the problem?
I think he's given up on this team until they get him more help with size. Good for him. But it's a problem.
Defense and 3pt shooting are the Lakers problems. AD was bad yesterday, but he isnt the overall problem.
3Pt shooting:
vs Miami: 5/22
vs Suns: 8/34
vs Griz: 15/48
vs TWolves: 6/31
This is why we're barely cracking 100 pts per game. JJ is running an "offense first" line up. But where the hell are the results?
AD scored 8 points on a team that needs (and was getting) 30 from him. It's not rocket science.
When you get outplayed by Bam Adebayo, whom Heat fans don't think is a legitimate #2 player, and the corpse of Kevin Love, it's time to go home. And I've been the biggest AD defender during his tenure. It's over.
I said outside of the last game you bleep bleeping bleep
How can you expect him to anchor a defense when all players next to him except Reddish are traffic cones? We are the chair in Yi Jianlian's infamous workout. Every scrub wants to score on us.
The last game dipped us to 27th in defensive efficiency. Top 10 is where the contending teams are and top 15 will make you a playoff / play-in team. _________________ Yi Jianlian Fanboy. Respect The Chair.
Starting anew. I'm retiring my main.
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 30572 Location: La La Land
Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2024 3:56 pm Post subject:
He has plantar fasciitis.
I remember when Pau had it. It's debilitating for bigs. And often times lasts for weeks/months.
He's never been the most durable guy. I used to call him soft. But his injuries are real. He's not soft. He's brittle. _________________ When the world grows. Grow with it.
It's funny AD playing through plantar fasciitis and gets called soft. But if he sat out he'd be called street clothes.
Please pick a lane and stick to it.
So when he has a good game that means the PF disappears?
No, it means he played well through it. Law of diminishing returns of playing through injury. _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
??
8 points, no defense, our 31 year old best player. He's only been slightly better than LeBron in the last stretch where people were calling for LeBron to retire. It was only until Bron's shooting luck rebounded that people were able to start looking at AD funny. How is he not part of the problem?
I think he's given up on this team until they get him more help with size. Good for him. But it's a problem.
Defense and 3pt shooting are the Lakers problems. AD was bad yesterday, but he isnt the overall problem.
3Pt shooting:
vs Miami: 5/22
vs Suns: 8/34
vs Griz: 15/48
vs TWolves: 6/31
This is why we're barely cracking 100 pts per game. JJ is running an "offense first" line up. But where the hell are the results?
AD scored 8 points on a team that needs (and was getting) 30 from him. It's not rocket science.
When you get outplayed by Bam Adebayo, whom Heat fans don't think is a legitimate #2 player, and the corpse of Kevin Love, it's time to go home. And I've been the biggest AD defender during his tenure. It's over.
I said outside of the last game you bleep bleeping bleep
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