And they are younger and springier.... I was actually aware that the Thunder play them 3x within 2 weeks....they pose a danger in the regular season.
Lakers finally getting hit with their own medicine they’re a bottom 10 defense, and get called for the 3rd lowest amount of fouls Austin Reaves with a 57% free throw rate on par with prime James Harden
Lakers are in the Top 10 on Offense. Team Offense They are in the Bottom 20 on Defense. Team Defense Their Net Rating is currently 12ish. Net Rating Their placement in Net Rating in relation to other teams in that same area - neighborhood suggests that their W/L record could/should drift lower as more games are played and there isn't much improvement on Offense and/or Defense.
Spurs really concern me. With Fox warmed up and Dylan Harper continuing his rise, I'm curious to see what happens to the offensive dynamic when Victor returns and becomes the center of their universe again. Lakers will win a lot of games but their defense just isn't good enough to win 4 straight playoff series. Maybe the NBA will send Giannis their way to help out since Luka might not be enough.
i hate that the spurs are gonna be a problem for the foreseeable future. still, they beat the lakers, the scourge of the league. as a matter of fact, all california teams can just cease to exist, would make the world a better place.
what exactly is the plan on how we're going to get past the Thunder in the playoffs this year? they're getting a bit ridiculous
Get the 2nd seed and hope OKC has multiple injuries to key players by the time we face them in the conference finals?
Not necessarily, Wemby misses a lot of games and for someone his height, the odds say he will continue to.
And yet the Pacers almost won. Dynasties always look inevitable until they aren’t … the Shaq/Penny Magic, the KD/RW/JH Thunder, the JT/JB Celtics all supposed to be long-term super teams. We tend to project things much more linearly than reality. The best motto is always “**** happens. Stay ready”
It sounds corny but the Thunder were far from their best and still won, Chet looked limited offensively and Dub had torn his wrist but kept it a secret, played thru it. Now they thundering up a 24-1 to show the world.
If SGA stays healthy nobody is getting past them. They're at the level of those peak GSW teams right now. I do think they depend a lot on Shai's gravity though. They'd still be a strong playoff team without him, but they wouldn't be nigh-invincible anymore. They're one sprained ankle away from being vulnerable to losing a series. Not that you should ever hope players get hurt, but sh*t happens, and that's why you stay in the mix, I guess.
