Hmmmm. Maybe LeBron knows something we don't. Maybe he got the league to agree to reorganizing such that the Lakers will soon be an Eastern Conference team! The West isnt getting any easier...
I have said I wouldn't wish Kidd on my worse enemy but now that's about to happen I have changed my mind. Please hire him.
lolololololololol @ Lebron & the Lakers. Anytime I need a good laugh I just come into this thread. Good times.
You are just being a hater. He has played more minutes than any 34 year old in history of the NBA. The Fact that he is still playing at a high level is pretty amazing. If he had joined the rockets you would be his no. 1 fan just like everyone hated CP3 and Rivers before they joined. Now they are just misunderstood great team guys. I think this board cares more about Lebron or hating other players, analysts etc. than the Rockets.
Brah........ LeBron, you didn't make a basketball based decision to go to LA, and now the basketball is suffering. What did he expect? That the Pelicans would just give him Davis, and a bunch of buy out guys would show up and they would roll to a title in year one? He needs to check himself..... I am REALLY rooting for Jason Kidd to get the Lakers job. Kidd is not a quality person and lacks basic decision making abilities... he will do something really stupid in LA if he gets the job.
Hell yeah I would take LeBron on the Rockets, we would win a couple titles......... he is one of the 2-4 greatest players ever........ however it is still true that LeBron didn't make a basketball based decision and it is fair game to knock him for it.
I don't think LeBron ever thought he would compete for a title in 2019, but I think he fully underestimated the difference in power between the 2 conferences. His arrogance thought he could attain both of the things he wanted, regardless of the quality of the Laker organization. The branding of LA he clearly desired, and a contender within a year, solely because he's so awesome. I think he thought it would go much like last season. Play hard and get off to a good start (which went as planned). Activate LeCoast mode to keep his old body fresh. Cruise into the playoffs with 46 wins(he's LeBron, that's nothing), elevate his overall play, win a series, possibly 2 if they avoided the Warriors. Then attract some superstars. But you don't get to coast in the west. LeBron and the pips aren't getting it done.
To be fair, if it wasn't for injuries the drought would probably be over now. The Lakers were right in the thick of things until LBJ went down. Then Ball went out. They started free-falling after that.
That is highly speculative. Houston also improved down that stretch, Utah' schedule improved as well. I would say it's not even 50-50 that team healthy makes the playoffs in a WC the way it is now. I mean even the Kings don't look half bad and they are on the outs looking in.
Of course, it's highly speculative.........because it's speculation. Truth is that we will never truly know what would have happened because LBJ pulled his grown and Ball's ankle failed him. Prior to LBJ going down, I don't think you would have found too many people who would have seriously said the Lakers would miss the playoffs. I feel like a lot of the criticism LBJ is receiving is overblown. Sure he went to LA for non-basketball reasons, but let's not act like that team didn't have a winning record before he got hurt.
It's not that the lakers aren't a championship that is the issue, the Lakers, with the world's greatest player are en route to finish roughly where they did the year before. Let that sink in, they didn't give up any major assets to get this guy, and they will win about the same number of games. Not saying he deserves a ton of a slander here, but c'mon, it's like he had no impact on this team. Hell, in early December 538 had the lakers odds of making the playoffs around 50% (but the rockets odds were about 90% around that time). LeBron also does this to himself. The AD info leaks, the way he likes to go on IG all the time, LBJ loves the spotlight. I get it. I don't blame him. But that same light can burn too. He's feeling that burn right now.
The overall record argument is a tad disingenuous unless you believe the Lakers would have truly lost this many games if LeBron was never injured. The fact that they were, at one point, 3rd-4th seed in the West with LBJ speaks volumes about his impact on the team. I get it, LeBron's disregard for basketball in his decision is irritating, but let's not ignore the facts because of it.