2024 NBA Season

[Baofeng]

Right, by now we know what Davis can really bring to the Lakers, specially when he was in a rampage and the statistics that he has put in that 5 game stretch if I'm not mistaken. But they can't totally depend on him, because admit it or not, he is very fragile that a simple fail or just going to get the ball or even helping his team mates to stand up might result in pulled muscle or injuries.

So as a coach, Ham should experiment with different combination, sort of testing everything when Davis is on the bench.

To get a feel and see who works inside an who doesn't.

Well said and I agree with it. The Lakers team should always prepare about what may happen in the future as Davis's had a bad history of sudden injuries which will leave them hanging again. Lebron is also in the stage of that as he is getting older.
Next will be Westbrook to lead the team, Schroder to back him up and Reaves to be the next playmaker if Russ will let it.
They have a lot of young players too, give them more minutes to gain more experience on a well-lighted floor. They may be good at practice but it's always different when it's game time.

I think they have done multiple experiments with or without AD and Lebron and we know what the result is, meaning either can't be missed as it will be a disaster.

And they found the perfect the combination of just bringing Westbrook at the bench. I like to point out the Pat is also being aggressive as far as his offense goes, he is shooting good in 3 and some dribble penetration. I guess there is a sense of urgency for them or for the players to really perform very well because there could be missed opportunity or at least they will know where to fit in when Davis or Lebron is out.

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[Pamadar]

Right, by now we know what Davis can really bring to the Lakers, specially when he was in a rampage and the statistics that he has put in that 5 game stretch if I'm not mistaken. But they can't totally depend on him, because admit it or not, he is very fragile that a simple fail or just going to get the ball or even helping his team mates to stand up might result in pulled muscle or injuries.

So as a coach, Ham should experiment with different combination, sort of testing everything when Davis is on the bench.

To get a feel and see who works inside an who doesn't.

Well said and I agree with it. The Lakers team should always prepare about what may happen in the future as Davis's had a bad history of sudden injuries which will leave them hanging again. Lebron is also in the stage of that as he is getting older.
Next will be Westbrook to lead the team, Schroder to back him up and Reaves to be the next playmaker if Russ will let it.
They have a lot of young players too, give them more minutes to gain more experience on a well-lighted floor. They may be good at practice but it's always different when it's game time.

They can use all their role players and let them try working together to give rest for the starters, like how GSW is doing
when they are resting their main core.

Coach Ham needs to bring his system to the entire team and not just to focus on their stars,
I agree with Davis and LeBron they are both an important part of the team and the bad effect of
them not playing, the team mostly struggle or most of the
time, they will lose the game.

[Sanitough]

Right, by now we know what Davis can really bring to the Lakers, specially when he was in a rampage and the statistics that he has put in that 5 game stretch if I'm not mistaken. But they can't totally depend on him, because admit it or not, he is very fragile that a simple fail or just going to get the ball or even helping his team mates to stand up might result in pulled muscle or injuries.

So as a coach, Ham should experiment with different combination, sort of testing everything when Davis is on the bench.

To get a feel and see who works inside an who doesn't.

Well said and I agree with it. The Lakers team should always prepare about what may happen in the future as Davis's had a bad history of sudden injuries which will leave them hanging again. Lebron is also in the stage of that as he is getting older.
Next will be Westbrook to lead the team, Schroder to back him up and Reaves to be the next playmaker if Russ will let it.
They have a lot of young players too, give them more minutes to gain more experience on a well-lighted floor. They may be good at practice but it's always different when it's game time.

I think they have done multiple experiments with or without AD and Lebron and we know what the result is, meaning either can't be missed as it will be a disaster.

And they found the perfect the combination of just bringing Westbrook at the bench. I like to point out the Pat is also being aggressive as far as his offense goes, he is shooting good in 3 and some dribble penetration. I guess there is a sense of urgency for them or for the players to really perform very well because there could be missed opportunity or at least they will know where to fit in when Davis or Lebron is out.

Of course, they can't tank again this season, they need to be in the playoffs so they have a chance to win a championship again. They were criticized at the beginning but look where they are now, they seemed to found the way to be a championship caliber team and beating the Bucks is just a good statement to that.

[Yamifoud]

Right, by now we know what Davis can really bring to the Lakers, specially when he was in a rampage and the statistics that he has put in that 5 game stretch if I'm not mistaken. But they can't totally depend on him, because admit it or not, he is very fragile that a simple fail or just going to get the ball or even helping his team mates to stand up might result in pulled muscle or injuries.

So as a coach, Ham should experiment with different combination, sort of testing everything when Davis is on the bench.

To get a feel and see who works inside an who doesn't.

Well said and I agree with it. The Lakers team should always prepare about what may happen in the future as Davis's had a bad history of sudden injuries which will leave them hanging again. Lebron is also in the stage of that as he is getting older.
Next will be Westbrook to lead the team, Schroder to back him up and Reaves to be the next playmaker if Russ will let it.
They have a lot of young players too, give them more minutes to gain more experience on a well-lighted floor. They may be good at practice but it's always different when it's game time.

They can use all their role players and let them try working together to give rest for the starters, like how GSW is doing
when they are resting their main core.

Coach Ham needs to bring his system to the entire team and not just to focus on their stars,
I agree with Davis and LeBron they are both an important part of the team and the bad effect of
them not playing, the team mostly struggle or most of the
time, they will lose the game.

They had found a system that works for them, Westbrook does not need to be a triple-double man, he can take care of the 2nd unit and they are effective with that. The Lakers now have become a threat, they were disregarded early but now they are winning games and that resulted in an improvement in their ranking. 

Lakers are number 13 now but the good news is they are 7-3 on their last 10 games.

[beerlover]

Honestly Portland realized that they won't be able to do anything in Dame era, and looking to find new and younger players to build around a new star. They will need great players coming up draft, first it can't be a superstar right away, would be very hard to get number one pick this year for example, there is a huge expectation out of Wembayama and if they can get him, then they could build around him.

I would say the smartest thing Dallas could do this year would be that for example, get the first pick, give WHOEVER they want outside of doncic, that's it, get Doncic and Wembayama on the same team, or for Portland Dame and him again, would be great improvement.

[jakelyson]

Long season they need to stay healthy.  That has been their downfall is they can't stay on the court for long stretches of the season.  If AD can stay healthy they will contend.  Also need to trade for another piece.  A deep threat wing or shooting guard to space the floor more would go a long way on that team.

I have this bad feeling that the Lakers will be nothing again when AD is injured. That should not be the case. They cannot be an AD-dependent team because they won't know what could happen.
Darvin Ham should try to bench him and experiment with some player combinations. Maybe in times of a back to back games.
There's one game where he didn't play but that's against the Spurs, one of the weakest teams in the league now and they only won by 5 points in a high-scoring game AD-less.

I do not think they can afford to bench AD yet. He is at his prime right now and the Lakers should not waste it. They are still catching up with wins, they badly needed, to at least get up to top 10 for a possible play in. Maybe, when they are in a comfortable position in rankings, they can give some rest to AD either by not playing back-to-back or giving less minutes to rest his body. They cannot afford AD getting injured, but they also cannot afford to sit AD out. A very difficult situation for Darvin Ham to balance.

Honestly Portland realized that they won't be able to do anything in Dame era, and looking to find new and younger players to build around a new star. They will need great players coming up draft, first it can't be a superstar right away, would be very hard to get number one pick this year for example, there is a huge expectation out of Wembayama and if they can get him, then they could build around him.

I would say the smartest thing Dallas could do this year would be that for example, get the first pick, give WHOEVER they want outside of doncic, that's it, get Doncic and Wembayama on the same team, or for Portland Dame and him again, would be great improvement.

It is still a lottery, so even both teams tank, they are not secured they will be able to get Wembayama. I think that is also the target of the Spurs.

Also, even the top pick of the draft can go bust. It happened in the past and could happen to the top pick next year. Sometime, a player play really great in college or high school but cannot convert in NBA.

[Distinctin]

It is still a lottery, so even both teams tank, they are not secured they will be able to get Wembayama. I think that is also the target of the Spurs.

Also, even the top pick of the draft can go bust. It happened in the past and could happen to the top pick next year. Sometime, a player play really great in college or high school but cannot convert in NBA.

This young talent is very special, right now, the team that are struggling so hard are the Spurs, so it would be nice if the Spurs will get him as for sure they will make him a better player and of course a star player of the team. There are plenty of good teams now but Spurs are the team that are left behind, however they still win some games despite the fact that they are 6-17 so far. (https://www.nba.com/standings), their worst season I guess.

[yazher]

They had found a system that works for them, Westbrook does not need to be a triple-double man, he can take care of the 2nd unit and they are effective with that. The Lakers now have become a threat, they were disregarded early but now they are winning games and that resulted in an improvement in their ranking. 

Lakers are number 13 now but the good news is they are 7-3 on their last 10 games.

They have won their last 2 games but it's not enough to get up to rank 10 in the western conference because their rivals there are already won double digits way ahead of them. For now, they are getting serious and might improve their rank in the upcoming weeks before the end of this year and might gonna get different positive outcomes after that because they are starting to play effectively these past few days. LBJ even surpassed Magic Johnson in all-time Assists and he could still play and stretch that record furthermore to be able to give the upcoming NBA stars to even come close to it.

[danherbias07]

Long season they need to stay healthy.  That has been their downfall is they can't stay on the court for long stretches of the season.  If AD can stay healthy they will contend.  Also need to trade for another piece.  A deep threat wing or shooting guard to space the floor more would go a long way on that team.

I have this bad feeling that the Lakers will be nothing again when AD is injured. That should not be the case. They cannot be an AD-dependent team because they won't know what could happen.
Darvin Ham should try to bench him and experiment with some player combinations. Maybe in times of a back to back games.
There's one game where he didn't play but that's against the Spurs, one of the weakest teams in the league now and they only won by 5 points in a high-scoring game AD-less.

I do not think they can afford to bench AD yet. He is at his prime right now and the Lakers should not waste it. They are still catching up with wins, they badly needed, to at least get up to top 10 for a possible play in. Maybe, when they are in a comfortable position in rankings, they can give some rest to AD either by not playing back-to-back or giving less minutes to rest his body. They cannot afford AD getting injured, but they also cannot afford to sit AD out. A very difficult situation for Darvin Ham to balance.

Here we will see how good of a coach he is. He once said he had plans for Westbrook so maybe this is the time to use that. If ever there's really a plan or he just said that to avoid locker room problems because of rumors that will come in.

Bad things could happen, after watching the Warriors play against the Rockets earlier I saw some near-injury accidents from Steph and Jordan Poole.
I think now I understand why Steve Kerr is not forcing to put back Steph even if the 2nd team is not doing well.
Rests are important, especially in back-to-back games. Better to lose 1 game than lose him the whole season.

[püsür]

Right, by now we know what Davis can really bring to the Lakers, specially when he was in a rampage and the statistics that he has put in that 5 game stretch if I'm not mistaken. But they can't totally depend on him, because admit it or not, he is very fragile that a simple fail or just going to get the ball or even helping his team mates to stand up might result in pulled muscle or injuries.

So as a coach, Ham should experiment with different combination, sort of testing everything when Davis is on the bench.

To get a feel and see who works inside an who doesn't.

Well said and I agree with it. The Lakers team should always prepare about what may happen in the future as Davis's had a bad history of sudden injuries which will leave them hanging again. Lebron is also in the stage of that as he is getting older.
Next will be Westbrook to lead the team, Schroder to back him up and Reaves to be the next playmaker if Russ will let it.
They have a lot of young players too, give them more minutes to gain more experience on a well-lighted floor. They may be good at practice but it's always different when it's game time.

Yes, AD is a fragile and an easily injured player but he is also in NBA 75 list, is he not? 75 greatest players of NBA of all time list. So, how can anyone not play him to his max. If he is not a type of player that play like other stars, then they shouldn't have selected him in that list, in my opinion. He got 35m last season, this season almost 38m, next season 40m and 2024-2025 season 43 million. I mean, I understand your point and that is actually correct, but this is an aspect I don't like particularly about NBA. There is a star player that you immensely need to play him in your roster, but you can't play him as much as other stars, and you pay him quite high. I know, that is how sports work these days. We have of course witnessed these kind of situations in the past. For example, GSW with Curry, KD and Klay Thompson. But they are not this prone to injury. I just don't like it as a basketball and NBA fan that we have to talk like that about a great player like AD. I just wish Lakers can use him more in his prime and we can watch him more. I'm sure AD wants to play also.

[Japinat]

Right, by now we know what Davis can really bring to the Lakers, specially when he was in a rampage and the statistics that he has put in that 5 game stretch if I'm not mistaken. But they can't totally depend on him, because admit it or not, he is very fragile that a simple fail or just going to get the ball or even helping his team mates to stand up might result in pulled muscle or injuries.

So as a coach, Ham should experiment with different combination, sort of testing everything when Davis is on the bench.

To get a feel and see who works inside an who doesn't.

Well said and I agree with it. The Lakers team should always prepare about what may happen in the future as Davis's had a bad history of sudden injuries which will leave them hanging again. Lebron is also in the stage of that as he is getting older.
Next will be Westbrook to lead the team, Schroder to back him up and Reaves to be the next playmaker if Russ will let it.
They have a lot of young players too, give them more minutes to gain more experience on a well-lighted floor. They may be good at practice but it's always different when it's game time.

Yes, AD is a fragile and an easily injured player but he is also in NBA 75 list, is he not? 75 greatest players of NBA of all time list. So, how can anyone not play him to his max. If he is not a type of player that play like other stars, then they shouldn't have selected him in that list, in my opinion. He got 35m last season, this season almost 38m, next season 40m and 2024-2025 season 43 million. I mean, I understand your point and that is actually correct, but this is an aspect I don't like particularly about NBA. There is a star player that you immensely need to play him in your roster, but you can't play him as much as other stars, and you pay him quite high. I know, that is how sports work these days. We have of course witnessed these kind of situations in the past. For example, GSW with Curry, KD and Klay Thompson. But they are not this prone to injury. I just don't like it as a basketball and NBA fan that we have to talk like that about a great player like AD. I just wish Lakers can use him more in his prime and we can watch him more. I'm sure AD wants to play also.

We cannot deny that Davis is prone to injury, and even if he is one of the greatest players but he is still part of the team, and we know what would happen to the Lakers if he gets injured again. The Lakers just gambled for Davis and traded their young players for him, and why would the Pelicans trade him? That's because of the said issue, he is prone to injury.

There was one time that the Lakers won the championship because Davis was healthy at that time, but in the succeeding seasons, it was all struggle for the Lakers as Davis was injured most of the time.

This season, Davis is quite healthy, so let's hope he'll stay that way.

[inthelongrun]

Which teams are still not in the top 8 of their conference that you expect to be there? In the East, we have the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat while Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers made it already. Or is the Chicago Bulls line-up not worthy of a playoff spot?

The west is too crowded with good teams. Probably only 3 to 4 teams do not have the potential of landing in the top 8. Sad to see the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are losing most of their games now. There are still 70+ games for each team though, plenty of time but they better start showing and making necessary adjustments now.

[Maidak]

Which teams are still not in the top 8 of their conference that you expect to be there? In the East, we have the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat while Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers made it already. Or is the Chicago Bulls line-up not worthy of a playoff spot?

The west is too crowded with good teams. Probably only 3 to 4 teams do not have the potential of landing in the top 8. Sad to see the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are losing most of their games now. There are still 70+ games for each team though, plenty of time but they better start showing and making necessary adjustments now.

In the west, I would have liked to see the Lakers and the trailblazers to be in the top eight positions. But at the same time, it is also true that they have not played well. And the performance that they have shown, it is honestly not expected to see them in the top eight. I did want them to be up there, but I cannot say that they deserve to be up there.

I think the situation in the east is well summarised by you. Chicago Bulls, and Miami Heat both were expected to be in the top eight in my opinion. I want to say that the Chicago Bulls lineup are not widely to play in the playoffs. But at the same time, they also did not play like they are worth it, to be honest.

[carlisle1]

Which teams are still not in the top 8 of their conference that you expect to be there? In the East, we have the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat while Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers made it already. Or is the Chicago Bulls line-up not worthy of a playoff spot?

The west is too crowded with good teams. Probably only 3 to 4 teams do not have the potential of landing in the top 8. Sad to see the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are losing most of their games now. There are still 70+ games for each team though, plenty of time but they better start showing and making necessary adjustments now.

Blazers and Jazz are now feeling the pressure of the real competition, especially on the west side. They needed the right adjustment
to keep their campaign to move forward to the playoff.

They are now losing most of their games and without the adjustment the chance of them not to reached the playoff is still
possible, they need new sets of plays, system that may work with each player inside the court.

The early strong start is now fading. They both need to bring the right spice to the system or if there's still possibilities
to bring someone. Maybe that's also an option for both these franchises.

[OgNasty]

The Nuggets vs Pelicans game today should be a good one. I’m not seeing any televised games today. The story of the season so far for me is the Beam in Sacramento that they light after wins. “Light the beam” is the saying that people in Sacramento love to say now. It’s an awesome gimmick and I’m jealous my hometown doesn’t have something like that when our team wins games. I love it. Last night win another win the beam was indeed lit again.

[dwyane36]

They have won their last 2 games but it's not enough to get up to rank 10 in the western conference because their rivals there are already won double digits way ahead of them. For now, they are getting serious and might improve their rank in the upcoming weeks before the end of this year and might gonna get different positive outcomes after that because they are starting to play effectively these past few days. LBJ even surpassed Magic Johnson in all-time Assists and he could still play and stretch that record furthermore to be able to give the upcoming NBA stars to even come close to it.

It is worth noting that some teams perform about the same at the moment as there is only 2 wins difference between the teams in 10th place and 13th place in the Western Conference standings. So if Davis and LeBron stay healthy as long as possible, the Lakers will still have a good chance to reach the playoffs, even despite their poor performance at the beginning of the season.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

They had found a system that works for them, Westbrook does not need to be a triple-double man, he can take care of the 2nd unit and they are effective with that. The Lakers now have become a threat, they were disregarded early but now they are winning games and that resulted in an improvement in their ranking. 

Lakers are number 13 now but the good news is they are 7-3 on their last 10 games.

They have won their last 2 games but it's not enough to get up to rank 10 in the western conference because their rivals there are already won double digits way ahead of them. For now, they are getting serious and might improve their rank in the upcoming weeks before the end of this year and might gonna get different positive outcomes after that because they are starting to play effectively these past few days. LBJ even surpassed Magic Johnson in all-time Assists and he could still play and stretch that record furthermore to be able to give the upcoming NBA stars to even come close to it.

Long way to go for the Lakers, that's why it is very important to really win games early, like what the Utah Jazz or Sacramento Kings has done this season. That's why he don't need to do catch up as what the Lakers is doing right now, although they are 7-3 in their last 10 games, they are still way below the standings in the West.

The most important thing for them is just to remain consistent, yes it's good to see the Lebron had broken record of Magic Johnson in all time assists, but still though if the team is not winning this season, this this individual record is nothing for him.

[LGD2Business]

It is worth noting that some teams perform about the same at the moment as there is only 2 wins difference between the teams in 10th place and 13th place in the Western Conference standings. So if Davis and LeBron stay healthy as long as possible, the Lakers will still have a good chance to reach the playoffs, even despite their poor performance at the beginning of the season.

I think they got it together, they could be better. They played very well in the last two games and they won. The Milwaukee game in particular was very competitive, but Anthony Davis played close to perfection. They clashed with Giannis, both of whom had over 40 points. LeBron continues to assist. I think he set a new record, the man contributes both points and assists. Despite his advancing age, he's a very effective offensive weapon for Lakers. Russell Westbrook also uses the ball correctly and makes the right decisions on offense.
Of course, I don't know if all this is enough for the Lakers to make the playoffs, because the Western Conference is really competitive. I can say that they gave a good light in the last matches.

[sana54210]

They can use all their role players and let them try working together to give rest for the starters, like how GSW is doing
when they are resting their main core.

Coach Ham needs to bring his system to the entire team and not just to focus on their stars,
I agree with Davis and LeBron they are both an important part of the team and the bad effect of
them not playing, the team mostly struggle or most of the
time, they will lose the game.

They had found a system that works for them, Westbrook does not need to be a triple-double man, he can take care of the 2nd unit and they are effective with that. The Lakers now have become a threat, they were disregarded early but now they are winning games and that resulted in an improvement in their ranking. 

Lakers are number 13 now but the good news is they are 7-3 on their last 10 games.

It is understandable for Lakers to push Westbrook to be a bit more alone guy. He is not leading the second unit, he is given a second unit because at the end of the day that team is not great, and he ends up playing however he wants, without looking for lebron or AD, and that means he plays better because he doesn't need to look for others.

However, when Lebron and AD plays, they all look for each other, and that creates space. This gave them a bit of breathing room and they are slightly better, still not that great though, looking at how they play they still have to play a lot better and losing games, but it does make more sense this way at least.

[Jating]

The Nuggets vs Pelicans game today should be a good one. I’m not seeing any televised games today.

Yes, the game will start soon, both teams are great but I will give it to the Pels as they are going to play at their homecourt.

The story of the season so far for me is the Beam in Sacramento that they light after wins. “Light the beam” is the saying that people in Sacramento love to say now. It’s an awesome gimmick and I’m jealous my hometown doesn’t have something like that when our team wins games. I love it. Last night win another win the beam was indeed lit again.

Thanks for this, I mean maybe Sacramento is really happy with the way the team is doing right now. It is not expected that they will be hot this season winning games with huge margin. But it seems it's a perfect system that they are playing, specially Sabonis who now is a good fit and the adjustment that their coach made for him. It's just like he is still with the Pacers, but this time, he is more versatile and has matured a lot with his role with the Kings.