re: 2022-23 Lakers Thread

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I think this is extremely optimistic for him.

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Totally understand your point of view. Obviously, I have a rather low opinion on our individual D, other than Herb. Doesn't take that much, to be the 2nd best individual defensive player on this squad...imo. But, I DO think Daniels has a very high "floor", on the defensive end. Hopefully, his O can develope to the point it won't be so bad, that it keeps him out of the rotation. We desperately need another solid defender & I think he will be the guy, offense...or no offense.

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Obviously, I have a rather low opinion on our individual D, other than Herb. Doesn't take that much, to be the 2nd best individual defensive player on this squad...imo

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First of all, Jose is an excellent defender. I looked at Cleaning the Glass, and when Jose was on the floor, we were in the 99th percentile in creating turnovers. Besides the steals, though, when Jose picks up the opposing PG full court, he gets the other team out of rhythm and takes time off the shot clock. Yes, he's short and opponents can shoot over him, but he's a great defender overall. For the season, the Pels gave up 113 points per hundred possessions, but that dropped to 110 when Jose was on the floor.

Secondly, most measurements of defense take defensive rebounding into account, and that makes Jonas into a very good defender. It's true that teams with great point guards can exploit Jonas by forcing him into drop coverage on the P&R, but Jonas provides great defense against opposing bigs such as Jokic who can punish other teams in the paint.

Finally, Trey Murphy looked lost defensively early in the season, which is not at all unusual for rookies. There was significant improvement later in the year, though, and I expect Trey to be a plus defender this season.

If Dyson Daniels comes in and is a better defender than the three of them, I'll be extremely impressed.

And that guy, Jovan Buha, is The Athletic's beat writer for the Lakers. He's still drinking some of the Kool-Aid, or pretending to for the Lakers fans who read him. In that same Mailbag article that listed that potential closing lineup, he wrote this about playoff expectations:

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I think the current roster is capable of getting out of the first round depending on the matchup, if only because James and Davis are that great. There will be some matchups in which the Lakers possibly have the two best players in the series, such as against the Grizzlies, Suns or Timberwolves. That, of course, assumes we see the 2018-19 or 2019-20 versions of Davis, which may be unrealistic.

I think that any team with a healthy James and Davis is a tough out in a seven-game series, no matter the supporting cast. For as bad as last season’s team was, they were still 11-11 with James and Davis in the lineup (and 22-38 with one or both players out). That’s not great, obviously, but this season’s supporting cast is much better than last season’s.

The Lakers would be underdogs in most West matchups. I don’t think they can beat the Warriors or Clippers as constructed. I think the Suns, Nuggets and Grizzlies would also be decently favored. I think the Lakers could beat the Timberwolves and Pelicans in a seven-game series. The Mavericks are a tough call.

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I seriously don't understand this. Where is the improvement going to come from? LeBron, Davis, and Westbrook are all a year older. This offseason, they lost their 2nd-best offensive player in Malik Monk. (Davis shot so poorly that he was only an average offensive player.)

Is it Lonnie Walker? Is that where the big improvement is coming from? Is Austin Reaves headed for a huge sophomore leap? Do people still think that Darvin Ham can persuade Westbrook to play a different style of basketball?

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the athletic would like to know your opinion of this lakers closing lineup LOL

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Speaking of closing lineups...assuming everybody healthy & we play the Suns again next year, I only felt comfortable naming 3 of our 5. And I might miss getting all 5 right even if given 2 or 3 guesses. Gonna have a bunch of versatility next year...should be interesting

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I suppose the hope will be that Murphy is the 5th and Zion can play center at a positive net.

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Yep...Murphy might could end up at 4 or small 5...or Nance at small 5...or Zion at small 5. And what if Murphy turns into a solid defender (not at 5) and shoots better from outside than CJ for the entire year? (CJ would be the one with the target on his back defensively in these lineups)

If we have the lead, I think there are situations where we will want Jose in the closing five.

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If we have the lead, I think there are situations where we will want Jose in the closing five.

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Maybe...but probably VERY few & far between. I consider Jose an early game full court harasser, not a crunch time half court defender. Jose would be the guy the other team goes at down the stretch. Just too short & easy to target...with one screen. But, who knows, you might be right.

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That’s not a given, given his youth.

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I know he is young. But he was a top 10 pick. It is ok to have expectations. I don't expect much the first year. But he should be a rotational player by year 2 and a starter year 3. I had similar hopes for Hayes and Lewis..

They are a few seasons removed from a chip and when healthy still have two top 10ish players(though I’m ready to kick Davis out of that tbh)

To me it’s just motivation. Pels fans know what we can be but the team does still need to earn it tbh. Reputation is built on what you do, consistently, and Pels aren’t there yet.

Pels win a top 4 seed and make it to the second round while the Lakers don’t, no one will be saying the Lakers will be favorites over us. Frankly, same goes for the Wolves that I think are also a better team than the Lakers and Anthony Edwards is probably in line to win Most Improved Player and emerge as a top 15 guy this season. Maybe top 10.

The only remaining guys from the chip season I can remember are AD and LeBron.

All their supporting guys like Kuzma and KCP are gone.


Can those two be the core of a championship team? Yes, simply because they have done it before. But if you don’t have the right pieces around them, it won’t happen. And they traded off several of those pieces in getting Westbrick.