- Clippers are 9-10 and clinging to the play-in right now
- Golden State is 9-11 and a lottery team right now
- Phoenix is half a game ahead of us
- Denver is two games ahead of us
- We have a better record than Miami and the same amount of wins as Philly.
- We are 2 games out of the 2 seed.
- Rui has missed 9 games
- Gabe has missed 17 games
- Vanderbilt has missed 20 games
(but, but but the Clippers are a mess, Golden State is injured, Phoenix hasn’t had Beal forever, Denver had Murray missing - lol, i don’t give a fuck)
It’s not just about wins and losses; it’s about how you win/lose and whether or not you’re developing championship habits.
Real contenders have traits that include a clear identity, team camaraderie, commitment to defense, a fluid offensive strategy, and so on.
If the Lakers had precisely the same record, but the “story of the season so far” were more positive, then I (for one) would be much more optimistic and satisfied.
Right now, we have a lot of bad habits and weaknesses that get exposed by every cohesive team we face-- and in embarrassing fashion.
Let me remind you of the lowlights:
– 10/24. Spanked by Denver 119-107. Became immediately obvious that the D-lo/AR pairing is a major defensive liability.
– 11/4. Crushed by Orlando 120-101.
– 11/8. Blown out by Houston 128-94.
– Then we get hot and won 6/7, feasting on bad teams.
– But Sac reminds us we can’t beat good teams with a 15-pt win on 11/15.
– Philly then adds insult to injury on 11/27, winning 138-94.
– And most recently, on 11/30, OKC crushed us 133-110.
We get absolutely manhandled and exposed by every good, cohesive team that isn’t riddled with injuries.