Tonight (11/21/23), we’ll be 15 games into the regular season. Still a small-ish sample, but what we can say so far?

Since the beginning of the AD era we’ve been great at blocks. In 2020, we had

  • a huuuuge frontcourt with AD, McGee/Howard, Bron
  • at our best, we were a great squad at defense and rebounding…and blocked shots
  • also had nightly MVP-level heroics from Bron and AD
  • Bron led the league in assists!
  • Rondo was a great vet and was “Playoff Rondo” when needed; Green was our designated shooter, KCP and Kuz hit big shots

Who are we now?

  • We traded all of our 2020 team, except the two stars.
  • We’ve been mired by injuries every year.
  • Finally, in 22-23 we were healthy enough (and rid of Westbrook), so we could show something.
  • THAT team got to the WCF on the strength of role players providing huge bursts of consistent offense; also, we were a great defensive team

-– 2023 team stat rankings: https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/team/los-angeles-lakers/stats

^ Let’s break this up into tiers:

  • Top 10 (good->elite)
  • Middle 10 (average->ok)
  • Bottom 10 (terrible->bad)
  • The stats say…we are good at getting FTs, making 2-pt shots, scoring in OT games, defensive rebounding, blocks (thanks AD!), steals (thanks, Cam!), and not fouling.
  • And we’re bad at 3s, getting shots up, 1st quarters, **offensive rebounds, and turnovers.
  • (**Note: you don’t get a lot of offensive boards if you don’t miss)

What do you think? Feel free to look beyond the stats well.

  • DasFofinaterBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    The team with the old ass mfer carrying them on offense.

  • suhar97BEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Hate to be the guy but we don’t know till at least Vando is back

    Theoretically, having Vando / Cam / Gabe / AD is a pretty elite set of defenders to complement Bron, Rui, Austin, Dlo offensively

    I think what we’ll realize is our identity is going to be a grind it out team w/ not a lot of 3s, big lineups, and a lot of transition offense. It’s similar to the 2020 style but guys like Austin / Dlo / Rui will add a shot creation element that that team didn’t. That said, we also won’t be as good of a defense as then lol

  • yhpargotohptsBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I hope our identity isn’t one of “if only”. Like if only Vando stayed healthy or if only Bron didn’t get hurt keeping the team afloat early on. You can’t ever really assess a LeBron team until after around MLK Day. That’s when certain trades become realistic and there’s a general idea of who is staying and who isn’t. This isn’t the finished product though…believe that.

  • blacPanther55BEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    The guard play is just not good enough to be a title contending team. Reaves and Dlo will get torched by Fox, Steph, Shai, Ant, and any other elite guard that they face. Plus neither can beat a man off of the dribble. In a vacuum both are playing pretty well but there still set do not suit this team the best. I doubt that they trade both but one has to go and it’s most likely Dlo because of his contract situation.

    • thesonicvisionOPBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Interesting take.

      I know how you feel. Against top teams that have a clear identity, I fear we’ll be run over.

    • thesonicvisionOPBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Interesting take.

      I know how you feel. Against top teams that have a clear identity, I fear we’ll be run over.

  • DasFofinaterBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    The team with the old ass mfer carrying them on offense.

  • ThaEternalLearnerBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’ll make it simple. Lebron is the identity on offense. AD is the identity on defense.