Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 864. (Read 918873 times)

Yeah, but maybe he can still bring some championship to the Lakers? He is still good no doubt about that, it's that the Portland management was not able to surround Dame with good players. and maybe if him and Lebron can be team mates, who knows, maybe they will click as long as the second unit will be their to assists them.

I understand that they have to play gruelling 82 games and then the playoffs, but that's the true testament of a good player and solid team.

And I think Dame + Lebron might be a good combo.

Finally, the Portland Trailblazers have broken their slump as they took a needed win against the Dallas in their homecourt.

Dame has a good game with 36 points, and he had a good support from the team, as 6 other players score in the double digit. Luka though with just a quiet 15 points, very uncanny for him maybe the defense of GPII affected him. It was Dinwiddie and the sharp shooting Reggie Bullock which lead the Mavs in this game. But it was not enough.

The level of his game really improve a lot thanks to this team who give him the chance to prove his worth after being traded to Cavs, not sure about his contract there's no update if Jazz will keep him.

Things in NBA will only be intact once it's already happening, so better to keep an eye on the latest
updates to know whether he will get what he is asking or he will be traded to another team that
will risk for his demand.

I can't believe, Clarkson is again playing like an all star, he scored 38 points against the 76ers. But it's just unfortunate that they lose the game, but it's a 1 point lose only. The level of accuracy and the high level of confidence, that's what Clarkson is now, I believe the management are really pressured because they cannot give the demand of Clarkson, but they want him to stay.

Yes, I believe, this is the trend!
Few people are positive about the Lakers, I reiterate, but I have no doubt that the Lakers can reach the playoffs this season, but for that to happen, the team will need to have a significant improvement in its performance, chemistry and teamwork, if that doesn't happen, the Lakers can already say goodbye to the playoffs before the regular season ends.
If LeBron James leads the team, Westbrook returns to perform well and a possible AD return, I have no doubt that this chance of going to the playoffs will be high.

6th place to 13th place doesn't have much difference and could be changed but I agree with you. With David less Lakers, it won't be easy to climb to the 8th spot. If Anthony Davis will always be like this, it is not far from happening that he will be like others who lose their shine because of injury. Oh, and I'd take Damian Lillard over Westbrook any day. Westbrook isn't productive as before. I don't expect Schroder to become consistent or reliable right now.

This is the last year of Westbrook if I am not mistaken. If they are waving the white flag this season then it's best to create a plan for the next one.
A big plan, that's if they want to maximize the strength of Lebron James because I don't think he is stopping just yet. He is still able to put huge numbers in his stats and he ain't the one dragging them down but actually lifting them up even at his age.
Bradley Beal's contract is max, they cannot go wrong in this decision or else it will be a Deja Vu Westbrook.
I like to see them sign players that are extraordinarily avoiding injuries and can contribute on both ends of the floor.

They improved those early poor performances but like what you mentioned, they need to keep winning if they wanted to move to next round,
right now, the standing is still poor.

If they wanted to push their way up, they need to work more harder, try to execute good plays and try to depend on each other, AD is
out and there's nothing he can do to help aside from moral support.

While all the other remaining players needs to maximize everything to try winning more games to be qualified to the next round.

It may seem like the Lakers' place in the standings doesn't change, and they're still at the bottom, but the fact is they only have 3 fewer wins than the Jazz, who are currently in 8th place in the standings. So the Lakers still have a chance to make both the play-in tournament and the playoffs, but they need Davis for that. Honestly, I think the Lakers have been performing a lot better lately compared to their performance earlier this season. Let me remind you that the Lakers started this season extremely poorly, as they had 2 wins and 10 losses at that moment.

I love me some Dame time.  But he is on the backend of his career he can't be the young juice they bring in.  AD and Bron will be another year older.  Bringing in vets barely ever works.  Honestly Beal might be a good option though, haven't followed his injury history although I know he has been out this year a bunch already.  They need bodies on the floor 82 games a year.  That is their issue.

maybe I'm wrong in my comment because I haven't followed the nba for many years, but now that I've started to follow the nba games I notice that the lakers need to play games with some potential for the team to have good results in the long term, that's enough seeing that the lakers have Russell Westbrook who is a good player but he is 34 years old, and the lakers are very dependent on LeBron who is constantly the best scorer on the team, that would be a very good thing if we were talking about LeBron being 25 years old , but with his age and the extreme dependence that the team has on him, the lakers are in a very bad position, it looks like LeBron carried the whole team alone, I saw LeBron's interview complaining where he said he didn't know which one and the identity of the lakers, I imagine he spoke in that tone due to the inconsistency of the team

Reports saying that the Lakers are trying to talk LeBron into riding out this year and then in the offseason they'll try to get Dame or Beal.  I honestly think from a business perspective, this is the only thing that makes sense with Westbrook's contract.  They're going to have to eat that money and then try again to get a championship level point guard.  I'd personally love to see Dame and LeBron play together, as they're both a couple of the best ever at what they do.  They're both getting pretty old though.  I hope there's still time for them to play at a high level.  In any event, this is bad news for people who wanted to see the Lakers in the playoffs this year.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/nba-insider-says-the-los-angeles-lakers-are-trying-to-sell-lebron-james-on-acquiring-damian-lillard-or-bradley-beal-this-summer/ar-AA16knMc

People are even rooting for the Utah Jazz already to participate in the upcoming playoffs because despite of the fact that the team is still rebuilding, they are showing some good signs from having a consistent performance since the season started and still getting some improvement in every games which is quite unexpected from a team that is supposed to be tanking this season. Hopefully, the Jazz can adjust with Clarkson's price for at least a year to see where will this team go.

They have been a goner since like the firt week of the season, they are definitely not good at all. We are talking about a team that has been under 0.500 for the whole season, how could people still have any hopes about them at all is beyond me. I know that it's not going to be that easy, I know that it's going to be difficult to handle, and I know it's going to hurt a lot of people emotionally if they are Lakers fans, but that's true.

You have to just realize that Lebron gave you a title, and that's it, there isn't anything else this team could do with this roster, it gave success already and now it's going to suck for a while until it is good again years later.

Indeed, there's no official statement or some news that can somehow link Clarkson to the San Antonio Spurs. The rumor with him and the Spurs began when he bought a mansion in San Antonio and it really coincide with event where he took down an offer from the Utah Jazz that's why the people took the bait and started talking about his transfer to Spurs but, I do think that the bases established are too shallow.

And just like with the link that you provided, Clarkson is still really interested to wear the same jersey next season. So maybe the Jazz and Clarkson will somehow find a way to be in the same page before the trade deadline ends or before he goes into the free agency.

Sacramento Kings have the play-offs locked in right ? With the W against Rockets last night , they solidify even further that 4th place in West Conference with Mavs chasing them.

Pelicans are still in great shape even without Zion and I'm sure they will fight a lot in order to get to play-offs and there Zion should be healthy to play.

Miami - Bucks , should be one hell of a game to watch 

It isn't tough but it's impossible for me.

Now that AD is injured "again", they are at the bottom of the standings. When AD, Lebron and Westbrook played, they are still at the bottom spot (highest that they've got I guess is around 12th). What I'm trying to say is that, their standings isn't changing at all. Whether their big 3 play or not, they will still remain at the bottom spot. Play-ins is the highest that they can get but looking at how they are right now, even that might be hard for them to achieve this season. It's your opinion though but for me, they will not enter the playoffs this season whether their big 3 will play or not.

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We are at the half of the regular season already and we've seen teams who are at the bottom last season but now at the top 8 and vice versa. Teams like Phoenix (currently 10th), Atlanta, Toronto and Chicago are out of the playoff spot but they entered the playoffs last season. On the other hand, teams like Sacramento and Indiana are now at the playoff spot.

There are teams who surprised on both ways. New Orleans, Cleveland, New York are now on the top while teams at like Utah, Miami and Golden State are now at the bottom 8. Surprises really do happen in NBA. The teams which are at the top last season will not maintain and be the same next season and vice-versa.

Making the playoffs without a healthy Westbrook, Lebran, and AD will be tough but not impossible. These young guys are showing a little spunk, if they can keep it up and just get a little better as a unit they have a playoff chance.

They have a lot of shooters now and good defenders. One great addition to their roster is KCP, his having a decent production this season averaging 11 PPG as a reserve. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/caldwke01.html

If this team will remain healthy, at least their big 3 (Jokic, Murray, and Porter Jr. ), this team should be a team to beat in the West. I know we have the Warriors who are the defending champ, but they will have having a problem against an opponent with good center because they don't have the height, just like last season. With the Nuggets having plenty of outside shooters and Murray able to create his own shot, that is something to watch for this playoffs.

Yes, it was evident this season that the Nuggets is very different, there's not much of a change in the lineup, but with a healthy Murray and MP, Jokic games is so much easier right now and that's why his numbers is insane that we are talking of him taking the MVP for 3 consecutive years.

They are now on a 5 game winning streak, and they can continue with the Magic next and then Portland who is also struggling in their last couple of games. So minimum 7 games is what I'm seeing for them.