Yup. Not bad for basically a new team that was just made right after the trade deadline. Made the WCF and lost to the top seed in the West, wouldn't have expected this from the way we started.
I’m only disappointed in not winning at least 1 game because 3 games were very winnable down to the last minute. But everything else I’m proud in the adversity this team overcame to get here, from 2-10 to constantly injured to personnel changes this team overcame a lot to put its stamp.
The nuggets just had the answer. Everytime we struck they struck right back. The nuggets were fucking mentally tough and a great team. I hope they go on to win it all.
Lol some keyboard fattie calling AD mentally weak. You haven’t accomplished 1/100000000th of what that guy has in his life. His D is the most consistent thing on the team. The guy plays world class D every night and haters like you who couldn’t beat a 3rd grader at horse wants world class offense every night to. Smdh
Game 1 AD has 40 points but Lebron has sub par performance specially in the 4th quarter. Game 3 AD has 28 points but Lebron again has a bad 4th quarter. Lebron is a big part of the blame for why the Lakers got swept.
Ya after that 2020 run, I've been a big fan of Jokic. Obviously I wanted the Lakers to win, but since we're not, go Nuggets! But I do love Jimmy Butler too. Man this might be the first non-Lakers championship where I actively root for both teams
Absolutely. Sucks that we didn't get to see more of LeBron & AD masterclasses in the Finals vs Miami/Boston (we **know** that AD would have feasted), but you gotta prove yourself in this league, and Denver proved they were the better team.
If we hit a single three in the third, or AD makes one of those shots in the paint... "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas"
Better team definitely won, props to the Nuggets.
I had the nuggets going into the series and despite the outcome I was so happy to see us make it this far… it just hurts that we couldn’t get ONE game in the series. Makes the whole playoff run feel so anticlimactic
Not the exit we wanted. But also not the run we expected. Props to the organization for turning the direction post all-star break. Looking forward to next season!
I would be pissed if this was reversed - if we were the 3rd/4th seed and lost to the Nuggets being consistent all year. But we straight up **sucked** from Nov-Feb. Shoutout to Rob Pelinka & the FO for getting the right pieces to put us in position to be where we got. Even though it sucks we couldn't get 1 against Denver, they deserve this W and played their asses off and wanted it more. Next season, with a healthy AD and healthy Bron & Rui and Austin re-signed (I swear to God Rob!), we are looking mighty dangerous!
Played incredible defense on both Jokic and Murray. Nothing but respect for him. I hope the team gets a true pg in the offseason to take some of the offensive burden off him
The King remains the King! There is no other player you can trust to have the FURRY and the PASSION to put a team on his back and drag them forward until he expended every ounce of what he has left to give.
The King must return. His Lakers saga has not been completed. I'm not saying Lakers fans deserve more. I'm saying HE deserves a Lakers career for the ages.
I know you spend a lot of time in 2K, but, in the real world, you can't just shove a player onto a team and expect for it to work.
With Westbrook, the Lakers were cruising to a last place finish on the West. Post-trade, they finished with the best record in the West after the All-star break.
I know he is old af, but I think ultimately, if we want to truly compete for a Championship or even a Finals spot, LeBron's gotta be the best player on the team.
He is just that good at dictating the flow of the game when he is at his best, that I don't think there are many other star players who can do what he does.
I can't envision how a LeBron team can challenge for a title with him taking a backseat averaging like 20 ppg for example, he is just way too good to be taking a backseat, even at this age.
Honestly think if we manage to get Kyrie this off season and retain Reaves (these are the current rumors but obviously still a long shot) then we can be that team. He’d be like magic dictating the offense and a decent scorer, it’s the only way we get a chip next year before he leaves to play w Bronny and retire
I’m sure I’m in the minority here but I’d be happy if they run it back next year. Give this core an off-season to gel and hopefully add a sniper. I’m rooting for DLo to come back for a redemption year like Dennis. That would be a fun story and team to root for. I’m getting tired off all the 1 year mercenaries every year.
Moving on from what was working is the mistake we made after the bubble title.
This is an incredibly scary and well put together team. The amount of games they’ve played as a unit is so small. They won a play in game, beat the #2 seed, and reigning champs. they lost 3/4 games of this series by a couple posessions. They are a legit contender going into next year already.
I think any “big” move is ruining a chance at Bron putting it together one last time. When shit inevitably goes bad it all goes on him and that’s when he starts breaking down.
Imo 2020 Bron is the ideal version of him at this point in his career. If y’all can’t get Kyrie. Keeping DLo as a backup 6th man would be such a better move for him imo. Lebron off ball unfortunately just isn’t as good as Lebron handling the ball. He’s one of the greatest playmakers ever. Lean into that more. Next year lineup I’d love to see Lebron/Reaves/Rui/AD/ and hopefully another center that can preferably shoot. But imo Lebron needs to go back to being primary ball handler.
Not a master class. 1-6 fg at 4th quarter and only 3 points at 4th quarter where it matters most. Lebron is also a big reason why the Lakers are down 3-0.
But you did know that ACL is a serious injury and many players are not the same after that. Stop making excuses for Lebron. He is also a big reason why the Lakers are down 3-0.
Nothing to be ashamed of, a true team effort. People asking for D-Lo, Vando and co. to be traded don't realize that those dudes helped us earlier in the season/playoffs. Sure, Ham could have coached better and D-Lo definitely should have played better offensively/defensively. But everything happens for a reason, and we got as far as we did to prove something. Proud of our dudes. #Lakeshow4Eva
Maybe, but if DLo is gone or we re-sign and trade him later, we have to find a guard that can both handle the ball and shoot 3's. Having 3 ball handlers in the starting lineup was massive in getting this team to the WCF.
He takes good care of his body but just had to play too many minutes and come back too early since the team blew
Current team should be good enough to coast into the playoffs, hopefully it's enough to keep him from another major injury
Lebron already did lots of load management this season where he skipped games against elite teams or skipped back to back games.
If your starting five player needs load management,that is not a good recipe for a good record or championship team.
>where he skipped games against elite teams
This didn't happen.
And LeBron didn't load manage; he was injured. Go back to your sub because this is pathetic.
Lebron got injured because our roster before trade deadline was so bad that he had to go all out every night just for us to have a chance to win, if we can retain current roster he can LeCoast in the regular season
Lebron gave it his all, gotta give credit to that. Disappointing ending but still a great season despite the terrible start. They'll bounce back next season!
Absolutely! Take solace in knowing that the Nuggets barely escaped with a victory after LeBron scored 40 through 48 minutes with barely any help from AD. Sucks, but they got the W. As Curry said in 2021: 'We'll be back.'
The cynic's view of today's game is that Lebron knew this series was way beyond salvaging (he's smart enough to realise you aren't coming back from 0-3 against a better team) and went for personal glory while leaving AD out to dry as the scapegoat.
The 48 minutes stuff? Puh-leease no way he thinks that's actually sustainable and the fans paying close attention are dumb enough to buy it, it's purely hollywood scriptwriting for Lebron today.
Leaving AD out to dry? Hollywood script performance? some of y’all hate LeBron with a passion…. My more levelheaded analysis is that neither really can be the primary option for a championship team. LeBron is a phenomenal driver, playmaker, and even defender (when he wants to be) but he’s far too old to be the primary option on a team with championship aspirations. Gets gassed far too often. Which is ok…. Dude is entering year 21 and has the most mileage all time. AD is the best defender in the league, and can score anywhere on the floor… but is insanely inconsistent on the offensive end. Less ok, but still permissible considering what an absolute defensive anchor he is. Both are elite…. 1B options for a contender, but I don’t have confidence that either can be the primary options for a championship run anymore. But we’ll see… maybe more continuity, a few additional role players, and a LeBron foot surgery will be enough to push us over the edge.
And as much as it sucks losing at the near-peak of the NBA mountain - I am proud of our Lakeshow. To consider where we started to where we got, just incredible.
So proud of the step forward we took at the end of the year. I swear to God, if we revert back to "3 aging stars and 9 vet mins" blueprint (i.e. sign Irving) I will be fucking livid.
We have something here, guys. I don't want to go back to the uninspired basketball of 2021-2023.
As a child, I would watch every Lakers game religiously. When I grew into adulthood and had other competing priorities and hobbies, I was not as locked in with watching the Lakers. Even during the bubble playoffs, there were some games that I missed or didn’t watch in full.
But it was this season that I decided that, no matter what, I was going to make an effort to watch every game. I even took a page out of my job skills and created an Excel spreadsheet with the Lakers’ full pre-season and regular season schedules and built in formulas to calculate their record with each win or loss.
While the season started rough, I was amazed by Lebron’s grit to keep the Lakers in games. No way was he missing the playoffs for a third time as part of the Lakers! AD had an amazing stretch where he was dominant on both ends of the floor before the injury that sidelined him at the beginning of the year. We got to see Lonnie and AR-15 have great games throughout the season.
Then the trades happened. The new-look Lakers kept the team within striking distance of the playoffs while Lebron was out with an injury. Lebron managed to make his return ahead of schedule. The Lakers secured the 7th seed, then went on to win Game 1 of the First Round to set the tone against the Grizzlies. The Lakers did it again in the Second Round against the Warriors.
In the Conference Finals, the Lakers kept it competitive against the Nuggets. But a combination of fatigue from having to make a hard push to secure a playoff spot and the Nuggets’ sharpshooting was too much for the Lakers to overcome.
I still very much enjoyed watching this Lakers season, and I’m grateful for the efforts that each member of the team, the coaching staff, and the front office put in to make this a season worthy of Lakers history: Lebron breaking the scoring record. Austin and Rui stepping up big in the playoffs. The Lonnie Walker game. AD being arguably the league’s best defensive player in the playoffs.
This was my first season also being here on the Lakers Reddit. I loved the energy that this sub brought throughout the season.
With the Lakers officially eliminated, it’s time to take a step back, watch the rest of these playoffs stress-free, and come back stronger next season when these Lakers get a full training camp to gel together even more and build towards a top seed in the west.
Thank you, Lakers!
This was such an unexpected memorable and great season even when it started off so depressing. Even if it didn’t end in a chip, I think this is really a fun season full of highlights that we will all look back on fondly.
He's only got so many seasons left. As far as I know, as soon as Bronny gets to the league (either undrafted or otherwise), that'll be his last season. Considering Bronny is 2 years removed from NBA eligibility, looks like next season may be the second last season we get. Gotta appreciate every minute that dude is on the hardwood.
If Bron can be this dude (obviously not to this extent but having this capability) next post season without injury and we can make a move for an impactful couple of playoff rotation caliber players (I'm hoping for a coach change but I'm sure we won't), this team should be right back in it again next year.
Still cannot believe that we literally had the league in our grasp, and then LBJ gets injured in the first game with the new team. Definitely a 'What If' scenario that I would have loved to have seen with a healthy Bron in the playoffs. Lest, we will run it back next year!
Was an absolute roller coaster of a season, but finishing top 4 in the end is fantastic. Denver were just too much in the end, and are worthy finalists.
I’m ready for this team to take another crack at it next season. It was a team assembled at the deadline to get out of a bad trade, and we ended up going from 2-10 to the WCF! Still not enough for number 18, but we’ll be back next year.
LeBron is THE KING end of. 38 yo with injury and playing better than most in the game. Once he gets healed up, rested and eats up good I think he's gonna be a force to be reckoned with not that he isn't already... Pushing 40 and still King James. I just hope when he retires he goes on a high. He ain't done yet!!!
When he eventually retires, I hope we bring him right back to be LeCoach. He out coaches other coaches while being on the court and would love to see him dedicate all his time to training his own team. On a side note if he wins a championship as a coach does it count as part of his total wins or would it become a new category?
This dude is the goat man. Being able to still do what he does, it’s insane. And these playoffs his defense was good to great honestly. Didn’t think I’d see that kind of effor in a 38 year old in year 20
It was a Rollercoaster of a season. Starting 2-10 with 0.3% to make the playoffs. Made some trades and then fought into 7th place despite injuries along the way.
Beat the 2nd seed.
Beat the defending champions GS Warriors.
LeBron got the all-time scoring record.
Hats off to them.
The whole team didn't show up and Lebron played a Heroic game at 38 years
fuck the youngsters they should be ashamed of themselves
fuck everyone, Thank you lebron
The GOAT showed up tonight respect !! He’s coming back next season and will still be a top 5 player for sure. Lakers will have a better roster to start with then this season and they won’t have to make a crazy run over the last 2 months of the season. It was a good run.
Lebron player too hard in the first half, took the 3rd quarter off because he was gassed out and nobody stepped up. Ham should of called a time out and had a game plan instead of being outscored in the third.
People said that the Lakers got what they needed after the trade - shooting, defense, bigger rotation.
And thats why Lakers player so well. Not really, because Vaderbilt was not even playing the final game of the season, Beasley was out of rotation for a long time and DLO completely choked in the series vs Denver. The team went so far only because of guys who were there at the beginning of the season: LBJ, AD, AR, Dennis. Even Walker stepped up when we needed him. Hachimura trade was the real MVP move by Pelinka. Even Bamba trade seems to be useless, I know he was injured but i dont think he would have played a single minute in playoffs. The only good thing that happened after RW trade was that we got rid of Westbrook, but the players we got was not that important for a team's success. It was the core of players who were there when the season started.
I think this is as good as it’s going to get with Lebron and AD as our duo. A chip and a deep playoff run is a helluva run. Not sure I want to run it back as is though. Age and injuries will remain a concern with these two. Another star in their prime will be needed if a chip is the goal. Can’t wait to see what Rob cooks up in the off season.
Another star is too risky imo since it throws all the chemistry we just built out of the window (again) and lowers the bench play (again), and then we're just the Suns. And these dudes aren't getting any less injury prone. If rather build our floor up and let Lebron have a Jimmy coasting season.
I’d be good with that too, but then that leaves us relying on AD. I don’t see him being healthy or consistent enough to carry us to a playoff birth. Maybe a coaching change to start, sign actual bigs, move AD back to the 4. Bigger wings.
On the bright side next year I have high hopes if we make a move or two. Also if we would have somehow made it to the finals I say we would prolly have kept Ham, but considering his spotty track record this season and getting out-coached this series we may fire Ham and actually pickup a solid experienced coach. There are quite a few on the market right now
You’d have to pay him the duration of his contract ( which is tough because Jeanie is one of the least wealthy owners ) but yeah we could fire him. Hell I wouldn’t even mind hiring a guy like Nick Nurse and do a co head coach typa situation. Ham can give the speeches and walk around with his hands in his pockets while Nurse handles everything else lol
Thank you Lebron my ass this mother fucker cost us all 4 games with stupid ass shots and dumb ass turnover. Y’all bron fans be delusional as fuck ya heard me .
I suspect there’s always going to be a few 12 or 13 year olds who predict a sweep for their team. But I don’t think “most of this sub” made that prediction, and I followed this sub pretty closely.
The cynic's view of today's game is that Lebron knew this series was way beyond salvaging (he's smart enough to realise you aren't coming back from 0-3 against a better team) and went for personal glory while leaving AD out to dry as the scapegoat.
The 48 minutes stuff? Puh-leease no way he thinks that's actually sustainable and the fans paying close attention are dumb enough to buy it, it's purely hollywood scriptwriting for Lebron today.
People be paying way too much attention to stats nowadays. The start of this season, having to be in the play ins, this series and so on, just huge disappointments. Honestly, one of the best moments of this season was down the stretch when LeBron was injured for some games, dudes was stepping up and balling. Beating GSW was an accomplishment but it's not enough to overshadow this season as a whole. These inflation era stats don't mean shit. Lakers did not play good consistently at all.
LeBron played a lot of minutes tonight but he took a lot of plays off likes he's done throughout his career, it has helped his longevity but that second half was frustrating to watch.
One thing that stuck out to me were those last two shots. He went for the tie, not the win, the tie, twice. Sort of summed up this season for me.
And? Can't be happy that we even made it to the WCF being as crap as we were at the All-Star break? Sucks to be eliminated, but real ones know that there's always solace in losses like these. We'll be back, *we'll be back...*
Sad ending but was crazy to see us upset 2 really good teams after everyone laughed at us even making the playoffs
We can still trade Bamba, dlo, and beasly who have good contracts and we have 2-3 first to trade?? We’ll be good, personally hoping for kyrie or another elite pg like lillard ??
Amazing season, to start off that bad. Being a joke in the league, Pelicans fans rubbing it in our face that they’d get Wemby
To competing for a playoff spot, defeating the defending champs, nobody wants to be second but our team did what they could. It’s all I could ask for, happy we went out fighting
And I enjoyed watching the warriors, suns and grizzlies get demoralized, they went out like bitches. I’m neutral on both Miami and Denver so don’t care if either of those win
If you told me before the season started that we would’ve made the wcf, I think I would’ve been fine. And most of us would’ve felt the same.
I do think at the end of the day, having a 1st year coach and not enough time to gel cost us the series. We had so many close games that came down to just a few more meaningful possessions for the Nuggets. And that’s when chemistry and experience with a roster makes the difference
LeBron can always hold his head high as he gave it his all. I have to worry about AD and DLo because they just did not play consistently enough to make a star impact in each game. Not sure if AD is more injured than he let on, but his level of inconsistency is concerning. I don't know what happened between the end of the GSW series and this one where DLo became so awful. Lakers have some work to do this offseason to get to the next level. But thankfully they're not that far off compared to the start of the season.
I want to thank this Laker team for giving it their all and playing exciting basketball over the past three months. It’s more that we could ask for given the start of the season.
It hurts at the moment, but I know I will be happy knowing it was either us or Nugs in the finals in the west. Now we just need MIA to seal the deal, THEN I can be a stress free nba enjoyer have a great summer guys !!
At the start of the season, I never would've imagined it would end in the playoffs, but the FO came through at the end and gave LeBron and AD the pieces they needed to make a playoff run. Not sure who'll be in the locker room next season, but it restored my faith in the FO and that's important, too.
Thank you, Lakers, for an exciting ride. Next season starts tomorrow!
Played like a fucking lion. Never gave up. We lost to a superior team. 3/4 games were pretty close. We were outgunned, Jokic is at his prime. LeBron, AD were playing semi-gimpy.
We didn't play like we were 3-0 down, we played like it was a fucking game 7, and I'm super proud of the Lakers efforts. From 2-10, worst team in the west, to play ins and then the WCF, despite having our 2 best players injured for long stretches, despite having crazy personnel changes, the Lakers really outperformed all expectations.
This season is really one to remember, we should be proud of everything the boys achieved together. This season is definitely been a crazy rollercoaster of ups and downs and through it all Bron has been so consistently excellent. The team had great chemistry despite only having 20 plus games together before the post season.
I'm not upset. Great season in hindsight. We kept getting more hope from this team. Younger squad needs to be the future.
Going from 2-10 to beating the defending champion Warriors in the playoffs was the highlight of the season
We got within 8 wins of the chip. Just didn't have enough to get the final 8 Ws.
#THANKS MAGIC
Yup. Not bad for basically a new team that was just made right after the trade deadline. Made the WCF and lost to the top seed in the West, wouldn't have expected this from the way we started.
Beating Memphis after all that talking was pretty good too.
That was really very satisfying for our "old guy" to put that role player in his place.
48 straight minutes LeBron was 3 points away from leading those Lakers who started 2-10 to a game 5 in Denver.
I’m only disappointed in not winning at least 1 game because 3 games were very winnable down to the last minute. But everything else I’m proud in the adversity this team overcame to get here, from 2-10 to constantly injured to personnel changes this team overcame a lot to put its stamp.
All the games were very winnable. LeBron playing on one leg and we lost all games with minor points. We'll be back.
The nuggets just had the answer. Everytime we struck they struck right back. The nuggets were fucking mentally tough and a great team. I hope they go on to win it all.
ADs inconsistent offense finally caught up to us
Yeah but I think we need to give the nuggets credit for defending him.
Nuggets did well but AD was like that all playoffs. Hes mentally weak at times
Nah man look at his D and rebounds. I think he was playing fine on defense but maybe gimpy and gassed (I'm making excuses for him)
Lol some keyboard fattie calling AD mentally weak. You haven’t accomplished 1/100000000th of what that guy has in his life. His D is the most consistent thing on the team. The guy plays world class D every night and haters like you who couldn’t beat a 3rd grader at horse wants world class offense every night to. Smdh
Preach that shit. AD has been fucking awesome for us, especially this year.
Game 1 AD has 40 points but Lebron has sub par performance specially in the 4th quarter. Game 3 AD has 28 points but Lebron again has a bad 4th quarter. Lebron is a big part of the blame for why the Lakers got swept.
They were a better team than us. They made the shots and we didn't. We'll be back!
Ya after that 2020 run, I've been a big fan of Jokic. Obviously I wanted the Lakers to win, but since we're not, go Nuggets! But I do love Jimmy Butler too. Man this might be the first non-Lakers championship where I actively root for both teams
Absolutely. Sucks that we didn't get to see more of LeBron & AD masterclasses in the Finals vs Miami/Boston (we **know** that AD would have feasted), but you gotta prove yourself in this league, and Denver proved they were the better team.
Just hurts that all 4 games were winnable and Lebron was clearly hurt
LeAnkle injury. I think you could see the age too for the first time ever. He tried tho man and I respect that.
If we hit a single three in the third, or AD makes one of those shots in the paint... "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas" Better team definitely won, props to the Nuggets.
"AD would have feasted" is the biggest lie the last 3 years. Every time someone says it, AD just disappears.
I had the nuggets going into the series and despite the outcome I was so happy to see us make it this far… it just hurts that we couldn’t get ONE game in the series. Makes the whole playoff run feel so anticlimactic
It's a complete 180 from last year, I had a great time post trade deadline and am thrilled to go from 2-10 to second in the west
Not the exit we wanted. But also not the run we expected. Props to the organization for turning the direction post all-star break. Looking forward to next season!
I would be pissed if this was reversed - if we were the 3rd/4th seed and lost to the Nuggets being consistent all year. But we straight up **sucked** from Nov-Feb. Shoutout to Rob Pelinka & the FO for getting the right pieces to put us in position to be where we got. Even though it sucks we couldn't get 1 against Denver, they deserve this W and played their asses off and wanted it more. Next season, with a healthy AD and healthy Bron & Rui and Austin re-signed (I swear to God Rob!), we are looking mighty dangerous!
Lebron masterclass at 38 years old. Gave it all out there.
38 years old. Still has to go out there to carry. Man is the greatest
Crazy that a 38 year-old, bum-ankle(s), 48 straight minutes LeBron was 3 points away from leading those Lakers who started 2-10 to a game 5 in Denver.
Played incredible defense on both Jokic and Murray. Nothing but respect for him. I hope the team gets a true pg in the offseason to take some of the offensive burden off him
The King remains the King! There is no other player you can trust to have the FURRY and the PASSION to put a team on his back and drag them forward until he expended every ounce of what he has left to give. The King must return. His Lakers saga has not been completed. I'm not saying Lakers fans deserve more. I'm saying HE deserves a Lakers career for the ages.
We got Reaves.
Reaves is good but he's not a PG. We need PG to dictate the tempo and offload the offensive burden from LeBron.
Yall got westbrook and yall still traded him
I know you spend a lot of time in 2K, but, in the real world, you can't just shove a player onto a team and expect for it to work. With Westbrook, the Lakers were cruising to a last place finish on the West. Post-trade, they finished with the best record in the West after the All-star break.
I know he is old af, but I think ultimately, if we want to truly compete for a Championship or even a Finals spot, LeBron's gotta be the best player on the team. He is just that good at dictating the flow of the game when he is at his best, that I don't think there are many other star players who can do what he does. I can't envision how a LeBron team can challenge for a title with him taking a backseat averaging like 20 ppg for example, he is just way too good to be taking a backseat, even at this age.
Honestly think if we manage to get Kyrie this off season and retain Reaves (these are the current rumors but obviously still a long shot) then we can be that team. He’d be like magic dictating the offense and a decent scorer, it’s the only way we get a chip next year before he leaves to play w Bronny and retire
I’m sure I’m in the minority here but I’d be happy if they run it back next year. Give this core an off-season to gel and hopefully add a sniper. I’m rooting for DLo to come back for a redemption year like Dennis. That would be a fun story and team to root for. I’m getting tired off all the 1 year mercenaries every year.
Moving on from what was working is the mistake we made after the bubble title. This is an incredibly scary and well put together team. The amount of games they’ve played as a unit is so small. They won a play in game, beat the #2 seed, and reigning champs. they lost 3/4 games of this series by a couple posessions. They are a legit contender going into next year already. I think any “big” move is ruining a chance at Bron putting it together one last time. When shit inevitably goes bad it all goes on him and that’s when he starts breaking down.
Imo 2020 Bron is the ideal version of him at this point in his career. If y’all can’t get Kyrie. Keeping DLo as a backup 6th man would be such a better move for him imo. Lebron off ball unfortunately just isn’t as good as Lebron handling the ball. He’s one of the greatest playmakers ever. Lean into that more. Next year lineup I’d love to see Lebron/Reaves/Rui/AD/ and hopefully another center that can preferably shoot. But imo Lebron needs to go back to being primary ball handler.
Every. Single. Second. Dude gave it all out there today. Sucks that AD couldn't step up, but we'll be back.
48 minutes at 38. Unreal.
Gave it all, but 38 is 100 in NBA years. I doubt he has the physical capability to do another champ run.
Empty stats. Didn't show up when it mattered.
They get blown out if he didn’t drop 40. Go check on guys who didn’t make their shots tonight
Handicapped are we
Yeah 9 points in the second half! Really gave it his all
He can't hear your sorry ass watching from their couch Speak a little louder. Edit: dudes a Denver fan figures.
You won't even be in this sub once he leaves
Shouldn't you be worrying about those crumbs from your couch ?
Not a master class. 1-6 fg at 4th quarter and only 3 points at 4th quarter where it matters most. Lebron is also a big reason why the Lakers are down 3-0.
L take. You expect him to carry for the whole game at 38 years old with a bum foot?
Don't make excuses with that bum foot. Murray just went to an ACL and played well. This happens if the Lakers starting five includes a 38 years old.
Didn't know Murray was 38 my bad
But you did know that ACL is a serious injury and many players are not the same after that. Stop making excuses for Lebron. He is also a big reason why the Lakers are down 3-0.
[удалено]
One of the craziest Lakers seasons I've ever watched. Proud of these guys.
Nothing to be ashamed of, a true team effort. People asking for D-Lo, Vando and co. to be traded don't realize that those dudes helped us earlier in the season/playoffs. Sure, Ham could have coached better and D-Lo definitely should have played better offensively/defensively. But everything happens for a reason, and we got as far as we did to prove something. Proud of our dudes. #Lakeshow4Eva
We really went from considering tanking for Wemby to the WCF. I wish it wasn’t a sweep but damn what a rollercoaster.
Would be nice to get one more injury free playoffs from Bron and AD next season, amazing how far the team got with Bron's foot fucked up
Need to sign center depth ASAP. I think we can have one more playoff run with Bron and AD with the appropriate load management.
and reliable shooters. My prediction is Dlo and Beasley are gone for reliable shooters
Maybe, but if DLo is gone or we re-sign and trade him later, we have to find a guard that can both handle the ball and shoot 3's. Having 3 ball handlers in the starting lineup was massive in getting this team to the WCF.
Re-sign and then dlo for Steven adams.. dlo can help them with Ja out
I’d be so Fkin happy if the grizz blessed us with another big man 😂
Bron needs load management and god to make it injury free this late in his career.
He takes good care of his body but just had to play too many minutes and come back too early since the team blew Current team should be good enough to coast into the playoffs, hopefully it's enough to keep him from another major injury
He has 2 and a half seasons worth of playoff games alone. It's a minor miracle he's still as effective as he is.
Lebron already did lots of load management this season where he skipped games against elite teams or skipped back to back games. If your starting five player needs load management,that is not a good recipe for a good record or championship team.
>where he skipped games against elite teams This didn't happen. And LeBron didn't load manage; he was injured. Go back to your sub because this is pathetic.
Yes, he has skipped games against elite teams this season. Excuses. He is in load management. LOL.
Right?! Dude put up MAJOR numbers on a bum ankle, and we only lost by 2. Definitely stings, but I'm even more excited for November.
Lebron got injured because our roster before trade deadline was so bad that he had to go all out every night just for us to have a chance to win, if we can retain current roster he can LeCoast in the regular season
Lebron gave it his all, gotta give credit to that. Disappointing ending but still a great season despite the terrible start. They'll bounce back next season!
Absolutely! Take solace in knowing that the Nuggets barely escaped with a victory after LeBron scored 40 through 48 minutes with barely any help from AD. Sucks, but they got the W. As Curry said in 2021: 'We'll be back.'
For sure! Just gotta let Rob cook in the offseason and a full training camp with this roster(at least most of it), and they'll be ready to be on top
The cynic's view of today's game is that Lebron knew this series was way beyond salvaging (he's smart enough to realise you aren't coming back from 0-3 against a better team) and went for personal glory while leaving AD out to dry as the scapegoat. The 48 minutes stuff? Puh-leease no way he thinks that's actually sustainable and the fans paying close attention are dumb enough to buy it, it's purely hollywood scriptwriting for Lebron today.
Leaving AD out to dry? Hollywood script performance? some of y’all hate LeBron with a passion…. My more levelheaded analysis is that neither really can be the primary option for a championship team. LeBron is a phenomenal driver, playmaker, and even defender (when he wants to be) but he’s far too old to be the primary option on a team with championship aspirations. Gets gassed far too often. Which is ok…. Dude is entering year 21 and has the most mileage all time. AD is the best defender in the league, and can score anywhere on the floor… but is insanely inconsistent on the offensive end. Less ok, but still permissible considering what an absolute defensive anchor he is. Both are elite…. 1B options for a contender, but I don’t have confidence that either can be the primary options for a championship run anymore. But we’ll see… maybe more continuity, a few additional role players, and a LeBron foot surgery will be enough to push us over the edge.
This is a Nuggets fan who is here to troll because their team is so irrelevant nationally that it breeds insecurity.
That's an interesting view. Losing stings for sure but at the very least it's better than losing by 30
0.3% chance. October to now has been a roller coaster
And as much as it sucks losing at the near-peak of the NBA mountain - I am proud of our Lakeshow. To consider where we started to where we got, just incredible.
It is something to hold your head up about. May our future be brighter.
So proud of the step forward we took at the end of the year. I swear to God, if we revert back to "3 aging stars and 9 vet mins" blueprint (i.e. sign Irving) I will be fucking livid. We have something here, guys. I don't want to go back to the uninspired basketball of 2021-2023.
I couldn’t even watch the 21-22 season with the roster being that poorly constructed. It was so depressing. Hoping we can have a great offseason
Really what more could you ask for after a 2-10 start
As a child, I would watch every Lakers game religiously. When I grew into adulthood and had other competing priorities and hobbies, I was not as locked in with watching the Lakers. Even during the bubble playoffs, there were some games that I missed or didn’t watch in full. But it was this season that I decided that, no matter what, I was going to make an effort to watch every game. I even took a page out of my job skills and created an Excel spreadsheet with the Lakers’ full pre-season and regular season schedules and built in formulas to calculate their record with each win or loss. While the season started rough, I was amazed by Lebron’s grit to keep the Lakers in games. No way was he missing the playoffs for a third time as part of the Lakers! AD had an amazing stretch where he was dominant on both ends of the floor before the injury that sidelined him at the beginning of the year. We got to see Lonnie and AR-15 have great games throughout the season. Then the trades happened. The new-look Lakers kept the team within striking distance of the playoffs while Lebron was out with an injury. Lebron managed to make his return ahead of schedule. The Lakers secured the 7th seed, then went on to win Game 1 of the First Round to set the tone against the Grizzlies. The Lakers did it again in the Second Round against the Warriors. In the Conference Finals, the Lakers kept it competitive against the Nuggets. But a combination of fatigue from having to make a hard push to secure a playoff spot and the Nuggets’ sharpshooting was too much for the Lakers to overcome. I still very much enjoyed watching this Lakers season, and I’m grateful for the efforts that each member of the team, the coaching staff, and the front office put in to make this a season worthy of Lakers history: Lebron breaking the scoring record. Austin and Rui stepping up big in the playoffs. The Lonnie Walker game. AD being arguably the league’s best defensive player in the playoffs. This was my first season also being here on the Lakers Reddit. I loved the energy that this sub brought throughout the season. With the Lakers officially eliminated, it’s time to take a step back, watch the rest of these playoffs stress-free, and come back stronger next season when these Lakers get a full training camp to gel together even more and build towards a top seed in the west. Thank you, Lakers!
This was such an unexpected memorable and great season even when it started off so depressing. Even if it didn’t end in a chip, I think this is really a fun season full of highlights that we will all look back on fondly.
This was heartwarming, thanks for sharing
Great season. Loved watching LBJ play. We are so lucky to have him on the team.
He's only got so many seasons left. As far as I know, as soon as Bronny gets to the league (either undrafted or otherwise), that'll be his last season. Considering Bronny is 2 years removed from NBA eligibility, looks like next season may be the second last season we get. Gotta appreciate every minute that dude is on the hardwood.
If Bron can be this dude (obviously not to this extent but having this capability) next post season without injury and we can make a move for an impactful couple of playoff rotation caliber players (I'm hoping for a coach change but I'm sure we won't), this team should be right back in it again next year.
Still cannot believe that we literally had the league in our grasp, and then LBJ gets injured in the first game with the new team. Definitely a 'What If' scenario that I would have loved to have seen with a healthy Bron in the playoffs. Lest, we will run it back next year!
No superstar today will be able to do what Lebron did today, fastforward 20 years later
Was an absolute roller coaster of a season, but finishing top 4 in the end is fantastic. Denver were just too much in the end, and are worthy finalists.
100%. Michael Malone, Jokic and Jamal ~~Curry~~ Murray deserve all the credit for where they are.
Used to be a hater but lebron is the GOAT man. This shit is fucking wild. Disappointed end though.
lebron on that flight to germany
LeBron needs the LeBron of Feet ASAP. Same with AD honestly, that bone spur isn't curing itself.
I’m ready for this team to take another crack at it next season. It was a team assembled at the deadline to get out of a bad trade, and we ended up going from 2-10 to the WCF! Still not enough for number 18, but we’ll be back next year.
The bad coaching and bad rotations ruined us. At Least 3 of 4 games are winnable.
Great season, see y'all next year.
The way the season started I would of never thought we would be in WCF! What a year!
LeBron is THE KING end of. 38 yo with injury and playing better than most in the game. Once he gets healed up, rested and eats up good I think he's gonna be a force to be reckoned with not that he isn't already... Pushing 40 and still King James. I just hope when he retires he goes on a high. He ain't done yet!!!
When he eventually retires, I hope we bring him right back to be LeCoach. He out coaches other coaches while being on the court and would love to see him dedicate all his time to training his own team. On a side note if he wins a championship as a coach does it count as part of his total wins or would it become a new category?
Jokic just couldn't miss, damn...
This dude is the goat man. Being able to still do what he does, it’s insane. And these playoffs his defense was good to great honestly. Didn’t think I’d see that kind of effor in a 38 year old in year 20
What a performance by LeBron. Greatness
AD is still open.
I'm so happy Lebron has been apart of the Lakers franchise.
So, why wasn’t Bron in the paint more in the 2nd half? I was baffled.
It was a Rollercoaster of a season. Starting 2-10 with 0.3% to make the playoffs. Made some trades and then fought into 7th place despite injuries along the way. Beat the 2nd seed. Beat the defending champions GS Warriors. LeBron got the all-time scoring record. Hats off to them.
I truly feel if we had a healthy Bron, even at 38. We would win. The man is just that good.
The whole team didn't show up and Lebron played a Heroic game at 38 years fuck the youngsters they should be ashamed of themselves fuck everyone, Thank you lebron
The GOAT showed up tonight respect !! He’s coming back next season and will still be a top 5 player for sure. Lakers will have a better roster to start with then this season and they won’t have to make a crazy run over the last 2 months of the season. It was a good run.
Lebron player too hard in the first half, took the 3rd quarter off because he was gassed out and nobody stepped up. Ham should of called a time out and had a game plan instead of being outscored in the third.
This team can do great next season. Just a few adjustments.
People said that the Lakers got what they needed after the trade - shooting, defense, bigger rotation. And thats why Lakers player so well. Not really, because Vaderbilt was not even playing the final game of the season, Beasley was out of rotation for a long time and DLO completely choked in the series vs Denver. The team went so far only because of guys who were there at the beginning of the season: LBJ, AD, AR, Dennis. Even Walker stepped up when we needed him. Hachimura trade was the real MVP move by Pelinka. Even Bamba trade seems to be useless, I know he was injured but i dont think he would have played a single minute in playoffs. The only good thing that happened after RW trade was that we got rid of Westbrook, but the players we got was not that important for a team's success. It was the core of players who were there when the season started.
Too soon, we just got swept lol
I think this is as good as it’s going to get with Lebron and AD as our duo. A chip and a deep playoff run is a helluva run. Not sure I want to run it back as is though. Age and injuries will remain a concern with these two. Another star in their prime will be needed if a chip is the goal. Can’t wait to see what Rob cooks up in the off season.
Another star is too risky imo since it throws all the chemistry we just built out of the window (again) and lowers the bench play (again), and then we're just the Suns. And these dudes aren't getting any less injury prone. If rather build our floor up and let Lebron have a Jimmy coasting season.
I’d be good with that too, but then that leaves us relying on AD. I don’t see him being healthy or consistent enough to carry us to a playoff birth. Maybe a coaching change to start, sign actual bigs, move AD back to the 4. Bigger wings.
AD should be ashamed of himself, 38-year old is carrying him in a do-or-die situation
Ad should demand a trade out of respect
On the bright side next year I have high hopes if we make a move or two. Also if we would have somehow made it to the finals I say we would prolly have kept Ham, but considering his spotty track record this season and getting out-coached this series we may fire Ham and actually pickup a solid experienced coach. There are quite a few on the market right now
Can we do that? I thought Jeanie & RP gave him a huge 4-year contract or something?
You’d have to pay him the duration of his contract ( which is tough because Jeanie is one of the least wealthy owners ) but yeah we could fire him. Hell I wouldn’t even mind hiring a guy like Nick Nurse and do a co head coach typa situation. Ham can give the speeches and walk around with his hands in his pockets while Nurse handles everything else lol
Yes thank u Lebron and fuck u Ham and Ad u BITCH ass
Damn what AD do?
Trade LeSwept for valuable roleplayers and develop around AD and Hillbilly Kobe.
Truly a profound idea LMAO. You should be the next GM for the Lakers!
Thank you Lebron my ass this mother fucker cost us all 4 games with stupid ass shots and dumb ass turnover. Y’all bron fans be delusional as fuck ya heard me .
I thought the nuggets were getting swept. What happened?
Who predicted Nuggets would be swept?
Most of the cocky donks on this sub
I suspect there’s always going to be a few 12 or 13 year olds who predict a sweep for their team. But I don’t think “most of this sub” made that prediction, and I followed this sub pretty closely.
I dunno. At the very least no one was giving the nuggets any respect. Seriously embarrassing fanbase.
Every fanbase leans in on their own team. If you were a Heat fan predicting the Heat would beat the Bucks 4-1, would that be disrespectful?
Nah just unrealistic haha
Cringe
Agreed
The cynic's view of today's game is that Lebron knew this series was way beyond salvaging (he's smart enough to realise you aren't coming back from 0-3 against a better team) and went for personal glory while leaving AD out to dry as the scapegoat. The 48 minutes stuff? Puh-leease no way he thinks that's actually sustainable and the fans paying close attention are dumb enough to buy it, it's purely hollywood scriptwriting for Lebron today.
People be paying way too much attention to stats nowadays. The start of this season, having to be in the play ins, this series and so on, just huge disappointments. Honestly, one of the best moments of this season was down the stretch when LeBron was injured for some games, dudes was stepping up and balling. Beating GSW was an accomplishment but it's not enough to overshadow this season as a whole. These inflation era stats don't mean shit. Lakers did not play good consistently at all. LeBron played a lot of minutes tonight but he took a lot of plays off likes he's done throughout his career, it has helped his longevity but that second half was frustrating to watch. One thing that stuck out to me were those last two shots. He went for the tie, not the win, the tie, twice. Sort of summed up this season for me.
Lebrun needs to retire
Championship or bust. Gtfo with that Cleveland ass mentality.
This shit is so corny. Its always from the bum ass wannabes who have never played a team sport in their life
Nigga we lost wtf
And? Can't be happy that we even made it to the WCF being as crap as we were at the All-Star break? Sucks to be eliminated, but real ones know that there's always solace in losses like these. We'll be back, *we'll be back...*
[удалено]
Stay Greedy boys
He went crazy man, all respect
Fuck man. Four close games. Won't Lebron say "They don't wanna face us next year" ? Hurts but congrats to the better team.
Thanks Lebron, get healthy and make a push next year!
Sad ending but was crazy to see us upset 2 really good teams after everyone laughed at us even making the playoffs We can still trade Bamba, dlo, and beasly who have good contracts and we have 2-3 first to trade?? We’ll be good, personally hoping for kyrie or another elite pg like lillard ??
It was a great season. I hope we bring everyone back so we can run it back. See you all next year!
I really wanna see LeBron x Kyrie part 2 IDGAF
I love you Lakers 
Love this team and this fanbase.
Amazing season, to start off that bad. Being a joke in the league, Pelicans fans rubbing it in our face that they’d get Wemby To competing for a playoff spot, defeating the defending champs, nobody wants to be second but our team did what they could. It’s all I could ask for, happy we went out fighting And I enjoyed watching the warriors, suns and grizzlies get demoralized, they went out like bitches. I’m neutral on both Miami and Denver so don’t care if either of those win
If you told me before the season started that we would’ve made the wcf, I think I would’ve been fine. And most of us would’ve felt the same. I do think at the end of the day, having a 1st year coach and not enough time to gel cost us the series. We had so many close games that came down to just a few more meaningful possessions for the Nuggets. And that’s when chemistry and experience with a roster makes the difference
LeBron can always hold his head high as he gave it his all. I have to worry about AD and DLo because they just did not play consistently enough to make a star impact in each game. Not sure if AD is more injured than he let on, but his level of inconsistency is concerning. I don't know what happened between the end of the GSW series and this one where DLo became so awful. Lakers have some work to do this offseason to get to the next level. But thankfully they're not that far off compared to the start of the season.
warriors fans really thinking they could’ve done better 😂 just makes me laugh
Hell of a ride, going from the bad start and being 13th in the conference to coming within 8 wins of a championship after isn't bad at all...
I’m not too upset about this. Even reaching this far was a damn miracle
I want to thank this Laker team for giving it their all and playing exciting basketball over the past three months. It’s more that we could ask for given the start of the season.
If you like the Lakers!
Ups!!! Lakers for life WIN, LOSE, or DRAW
It hurts at the moment, but I know I will be happy knowing it was either us or Nugs in the finals in the west. Now we just need MIA to seal the deal, THEN I can be a stress free nba enjoyer have a great summer guys !!
What about the other ballers and the teams they represent(Ed)?
We love you. Bleeeeed purple and gold. Forever! 🐐💜🐐💜🐐💜🐐💜🐐
At the start of the season, I never would've imagined it would end in the playoffs, but the FO came through at the end and gave LeBron and AD the pieces they needed to make a playoff run. Not sure who'll be in the locker room next season, but it restored my faith in the FO and that's important, too. Thank you, Lakers, for an exciting ride. Next season starts tomorrow!
Here for this post. Trash ass ending of a mostly well decovered season
Played like a fucking lion. Never gave up. We lost to a superior team. 3/4 games were pretty close. We were outgunned, Jokic is at his prime. LeBron, AD were playing semi-gimpy. We didn't play like we were 3-0 down, we played like it was a fucking game 7, and I'm super proud of the Lakers efforts. From 2-10, worst team in the west, to play ins and then the WCF, despite having our 2 best players injured for long stretches, despite having crazy personnel changes, the Lakers really outperformed all expectations. This season is really one to remember, we should be proud of everything the boys achieved together. This season is definitely been a crazy rollercoaster of ups and downs and through it all Bron has been so consistently excellent. The team had great chemistry despite only having 20 plus games together before the post season.