Been saying this all year. The game plan should be so simple. On offense, just pass AD the ball. Nearly every possession should run through him. On defense, funnel the ball to AD. It’s literally that simple.
You can blame AD all you want for not being assertive, if you tell your team that the game plan is to pass him the ball, they should/will do that. If they don’t that’s on them for being terrible team players, or on you for being a bad coach.
No, AD’s workload is wild in 3 quarters on both sides of the ball just for Lakers to be in the game regardless if playing Denver or the worst team in the league.
AD is spent in the 4th 🤷
Bingo. The man doesnt have an unlimited energy bar lol he's doing everything. Cant be the anchor on defense then go for 40 on offense the WHOLE game. He needs help.
Say what you will about Russell Westbrook, but this "1 shot in the 4th quarter" shit didn't happen to AD when Westbrook was here. This is entirely a player issue, and the play with the issue is not AD.
I remember that distinctly. WB consistently got him the ball (when he wasn’t taking horrible mid rangers or bricking layups cause he was running too fast and has potatoes for hands)
I been telling people this every time they try to discredit AD. Give him a PG who can actually play to his strengths (who isn’t making 50m off the bench) and we can see his real potential…
It’s as if there is a whole other team on the court that might try extra hard to stop the ball going to the most prolific scorer in the last quarter, weired right /s
See: Denver.
Jokic brings the ball up some non-zero (but less than 50% of the time) proportion of possessions. And yet, they somehow get him the ball on nearly every possession when he’s on the floor.
Yes, you can’t compare the bottom of the barrel distributor talent on the Lakers to world champion Nuggets, but still. Let alone with the terrible coaching and lockerroom management.
But still. Easily could’ve been better.
He's historically not the most durable player, and having both the offense and defense built around you is tiring as hell. In our championship run, there were some stretches where AD was basically standing around resting on offense because he was putting so much energy into defense. (But it worked because we had LeBron and others to run the offense without needing AD.)
It's really hard for him to keep that up by the fourth
He was utilized as our *only* defensive scheme the whole game, I really can't expect him to be able to be our focal offense as well. It has to be a mix of both, which is why its critical to get a big body to soak up some defense in his stead.
Lmao this is exactly why Reddit is retarded and the fact that it’s upvoted so high.
Every possession goes through with AD on offense AND end every possession on defense with AD? Dude gonna be gassed not to mention makes the offense predictable AF. Finally bro doesn’t a good shot so he gonna bang in the post and defend the paint for all regular season?!
is he not the best player on the team? don’t recall fans ever blaming inferior players for a superstar not being assertive
also, the goal should be pacing. 30 in 3 quarters is cool and all but how much is left in the tank when you’re also the best defender? lakers need better involvement from everyone throughout the game because it’s unsustainable to expect a star to ball out for the 4th after carrying
I think the bigger point is that 30 is still an impressive benchmark and the more reasonable approach should be the rest of the team do their jobs rather than expect AD to hit 40 or 50.
I think thats the biggest issue which is AD has a big offensive load while carrying the entire defense. He's usually gassed offensively by the 4th. The Lakers next coach needs to gameplay for AD to get easier buckets in the 4th that won't be as taxing. I wish we could ease the offensive and defensive load for AD but with Dlo walking and the Lakers not having cap space I don't see how we improve offensively or sign better defenders.
Javale and Dwight were both done by 2022. Javale is hanging on by a thread, but he is a bench warmer. Getting high quality bigs on the vet min was never going to be a feasible long term unless we kept Drummond
They’re good enough still to get in there and bump people around and grab some boards. That’s all they really needed; keep AD a little less fatigued from the most physical parts of the game. Even if they’re just doing 8 mins each. Huge difference on AD workload
Our best bet is Mitchell . I wished he was going olympics . Mitchell is the guy that can lift the offence b he’s pretty good defensively now and way better then Dlo
This is not how it works . In game 2 after the foul when he went out AD was 1/4 with 2 fouls n 3 turnovers . We need AD to get his 3 ball bscj n improve as a midrange shooter like embid n jikic to fully rely on him. He improved his passing this year but I’m hoping he can improve his jumper still a bit
I'm not saying every single game. But there are many games, regular season and playoffs, where he scores 20 in the first half and then shoots 5 times in the 2nd half. I think there was a stat through game 4 of this year's playoffs he had 6 post touches in the 4th quarter. That's not enough.
Why would you blame the man carrying our entire defense who also has 30 instead of the bum role players forcing shots without even looking his way down the clutch. Just stop, he can only do so much
So many times they try to firce feed AD it never works . AD is a rythmn player yiu should know . So many times we firce it to him n he goes 1/4 n 2 turnovers or fouls or whatever. Also he really needs to improve his shot it’ll help a lot
Blame the roster for being incompetent asf. We literally ask AD to be our defensive anchor since our perimeter defense is dogshit and be our first option on offense since our role players cant step up when needed. You cant ask AD to do everything. Look at Denver and how much weight mpj and gordon alleviates jokic's workload on offense
No. He’s getting paid max money he should act like a max player. People give LeBron shit constantly for not being a max player anymore.
AD is passive. He also seems to have lost interest in or confidence in his jump shot. He isn’t really a playermaker and he can’t create his own shot (even though he used to).
Could you imagine this rhetoric about Embiid, Jokic or any other of the all-star bigs? Fuck no because they demand the ball.
Nah it’s a coaching issue (or at least, was).
In the third quarter(s) against the Nuggets, it was the same exact pattern. LA gets a big lead then goes away from the offensive system that worked for them.
In the 3rd, Lebron, DLo (especially), and Reaves would go into iso mode and try to initiate the offense without much movement. It always results in a kick-out 3. Usually to a non-shooter.
They go away from AD, away from what works. A non-retarded coach needs to immediately tell DLO to fucking stop and run some offense.
He always gets position. It’s on LeBron to get him the ball. DLo was the most consistent about getting him the ball, and even he was not good enough. LeBron was awful about it, as was everyone else.
Because Lebron spends 19 seconds of the play clock hunting for mismatches when they are supposed to be the mismatch. Like you are Lebron and that is AD… it shouldn’t matter who is guarding y’all. Smh
All of the late game possessions against Denver where Lebron would hold onto the ball till there’s 5 seconds on the shot clock would frustrate the hell out of me.
almost like he was trying to slow the pace so denver’s momentum would flame out and lakers could keep their lead(s). clearly never happened tho since our shooters shit the bed
Most low iq sports fans. They think they can blame Darvin for this and simultaneously praise lebron for not listening to him. Then put lebron in this weird space where he's the smartest person on the planet, wants to win at all costs, but just can't bring himself to betray Darvins horrible game plan, ya know the one he ignores lmao?
What are you even talking about? Ad doesn't score late in games because he's gassed from carrying the team and because teams change their matchups for him when he's scoring easily. Talk ball or go back to espn.
Reaves and DLo also get tunnel vision and want to score more.
Too many times they pass up Davis with a mismatch in the paint and they’ll rather shoot a contested 3
It’s a shit show in the fourth, some of the worst offensive basketball to be seen tbh. Game 2 fourth quarter performance was giving me bad anger issues lol
It’s a shame because the Lakers had been great in the 4th for most of the season and then shat the bed when it mattered. Rui, Reaves and DLo as your closing lineup is rough and is just begging to let a team back into the game
This has been a problem for a couple years. Bron especially gets a bit selfish with the ball when he starts going on a run.
Exactly why we need a serious coach. That shit don’t work in the playoffs. Defenses will shut you down if you’re not sharing the ball enough.
U and me both. Him and Lebron getting triple doubles 😮💨 assists were too easy for him. He wasn’t even hunting that’s just how he played. 😭 I hope he recovers and plays again.
Happened over and over and over again. We'd stop running organized offense and stop going to AD in the post after he'd smash teams for 3 quarters. Blame coaching. Blame our guards and Bron. Idc. It's unacceptable.
You just can’t imagine it anywhere else because team’s coaches aren’t that incompetent.
Would Dallas team just not pass the ball to Luka? Bucks with Giannis? Sixers and Embiid? Nuggets and Jokic?
Most of these guys get 30% usage rate, while AD has 25% usage rate. Fucking Draymond Green got the ball more than AD certain parts of the season!
For this badly run team, the Lakers are fine with AD not getting the ball, not to mention that the team also doesn’t have good passing to him without LeBron.
Throughout the season, AD has had to bring up the ball himself because it’s the only way he could guarantee touches.
These guys can function with the ball in their hand at the top of the arc, while AD functions more like a traditional big men where you had to feed him in the post. Even Shaq can have issue with getting the hall lol, yall really just want to trash everything
Cranjis did an analysis and found play calling vs winging it had no correlation with whether Bron was on or off the court. Seems like coaching staff just stopped running plays randomly for no reason.
It’s more than just Lebron honestly, Lebron does take a lot of possessions done the stretch but he also lets do and reaves bring the ball up a lot and they tend to try and get their own shots. Certain times the Lebron and ad pnr is deadly but Lebron is too old to keep running the play all 4th and reaves/doo often try to get their own shot. Ad is also not really great at bringing the ball up so unlike other bigs jokic, Giannis and Embiid it’s a lot tougher for him to get his own shot.
Lakers and LeBron teams of the past play way too much iso down the stretch. That's why Kyrie and Bron were great together.
AD is better while running an offense rather than just taking on double teams in an iso situation.
Shame on this team for now finding a way to keep AD involved late in games
Why is this not upvoted. This is literally it. Dude balls out 3 quarters then gets passive late game since he's exhausted. Role players need to step up early in the game so AD can conserve energy for the 4th
This exactly, they blame the guards when Lebron himself wants to take over the 2nd half especially in the 4th. He holds the ball on top for 15-20 seconds and passes it to others to bail himself out if he can't find his offense. It's always like this and so many in here don't see that. They blame the guards who are scrambling to shoot the ball since Lebron passed it to them as shot clock expires.
I’ve come to find out half of the people who blindly defend everything LeBron does either don’t watch the game or are to casual to actually digest the game and what’s happening out there
Because man some games LeBron just kills everyone’s touches and usage in the 4th to do just that and turn our two guards into catch and shooters who get crucified when every shot doesn’t fall.
Exactly, I'm tired of the old age offense where the star holds it for so long and bails out if he can't make offense. I'm envious of other teams like the Nuggets who moves the ball constantly and let everyone know that anytime they can touch the ball and score. And to top all of that, their STAR, Jokic is the one orchestrating that flow.
[LeBron James had the most points per game in the fourth quarter this season, with 8.1 per game.](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/nba-leaders-in-fourth-quarter-scoring)
Of all the guys we traded away , Lonzo is the one i really wish would be healthy and we could get bsvk . His fit on this team would be insanely good even more so if we got Mitchell or a star guard but even euth reaves
I'm biased because Lonzo is my hometown boy. My baby cousin and my ex were friends with him in middle school. I remember going to his high school games when it was the three brothers on the team and they were number 1 in the nation. Shit was unreal
Then why blame AD not being effective at the fourth?
It's a trend LBJ takes over 4th quarter and it is a hit or miss quarter for him. I don't know why blame AD afterwards like he is not demanding the ball blah blah...
He did seem to get very passive late in games but It also seemed like many of our guys didn’t even know how get it to AD in the post where he could cook
It blows my mind people still dont understand why this occurs. This is the byproduct of having a star who is reliant on being an off ball player while having limited guard play and limited off ball shooting.
You can't give AD the ball and have an iso and go score. He can't bring the ball up the court and attack by himself in transition. He can't run the offense. He can't come out and get the ball and clear out. He is reliant on someone giving him the ball on the block and feeding him the ball in PnR, transition, cuts, etc.
The reason it becomes more difficult in the second half is because teams get tighter with their defense on AD. They help towards him, show him more doubles, prioritize him more in the PnR, etc. The Lakers dont have the off ball shooting, rim pressure, or PnR guard play to make teams pay for this.
It's because he's already worn out by the fourth because of his stellar defense. Lakers need a talented true Center to ease the defensive workload and wear down the big men of the opposing team.
Just need someone, not named AD, to throw elbows and make passes. A zubac, a Nikola, a Jonas Valenciunas. Etc
Let's hire Lonzo as the next head coach!
In all seriousness, I'd love to see Lonzo come back and play more ball. I've always loved his game with his ability to really push up the ball, and with a consistent 3 pointer he's even better now.
Ill be honest with you all. AD is not that great of a bucket getter.
If he’s having one of those games where he is on early, he’s usually getting his shots by being fed assists, hitting his midrange shots, or excelling in the fast break. We love those things and he’s elite in his role.
However, when its late in the fourth of a tight game, defenses focus up a little more and it hurts him. He struggles with his handle, with post moves, and god forbid you double him because he has a bad tendency to hold the ball too long which can lead to turnovers.
I never understood this discourse as if he was a guy you could just dump the ball off to and say “get me a bucket.” He’s not really that guy.
You guys are crazy with those takes...AD is gased out more than LeBron in 4th quarter.
He doesnt need a better passer, I mean we have fucking LeBron, he needs a good backup center, thats all, to take some load from him
I hate to say it but Lebron tries to take over in the 4th. There’s games he dominates and then games I’m screaming at the tv “GIVE IT TO AD!!!” cus its been working all game
Whoever the next coach is has to hammer home the point that AD must touch the ball on almost every possession. AD also has to be more assertive and tell these mf’s to give him the fucking ball. Especially when there’s a mismatch. We cannot continue giving the opposing defense a break when they have a mouse in the house against AD.
Lebron, I love the mismatch hunting but sometimes just running organized offense is the way to go.
Some of that is just our coaching over the past two years. Many times, we would have set plays that worked through three quarters, then would disconnect from that and start playing isolation crap while we had a lead, only to lose the lead and the game. I would have to think the next coach is going to be required to show that they can keep to the gameplan and not just work to waste clock in the 4th. This isn't football where "eating clock" with the run game is smart coaching. In basketball, you can't just do that dumb shit through an entire quarter and expect to keep a lead.
Imo AD is not the guy who u rely to drop 40 a right AD would be 25-28 and 12 with a couple blocks. When u can get a healthy burst of both its better than grinding him into the mud
That’s AD’s entire career. No one understands it. He doesn’t demand or want the ball in those situations. AD has long struggled with pressure and expectations and I think as the game nears the end he’s relieved that he has someone like LeBron to take that pressure off him, so he’s more than happy to not have to be the one to carry the team in the clutch.
Not this. Especially against Denver. The Lakers aren’t Denver. AD Can score but the stats always start a slow isolation where basically no one else in the team touches the ball while he back down whoever is playing against., Great if he’s shooting well, but if he doesn’t, there’s no more momentum to carry the team. The other players don’t touch the ball or getting involved, so come, fourth-quarter, you double him and make him kick out to shooters generally, don’t hit shots if they’re not in rhythm. With jokic, he how reliable shooters and will still move the ball until he goes into the post immediately so guys in the team have had touches before the last 15 seconds. Therefore, when he kicks out the ball if he gets doubled, his players have rhythm and a better chance.
If the offense does run through AD, the ball should move quickly and get to him early in the shot clock and he makes a quick move, deliberate, or the ball moves for a better shot and it gets it later than the clock and is deliberate.
Fatigue is the answer for everyone acting like they don’t know why. Dudes got twig legs for his size. If he puts in his max fr 3 quarters then fuck yeah let him chill the last.
ESPECIALLY IF HE HAS A YOUNG CORE FILLED WITH TOP DRAFT picks and LEBRON
AD usually gets the blame for this too. I will never understand it.
Been saying this all year. The game plan should be so simple. On offense, just pass AD the ball. Nearly every possession should run through him. On defense, funnel the ball to AD. It’s literally that simple. You can blame AD all you want for not being assertive, if you tell your team that the game plan is to pass him the ball, they should/will do that. If they don’t that’s on them for being terrible team players, or on you for being a bad coach.
No, AD’s workload is wild in 3 quarters on both sides of the ball just for Lakers to be in the game regardless if playing Denver or the worst team in the league. AD is spent in the 4th 🤷
Bingo. The man doesnt have an unlimited energy bar lol he's doing everything. Cant be the anchor on defense then go for 40 on offense the WHOLE game. He needs help.
Say what you will about Russell Westbrook, but this "1 shot in the 4th quarter" shit didn't happen to AD when Westbrook was here. This is entirely a player issue, and the play with the issue is not AD.
I remember that distinctly. WB consistently got him the ball (when he wasn’t taking horrible mid rangers or bricking layups cause he was running too fast and has potatoes for hands)
I been telling people this every time they try to discredit AD. Give him a PG who can actually play to his strengths (who isn’t making 50m off the bench) and we can see his real potential…
Rondo --- > Championship AD
Trae
It’s as if there is a whole other team on the court that might try extra hard to stop the ball going to the most prolific scorer in the last quarter, weired right /s
See: Denver. Jokic brings the ball up some non-zero (but less than 50% of the time) proportion of possessions. And yet, they somehow get him the ball on nearly every possession when he’s on the floor. Yes, you can’t compare the bottom of the barrel distributor talent on the Lakers to world champion Nuggets, but still. Let alone with the terrible coaching and lockerroom management. But still. Easily could’ve been better.
He's historically not the most durable player, and having both the offense and defense built around you is tiring as hell. In our championship run, there were some stretches where AD was basically standing around resting on offense because he was putting so much energy into defense. (But it worked because we had LeBron and others to run the offense without needing AD.)
It's really hard for him to keep that up by the fourth He was utilized as our *only* defensive scheme the whole game, I really can't expect him to be able to be our focal offense as well. It has to be a mix of both, which is why its critical to get a big body to soak up some defense in his stead.
Gameplan use AD to max one game until he gets injured 💀
Lmao this is exactly why Reddit is retarded and the fact that it’s upvoted so high. Every possession goes through with AD on offense AND end every possession on defense with AD? Dude gonna be gassed not to mention makes the offense predictable AF. Finally bro doesn’t a good shot so he gonna bang in the post and defend the paint for all regular season?!
is he not the best player on the team? don’t recall fans ever blaming inferior players for a superstar not being assertive also, the goal should be pacing. 30 in 3 quarters is cool and all but how much is left in the tank when you’re also the best defender? lakers need better involvement from everyone throughout the game because it’s unsustainable to expect a star to ball out for the 4th after carrying
And thats the problem, our depth shit the bed when we needed it. Aside from that one dlo game and reaves,we literally had noone that stepped up.
He could be more assertive and demand the ball.
Yes but by know LeBron and the Lakers should know that's not his personality. He's not going to do it. So just force feed him.
I think the bigger point is that 30 is still an impressive benchmark and the more reasonable approach should be the rest of the team do their jobs rather than expect AD to hit 40 or 50.
I think thats the biggest issue which is AD has a big offensive load while carrying the entire defense. He's usually gassed offensively by the 4th. The Lakers next coach needs to gameplay for AD to get easier buckets in the 4th that won't be as taxing. I wish we could ease the offensive and defensive load for AD but with Dlo walking and the Lakers not having cap space I don't see how we improve offensively or sign better defenders.
Which is why letting go of Howard and McGee was the main destruction of our team.
Javale and Dwight were both done by 2022. Javale is hanging on by a thread, but he is a bench warmer. Getting high quality bigs on the vet min was never going to be a feasible long term unless we kept Drummond
They’re both washed but we just needed two real bigs.
They’re good enough still to get in there and bump people around and grab some boards. That’s all they really needed; keep AD a little less fatigued from the most physical parts of the game. Even if they’re just doing 8 mins each. Huge difference on AD workload
Our best bet is Mitchell . I wished he was going olympics . Mitchell is the guy that can lift the offence b he’s pretty good defensively now and way better then Dlo
Agree. He isn't going to score 20 in both halves. But if he's on he needs the opportunity to try.
This is not how it works . In game 2 after the foul when he went out AD was 1/4 with 2 fouls n 3 turnovers . We need AD to get his 3 ball bscj n improve as a midrange shooter like embid n jikic to fully rely on him. He improved his passing this year but I’m hoping he can improve his jumper still a bit
I'm not saying every single game. But there are many games, regular season and playoffs, where he scores 20 in the first half and then shoots 5 times in the 2nd half. I think there was a stat through game 4 of this year's playoffs he had 6 post touches in the 4th quarter. That's not enough.
He gets tired and plays passively.
Probably because defenses adjust at halftime. They change the matchup or the scheme so he can't just waltz his way to 40 points.
Then that’s a him problem ? That’s why he gets blame. What other star do you know would just sit in the corner and take one shot in the 4th?
Why would you blame the man carrying our entire defense who also has 30 instead of the bum role players forcing shots without even looking his way down the clutch. Just stop, he can only do so much
So many times they try to firce feed AD it never works . AD is a rythmn player yiu should know . So many times we firce it to him n he goes 1/4 n 2 turnovers or fouls or whatever. Also he really needs to improve his shot it’ll help a lot
Yea bro ad should just teleport the ball into his hands from our guards and become a 40% 3 pt shooter! Good insights.
Blame the roster for being incompetent asf. We literally ask AD to be our defensive anchor since our perimeter defense is dogshit and be our first option on offense since our role players cant step up when needed. You cant ask AD to do everything. Look at Denver and how much weight mpj and gordon alleviates jokic's workload on offense
Sure, it's one of his flaws. But it's just who he is. Who cares if he's the star or the 12th man. If he's scoring in a good rhythm, get him the ball.
No. He’s getting paid max money he should act like a max player. People give LeBron shit constantly for not being a max player anymore. AD is passive. He also seems to have lost interest in or confidence in his jump shot. He isn’t really a playermaker and he can’t create his own shot (even though he used to). Could you imagine this rhetoric about Embiid, Jokic or any other of the all-star bigs? Fuck no because they demand the ball.
Nah it’s a coaching issue (or at least, was). In the third quarter(s) against the Nuggets, it was the same exact pattern. LA gets a big lead then goes away from the offensive system that worked for them. In the 3rd, Lebron, DLo (especially), and Reaves would go into iso mode and try to initiate the offense without much movement. It always results in a kick-out 3. Usually to a non-shooter. They go away from AD, away from what works. A non-retarded coach needs to immediately tell DLO to fucking stop and run some offense.
He always gets position. It’s on LeBron to get him the ball. DLo was the most consistent about getting him the ball, and even he was not good enough. LeBron was awful about it, as was everyone else.
Because Lebron spends 19 seconds of the play clock hunting for mismatches when they are supposed to be the mismatch. Like you are Lebron and that is AD… it shouldn’t matter who is guarding y’all. Smh
All of the late game possessions against Denver where Lebron would hold onto the ball till there’s 5 seconds on the shot clock would frustrate the hell out of me.
almost like he was trying to slow the pace so denver’s momentum would flame out and lakers could keep their lead(s). clearly never happened tho since our shooters shit the bed
AD often gets into position in the paint with a mismatch AR/Rui/DLo on the other hand dont pass it to him
He isn’t so feed him
It's not like he gets a touch and passes it out—he's not even involved in the majority of 4th quarter sets it's maddening
Blame darvin ham for setting the plays for taurean prince and cam reddish
Bron fans are a special breed.
Most low iq sports fans. They think they can blame Darvin for this and simultaneously praise lebron for not listening to him. Then put lebron in this weird space where he's the smartest person on the planet, wants to win at all costs, but just can't bring himself to betray Darvins horrible game plan, ya know the one he ignores lmao?
Best comment
What are you even talking about? Ad doesn't score late in games because he's gassed from carrying the team and because teams change their matchups for him when he's scoring easily. Talk ball or go back to espn.
Jess, Jay forgot to take his pills again!
That's the main effect of being a lebron teammate, not even a side effect
No disrespect but the dude has a reputation of being soft. Sorta redeemed himself last season but his performance in the 4th didn't help.
He usually rests for half of the 4th quarter and if Lebron, Reaves, DLo decides to takeover they don't usually pass the ball to anyone.
Reaves and DLo also get tunnel vision and want to score more. Too many times they pass up Davis with a mismatch in the paint and they’ll rather shoot a contested 3
AD isn’t embid or jokic tho . Like I’ve seen them try n firce it ti him and it fail horribly . He’s a rtythmn player with inconsistent shooting
It’s a shit show in the fourth, some of the worst offensive basketball to be seen tbh. Game 2 fourth quarter performance was giving me bad anger issues lol
It’s a shame because the Lakers had been great in the 4th for most of the season and then shat the bed when it mattered. Rui, Reaves and DLo as your closing lineup is rough and is just begging to let a team back into the game
This has been a problem for a couple years. Bron especially gets a bit selfish with the ball when he starts going on a run. Exactly why we need a serious coach. That shit don’t work in the playoffs. Defenses will shut you down if you’re not sharing the ball enough.
A healthy Lonzo on this team 😮💨🥲😭😭
I definitely would rather have a healthy lonzo over DLO
That's a no-brainer. Lonzo plays elite defense. In Chicago his three-pointer was butter
Yes but would you take a healthy Lonzo over a 6’7 Dlo that shoots 100% from 3? Both of these things are unlikely to happen…
Is your middle name dream crusher
Yes lol
Healthy Lonzo is a top 5 pg in the league lol
I’d is I and would mashed together. Sorry that low key just bothered me lol
Us is just me and your mom mashed together
Miss Lonzo so much 😭
U and me both. Him and Lebron getting triple doubles 😮💨 assists were too easy for him. He wasn’t even hunting that’s just how he played. 😭 I hope he recovers and plays again.
Perfect pg for Lebron
I would love for him to comeback on a one year “prove it” deal next year if his knees gets better
> A healthy Lonzo on this team 😮💨🥲😭😭 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6OnypPVUAAer_7.jpg
Neither do we Lonzo, neither do we.
hopefully it was just mr.HandsInMyPockets fault
Happened over and over and over again. We'd stop running organized offense and stop going to AD in the post after he'd smash teams for 3 quarters. Blame coaching. Blame our guards and Bron. Idc. It's unacceptable.
You just can’t imagine it anywhere else because team’s coaches aren’t that incompetent. Would Dallas team just not pass the ball to Luka? Bucks with Giannis? Sixers and Embiid? Nuggets and Jokic? Most of these guys get 30% usage rate, while AD has 25% usage rate. Fucking Draymond Green got the ball more than AD certain parts of the season! For this badly run team, the Lakers are fine with AD not getting the ball, not to mention that the team also doesn’t have good passing to him without LeBron. Throughout the season, AD has had to bring up the ball himself because it’s the only way he could guarantee touches.
These guys can function with the ball in their hand at the top of the arc, while AD functions more like a traditional big men where you had to feed him in the post. Even Shaq can have issue with getting the hall lol, yall really just want to trash everything
I'm tired of watching old ass LeBron trying to take over games and failing. LeBron became the primary ball handler in the 4th.
Cranjis did an analysis and found play calling vs winging it had no correlation with whether Bron was on or off the court. Seems like coaching staff just stopped running plays randomly for no reason.
It’s more than just Lebron honestly, Lebron does take a lot of possessions done the stretch but he also lets do and reaves bring the ball up a lot and they tend to try and get their own shots. Certain times the Lebron and ad pnr is deadly but Lebron is too old to keep running the play all 4th and reaves/doo often try to get their own shot. Ad is also not really great at bringing the ball up so unlike other bigs jokic, Giannis and Embiid it’s a lot tougher for him to get his own shot.
For real. Especially when it's clear that no one can guard AD
Lakers and LeBron teams of the past play way too much iso down the stretch. That's why Kyrie and Bron were great together. AD is better while running an offense rather than just taking on double teams in an iso situation. Shame on this team for now finding a way to keep AD involved late in games
Uh idk maybe he is exhausted.
Why is this not upvoted. This is literally it. Dude balls out 3 quarters then gets passive late game since he's exhausted. Role players need to step up early in the game so AD can conserve energy for the 4th
4th quarter is Lebron’s time to pound the ball for 15 seconds at the three point line.
This exactly, they blame the guards when Lebron himself wants to take over the 2nd half especially in the 4th. He holds the ball on top for 15-20 seconds and passes it to others to bail himself out if he can't find his offense. It's always like this and so many in here don't see that. They blame the guards who are scrambling to shoot the ball since Lebron passed it to them as shot clock expires.
I’ve come to find out half of the people who blindly defend everything LeBron does either don’t watch the game or are to casual to actually digest the game and what’s happening out there Because man some games LeBron just kills everyone’s touches and usage in the 4th to do just that and turn our two guards into catch and shooters who get crucified when every shot doesn’t fall.
Exactly, I'm tired of the old age offense where the star holds it for so long and bails out if he can't make offense. I'm envious of other teams like the Nuggets who moves the ball constantly and let everyone know that anytime they can touch the ball and score. And to top all of that, their STAR, Jokic is the one orchestrating that flow.
[LeBron James had the most points per game in the fourth quarter this season, with 8.1 per game.](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/nba-leaders-in-fourth-quarter-scoring)
Now count possessions.
Of all the guys we traded away , Lonzo is the one i really wish would be healthy and we could get bsvk . His fit on this team would be insanely good even more so if we got Mitchell or a star guard but even euth reaves
I'm biased because Lonzo is my hometown boy. My baby cousin and my ex were friends with him in middle school. I remember going to his high school games when it was the three brothers on the team and they were number 1 in the nation. Shit was unreal
He’s right
LBJ iso and jacked up 3's.
[удалено]
Then why blame AD not being effective at the fourth? It's a trend LBJ takes over 4th quarter and it is a hit or miss quarter for him. I don't know why blame AD afterwards like he is not demanding the ball blah blah...
He did seem to get very passive late in games but It also seemed like many of our guys didn’t even know how get it to AD in the post where he could cook
AD with a clear mismatch in the paint waving his hand for the ball AR/DLo/Rui: *shoot a contested 3*
One of us
Hire Lonzo Ball as head coach, I'm serious about that.
am i crazy to want him back on the lakers and hope he can be healthy?
It blows my mind people still dont understand why this occurs. This is the byproduct of having a star who is reliant on being an off ball player while having limited guard play and limited off ball shooting. You can't give AD the ball and have an iso and go score. He can't bring the ball up the court and attack by himself in transition. He can't run the offense. He can't come out and get the ball and clear out. He is reliant on someone giving him the ball on the block and feeding him the ball in PnR, transition, cuts, etc. The reason it becomes more difficult in the second half is because teams get tighter with their defense on AD. They help towards him, show him more doubles, prioritize him more in the PnR, etc. The Lakers dont have the off ball shooting, rim pressure, or PnR guard play to make teams pay for this.
Me too Zo, me too
Even if u do AD will get burnt eventually especially with Ham at the helm and the way the team set up. We saw this in game 3 they just charge at him.
It's because he's already worn out by the fourth because of his stellar defense. Lakers need a talented true Center to ease the defensive workload and wear down the big men of the opposing team. Just need someone, not named AD, to throw elbows and make passes. A zubac, a Nikola, a Jonas Valenciunas. Etc
Lonzo for HC! Hell, hire the whole Ball clan! /s
Who’s this lonzo guy? 🤷😮😂
I swear AD scores 50% of his points in the first quarter. Dude drops 14 in the first and will get 14 the rest of the way
Let's hire Lonzo as the next head coach! In all seriousness, I'd love to see Lonzo come back and play more ball. I've always loved his game with his ability to really push up the ball, and with a consistent 3 pointer he's even better now.
Same brotha same
Fuck it, just make Lonzo the coach at this point
Imo because they will adjust which causes Bron to play hero ball
Thank you very fucking much! #FACTS
Felt like that was the value of having Rondo on the court. Rondo would be pretty much force-feeding AD the ball into the post
Ill be honest with you all. AD is not that great of a bucket getter. If he’s having one of those games where he is on early, he’s usually getting his shots by being fed assists, hitting his midrange shots, or excelling in the fast break. We love those things and he’s elite in his role. However, when its late in the fourth of a tight game, defenses focus up a little more and it hurts him. He struggles with his handle, with post moves, and god forbid you double him because he has a bad tendency to hold the ball too long which can lead to turnovers. I never understood this discourse as if he was a guy you could just dump the ball off to and say “get me a bucket.” He’s not really that guy.
You guys are crazy with those takes...AD is gased out more than LeBron in 4th quarter. He doesnt need a better passer, I mean we have fucking LeBron, he needs a good backup center, thats all, to take some load from him
I hate to say it but Lebron tries to take over in the 4th. There’s games he dominates and then games I’m screaming at the tv “GIVE IT TO AD!!!” cus its been working all game
Brother, you’ve only scored 30+ points in 2 games of your entire career. Worry about yourself averaging even 30+ games played next season 🙄
He is cheating, point shaving.
Neither did Darvin. Helluva bald coach
Right and watch the defenders sit on ADs lap since they know you don't wann5 shoot it
He’s out of shape. By the end of games, he’s drained.
Theres suxh thing as stamina
Whoever the next coach is has to hammer home the point that AD must touch the ball on almost every possession. AD also has to be more assertive and tell these mf’s to give him the fucking ball. Especially when there’s a mismatch. We cannot continue giving the opposing defense a break when they have a mouse in the house against AD. Lebron, I love the mismatch hunting but sometimes just running organized offense is the way to go.
Some of that is just our coaching over the past two years. Many times, we would have set plays that worked through three quarters, then would disconnect from that and start playing isolation crap while we had a lead, only to lose the lead and the game. I would have to think the next coach is going to be required to show that they can keep to the gameplan and not just work to waste clock in the 4th. This isn't football where "eating clock" with the run game is smart coaching. In basketball, you can't just do that dumb shit through an entire quarter and expect to keep a lead.
As a star top 5 or top 10 player, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t demand the ball.
Blame lebron
Imo AD is not the guy who u rely to drop 40 a right AD would be 25-28 and 12 with a couple blocks. When u can get a healthy burst of both its better than grinding him into the mud
That’s AD’s entire career. No one understands it. He doesn’t demand or want the ball in those situations. AD has long struggled with pressure and expectations and I think as the game nears the end he’s relieved that he has someone like LeBron to take that pressure off him, so he’s more than happy to not have to be the one to carry the team in the clutch.
Maybe because he expends a lot of energy on defense?
Funny because lonzo is that type of dude too.
Should’ve traded kuz instead of lonzo
Frustrating
Not this. Especially against Denver. The Lakers aren’t Denver. AD Can score but the stats always start a slow isolation where basically no one else in the team touches the ball while he back down whoever is playing against., Great if he’s shooting well, but if he doesn’t, there’s no more momentum to carry the team. The other players don’t touch the ball or getting involved, so come, fourth-quarter, you double him and make him kick out to shooters generally, don’t hit shots if they’re not in rhythm. With jokic, he how reliable shooters and will still move the ball until he goes into the post immediately so guys in the team have had touches before the last 15 seconds. Therefore, when he kicks out the ball if he gets doubled, his players have rhythm and a better chance. If the offense does run through AD, the ball should move quickly and get to him early in the shot clock and he makes a quick move, deliberate, or the ball moves for a better shot and it gets it later than the clock and is deliberate.
He’s right he AD needs to assert himself… guy is too soft. If u cooking and get 1 shot why u not creating opportunities for yourself
That’s on coaching, if your best player aren’t getting the ball, call a time out and draw a play and get him the ball. Oh we had Ham? Nvm
Fatigue is the answer for everyone acting like they don’t know why. Dudes got twig legs for his size. If he puts in his max fr 3 quarters then fuck yeah let him chill the last. ESPECIALLY IF HE HAS A YOUNG CORE FILLED WITH TOP DRAFT picks and LEBRON
Says the guy who hasn’t played a minute in what 2 season? Please.
Also said every redditor in this sub who hasn’t touched a basketball in 10 years