Never has a pre-season prediction been so accurate: acquiring Westbrook while trading away solid role players will be a nightmare. The fact that benching Russ is a legitimate solution to close out games is perfectly indicative of his ineptitude on the court this year.
This isn’t in Frank. It’s on the FO for trading for a “superstar” that can’t play defense or shoot from the perimeter. No coach could turn this sorry roster around.
They are all panicked. Nets (eventually) will become stronger with more chemistry. Giannis become more bloomed & get more support in Milwaukee, Suns become better, GSW will get Klay back, etc. They think they cant win it all anymore without doing any drastic change. And thats what they do, they do some drastic change. But sadly that change is not an improvement.
Yeah. It was a big gamble that hasn't paid off. It will be a challenge for the Lakers to elevate themselves back to title contenders. But right now, this team is a play in team at BEST.
“Alright Joe, go coach the Lakers to a Championship and then get fired because the front office put together a bad roster” *Sal, Murr, and Q laughing uncontrollably in the locker room*
westbrook has lost a lot of his athleticism, but continues to play like he used to in his prime at okc... he should learn from derrick rose and adjust by improving his shooting
Lebron plays D??? - strange to leave him out of the conversation of such a basic fundamental core basketball requirement - how's that always happen with L?
@@brownpeoplegetup1243 I was gonna say that I’ve seen Lebrom just stand there and give up so many layups he just looks right at them and let’s it go in. And if he’s to old to contest. He needs to quit. And I’m a number one Lebron fan.
Thanks Andy for the constructive criticism, but Westbrook do have a tendency to turn things around after the all star break though, don’t know if it’ll make a big difference.
@Kings Will Soon Rise it’s known that second half of the season doesn’t start until after all-star break, that’s when everyone starts ramping it up for playoffs
@Kings Will Soon Rise i’m not saying he will do it i’m js in general, the whole league starts to ramp up to see what rotations they wanna run. but as a lakers fan i can’t do nothing but hope he turns the switch on lmao:(
I don’t feel like it’s Vogels fault for the most part. With so many guys in and out he’s struggling to gather a good lineup he can consistently use. Now yes he’s the one choosing to play Westbrook all this time, but Vogel proved he could win it with the Lakers before, and these last two years he’s struggled with all the injuries. I don’t really think it’s his fault, theyre still getting wins, even if they aren’t as many as people expected
I completely agree. And what choice is he left with? Not play the guy the team overpaid for? I can't imagine management would be happy about that either.
@@tigeryumyums9407 Exactly. Management built this team and it’s up to Vogel to win with them. He’s doing the best he can, and while it’s not as great as management hoped, you still have to applaud Vogel for his efforts and still managing to get some wins
@@vincetaliaferro2777 100% Should've kept Caruso, KCP, Kuzma and Harrell. They could've went after Heild instead as well. Front office was far too hyped on Westbrook.
I enjoy your basketball stories and anecdotes much more than the vidoes filled with stats. The stats are available everywhere and they don't paint the full picture.
I don't mind Trez being gone at all but Caruso, yeah I wish he was still around. But Austin Reeves may have more long term upside than Caruso, just right now when it's supposed to be a win now situation, yeah you'd rather have Caruso. Trez though, he has strengths but he has some huge weaknesses too. He's a bad defender but it's because he's undersized not because he doesn't try. He's also a huge headcase who thinks he's better than he is and for that I don't miss him.
I think it’s something underrated but letting go of the coaching staff with kidd from the 2020 championship team stumbled defensively and rotation. I mean a team last year without mostly Lebron or AD has been a better defensively than today. Yes effort is one thing but sometimes it’s the coaching staff who guides them how to execute.
Limit Russ mins in 4th, trade for a on ball defender like Josh Hart, Ad needs to try to be the best defense in the world, LeBron keeps doing what he does, keep the stanley and reaves mins coming, and I think they’re problems won’t be solved but they won’t be that bad.
Play him 2-3 quarters rest him 4th is the smartest thing to do, LeBron should play the last quarter along with AD and Reaves to possibly finish the game off.
Westbrook is like a flashy Stock/company that rose to its heights based on hype & flashiness. Now the shoddy financials (ie. Foundation) are quickly catching up to him upon a closer audit/analysis by playing on a big-market team. He's pretty much a fraud of a superstar.
Their record indicates exactly how good, or not good, they are. 1) The obvious thing is the roster is filled with players who can't shoot or defend. Thus, they earn minimum $. 2) The biggest issue is AD. a) he isn't put in positions to dominate. It's time to give up force-feeding him in the post, and often not give him enough room to operate. He needs to move around within 15 feet, catch the ball and drive and shoot his runner. b) he needs to have the desire/FIRE to be great. Otherwise, Lebron is going to treat him like a role player.
AD being back is all well and good but that still won't make up for the glaring weaknesses they have... Im not one to pile onto jus Westbrook jus because... While his performance isn't great by any means it still takes a team to win... I actually hope they get back on track but I think health and consistency is gonna be the only roadblock to that imo
They should've kept the 2021 roster. That team was injured because of the shortened off-season. Instead they pressed the panic button and traded everybody
When they got Melo and Brodie they somehow resemble the Lakers that had Payton and Karl Malone. At that point, I really think they'll struggle making the playoffs.
The Lakers problem is pretty simple : since many years LeBron thinks he must choose his teammates all by himself Even if his friends are like him : just near to retirement players When it works like in 2016 or 2020, great, but often... Cavaliers and Lakers seemed often just to have zero strategies
When I watched the video, it had 69 views. Nice EDIT: Great content, like honestly, after I watch many kinds of youtube videos, I still find your content engaging.
Russ is to blame but he’s not always the problem, we literally had a game where Carmelo was guarding sabonis when lebron was on the floor, we’ve had no defense and players who DO NOT wanna get any rebounds, it’s tough but the coach really needs to fix it idk
better blame the idiots in the managment who made the last few trades happen. who ever got rid of caruso and signed westbrook deserves all blame.. westbrook plays like the westbrook i've seen last year and the year before..
@@SikoMC Hate to break it to you, but that blame goes to LeBron, he most likely had the saying the trade., as even management is fine with Westbrook being benched.
Let's make something perfectly clear. Frank Vogel is not the coach of this team. Lebron overrides many things that Vogel tries to run. Lebron was the impetus in putting this team together, and management probably seeks out his approval long before talking with Frank. What has been assembled is a starting five of "me first" players who (imho) will never learn to sacrifice their game for the good of the team. Westbrick has ALWAYS been a stat-padder, and now with so many other prima-donnas to compete with he continues to throw up poor shots, leave his man on defense, or throws to empty space. I've never been a Westbrick fan, and this year just seems to prove even more so that he's the ultimate selfish player. I don't truly know what all the answers are, but this is a prime example of overhyped, overpaid players determining the trajectory of a team. I feel like the league DESPERATELY needs to reign in players who destroy teams by sandbagging in order to be dealt to their chosen team, and make them fulfill the terms of their legal, binding contracts.
Besides the hustle, Reaves just knows how to play team basketball, how to defend/positioning, and where to be on the court. I hope he gets stronger and be the next and better Caruso since he has outside shot.
@@se7enzee444 that’s exactly what I thought if anyone needs more minutes it’s definitely reaves. That game against the nets he caught like 4 rebounds in 1 possession just for his teammates to miss open 3s 😢
I am loving the Lakers season right now. Not only is Russell Dressbrick providing the most hilarious nightly comedy ever with his lowlight reels of bricks and turnovers, he's also tanking LeGM's season in the process. I hope they don't make the playoffs and shove the NBA's blatant bias towards big market teams down their throats
First of all, awesome user name. Second of all, I completely agree. And I’m freakin tired as all hell with constantly hearing about the Lakers, win or lose.
The whole lakers franchise only cares about ratings, that's why they buy the big name superstars because they're so rich, they do it so they can get a lot of bandwagons and good ratings, unlike most teams who actually draft their teams or do trades of rookies and successfully build a dynasty, the lakers will just go buy another championship with their riches and now it's biting them in the ass.
This is gonna be like how he was in Washington, he’s gonna suck in the first half of the season like he always is and then he turns it on second half of the year, this has happened throughout his career but yeah Statistically this is just atrocious , he’s having a nightmare of a season with LA
I think that the trade of Washington and Caruso's departure hurt them so much Imagine this, they got rid of their young assets only to see them fluorish to other teams.
Bro last year team being a solid defensive team was out in first round, despite being up 2-1. If the role players were good for us they would have performed but they didn’t. Don’t fault them for trading them- but they should have brought in better players.
The problem with Westbrook is that when either AD and LeBron are out he just struggles. The only way Westbrook is going to work is with AD and LeBron not injured but AD has always had injury problems and LeBron has been injury prone late in his career. Once one is out Westbrook just takes on too much and fails. With AD and LeBron both playing Westbrook isn't going to have the opportunities to be such a waste.
This Lakers team is worse than the 2018-19 squad…actually this might be worse than the 2012-13 team that barely made the playoffs due to old Kobe’s superhuman efforts
Well I can explain why 1. James Harden explicitly said to the front office that he wanted Russ on the team and knowing Daryl Morey, he wanted to keep Harden pleased 2. Washington gave Russ a chance because they had no expectations for that year, Tommy knew he could flip Russ for more than what he got him and he was able to clear a lot of their cap space from the Wall contract Lakers wanted Russ because he knew he would alleviate the amount of stress Lebron would have if he was not on the floor (assuming that he would take breaks from time to time)
I mean, in Houston he actually did very well prior to the lockdown and his knee injury. And in Washington he was a big reason they got into the playoffs this team just doesn't fit his style
I just don't feel his pros out weight his cons. He's a high volume low efficiency ball dominant point guard who makes bad decisions. But sometimes he makes good ones. My butt would be clenched everytime he stepped on the court if I was involved with any team he was on.
Idk why Westbrook gets blamed for every team he's on not winning. Yes he can't shoot and he turns the ball over. No player is perfect. The real problem is the Lakers intentionally went old. Look at their last championship team. Half the rotation was old vets, the other half was young players. That's the balance you need. The old men bring stability and consistency, the young men bring the energy and hunger. You're not getting both from one side or the other. What the Lakers lack is a consistent effort and hustle, bc all their players are old or AD stays hurt.
It's so weird to me that Russ is a worse shooter than he was 10 years ago. How does that happen to a guard who shoots a ton? We don't hear about him not practicing. He gets tons of in game shooting practice. How is he a worse shooter, significantly, in his 30's? What guard goes from shooting 80+% at the FT line in their 20's to sub-70% when they turn 30? Something happened to Russ that he's never disclosed. I'm nearly certain of it.
He's had a lot of injuries actually. He started to fell off after he started to need PRP injections every summer. And then he clearly fell off a gain A TON after tearing his quad in the bubble, hasn't been the same athletically since then
As athletes get older, usually the athleticism diminishes but quoting Oscar Wilde: "With Age comes Wisdom". We see how athletic freak guy like Ed Reed, Polumalu, Ginobili etc compensated their diminishing athleticism with the complete understanding of the game and their play to the end of their careers showed that. Not with Westbrook tho.. His athleticism are still there, but gradually diminished, but wisdom somewhat doesn't come with his age.
lakers have a bunch of spoiled players who's used to role players covering for them but since they have less of those guys, they look lost out there. and malik, austin and tht arent good enough to win it for them if the other players are acting up.
LeBron does deserve most of the blame. There is no way the Lakers would have all those old guys on the roster if it wasn’t what he wanted. Every team he goes to he wants veterans. LeBron has never been a great judge of talent. NBA GMs have there jobs for a reason. The Lakers phenomenal job drafting players over the past decade tells me the management can identify talent. If the management and coaching staff would stop listening to their players they would be much better off. There aren’t enough hours in the day to be a player a coach and a GM at the same time. LeBron needs to give the people around him more respect and let them do their jobs.
This shows that building the best team isn't always done by acquiring a load of all-stars. It's done by placing the best complementary players by skills, attitudes and tendencies. A good example of this is Memphis. They only have one legitimate all-star in Morant, but the pieces around him fit so well that they win games against teams with more stars.
Not feeling bad about them at all. The self proclaimed GOAT traded everything from the young core they had for Davis and Westbrook and they won one title (call it Mickey Mouse ring it's still a ring) It's enough for players past their prime who are injury prone
Even if this team goes on a serious run with everyone healthy, they get to the second round and have to face either the warriors or the suns. If they don’t go on a run, then they face either the suns, warriors, or grizzlies in the first round. No way this team can win a 7 game series against any of those teams. At best they lose in the second round in 6 games.
@@AspireGMD their current record with their big three playing is 9-7 with last night’s win. Davis can suffice as a small-ball 5, but their defense was still below league average. The fact that this old team is middle of the pack defensively speaks to how good of a coach Vogel actually is.
@@glenbme They should be the number 1 best team at worst top 3, no other team is stacked with superstars like this, even at their age they still put up wild numbers and do wildly athletic plays so age isn't really an excuse for them, they just have no chemistry at all and are a massive disappointment all around. The lakers bought all these superstars and can't even make a good team out of them, it seems like it's all for the ratings due to their players big names.
@@AspireGMD If Davis had developed his mid and long range shot, then you could get away with having a non-floor spacer (Westbrook) on the floor alongside him. Davis is shooting 19% from 3 this year. Spacing is everything in the modern NBA, and their offense (24th in offensive rating) reflects their roster deficiencies.
Vogel doesn’t deserve all the blame he’s gotten. Dude hasn’t been given a real chance to coach this team since day one. He was a lame duck coach because they didn’t get T Lue and they made him a lame duck coach even after they won in he bubble. But let’s be real LeBron deserves some blame and defensively he’s been terrible. He don’t even try on defense.
LeBron has been carrying the load, with AD being out for the most part and Westbrick being Westbrick. Its pretty much like his final season with the Cavs.
This biggest problem where the Lakers have struggled was really putting emphasis on developing younger talent rather than trading and signing more experienced yet aging veterans and expect big results. Cleveland started developing young and now they are in a great position to push for the finals since the LeBron years.
Why is no one blaming the front office? Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Kendrick Nunn, and Trevor Ariza were terrible pickups for this team, besides Russell Westbrook. That’s five new signings that didn’t work out! Blame the front office!!!
Nunn is not that bad but good point all the signings were awful the only good ones right now are Stanley Johnson and Malik monk and most of the players in the Lakers roster are merely washed up role players and stars (this includes Westbrook)
Stats can be blinding sometimes westbrook gives wins to his team if he has triple double double but still both have in effecient and worst shooting and has negative box point
I blame a lot of Westbrook's mentality problems on Billy Donovan - that man enabled the "Russel Westbrook Show" (aka Russ chasing triple doubles over actual team basketball) for far too long in OKC.
It'd be interesting as compare Russell's numbers at this point in the year two other seasons in his career as opposed to entire season versus the first half of this year.
Came back here after the Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals beating the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Anyone else present here? I LOVE LA!!!
I knew it. Westbrook will never work with Lebron. They are both ball dominant. I always said back then that if they keep AD healthy they can win championship. His issue was always keeping healthy. Well he gets injured again in the last 2 seasons.
No super team has ever won in the 1st year they were created. Takes a year to build chemistry and for each star learn that all the weight isn't on them like it used to be. This team will suffer in the long run because the majority of the team has 1 year contracts.
I think Lakers as an organization dumb for signing LeBron in 2018 and trading all they future picks for ad who won't be good in 2 to 3 years Lakers have no money or assets or draft picks after LeBron leave or retire Lakers will be trash for awhile I hope that 1 chip was worth it
The thing that infuriates me the most is that "sport analysts" try to save Westbrook from the criticism. He's not the only thing to blame for the team's underperformance so far, but he's a grown ass man straight up refusing to adapt his playstyle to the team's needs. He still tries to play like his old self but this time the roster doesn't revolve around him so it shows how lacking his game really is as a second or third option.
The Lakers struggles fall on the front office, The AD trade was good and they won a finals but before that trade and before injuries the lakers were really good, they have their talented depth away for a guy that can’t stay healthy, they then traded even more depth for a guy that can’t play with other stars
I'm glad he made it so obvious how great KD is. Russ played by himself, PG and melo, then just PG, back with Harden, BRADLEY BEAL, Then a championship lakers! And he was the reason the team had no cohesiveness EVERYTIME. KD was dragging that selfish egomaniac thru the playoffs? LeBron can't even do that
No trade assets, not very many good defenders, lack of useful role players, injuries and age, it’s gonna be hard for the Lakers for a while even after Lebron retires. Freeing up cap and getting assets with how this teams looks like, very difficult
I think injuries and the protocols affected the team until now with Nunn still yet to return and the others like D'Andre, Ellington, Bazemore not much playing recently and Howard sparringly.... How about a content about Stanley Johnson soon? 🤔
LeBron is putting up impressive stats for sure. But when you're not winning, there is absolutely something you can do better. He can move without the ball when he wants to and when he does, it leads to great things. Same with when he doesn't hold the ball or dribble the air out of it late into the shot clock. This year is proof that he doesn't make everyone better. He makes spot up shooters better. He also rests on defense a lot but I'll be fair here. Kobe did too in his age 34 season. It's just not possible in the mid to late 30s to be that great on both ends of the floor.
This is a team sport. You don’t single out any one player. If the Lakers lose. Everyone lost! Lebron don’t get a pass, AD don’t get a pass, and etc. everyone missed shots. Lebron don’t play defense at all.
Lakers need extra effort on Defense . Hustle play , Lock Down Defense to the opp. Star , Quick Defensive Players .also Offensive Reb . = Caruso,Green,McGee. a type of players
Tbh that lineup last night defensively was way better jus because AD is so mobile and can play everywhere regardless of his points but Ik they will increase
Came here after the Lakers return to the Playoffs after a one-year absence. Anyone else present here? My take on this is Russ is simply not cutting it and I think firing Vogel seems pretty much unfair and perhaps he could've coached his current 2023 Lakers team to the Playoffs who knows.
I've said it for years. Westbrook has been the same for years, he hasn't developed anything except how to get rebounds for triple doubles. His three game? Well, it only got worse. He's trying to force the inside like always, then trying to throw dodgy bail-outs to the three where, you shouldn't be in the position to make dodgy bail-outs in the first place. Rest of the team is literally aging, Bradley is early 30's, Carmelo is at least 36, Westbrook is early 30's, like, at this point in their careers, they're good threats but they ain't starters who're going to give 15 and 5 every night. Not to mention they're not playing the young guys enough and taking advantage of their athleticism because of the aged vets. Dropping their core role players over the last off season killed them, especially when they signed OLD veterans, this is what killed Cavaliers in 2017-2018.
There were expectations and they unfortunately won’t make it far. Perhaps it is time for a new era in the west!! But I’m glad there’s healthy competition in the league today!!
To sum it up i feel like it’s mostly vogels fault with these lineups and constant changes, but also westbrook playing bad and injuries dont help the situation.
Maybe Kuzma wasn’t even a huge problem in LA . And now look at him , he’s thriving in Washington and having a career season without being a cancerous player on the Lakers
Sorry I love you Andy, but expectations were very low after the Westbrook trade...anyone with an ounce of credible knowledge of basketball knew this experience was bound to fail 🤦🏻♂️
Never has a pre-season prediction been so accurate: acquiring Westbrook while trading away solid role players will be a nightmare. The fact that benching Russ is a legitimate solution to close out games is perfectly indicative of his ineptitude on the court this year.
AD IS BACK, no wait he's hurt again, wrist cant play against Hornets
@@georgegoble6054AD's getting hurt, isn't that the simplest prediction rn
But they still lost.
Even if we’re to be fully healthy, the team just doesn’t feel like a team you know
we'd definitely be a team more so still holding onto the pieces we gave up for westbrook. a bonafide chip team? that's a different story
Just bring back time to 2011 version of the players of this team.
@@aaartnaz but what does a bonafide chip team feel like? Yep. A TEAM. You gotta start there
@@jerrylanary4889 What are you talking about?
@@aaartnaz still, a team with two great players is a way to start, that was our recipe for success at least
If a player doesnt perform, he doesnt play. It should be that simple. Coaches being scared to be fired for this is a big problem imo.
Vogel has nothing to lose as he will be fired anyway
@@demonkingbadger6689 I think Vogel is not the problem about lakers. At least not the biggest. But he is gonna get fired anyway.
@@dogukanfratozyurek Whats the biggest issue with the lakers then?
@@cottonisbaked role players, lack of consistency especially Davis and Westbrook.
@@dogukanfratozyurek I don't think their bench is as much of a issue as Westbrook and AD, honestly they fucked themselves over with that Wizards trade
This isn’t in Frank. It’s on the FO for trading for a “superstar” that can’t play defense or shoot from the perimeter. No coach could turn this sorry roster around.
It's awful! I'm not even a Lakers fan.. (Go Hawks!) It's just strange how all of this is going..
They are all panicked. Nets (eventually) will become stronger with more chemistry. Giannis become more bloomed & get more support in Milwaukee, Suns become better, GSW will get Klay back, etc.
They think they cant win it all anymore without doing any drastic change. And thats what they do, they do some drastic change. But sadly that change is not an improvement.
Yeah. It was a big gamble that hasn't paid off. It will be a challenge for the Lakers to elevate themselves back to title contenders. But right now, this team is a play in team at BEST.
“Alright Joe, go coach the Lakers to a Championship and then get fired because the front office put together a bad roster”
*Sal, Murr, and Q laughing uncontrollably in the locker room*
Lmao 🤣
Ahhh that’s why Joe is leaving the show, it all makes sense now. Maybe he can bring Larry on as an assistant. Good luck joe!
westbrook has lost a lot of his athleticism, but continues to play like he used to in his prime at okc... he should learn from derrick rose and adjust by improving his shooting
I think his jumpshot is eternally broken
Defense has always been about effort and Melo and Westbrook have always not tried hard on that end.
Lebron plays D??? - strange to leave him out of the conversation of such a basic fundamental core basketball requirement - how's that always happen with L?
@@brownpeoplegetup1243 I was gonna say that I’ve seen Lebrom just stand there and give up so many layups he just looks right at them and let’s it go in. And if he’s to old to contest. He needs to quit. And I’m a number one Lebron fan.
Thanks Andy for the constructive criticism, but Westbrook do have a tendency to turn things around after the all star break though, don’t know if it’ll make a big difference.
Yeah I don’t know how you people keep defending this man year after year
@Kings Will Soon Rise it’s known that second half of the season doesn’t start until after all-star break, that’s when everyone starts ramping it up for playoffs
Sure did his past teams wonder
@Kings Will Soon Rise i’m not saying he will do it i’m js in general, the whole league starts to ramp up to see what rotations they wanna run. but as a lakers fan i can’t do nothing but hope he turns the switch on lmao:(
@Kings Will Soon Rise he hasn’t been good, but Westbrook has been nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be
Rest In Peace Kobe Bean Bryant 🕊
Rip to Kobe Bryant 😪 🙏 😢 💔
Rip Kobe Gigi and the 7 others
Shoutout mamba, GIGI, & EB
Mamba and Mambacita Forever
Forever love
I don’t feel like it’s Vogels fault for the most part. With so many guys in and out he’s struggling to gather a good lineup he can consistently use. Now yes he’s the one choosing to play Westbrook all this time, but Vogel proved he could win it with the Lakers before, and these last two years he’s struggled with all the injuries. I don’t really think it’s his fault, theyre still getting wins, even if they aren’t as many as people expected
I completely agree. And what choice is he left with? Not play the guy the team overpaid for? I can't imagine management would be happy about that either.
@@tigeryumyums9407 Exactly. Management built this team and it’s up to Vogel to win with them. He’s doing the best he can, and while it’s not as great as management hoped, you still have to applaud Vogel for his efforts and still managing to get some wins
Front office built this team. I think they should have at the very least kept Caruso.
@@vincetaliaferro2777 100% Should've kept Caruso, KCP, Kuzma and Harrell. They could've went after Heild instead as well. Front office was far too hyped on Westbrook.
Guys caruso wanted to leave in the first place.
I enjoy your basketball stories and anecdotes much more than the vidoes filled with stats. The stats are available everywhere and they don't paint the full picture.
I don't mind Trez being gone at all but Caruso, yeah I wish he was still around. But Austin Reeves may have more long term upside than Caruso, just right now when it's supposed to be a win now situation, yeah you'd rather have Caruso. Trez though, he has strengths but he has some huge weaknesses too. He's a bad defender but it's because he's undersized not because he doesn't try. He's also a huge headcase who thinks he's better than he is and for that I don't miss him.
I think it’s something underrated but letting go of the coaching staff with kidd from the 2020 championship team stumbled defensively and rotation. I mean a team last year without mostly Lebron or AD has been a better defensively than today. Yes effort is one thing but sometimes it’s the coaching staff who guides them how to execute.
Limit Russ mins in 4th, trade for a on ball defender like Josh Hart, Ad needs to try to be the best defense in the world, LeBron keeps doing what he does, keep the stanley and reaves mins coming, and I think they’re problems won’t be solved but they won’t be that bad.
Play him 2-3 quarters rest him 4th is the smartest thing to do, LeBron should play the last quarter along with AD and Reaves to possibly finish the game off.
Imagine they got buddy hield instead, while keeping one of the pieces they shipped to the wizards ...
Westbrook is like a flashy Stock/company that rose to its heights based on hype & flashiness. Now the shoddy financials (ie. Foundation) are quickly catching up to him upon a closer audit/analysis by playing on a big-market team. He's pretty much a fraud of a superstar.
Their record indicates exactly how good, or not good, they are.
1) The obvious thing is the roster is filled with players who can't shoot or defend. Thus, they earn minimum $.
2) The biggest issue is AD. a) he isn't put in positions to dominate. It's time to give up force-feeding him in the post, and often not give him enough room to operate. He needs to move around within 15 feet, catch the ball and drive and shoot his runner. b) he needs to have the desire/FIRE to be great. Otherwise, Lebron is going to treat him like a role player.
do you watch basketball? this is literally what the lakers have done for the last 2 years. Dude just repeating stuff he heard
AD being back is all well and good but that still won't make up for the glaring weaknesses they have... Im not one to pile onto jus Westbrook jus because... While his performance isn't great by any means it still takes a team to win... I actually hope they get back on track but I think health and consistency is gonna be the only roadblock to that imo
They should've kept the 2021 roster.
That team was injured because of the shortened off-season.
Instead they pressed the panic button and traded everybody
When they got Melo and Brodie they somehow resemble the Lakers that had Payton and Karl Malone. At that point, I really think they'll struggle making the playoffs.
Westbrooks last part of his career kinda reminds me of Allen Iverson. He should swallow his pride so he can win a championship.
And just like AI
Westbrook is too stubborn to change
He used to argue with KD on the thunder
Nothing is changing him
The Lakers problem is pretty simple : since many years LeBron thinks he must choose his teammates all by himself
Even if his friends are like him : just near to retirement players
When it works like in 2016 or 2020, great, but often... Cavaliers and Lakers seemed often just to have zero strategies
Someone said it
🎯
When I watched the video, it had 69 views. Nice
EDIT: Great content, like honestly, after I watch many kinds of youtube videos, I still find your content engaging.
Russ is to blame but he’s not always the problem, we literally had a game where Carmelo was guarding sabonis when lebron was on the floor, we’ve had no defense and players who DO NOT wanna get any rebounds, it’s tough but the coach really needs to fix it idk
better blame the idiots in the managment who made the last few trades happen. who ever got rid of caruso and signed westbrook deserves all blame.. westbrook plays like the westbrook i've seen last year and the year before..
@@SikoMC Hate to break it to you, but that blame goes to LeBron, he most likely had the saying the trade., as even management is fine with Westbrook being benched.
Can't blame Westbrook he's playing the way he's always played nothing different
Let's make something perfectly clear. Frank Vogel is not the coach of this team. Lebron overrides many things that Vogel tries to run.
Lebron was the impetus in putting this team together, and management probably seeks out his approval long before talking with Frank.
What has been assembled is a starting five of "me first" players who (imho) will never learn to sacrifice their game for the good of the team.
Westbrick has ALWAYS been a stat-padder, and now with so many other prima-donnas to compete with he continues to throw up poor shots, leave his man on defense, or throws to empty space. I've never been a Westbrick fan, and this year just seems to prove even more so that he's the ultimate selfish player.
I don't truly know what all the answers are, but this is a prime example of overhyped, overpaid players determining the trajectory of a team.
I feel like the league DESPERATELY needs to reign in players who destroy teams by sandbagging in order to be dealt to their chosen team, and make them fulfill the terms of their legal, binding contracts.
Austin reaves hustle is insane he does all the dirty work
Besides the hustle, Reaves just knows how to play team basketball, how to defend/positioning, and where to be on the court. I hope he gets stronger and be the next and better Caruso since he has outside shot.
@@se7enzee444 that’s exactly what I thought if anyone needs more minutes it’s definitely reaves. That game against the nets he caught like 4 rebounds in 1 possession just for his teammates to miss open 3s 😢
I am loving the Lakers season right now. Not only is Russell Dressbrick providing the most hilarious nightly comedy ever with his lowlight reels of bricks and turnovers, he's also tanking LeGM's season in the process. I hope they don't make the playoffs and shove the NBA's blatant bias towards big market teams down their throats
Cry
You sound like a true basketball fan
First of all, awesome user name. Second of all, I completely agree. And I’m freakin tired as all hell with constantly hearing about the Lakers, win or lose.
@@Springfeeeel3 So you click on a video about the lakers lol. I think you just love to hate.
The whole lakers franchise only cares about ratings, that's why they buy the big name superstars because they're so rich, they do it so they can get a lot of bandwagons and good ratings, unlike most teams who actually draft their teams or do trades of rookies and successfully build a dynasty, the lakers will just go buy another championship with their riches and now it's biting them in the ass.
This is gonna be like how he was in Washington, he’s gonna suck in the first half of the season like he always is and then he turns it on second half of the year, this has happened throughout his career but yeah Statistically this is just atrocious , he’s having a nightmare of a season with LA
It’s gonna be hard to turn it around in a situation like LA
I've been saying this, but people are blind. #18🏆
Turn it around?.. you mean get bounced in the first round every year
russ’s philosophy is that you can’t have an amazing comeback without shitting your pants the entire 1st half of the season
Alright screenshotted, might as well sell it on NFT
I think that the trade of Washington and Caruso's departure hurt them so much Imagine this, they got rid of their young assets only to see them fluorish to other teams.
To be fair, the might well have flourished by getting out of LA. It has been a while since lebron has helped young talent maximize itself.
Bro last year team being a solid defensive team was out in first round, despite being up 2-1. If the role players were good for us they would have performed but they didn’t. Don’t fault them for trading them- but they should have brought in better players.
@@SR_91347 they were still guys u won a chip with
The problem with Westbrook is that when either AD and LeBron are out he just struggles. The only way Westbrook is going to work is with AD and LeBron not injured but AD has always had injury problems and LeBron has been injury prone late in his career. Once one is out Westbrook just takes on too much and fails. With AD and LeBron both playing Westbrook isn't going to have the opportunities to be such a waste.
This Lakers team is worse than the 2018-19 squad…actually this might be worse than the 2012-13 team that barely made the playoffs due to old Kobe’s superhuman efforts
Kobe was average that year
@@arizonaFIREent Averaging 27 is average?
@@supermanrun2313 hate to be an oldhead, but he's probably just a kid that doesn't know anything. It's cool
@Arizona Fire Ent yeah Corey Magette said its wifi yeah
I could care less how the Los Angeles “LeBrons” finish.
I just want to watch good, team basketball.
Henry yes they don´t need to win every year
I've never understood why teams give Westbrook a chance. Especially ones that give up young promising players. Hes been a negative overall for years.
Well I can explain why
1. James Harden explicitly said to the front office that he wanted Russ on the team and knowing Daryl Morey, he wanted to keep Harden pleased
2. Washington gave Russ a chance because they had no expectations for that year, Tommy knew he could flip Russ for more than what he got him and he was able to clear a lot of their cap space from the Wall contract
Lakers wanted Russ because he knew he would alleviate the amount of stress Lebron would have if he was not on the floor (assuming that he would take breaks from time to time)
I mean, in Houston he actually did very well prior to the lockdown and his knee injury. And in Washington he was a big reason they got into the playoffs this team just doesn't fit his style
Exactly! Then giving up young players for a guy that's way passed his prime.. if I was a GM wouldn't never allowed that..
I just don't feel his pros out weight his cons. He's a high volume low efficiency ball dominant point guard who makes bad decisions. But sometimes he makes good ones. My butt would be clenched everytime he stepped on the court if I was involved with any team he was on.
Idk why Westbrook gets blamed for every team he's on not winning. Yes he can't shoot and he turns the ball over. No player is perfect. The real problem is the Lakers intentionally went old. Look at their last championship team. Half the rotation was old vets, the other half was young players. That's the balance you need. The old men bring stability and consistency, the young men bring the energy and hunger. You're not getting both from one side or the other. What the Lakers lack is a consistent effort and hustle, bc all their players are old or AD stays hurt.
WestBRICK deserves all the blame he gets
Westbrook is only part of the problem, the whole team has no chemistry with them being very inconsistent
"Yes he can't shoot and he turns the ball over."
44 million and can’t shoot
This is what the lakers get for trying to buy a championship for the 100th time.
Westbrook is not a good floor general despite his high assist. But the whole team is flawed,not just his fault
It's not lack of effort they are OLD. That's the reality they can't defend for 48 minutes, they can give 1 maybe 2 quarters.
It's so weird to me that Russ is a worse shooter than he was 10 years ago. How does that happen to a guard who shoots a ton? We don't hear about him not practicing. He gets tons of in game shooting practice. How is he a worse shooter, significantly, in his 30's? What guard goes from shooting 80+% at the FT line in their 20's to sub-70% when they turn 30? Something happened to Russ that he's never disclosed. I'm nearly certain of it.
Westbrook suffered the biggest non-injury regression of any former MVP I’ve ever seen.
watch them fire Vogel because of this and call it a day
He's had a lot of injuries actually.
He started to fell off after he started to need PRP injections every summer.
And then he clearly fell off a gain A TON after tearing his quad in the bubble, hasn't been the same athletically since then
As athletes get older, usually the athleticism diminishes but quoting Oscar Wilde: "With Age comes Wisdom".
We see how athletic freak guy like Ed Reed, Polumalu, Ginobili etc compensated their diminishing athleticism with the complete understanding of the game and their play to the end of their careers showed that.
Not with Westbrook tho.. His athleticism are still there, but gradually diminished, but wisdom somewhat doesn't come with his age.
@@Moons1167 unfortunately that is so so true and it’ll probably happen sooner rather than later
This what happens when you don’t evolve your game and depend on being a freak athlete
AD back, we about to turn the season around!
Lakers beat an injured nets team good job
sufe
sure*
not so sure about that, team defense is still awful with these personnel, AD wont change a lot...but yeah good that hes back
Yeah “SURE”
lakers have a bunch of spoiled players who's used to role players covering for them but since they have less of those guys, they look lost out there. and malik, austin and tht arent good enough to win it for them if the other players are acting up.
Shouldve got buddy heild and kept caruso, prolly woulda had more cap room to get another guy too would've been a completely different team
LeBron does deserve most of the blame. There is no way the Lakers would have all those old guys on the roster if it wasn’t what he wanted. Every team he goes to he wants veterans. LeBron has never been a great judge of talent. NBA GMs have there jobs for a reason. The Lakers phenomenal job drafting players over the past decade tells me the management can identify talent. If the management and coaching staff would stop listening to their players they would be much better off. There aren’t enough hours in the day to be a player a coach and a GM at the same time. LeBron needs to give the people around him more respect and let them do their jobs.
This shows that building the best team isn't always done by acquiring a load of all-stars. It's done by placing the best complementary players by skills, attitudes and tendencies. A good example of this is Memphis. They only have one legitimate all-star in Morant, but the pieces around him fit so well that they win games against teams with more stars.
Good video .. surprised more videos are not out about the Lakers..
I like how starting in 2003-04, every nine years the Lakers put together a superteam and it never works out in a championship
Not feeling bad about them at all. The self proclaimed GOAT traded everything from the young core they had for Davis and Westbrook and they won one title (call it Mickey Mouse ring it's still a ring) It's enough for players past their prime who are injury prone
Even if this team goes on a serious run with everyone healthy, they get to the second round and have to face either the warriors or the suns. If they don’t go on a run, then they face either the suns, warriors, or grizzlies in the first round. No way this team can win a 7 game series against any of those teams. At best they lose in the second round in 6 games.
They were still ass earlier in the year when they were fully healthy, honestly they aren't a whole lot worse now.
@@AspireGMD their current record with their big three playing is 9-7 with last night’s win. Davis can suffice as a small-ball 5, but their defense was still below league average. The fact that this old team is middle of the pack defensively speaks to how good of a coach Vogel actually is.
@@glenbme They should be the number 1 best team at worst top 3, no other team is stacked with superstars like this, even at their age they still put up wild numbers and do wildly athletic plays so age isn't really an excuse for them, they just have no chemistry at all and are a massive disappointment all around. The lakers bought all these superstars and can't even make a good team out of them, it seems like it's all for the ratings due to their players big names.
@@AspireGMD If Davis had developed his mid and long range shot, then you could get away with having a non-floor spacer (Westbrook) on the floor alongside him. Davis is shooting 19% from 3 this year. Spacing is everything in the modern NBA, and their offense (24th in offensive rating) reflects their roster deficiencies.
Vogel doesn’t deserve all the blame he’s gotten. Dude hasn’t been given a real chance to coach this team since day one. He was a lame duck coach because they didn’t get T Lue and they made him a lame duck coach even after they won in he bubble. But let’s be real LeBron deserves some blame and defensively he’s been terrible. He don’t even try on defense.
Coaches have to be the one to pay the price for GM failures in today's sports
LeBron has been carrying the load, with AD being out for the most part and Westbrick being Westbrick. Its pretty much like his final season with the Cavs.
This biggest problem where the Lakers have struggled was really putting emphasis on developing younger talent rather than trading and signing more experienced yet aging veterans and expect big results. Cleveland started developing young and now they are in a great position to push for the finals since the LeBron years.
Why is no one blaming the front office? Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Kendrick Nunn, and Trevor Ariza were terrible pickups for this team, besides Russell Westbrook. That’s five new signings that didn’t work out! Blame the front office!!!
Nunn is not that bad but good point all the signings were awful the only good ones right now are Stanley Johnson and Malik monk and most of the players in the Lakers roster are merely washed up role players and stars (this includes Westbrook)
Dwight Howard don't have the minutes, but he's the decent center Lakers have right now.
Not fair to put Nunn in there when he hasn't even played
Bruh Nunn's a walking bucket
Stats can be blinding sometimes westbrook gives wins to his team if he has triple double double but still both have in effecient and worst shooting and has negative box point
They gotta trade bazemore and Ellington for some kind of help
Trade Baze nunn and DJ for some defense
@@controversialmann5345 lmao What NBA team wants DJ? Net's wouldn't even play him in playoffs last year and he's benched by Lakers this year.
Trade them for what? A half eaten box of pizza?
Help? Bron has all the help he needs in his entirw career.
@@michelcyrillandicho7111 it's a team sport
I’ve been waiting for this video all season
I blame a lot of Westbrook's mentality problems on Billy Donovan - that man enabled the "Russel Westbrook Show" (aka Russ chasing triple doubles over actual team basketball) for far too long in OKC.
Love the vids 💯
It'd be interesting as compare Russell's numbers at this point in the year two other seasons in his career as opposed to entire season versus the first half of this year.
idk why but i got MAD deja vu right around 7:50
Came back here after the Lakers advanced to the Western Conference Finals beating the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Anyone else present here? I LOVE LA!!!
It’s absolutely Lebron James’s fault since he’s basically acting as GM. He told the front office to pursue this team and it’s a travesty.
I will say only one thing
Just get some damn rebound AD
(I know he's been missing 17 games but even when he played guards were out rebounding him)
Good observation. Thank you and God bless
Seeing the lakers struggle is hilarious.
Love the vids bro
I knew it. Westbrook will never work with Lebron. They are both ball dominant. I always said back then that if they keep AD healthy they can win championship. His issue was always keeping healthy. Well he gets injured again in the last 2 seasons.
No super team has ever won in the 1st year they were created. Takes a year to build chemistry and for each star learn that all the weight isn't on them like it used to be.
This team will suffer in the long run because the majority of the team has 1 year contracts.
They don´t have time in 2 seasons the whole team will change
Lakers just made a tribute to Kobe. 24-24, 8th seed in the west.
All right Andy Hoops Wednesday yessir LETS GOOOOOO
Damn, on the date where Kobe left us, u made a video about Lakers struggles
We Love You Kobe & Gigi!!!!! 💛💜💛💜💛💜💛💜💛💜
I think Lakers as an organization dumb for signing LeBron in 2018 and trading all they future picks for ad who won't be good in 2 to 3 years Lakers have no money or assets or draft picks after LeBron leave or retire Lakers will be trash for awhile I hope that 1 chip was worth it
The thing that infuriates me the most is that "sport analysts" try to save Westbrook from the criticism. He's not the only thing to blame for the team's underperformance so far, but he's a grown ass man straight up refusing to adapt his playstyle to the team's needs. He still tries to play like his old self but this time the roster doesn't revolve around him so it shows how lacking his game really is as a second or third option.
Remember, LeGM has no one to blame but himself
ratio bozo + he better than stephs whole existence
The Lakers struggles fall on the front office, The AD trade was good and they won a finals but before that trade and before injuries the lakers were really good, they have their talented depth away for a guy that can’t stay healthy, they then traded even more depth for a guy that can’t play with other stars
Came back here after the Lakers beat the Grizzlies in the first round? Anyone else present here? I LOVE LA!!!
I'm glad he made it so obvious how great KD is. Russ played by himself, PG and melo, then just PG, back with Harden, BRADLEY BEAL, Then a championship lakers! And he was the reason the team had no cohesiveness EVERYTIME. KD was dragging that selfish egomaniac thru the playoffs? LeBron can't even do that
Well to be fair Lebron is way older than KD was but yea man KD went Thru a lot w Russ in okc.
No trade assets, not very many good defenders, lack of useful role players, injuries and age, it’s gonna be hard for the Lakers for a while even after Lebron retires. Freeing up cap and getting assets with how this teams looks like, very difficult
I think injuries and the protocols affected the team until now with Nunn still yet to return and the others like D'Andre, Ellington, Bazemore not much playing recently and Howard sparringly....
How about a content about Stanley Johnson soon? 🤔
LeBron is putting up impressive stats for sure. But when you're not winning, there is absolutely something you can do better. He can move without the ball when he wants to and when he does, it leads to great things. Same with when he doesn't hold the ball or dribble the air out of it late into the shot clock. This year is proof that he doesn't make everyone better. He makes spot up shooters better. He also rests on defense a lot but I'll be fair here. Kobe did too in his age 34 season. It's just not possible in the mid to late 30s to be that great on both ends of the floor.
From Westbrook to Westbrick to Washedbrook. NBA circle of life
This is a team sport. You don’t single out any one player. If the Lakers lose. Everyone lost! Lebron don’t get a pass, AD don’t get a pass, and etc. everyone missed shots. Lebron don’t play defense at all.
Lakers need extra effort on Defense . Hustle play , Lock Down Defense to the opp. Star , Quick Defensive Players .also Offensive Reb . = Caruso,Green,McGee. a type of players
Tbh that lineup last night defensively was way better jus because AD is so mobile and can play everywhere regardless of his points but Ik they will increase
Came here after the Lakers return to the Playoffs after a one-year absence. Anyone else present here? My take on this is Russ is simply not cutting it and I think firing Vogel seems pretty much unfair and perhaps he could've coached his current 2023 Lakers team to the Playoffs who knows.
7:21 Westbrook chasing that rebound stat looooool
westbrook is the iverson of this era. superstar that hard headed who doesnt want to change his game
They gave up good backcourt and frontcourt defensive players in KCP Caruso Kuzma and Harrel for THT and a turnover machine Westbrick
The Problem is that when Lakers Became Champions,, Some Key Players Let Them Leave and Keeping Experiment in the Line Up...
I've said it for years. Westbrook has been the same for years, he hasn't developed anything except how to get rebounds for triple doubles. His three game? Well, it only got worse. He's trying to force the inside like always, then trying to throw dodgy bail-outs to the three where, you shouldn't be in the position to make dodgy bail-outs in the first place.
Rest of the team is literally aging, Bradley is early 30's, Carmelo is at least 36, Westbrook is early 30's, like, at this point in their careers, they're good threats but they ain't starters who're going to give 15 and 5 every night. Not to mention they're not playing the young guys enough and taking advantage of their athleticism because of the aged vets.
Dropping their core role players over the last off season killed them, especially when they signed OLD veterans, this is what killed Cavaliers in 2017-2018.
There were expectations and they unfortunately won’t make it far. Perhaps it is time for a new era in the west!! But I’m glad there’s healthy competition in the league today!!
They needed a shooter who can shoot, but they went with the hometown/storyline player instead.
1:48
Nice pun
Maybe his playing style fits the shanghai sharks
I disagree with the AB take cuz been solid
It’s true AB is solid but no way he should start
They're done if they face the Suns or Warriors in the playoffs. Frankly they're done if they face the Grizzlies and Nuggets too.
To sum it up i feel like it’s mostly vogels fault with these lineups and constant changes, but also westbrook playing bad and injuries dont help the situation.
Maybe Kuzma wasn’t even a huge problem in LA . And now look at him , he’s thriving in Washington and having a career season without being a cancerous player on the Lakers
Kuzma wasn't really getting enough touchs in the Lakers but his great improvement was his defense
Sorry I love you Andy, but expectations were very low after the Westbrook trade...anyone with an ounce of credible knowledge of basketball knew this experience was bound to fail 🤦🏻♂️
Laker fans were the ones with expectations 😂
Nah the media was saying Lakers are one of the favorites to go to the finals
Lakers is a roster of popular and recognizable names without the talent that goes with them imo.
The Lakers got real greedy with Howard, Westbrook and Carmelo 😂
It's not franks fault that this team is filled with old vets and no true shooters or wings besides Stanly Johnson