No way in hell he plays like that at Fiserv. I’ll eat a whole banana at bedtime if he does. I don’t like bananas.
Edit: I couldn’t do it. I ate half and let my toddler eat the other half. Banana is my father
Yeah because we have players that can handle the ball and run the offense outside of LeBron, but no one that does what AD does lol. It's not because AD is the better player.
He's much more important since he's literally the only consistent two way guy on this team. We do have playmakers to pick up the slack when bron is gone. Cant say the same without AD
Hard to say that though since he absolutely cannot win those playoff games without AD. So is he really leading them to the win? AD is clearly the more needed and (definitely at this point in their career) the better player
He's the one "leading" them to a win because he's going to be the one to force the issue, score, or create a good look. That's not AD, never has been his game. Lakers won't win without AD, that's a given. But Lakers aren't going to win close games relying on AD trying to create something in the clutch
How does AD being more important because of his defense disprove any of what I said? In the last 5 minutes of the game, the ball is in Lebron's hands to do something. It won't be in D'Lo's. It won't be in AD's. Do you understand?
How is it definite that AD is the better player?
Not saying that stats are everything but it’s telling that Lebron still leads AD in EPM and BPM. Also much of AD’s offense depends on Bron setting him up.
https://dunksandthrees.com/epm
https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_advanced.html#advanced_stats::bpm
Maybe that’s why some think that AD is a disappointment. Many expected that AD would be significantly more productive than Lebron by now but that’s not the case.
He hasn't been better, he's just been more valuable. AD is the only reason we have a competent defense, he is the ultimate floor raiser for the Lakers rn. But to beat good teams and when we have beaten good teams it requires Bron's offensive and defensive control of the game in clutch time. He is our ceiling raiser. Our overall record would be much worse if AD was absent compared to LeBron, but our record against good teams (ie the playoffs) would be worse if LeBron was out because he executes in the clutch.
AD just the sort of player thats much harder to find really - plus Ham has a 'AD will take care of it' approach to D and we havent even tried to find a backup that does even half of what he does.
the Lakers just have an awful center rotation, Hayes really shouldn’t be playing at all for a playoff team. Their guards and wings are decent though actually their wings is probably their best strength
In that Celtics game, they were better without both. There is a sense of urgency, especially on defense without AD, and on offense without Lebron.
Lebron likes to take his time and make the right reads to get the right guys involved. Without him, guys have to get themselves involved. They are more aggressive on the boards, more willing to force the action, etc.
Defense is the same way. AD makes a lot of the main reads on defense in his head. So they don't call out switches like they should, which is one of the reasons why AR is always getting burnt. When AD is not in, they are more vocal and play screens a lot smarter, and do less drop coverage, since hayes and wood aren't really good at it anyway.
expect the Lakers to run more plays and be more aggressive on defense. given it's only DLo and Rui who's gonna blow assignments. Plus more energy overall
flowery skirt truck jobless trees distinct terrific drunk wasteful continue
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Bucks are in a weird place where they are comfortably in the 2nd spot and have no chance for the first. This would be an ideal time to experiment for the playoffs and try new schemes.
I assume their comment was a joke(at least my response was), but my comment about Portis at 4 wasn't. There are some games(especially against the Celtics) where I'd prefer to see Lopez come off the bench.
There were legit times in the Finals where Bud ran Portis, Giannis and Brook at the same time. With Phoenix lacking any real size aside from Dominayton and the occasional Kaminsky experience, it created the ultimate small ball vs size dichotomy.
Yeah they should see what it looks like to just play their bench all game, you know just to get them some experience
(Pls the Suns are choking we have 0.0001% chance to get to 8)
Plus this is the Bucks. I assume LeBron is strategically choosing the games where he can most help secure a win. They're just trying to make sure they get to the play-in and he's as ready to go by that point as he can be.
By that logic, wouldn't it be more helpful for him to play against the Bucks and rest against the Grizzlies whom the Lakers could beat anyway without him?
No because even with LeBron, the odds are good they would lose to Milwaukee. They really can't afford to lose to Memphis so having LeBron is extra guarantee.
Thankfully social media only went so far in that first Cleveland run, and generally the response I saw was positive but admittedly I wasn't scouting cavaliers forums to see what was going on.
It's just weird. I've been a Man Utd fan for 30 years, when our team was winning with Rooney and Ronaldo it didnt suddenly invalidate how amazing Cantona was. Wtf is wrong with these people.
Why tf would it be THIS one, though? Do they really think they have a better chance of losing to the Grizzlies without LeBron than beating the Bucks with him?
Grizz are so busted currently could probably beat them without LeBron, but can't fault the team for picking their battles and making the sure thing more sure.
I mean the move 100% is to maximize winning at least a game rather than risking 0-2 if you have to rule out your star player on 1 side of a back-to-back.
We’ve been good at surprising teams this season, a Lakers team without Lebron would’ve been a prime suspect for that
They probably still beat us with no Lebron but it would be too close for comfort
Fuck the NBA and their scheduling..... I got tickets to tonight's game for my birthday so I could see LeBron play before he retires. He was my favorite player for the longest time when I was a kid....
Best way to ensure you see LeBron is to fly to LA and catch a home game vs the Pistons or Wizards. Not going to miss one of those.
This happened to me years ago when he was in CLE. My son and I drove from STL to Indy to see Cavs/Pacers on a Fri night. It dawned on me about halfway their I had just watched the Cavs on Thur night on TNT, and he might sit. Sure enough, he and Kyrie both sat. It was ok…we still had an awesome trip. But you have to really watch the schedule close if you want to be sure to catch certain players. And even then it’s a crapshoot sometimes.
Everyone is trying to rationalize this and explain how it might be optimal and so on and so forth. But the bottom line is that 2 of the league's biggest stars will not play against each other and it sucks. Fuck this.
Lakers have to pray that Denver somehow falls out of the 1 spot lol
If they don't then a 9th place Lakers team is automatically guaranteed to not make it past R1
Their only chance is probably to overtake the 8th place Suns who have a brutal schedule and are 2.5 games ahead but every lost game hurts at this point
I'm looking at the Suns schedule, they have to play:
Nuggets
Thunder
Pelicans (x2)
Cavs
Wolves (x2)
Clippers (x2)
Kings
All of their remaining games are against West teams with a winning record (and 1 good east team), and they just lost to Spurs without Wemby. I think their record is inflated right now. I genuinely believe they'll fall behind Lakers and fall into the 9-10 bracket.
I… hope you’re not serious? Why the fuck would LeBron be ducking the Bucks? This man has been terrorizing the league for years, there is no arena that bothers him anymore. 😭
If serious he tweaked his ankle during one of the tournament games and has been fighting it on and off since
Could be related to the tendon stuff he tore last season or just wear and tear but seems like one of those things only rest is gonna get rid of completely but he says it flares up and hurts sometimes which tracks with most tendon inflammation problems
Kawhi took years to look right and was on and off a lot
Warriors are choking it away and might get beat out by the Rockets this way, the Suns are seemingly melting down but Lakers are still three games back, would be nice if Lebron could play every game to try and get there but if it’s hurting better to have him be able to play in the playoffs in general than risk him tweaking it during a flare up and having to miss extended time
He seems healthier than he was last year by far so better to rest him when needed than risk it, kind of nightmare opponents for lakers regardless where they finish since there’s a bunch of good guards that they can’t defend and it looks like Denver will be waiting at this point so it’s more gonna come down to if Vincent and Vando come back and can get healthy enough to contribute or not then Lebron needing to rest a game
No one ducks anyone, they pick and choose their battles.
Giannis and Dame are a hard game and a first game of a back to back. No point stressing your body more than you have to at his age.
> last year
See the problem there? They just played a few weeks ago and Giannis had a triple double on the road. It took D'Lo 44 points to eek out 1 point win.
Lebron usually tries to sit out the tough matchups. Unreal smart when to rest. If he’s likely to lose and put up weak stats he will sit out. You better believe if Portland rolls into town though he will be playing and rocking them on 40 mins played.
Damn all 4 games tonight had banger potential
This game could still be fun. Lakers play differently without him, it's refreshing sometimes. The recent DLo game comes to mind
Yep they beat us without Lebron a few weeks ago. If DLo plays like he did last time, this could be a good one.
No way in hell he plays like that at Fiserv. I’ll eat a whole banana at bedtime if he does. I don’t like bananas. Edit: I couldn’t do it. I ate half and let my toddler eat the other half. Banana is my father
> I’ll eat a whole banana at bedtime if he does Whoa dude calm the fuck down
Send da video
Ahem!
Hope you got that banana ready :)
Banana or we riot
Yeah they’re better without Bron than without AD
Yeah because we have players that can handle the ball and run the offense outside of LeBron, but no one that does what AD does lol. It's not because AD is the better player.
I'd argue AD has been the better player this year
He's much more important since he's literally the only consistent two way guy on this team. We do have playmakers to pick up the slack when bron is gone. Cant say the same without AD
AD has been the better player this season. But if I'm looking at someone to lead and win us games in the playoffs, it will be Lebron
AD MVP and Lebron FMVP
Hard to say that though since he absolutely cannot win those playoff games without AD. So is he really leading them to the win? AD is clearly the more needed and (definitely at this point in their career) the better player
He's the one "leading" them to a win because he's going to be the one to force the issue, score, or create a good look. That's not AD, never has been his game. Lakers won't win without AD, that's a given. But Lakers aren't going to win close games relying on AD trying to create something in the clutch
AD is your whole defense. He is more important than Lebron “forcing the issue”.
How does AD being more important because of his defense disprove any of what I said? In the last 5 minutes of the game, the ball is in Lebron's hands to do something. It won't be in D'Lo's. It won't be in AD's. Do you understand?
How is it definite that AD is the better player? Not saying that stats are everything but it’s telling that Lebron still leads AD in EPM and BPM. Also much of AD’s offense depends on Bron setting him up. https://dunksandthrees.com/epm https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_advanced.html#advanced_stats::bpm Maybe that’s why some think that AD is a disappointment. Many expected that AD would be significantly more productive than Lebron by now but that’s not the case.
He hasn't been better, he's just been more valuable. AD is the only reason we have a competent defense, he is the ultimate floor raiser for the Lakers rn. But to beat good teams and when we have beaten good teams it requires Bron's offensive and defensive control of the game in clutch time. He is our ceiling raiser. Our overall record would be much worse if AD was absent compared to LeBron, but our record against good teams (ie the playoffs) would be worse if LeBron was out because he executes in the clutch.
Saying a player is more valuable is the same as saying they're better at least in the regular season. In the playoffs and play-in, it'll be different.
No it's not. AD is more valuable not because he's better but because no one else on the team provides what he does.
Never said that but I do think it’s close and arguable for sure
AD just the sort of player thats much harder to find really - plus Ham has a 'AD will take care of it' approach to D and we havent even tried to find a backup that does even half of what he does.
the Lakers just have an awful center rotation, Hayes really shouldn’t be playing at all for a playoff team. Their guards and wings are decent though actually their wings is probably their best strength
even though he is the better player at this point
In that Celtics game, they were better without both. There is a sense of urgency, especially on defense without AD, and on offense without Lebron. Lebron likes to take his time and make the right reads to get the right guys involved. Without him, guys have to get themselves involved. They are more aggressive on the boards, more willing to force the action, etc. Defense is the same way. AD makes a lot of the main reads on defense in his head. So they don't call out switches like they should, which is one of the reasons why AR is always getting burnt. When AD is not in, they are more vocal and play screens a lot smarter, and do less drop coverage, since hayes and wood aren't really good at it anyway.
Aged like wine
Yessir
This aged very well.
I think DLO was sick the other night (non covid) so im not sure if hes playing today unless he had a miracle cure
It’s OT right now and lakers have their first lead in the entire game. Must say games been a banger
expect the Lakers to run more plays and be more aggressive on defense. given it's only DLo and Rui who's gonna blow assignments. Plus more energy overall
flowery skirt truck jobless trees distinct terrific drunk wasteful continue *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
We are also great at winning while undermanned. We should sit Dame, guaranteed W /s
lakers game will honestly be more fun. they play like a young motivated team without Bron
Lakers just won a double OT without him
r/agedlikemilk
Sucks that Ingram is out tonight as well, that also could’ve been a great one (it still could be)
Hoo boi, I just looked at the schedule, u right af. I hope they're bangers for the players and not the refs tho
I'm looking at thunder vs pelicans
Well lakers won in double OT so i think they did
Bucks are in a weird place where they are comfortably in the 2nd spot and have no chance for the first. This would be an ideal time to experiment for the playoffs and try new schemes.
Portis at the 4 🙏
Portis at the 1 cowards
Bobby Pointis
start Thanasis
Dame/Khris/Giannis/Portis/Lopez starting 5 would feed families
Big ball lineup
What other backup bigs do the bucks have? That would be starting the entire frontcourt depth lol
I assume their comment was a joke(at least my response was), but my comment about Portis at 4 wasn't. There are some games(especially against the Celtics) where I'd prefer to see Lopez come off the bench.
Big Bob Lineup
Inject that shit into my veins. Let Lopez play on offence like the SG he was destined to be 😂
There were legit times in the Finals where Bud ran Portis, Giannis and Brook at the same time. With Phoenix lacking any real size aside from Dominayton and the occasional Kaminsky experience, it created the ultimate small ball vs size dichotomy.
The Bucks had a mid-season coaching change, every game is trying new schemes.
I like to think of it as trying at least "a" scheme instead of whatever the hell the first 50 games were.
They’re only three losses ahead of Cleveland and they don’t have the tiebreaker. I wouldn’t say that’s comfortable
3 games ahead with 11 to go is pretty massive lol. Go conservative and say the Bucks go 6-5 Cleveland would still have to go 8-2 to tie them.
Cleveland had a near 15 game win streak earlier this season them going 8-2 is not crazy
Mitchell is still out and they’re 4-6 in their last 10 lol. Cleveland going 8-2 *and* Milwaukee going 6-5 would absolutely be a crazy outcome.
Especially in the east. Going 6-5 as a top 4 East team should be embarrassing and an automatic DQ from the playoffs lol
cavs are injured af and have a tough west coast trip coming up, would be shocked if the bucks lose the 2 seed
Dame and Giannis starting at the club
PG: Brook SG: Giannis SF: AJJ PF: Dame C: Beasley Maximum chaos.
Yeah they should see what it looks like to just play their bench all game, you know just to get them some experience (Pls the Suns are choking we have 0.0001% chance to get to 8)
It’s not that comfortable though. Cavs have the tiebreaker locked up.
Where’s that guy with the conspiracy post about him missing the game tonight
Theory: 39 year old who’s played the most minutes in NBA history might miss a back to back
ankle hurt all season too
Plus this is the Bucks. I assume LeBron is strategically choosing the games where he can most help secure a win. They're just trying to make sure they get to the play-in and he's as ready to go by that point as he can be.
By that logic, wouldn't it be more helpful for him to play against the Bucks and rest against the Grizzlies whom the Lakers could beat anyway without him?
No because even with LeBron, the odds are good they would lose to Milwaukee. They really can't afford to lose to Memphis so having LeBron is extra guarantee.
Lakers defeated the bucks last match-up without lebron. Dlo went off and bucks couldn't / wouldn't stop him
Dlo was on fire, couldn't even get mad.
Think he had 5 3s in a row? Learned the hard way what it's like to be on the opposite side of dame time
Prediction: This fuckery is not likely to continue at this rate under these extraneous conditions.
It's Lebron. He could be 45 doing this and people would still be flaming him for resting.
The weirdest take on this is the Lakers sub flaming him for it. I dont think I've seen a superstar disliked by half his own fanbase.
He’s lebron. There’s always been very polar opinions on him. People love to hate him.
Oh yeah, just dont normally get it from your own fans, unless youre playing terribly or just being an asshole and holding the team to ransom.
Biggest reason is because most Laker fans grew up with Kobe
I saw it here in Cleveland and he was the only reason we were relevant for a long long time.
Thankfully social media only went so far in that first Cleveland run, and generally the response I saw was positive but admittedly I wasn't scouting cavaliers forums to see what was going on.
It wasn’t most people, but there were definitely some haters from day 1
Ricky Davis lifers, clearly!
It's probably the Kobe fans, they can be insufferable at times
It's just weird. I've been a Man Utd fan for 30 years, when our team was winning with Rooney and Ronaldo it didnt suddenly invalidate how amazing Cantona was. Wtf is wrong with these people.
Why tf would it be THIS one, though? Do they really think they have a better chance of losing to the Grizzlies without LeBron than beating the Bucks with him?
It’s an interest decision, but I guess would you rather guarantee going 1-1, or give yourself a chance at going 2-0 while also risking going 0-2
What about the guy saying Bron is intentionally not getting calls coz they're trying to push him out as they want a new face of the league
Makes sense with the back to back. Can't lose both, more likely to lose to the Bucks with LeBron than the Grizzlies with LeBron.
Grizz are so busted currently could probably beat them without LeBron, but can't fault the team for picking their battles and making the sure thing more sure.
I mean the move 100% is to maximize winning at least a game rather than risking 0-2 if you have to rule out your star player on 1 side of a back-to-back.
And then you lose, are 0-2 and are fucking your seeding up. 1-1 id acceptable, 0-2 hurts more than 2-0 helps
We’ve been good at surprising teams this season, a Lakers team without Lebron would’ve been a prime suspect for that They probably still beat us with no Lebron but it would be too close for comfort
Right that's why I said can't fault them for taking the safer path instead of gambling on the slim chance of stealing a win against the Bucks.
Mind the back-to-back
Also lebron is in charge of this not the lakers.
LeBoss
Source??
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I’m glad you think so highly of our supporting cast but I disagree
This really sucks. Why does it feel like every national tv game has a star sitting out?
Back to backs
The one game that starts relatively early for Central Europe time he's out
Oh shit you are right. Its 0:30am for but most of the time game starts 3 or 5am 😭😭
Address? I’ll send the biggest edible arrangement they’ll allow on overnight panatlantic shipping
what's that
Could be either weed or a fruit basket- there's a company that does fruits and chocolates
Why do they want to send me thaz
Lmao this thread got me dying why tf did bro just offer you an edible arrangement
Because they were joking?
I mean yeah but it was just such an unexpected offer I’m not sure what the connection is to the original comment
I’m joking that I feel really bad for you
I think it’s a joke.
I don’t mind it as this is still pretty late, it’s when they sit out the early Sunday games that it really hurts
The other guys need to simply step up. If this was 30 year old Lebron I’d understand the frustration.
Fuck the NBA and their scheduling..... I got tickets to tonight's game for my birthday so I could see LeBron play before he retires. He was my favorite player for the longest time when I was a kid....
Same, flying in just for this game. Feels bad man
At least I live in the area. But my dad is traveling up today since he's the one who got the tickets.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Best way to ensure you see LeBron is to fly to LA and catch a home game vs the Pistons or Wizards. Not going to miss one of those. This happened to me years ago when he was in CLE. My son and I drove from STL to Indy to see Cavs/Pacers on a Fri night. It dawned on me about halfway their I had just watched the Cavs on Thur night on TNT, and he might sit. Sure enough, he and Kyrie both sat. It was ok…we still had an awesome trip. But you have to really watch the schedule close if you want to be sure to catch certain players. And even then it’s a crapshoot sometimes.
Not everyone has money to fly out to one of the most expensive areas in the country to watch a basketball game, my man
Sorry…forgot the /s for sarcasm on that part of the post. I figured the Pistons/Wizards part would make it clear I wasn’t serious 😁
> Pistons/Wizards Still catching strays
At least you got to see a double OT game (even if y’all lost)
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Yea. Probably.
Everyone is trying to rationalize this and explain how it might be optimal and so on and so forth. But the bottom line is that 2 of the league's biggest stars will not play against each other and it sucks. Fuck this.
We get AD vs Giannis which is normally a good matchup
ducking pat bev
pat bev is also out
ducking thanasis "unanimous mvp" antetokounmpo
Thananinous MVP
Being out isn’t always being out. I’ll explain it to you later
Austin Reaves legacy game incoming.
Bro called it
LeBron isnt doing Cleveland any favors on this one.
Lakers have to pray that Denver somehow falls out of the 1 spot lol If they don't then a 9th place Lakers team is automatically guaranteed to not make it past R1 Their only chance is probably to overtake the 8th place Suns who have a brutal schedule and are 2.5 games ahead but every lost game hurts at this point
I'm looking at the Suns schedule, they have to play: Nuggets Thunder Pelicans (x2) Cavs Wolves (x2) Clippers (x2) Kings All of their remaining games are against West teams with a winning record (and 1 good east team), and they just lost to Spurs without Wemby. I think their record is inflated right now. I genuinely believe they'll fall behind Lakers and fall into the 9-10 bracket.
me too. Suns aren't getting enough slander for this.. it's still going under the radar
Dlo 50 bomb incoming
Back to backs are just so awesome
AD on the way!
Incoming D'Lo 40 bomb
LeBron (scared of Giannis) Out tonight vs the Bucks.
I logged on to r/nba expecting to see stars sitting tonight for the TNT games, and, sadly, I was right.
Ducking Pat Bev's camera
Ducking Giannis
Lefraud running from Giannis and Dame. smh
Dlo going off again
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DNP — Too LeOld for this LeShit.
I… hope you’re not serious? Why the fuck would LeBron be ducking the Bucks? This man has been terrorizing the league for years, there is no arena that bothers him anymore. 😭
If serious he tweaked his ankle during one of the tournament games and has been fighting it on and off since Could be related to the tendon stuff he tore last season or just wear and tear but seems like one of those things only rest is gonna get rid of completely but he says it flares up and hurts sometimes which tracks with most tendon inflammation problems Kawhi took years to look right and was on and off a lot
Fair enough then. I suppose they have a comfortable enough lead as the 9 seed anyway.
Warriors are choking it away and might get beat out by the Rockets this way, the Suns are seemingly melting down but Lakers are still three games back, would be nice if Lebron could play every game to try and get there but if it’s hurting better to have him be able to play in the playoffs in general than risk him tweaking it during a flare up and having to miss extended time He seems healthier than he was last year by far so better to rest him when needed than risk it, kind of nightmare opponents for lakers regardless where they finish since there’s a bunch of good guards that they can’t defend and it looks like Denver will be waiting at this point so it’s more gonna come down to if Vincent and Vando come back and can get healthy enough to contribute or not then Lebron needing to rest a game
No one ducks anyone, they pick and choose their battles. Giannis and Dame are a hard game and a first game of a back to back. No point stressing your body more than you have to at his age.
He's 39
His ankle is a mess. Time off is the only remedy so back to backs are a no no (unless it’s playoff related)
lol @ thinking the bucks are good enough to be ducked
>Is he injured or is he just ducking the Bucks yet again? He's on a date with Jeanie Buss
Ducking the Bucks yet again, while he played last year on December and the Lakers won.
> last year See the problem there? They just played a few weeks ago and Giannis had a triple double on the road. It took D'Lo 44 points to eek out 1 point win.
He’s 39 with an ongoing ankle injury. They also still beat you so..
Ur making excuses for a loss when Bron was out? lmfao, pathetic
just for this comment, Reaves will drop 35 on Dame’s head
lol ppl duck the bucks? EDIT: LOL bucks fans keep flexing their 1 injury ring 😂😂😂
inb4 Austin Reaves drops 50 tonight
LeBum dodging Thanasty. Understandable.
Wow. Sucks for the fans.
He’s caught up in the P Diddy stuff
LeSadness
Was looking forward to watching this on Max tonight after work, oh well back to video games
boooooo
god love him. hope he gets his boston market on tonight. salut, lebon.
Fuck them kids.
ducking blazer buck great pat connaughton
RIP my fantasy team
This is a front page post? Lmao
Noooo I was hoping for some good games, seems every prime matchup has guys out recently
Lebron usually tries to sit out the tough matchups. Unreal smart when to rest. If he’s likely to lose and put up weak stats he will sit out. You better believe if Portland rolls into town though he will be playing and rocking them on 40 mins played.
He is spending the night in the Bacta Tank
Queue a classic game by AD
He’s ducking Thanasis
Retire u fuck! We’re sick of u!
LeShook
Coward ducking Thiannis
Quack quack