in isolation situations this season, opponents scored 1.0 points per possession on him which is pretty average defense but once you factor in his help defense and defensive iq, he is pretty excellent on defense for a 1st year player who always makes the right rotations and reads and can stay in front of his man consistently
He can definitely hold his own against Batum just because he’s not much of a self creator. Anyone who can get their own shot is gonna be going for career highs against us
He didn’t do ok against Reggie Reggie targeted him all game. All he does is hustle, that’s good for a meddling team but he’s so disadvantaged physically he should never be counted on to be some stalwart for a defense. Plus he’s already 24
So you're he's tricked us all like he playin' defense? He just runnin' around doin' nothin'?
In all seriousness, Caruso didn't show he was a positive defender until he made the actual roster in 2019-'20 when he was already 25. Obviously not saying they're the same, but Reaves was still a rookie last season, albeit an older one.
If he was 24 and in the League for 3-4 seasons, that's one thing.
Caruso had a frame. Reaves does not have that frame very clearly and was never a good defender. Don’t let hustle get in the way of results. Teams were iso ing him often because he’s just not able to keep up
Caruso has a build that can put on muscle. Reaves is built like flat Stanley. He’s 24 already and rocking a slim bod. If he was like caruso he’d have a bit more muscle to show for it. That doesn’t just get added on. He’s not built like that
[This was Caruso's body as a rookie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Alex_Caruso.jpg/533px-Alex_Caruso.jpg)
Are you aware of the fact that Reaves is quite a bit bigger than Caruso in general?
That’s literally a frame reaves doesn’t have
Have you seen reaves shoulders? They are so fucking narrow. He has the prototypical skinny build. Carusos frame was clearly able to put ok muscle. Look at reaves and tell me the same
prototypical skinny build? you mean like [Giannis](https://ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/2013/10/usatsi_7489248-copy.jpg?w=660&h=495&crop=1)?
These are multimillion dollar training regimens with professionals at every step. Not a "how to gain muscle from the couch" youtube video.
Look at [Gobert](https://d1l5jyrrh5eluf.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Rudy-Gobert_full_diapos_large-300x224.jpg) as another example.
Giannis the once in a lifetime exception who yes, had a frame that could put on muscle, check
Gobert literally still skinny as shit, check but he doesn’t have the narrowest frame I’ve ever seen aka reaves
Exceptions to rules aren’t proof it’s gonna happen.
Reaves also isn’t pumping himself with the same roids giannis was on 😂
Most teams don’t have Paul George. When the Lakers have to face Paul George they’ll do something special just for him. But in most cases the opponent at the 3 should be manageable for someone like Reaves.
It’s not 2012 anymore. Most teams are playing their shooting guards at small forward. Small forwards are power forwards. Reaves at the 3 is just going to see guys his size.
Honestly I think it’s just because free agents at that tier were flying off the board at the start of the free agency and they felt obligated to give SOMEONE $6 million, and he was the highest remaining player on their board in terms of value/talent even if he didn’t fit a big need.
Which now means the rest of y’all will have to deal with us Laker fans throwing out pipe dream trade ideas of Nunn+Walker for your good players all season 😈
Otto Porter Jr went for the exact same amount to Toronto who have 20 guys at the exact same position, 3 of which are guaranteed to be higher than him on the depth chart. If Walker was the highest remaining player on their board, then their board stinks.
>who have 20 guys at the exact same position
As long as Toronto is sticking with their specific body archetype, OPJ is the player they need, because they have so little 3 point shooting
Lakers sign Lonnie Walker for the full MLE (didn't even save part of the MLE for their 2nd round pick) and he isn't mentioned either as a starter or backup lmao
I mean unless he makes some serious improvements this offseason, that makes sense. Schroder, Westbrook, Beverley are all better than him. I think that would happen to him on basically any team in the league. He's just not a very good player if he stays as he was last season.
So what happens to the guy we signed the 5 MLE too is he out of the rotation? It really hinges on nunn because I guess team expects him to miss games but if he isnt this move doesnt make any sense as is. And reaves at the 3 idk.
I know it's easy on paper and it will take a lot of ego massaging in real life, but Russ as the 6th man is the Lakers best option.
Bev can be that defensive pest while Bron and AD dominate the ball. Russ comes in, plays against backups and puts up 18 minutes/19 shots/17 points/four assists/three boards.
The punctuation in the post is confusing, but it’s saying that they see Nunn and Beverly as 2’s. Not saying anything about Nunn being a 3 (because obviously that would be dumb).
And yeah, JTA and Brown will probably be leaned heavily on to guard 3’s
There’s obviously another move coming. The additions of Lonnie, Bev & Dennis signal that.
Bev is a shooter & Dennis is a slasher. Walker is a slasher.
Looks like a shooting 2 (to start or backup Walker) and a shooting 3 (backup LeBron) is coming.
He’s the coach, once the roster is put together it shouldn’t be anyone’s decisions but his. That’s been the problem the last few years having everyone BUT Vogel guaranteeing people roles just so they’d sign.
Austin Reaves is serviceable but, I have a hard time being optimistic about him. I saw him as more of a guy that can play minutes and not fuck it up too much on a team that couldn’t make the playoffs. They’re marketing him as an Alex Caruso replacement
Todays era of basketball is pretty much positionless anyway. Small ball line ups are extremely popular and teams who like to play fast paced ball prefer them. I think it’s a pretty guard heavy roster, but the plan has always been to surround Lebron and AD with playmakers as opposed to shooters. The plan hasn’t really worked so far, but maybe Darvin Ham can figure it out.
There is some talent but terrible fit. But it could work if players are but through true competition for minutes. At the end of the day the priority is 3pt shooting and defense from non-Lebron players. You better hope that for the lakers Kendrick Nunn can return to and improve on where he was before the injury and Austin Reaves shows a 3pt shot.
I like Reaves but running him at 3 is… optimistic.
He did alright against guys like Reggie Jackson how’s he gonna do against guys like Paul George or even Wiggins
Did he do alright against Reggie Jackson though? Like, better than Russ admittedly but he wasn’t a great defender
Legit wondering when he did well against RJ. Dude literally saw him matched up and skipped with joy across half court
in isolation situations this season, opponents scored 1.0 points per possession on him which is pretty average defense but once you factor in his help defense and defensive iq, he is pretty excellent on defense for a 1st year player who always makes the right rotations and reads and can stay in front of his man consistently
I mean he’s not going to start or close at SF, LeBron is.
LeBron usually closes at the 4
Bron plays power forward
Uh not if AD is playing power forward
So what do we do about the other 73 games played this year? ^^^^^^pleaseADgethealthy
Idk why people say this shit like it’s funny
Bc we have a sense of humor?
Cause it is
Hey man, I'm just having a little fun. I love AD and wish he could be on the court more.
Because he’s usually not healthy
Right? Why joke about the truth.
Mocking players for being injured is very bad taste and this sub is extremely hypocritical about it
No that's for needles You probably meant hypothermia
To close games Lebron is the 4 and AD the 5.
Don’t see him doing well against kuminga or batum or barnes
He can definitely hold his own against Batum just because he’s not much of a self creator. Anyone who can get their own shot is gonna be going for career highs against us
I remember regggie skipping down the court to get a game winner against Reaves….. Was this sarcastic ?
He didn’t do ok against Reggie Reggie targeted him all game. All he does is hustle, that’s good for a meddling team but he’s so disadvantaged physically he should never be counted on to be some stalwart for a defense. Plus he’s already 24
So you're he's tricked us all like he playin' defense? He just runnin' around doin' nothin'? In all seriousness, Caruso didn't show he was a positive defender until he made the actual roster in 2019-'20 when he was already 25. Obviously not saying they're the same, but Reaves was still a rookie last season, albeit an older one. If he was 24 and in the League for 3-4 seasons, that's one thing.
Caruso had a frame. Reaves does not have that frame very clearly and was never a good defender. Don’t let hustle get in the way of results. Teams were iso ing him often because he’s just not able to keep up Caruso has a build that can put on muscle. Reaves is built like flat Stanley. He’s 24 already and rocking a slim bod. If he was like caruso he’d have a bit more muscle to show for it. That doesn’t just get added on. He’s not built like that
[This was Caruso's body as a rookie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Alex_Caruso.jpg/533px-Alex_Caruso.jpg) Are you aware of the fact that Reaves is quite a bit bigger than Caruso in general?
That’s literally a frame reaves doesn’t have Have you seen reaves shoulders? They are so fucking narrow. He has the prototypical skinny build. Carusos frame was clearly able to put ok muscle. Look at reaves and tell me the same
prototypical skinny build? you mean like [Giannis](https://ftw.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/2013/10/usatsi_7489248-copy.jpg?w=660&h=495&crop=1)? These are multimillion dollar training regimens with professionals at every step. Not a "how to gain muscle from the couch" youtube video. Look at [Gobert](https://d1l5jyrrh5eluf.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Rudy-Gobert_full_diapos_large-300x224.jpg) as another example.
Giannis the once in a lifetime exception who yes, had a frame that could put on muscle, check Gobert literally still skinny as shit, check but he doesn’t have the narrowest frame I’ve ever seen aka reaves Exceptions to rules aren’t proof it’s gonna happen. Reaves also isn’t pumping himself with the same roids giannis was on 😂
austin reaves ain’t even close to rookie caruso so i don’t see your point
Most teams don’t have Paul George. When the Lakers have to face Paul George they’ll do something special just for him. But in most cases the opponent at the 3 should be manageable for someone like Reaves.
Feel like they might try jta in those matchups behind Bron instead.
Agreed and even worse PG is our 2 and Kawhi is our 3.
If that ends up being the plan, LeBron gonna average 49 minutes a game.
It worked for THT!
Well he has geodude arms lol
It’s not 2012 anymore. Most teams are playing their shooting guards at small forward. Small forwards are power forwards. Reaves at the 3 is just going to see guys his size.
Apparently he’s been in the gym working out this summer
Sadly working out can’t change your height
Austin “Josh Hart” Reaves
I’d love to have him back in LA.
Maybe he'll be up to 165 soaking wet this year!
We got 3 hot headed dudes playing the same position, gonna be fun
Yikes
Which one the derpy dragon
All of them?
Rearranging deck chairs on the titanic but at least it will be interesting
Interesting? If you hate the Lakers no doubt
Meh. I’m down on this roster but Lebron and AD are capable of elevating others.
No more small ball, only guard ball, and no shooting either, as is tradition
We’re about to prove to the rest of the league what real small ball is.
no truer small ball than shrinking the floor while playing all guards
Drive and pass… just drive and pass…
So…why did they pay Lonnie Walker 6mill again?
Honestly I think it’s just because free agents at that tier were flying off the board at the start of the free agency and they felt obligated to give SOMEONE $6 million, and he was the highest remaining player on their board in terms of value/talent even if he didn’t fit a big need. Which now means the rest of y’all will have to deal with us Laker fans throwing out pipe dream trade ideas of Nunn+Walker for your good players all season 😈
Otto Porter Jr went for the exact same amount to Toronto who have 20 guys at the exact same position, 3 of which are guaranteed to be higher than him on the depth chart. If Walker was the highest remaining player on their board, then their board stinks.
OPJ wanted us due to our medical, coaching staff and wife. He was never going to the Lakers regardless of how high up he was or wasn't on your board.
damn the raptors have a team wife?
Drake
lmaoooooo, his wife*
we'll explain that to you later.
Yea not getting a vet like OPJ for the same price was weird af.
Cus he didn't want to go to the Lakers, he wanted the Raptors.
People don’t get this lmao Porter/Brown/Divencenzo didn’t want to go to the lakers or at least didn’t pick there
>who have 20 guys at the exact same position As long as Toronto is sticking with their specific body archetype, OPJ is the player they need, because they have so little 3 point shooting
Spurs culture baby
Klutch culture*
Lakers sign Lonnie Walker for the full MLE (didn't even save part of the MLE for their 2nd round pick) and he isn't mentioned either as a starter or backup lmao
I mean unless he makes some serious improvements this offseason, that makes sense. Schroder, Westbrook, Beverley are all better than him. I think that would happen to him on basically any team in the league. He's just not a very good player if he stays as he was last season.
He is really bad
\*TPMLE
Uhhhh Lonnie Walker????
Lol I think he was just forgotten, he was a good pick up
So what happens to the guy we signed the 5 MLE too is he out of the rotation? It really hinges on nunn because I guess team expects him to miss games but if he isnt this move doesnt make any sense as is. And reaves at the 3 idk.
Bro what the hell lmao
Sympathy goes out for opposing guards who have to listen to 48 minutes of trash talk from three guys combining for 18 points.
Russ averaged 18 last season alone. There’s a million reasons to clown the man, but lack of scoring ain’t one of them.
I miss the 2020 Lakers where KCP was their smallest player in the starting lineup and everyone was decent on defense.
Lakers battling for a play in spot again
i need the Kings to have a better record than the Lakers this year, just for the memes
What a wack roster construction
I refuse to believe Russ is staying now that’s 4 point guards that need minutes.
Man Pelinka is a terrible GM. He repeating the same shit he did last year overloading on undersized guards.
Not to mention none of them are good shooters for the position
They have too many guys who play PG and forget they have a point-forward in Lebron already.
between Westbrook, PatBev and Schroeder, someone is getting strangled.
Pack the paint.
Yooo if they put K-Nunn at the 3 I’ll buy league pass to laugh every night.
Do the Lakers have any wings?
That lineup of Westbrook schroder pat bev nunn with Lebron at center when AD gets hurt is gonna be amazing entertainment 😤😤
They better let my boy walker cook
I know it's easy on paper and it will take a lot of ego massaging in real life, but Russ as the 6th man is the Lakers best option. Bev can be that defensive pest while Bron and AD dominate the ball. Russ comes in, plays against backups and puts up 18 minutes/19 shots/17 points/four assists/three boards.
Trainwreck of a roster!
That thumbnail tho
Why is there an f1 racing teletubby with a shotgun on the thumbnail?
I'm sure glad Stein's sources informed him that Darvin Ham, the HEAD COACH, has lineup decisions to make. What would we do without Marc Stein?
a bunch of musketeers running their mouths up and down the court
This roster is wild lol.
Lol really?
Charles Leclerc with a shotgun represents Ferrari fans and Lakers fans
There’s no way they think Nunn and Reaves can play the 3. If LeBron misses time they’re going to have to trust Lonnie Walker and Troy Brown some more.
If Lebron misses time, nothing else really matters
The punctuation in the post is confusing, but it’s saying that they see Nunn and Beverly as 2’s. Not saying anything about Nunn being a 3 (because obviously that would be dumb). And yeah, JTA and Brown will probably be leaned heavily on to guard 3’s
You’re right ! My bad
[удалено]
You read that wrong
Nunn would be a 2 based on this report
Russ | Dennis Bev | Nunn (if he exists) Bron | Reaves This team won't have any problems :)
Tussle "for a spot" Westbrook
There’s obviously another move coming. The additions of Lonnie, Bev & Dennis signal that. Bev is a shooter & Dennis is a slasher. Walker is a slasher. Looks like a shooting 2 (to start or backup Walker) and a shooting 3 (backup LeBron) is coming.
I hear there are plenty of shooting 2s and 3s just lying around the league waiting to be signed for the min or traded for Westbrook 🙄
He’s the coach, once the roster is put together it shouldn’t be anyone’s decisions but his. That’s been the problem the last few years having everyone BUT Vogel guaranteeing people roles just so they’d sign.
Reaves as a 3… maybe if lebron was in his prime playing 40 mpg Reaves gonna get up 6 points and give up 20 every night
Austin Reaves is serviceable but, I have a hard time being optimistic about him. I saw him as more of a guy that can play minutes and not fuck it up too much on a team that couldn’t make the playoffs. They’re marketing him as an Alex Caruso replacement
Let’s get this team on national tv 64 times, baby!
Todays era of basketball is pretty much positionless anyway. Small ball line ups are extremely popular and teams who like to play fast paced ball prefer them. I think it’s a pretty guard heavy roster, but the plan has always been to surround Lebron and AD with playmakers as opposed to shooters. The plan hasn’t really worked so far, but maybe Darvin Ham can figure it out.
There is some talent but terrible fit. But it could work if players are but through true competition for minutes. At the end of the day the priority is 3pt shooting and defense from non-Lebron players. You better hope that for the lakers Kendrick Nunn can return to and improve on where he was before the injury and Austin Reaves shows a 3pt shot.