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The thing is that Dlo can't do no wrong some of the things he does now like hustling is a habit he has developed but we can't say that
**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins
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But does that really resolve it?
Because over the next whatever many days for that to happen... We will get this, that and the third about why Russell is Hollywood, random nicknames, things that have nothing to do with basketball, he'll never improve, and double standards....
Some of us actually want to watch games, enjoy them, and reasonably have discussions about them. I don't know about anybody else, but I live 3 hours ahead, I'm staying up until 1:30 - 2 AM many nights while getting up at 6 AM for work just to watch my favorite basketball team. Been doing it almost every night since I saw the light at the end of the tunnel for Kobe, and wanted to watch every game I could... And now to watch our young guys play, and work to get better. It's ridiculously difficult, even more so when your team stinks.
Let's say next year he gets traded... Then kills it with another team... Then what?
It's become pointless regardless of what happens.. Which is why I said what I said...
We had 2 guys playing in the Rising Stars challenge.... One did really well, the other did okay... Yet none of us can be happy for OUR guys without a bunch of caveats.... "The game means nothing" "That move wasn't that impressive." "It's pointless, no one plays defense."
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Russell is really the only good thing you guys have going on your team...he has his cons but they aren't nearly as bad as Ingram or Randle's
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If people would take a macro approach to d'lo they could see this, instead of evaluating him on a game by game basis.
Playing the hardest position in the league, with terrible teammates, isn't even 21 yet, and is still having a solid sophomore season.
And d'lo would have gotten ******* on last season if he had the type of season Ingram is having now. Watch d'lo with an unbiased lens and you can clearly see that he has all the makings of being a pretty good NBA player. He's already putting up almost 15 a game with like 6ast in under 30 min with ****** teammates
2 straight wise posts in this thread. Rare.
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That's not true though...
Every single Russell guy has pointed out things he can work on... Not a single person has even remotely said he's a finished canvas that doesn't need any work.. It's been pointed out tweaks that he needs to make (I've endlessly pointed out that he needs to stop leaning on his shots off the pick going to the basket, it's why he's not very efficient on the P&R as a scorer when he stops and shoots), and what he can do with what he has, making up for what he doesn't.
If you were to say Russell doesn't have the ability to dunk on guys, no one is going to say, yes he can....
Are there times he looks disinterested? Absolutely... There's games every single NBA player including Kobe, even MJ, even LeBron, even Magic, etc. etc. has had where they look like they couldn't give two ***** about what is going on.... You have to remember for all that Ball Is Life talk, this is still a job for them... They have lives outside of this as well. I love what I do for a living, but are there days I'm disinterested for whatever reason? Yes.
Is Russell putting in the work? From many accounts he has.
But I think what a lot of people are mistaking for laziness or lack of hustle... Is many times a misunderstanding of his personality, or not realizing he's very methodical in how he's playing.. By his own admission, he's trying to make every read, he's trying to see how things will set up... He's doing what a PG should be doing, and he's trying to learn how to do it.. And that makes the pace slow up, and look like he doesn't give a damn... And where I've criticized him for this, is knowing when he can be methodical, and knowing when he should just attack, and kill... Because he can do both... He has done both... It's all about learning the position. PG is the toughest position in the NBA because it's the only one where you really have to balance how to get others involved, and know when to get yourself involved
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HIS LIMITATIONS ARE NOT THINGS THAT DEVELOP OR IMPROVE WITH EXPERIENCE
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whiplashtw03
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So you consider a COMBINED 14 POINTS for Russell and Ingram in an exhibition game "really well?" My bad, 10 points for Russell. LMAO
Here's one thing I've realized about you since I've been on this thread. Your STANDARDS ARE LOW, which breeds mediocrity just like ya boy D'Lol. And this, my friend, lets me know you know very little about the precedence the Showtime Lakers have set for this organization and the standards that should be met with each succeeding regime. We ain't no Warriors, we ain't no Cavaliers, we ain't no Celtics, and we ain't no Spurs. We BETTER than them.
That's the mindset we need to have as an organization and a fan base, which means if we see players on this team that ain't giving a damn about wearing that Purp N Gold proudly and you play with lackluster effort, energy, and hustle and your attitude towards the team is crap, then you get your *** shipped out. Look what happened to Ceballos, as good as he was for this team in the mid 90s. Look what happened to Van Exel, as clutch and deadly as he was.
You wanna win as a Laker fan? You better set your sights to Winning BIG, having SUPERSTARS, and building DYNASTIES. Why the hell you think Jeanie brought in Magic now that Pops is gone?!
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But what he does well already can most definitely be improved upon as he gets older and develop. And if he becomes better at what he's already good at then that's pretty good.
Way too much emphasis being put on what he doesn't do well
whiplashtw03
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The problem with what y'all are speculating about what could get better with DLo in the future is that all of these what ifs are ruined by the fact DLo is NOT durable. Sore body parts, size XXXL ice packs, and messed up knees already....all at the ripe young age of 20.
With bad legs and a bad motor, all of these things you think DLo can improve at sits closer to slim/none than it does to probable.
With bad legs and a bad motor, all of these things you think DLo can improve at sits closer to slim/none than it does to probable.
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I think the expectations everyone including myself had of him were to high when we drafted him I just don't see what you see
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Bingo.
The guy was picked #2 overall. Drafted to be the heir apparent. Was compared to Steph/Harden/Manu.
And so far, he hasn't lived up to that billing. Expectations need to be adjusted. D-lo could possibly be a borderline all star in the future. Which is cool if you're ok with that. Dont think he's the guy you build around.
If you adjust the expectations....Dollywood looks a lil better. But if you're still believing this man to be the savior of the lakers, and someone to build around. Boy oh boy
.D-lo as a complimentary piece can be valuable though. He can play. But he has some obvious limitations that will limit him from becoming an elite level player he was projected to be.
whiplashtw03
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Bingo.Bingo.
The guy was picked #2 overall. Drafted to be the heir apparent. Was compared to Steph/Harden/Manu.
And so far, he hasn't lived up to that billing. Expectations need to be adjusted. D-lo could possibly be a borderline all star in the future. Which is cool if you're ok with that. Dont think he's the guy you build around.
If you adjust the expectations....Dollywood looks a lil better. But if you're still believing this man to be the savior of the lakers, and someone to build around. Boy oh boy.
D-lo as a complimentary piece can be valuable though. He can play. But he has some obvious limitations that will limit him from becoming an elite level player he was projected to be.
In other words, you're saying DLo is probably more suited to being a role player because of his limitations. Superstar players to build around are typically either great at scoring or elite two-way players.
So let's analyze Dollywood a bit...
What does DLo do real well? Pick and roll game, pretty good court vision, three-point shooting off a screen, free throw shooting, decent mid range game if he's wide open, the occasional post up on smaller guards.
What does DLo do pretty badly? Basically everything else.
So how should the Lakers utilize Russell? Limit his minutes (which Luke has been doing in order to save his knees/legs), give him a role other than that of "Everything starts with me," move him to the bench to ignite the second unit especially if we end up trading Lou and acquiring a solid PG, and most importantly turn him into a playmaking SG who does not have the ball in his hands 100% of the time so he can focus on taking his shooting skills to an even deadlier level. In other words, turn this overhyped player into a SPECIALIST.
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How could the Lakers utilize D'Lo? You can start with playing him starter's minutes and pairing him with actual good bigs in the PnR. For god's sake Timo can barely finish a damn play. He's absolutely shown that he should be the Lakers starting PG of the future, like you're just blindly hating to me if you don't see that. He's fine.
D'Lo, for all of his faults gets to his spots with relative ease and can navigate the midrange really well, is one of the best Isolation players in the league, (which is why the diaw comments while funny, had little merit to me) and has the makings of being a really good post up guard.
At his peak, 18/5/8 on 46/37/84 is not out of the question and if he becomes that, then I would consider that a win for the Lakers, especially if Brandon Ingram becomes what he's supposed to become. The latter of which, ingram, has red flags that jump right off the page.
D'Lo, for all of his faults gets to his spots with relative ease and can navigate the midrange really well, is one of the best Isolation players in the league, (which is why the diaw comments while funny, had little merit to me) and has the makings of being a really good post up guard.
At his peak, 18/5/8 on 46/37/84 is not out of the question and if he becomes that, then I would consider that a win for the Lakers, especially if Brandon Ingram becomes what he's supposed to become. The latter of which, ingram, has red flags that jump right off the page.
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This was ridiculous from jump though, and even so he still can be really good at his peak. He was never the athlete that Harden and Prime Manu was, and he was never the Historical shooter that Steph was / is.
Regardless, as long as he can consistently hit 3's at like a 37% to 38% clip, he'll be dynamo.
whiplashtw03
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How can you play the guy TRUE starter's minutes (34-40) when every 15-20 games or so he gets hurt as a result of bad knees? Dude gets worn down, and that's one of the reasons Luke benches him in the 4th quarter. By the time the 4th quarter hits, DLo is no longer effective because he's DEAD TIRED.
Remember what Luke has said a couple times in the last few games when asked what he thought was wrong with DLo? He said he thought Russell was TIRED.
DLo has to EARN IT bro. Nothing is given, as Luke has alluded to numerous times this season regarding his players.
SHOW ME you can succeed playing starter's minutes and I'll give it to you. Period.
Remember what Luke has said a couple times in the last few games when asked what he thought was wrong with DLo? He said he thought Russell was TIRED.
DLo has to EARN IT bro. Nothing is given, as Luke has alluded to numerous times this season regarding his players.
SHOW ME you can succeed playing starter's minutes and I'll give it to you. Period.
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But you also said Let's build around Nance who has had a torn ACL and missed extended time in both seasons for knee injuries.
And no that's not why Luke benches him. It's Lou. If Lou is going off, he plays him. Like I said yesterday he has options at the guard spots that he doesn't for SF for Ingram.
Also would you build this team around Embiid right now? Because if you say yes... that's hypocrisy. Because Embiid while looks like he'll be amazing and an MVP threat. Had injuries in college, missed 2 seasons in the NBA due to injuries. Cannot play back to backs and has yet to play a single game of 30 minutes. And has another injury this year
And no that's not why Luke benches him. It's Lou. If Lou is going off, he plays him. Like I said yesterday he has options at the guard spots that he doesn't for SF for Ingram.
Also would you build this team around Embiid right now? Because if you say yes... that's hypocrisy. Because Embiid while looks like he'll be amazing and an MVP threat. Had injuries in college, missed 2 seasons in the NBA due to injuries. Cannot play back to backs and has yet to play a single game of 30 minutes. And has another injury this year
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Normally at 20 you have too much energy
This kid is the extreme opposite. Tired when you should be taking this franchise by the horns and playing with insane hunger like you want this to be "your ****"
This kid is the extreme opposite. Tired when you should be taking this franchise by the horns and playing with insane hunger like you want this to be "your ****"
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If Lou is gone and Dlo still plays the same minutes ? Look liuke ain't saying it like tank commander was I now see what he was talking about when he would publicly call Dlo out
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I mean sometimes a guy just has a different personality than others.
You can't really prescribe what matters to him, what he's excited about or if he has energy without actually knowing him or being around him.
Not caring would be showing up out of shape, being late to team meetings, being disrespectful to coaches.
And tired could mean a whole plethora of things. Oh so he was tired, it's now a label of what he is?
Maybe there was something and he couldn't get his legs to warm up. Nobody has ever just had days where no amount of stretching a body part can loosen it up?
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Another day... another D Lo slander fest
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His coach is nicer yet still is playing less . I have confidence in you, just not enough to put you out there when it matters.
. I have confidence in you, just not enough to put you out there when it matters.
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"Tired" is what his coach said. I think that was Luke actually protecting him, because he couldn't say "I don't know why he plays like this, I don't why he doesn't push the ball or blow by bigs...etc". So he just said he's tired rather than say "he just can't play with speed"
