2018-19 NBA Thread

I am pretty sure the consensus last October was that LeBron made the Lakers a playoff team, but hardly a title contender.

 

They said conference final?

 

Around Los Angeles, and certain jock sniffing Sports blogs, i e the big lead, the Lakers were considered Western Conference finalists after they beat the warriors on Christmas day even though that's the day LeBron got injured.

I posted here previously that just last week Ramona Shelburne of ESPN sad on local sports talk that she would pick the Lakers over any Western Conference Team except the Warriors and maybe the Rockets if they made the playoffs this year. That was last week!

 

LA opinion shouldn't count. There are people here who today are gonna say the Celtics will for sure be a finalist and probably NBA champs because Hayward has shown signs of life in two straight games.

 

The quote was "make the playoffs" which everyone said would happen, followed by "Lebron being Lebron, make the conference finals" which was definitely uttered by a vast number of paid basketball pundits, yes.

Are you denying that the Lakers were overwhelmingly picked to make the playoffs?

 

People generally thought the Lakers would make the playoffs. When they were playing really well and dismantled the Warriors on Christmas day people thought they could do some damage in the playoffs.

Then LeBron injured his groin and missed a quarter of the season, Lonzo has been out repeatedly and Rondo went out. They dropped out of playoff contention in a pretty damn good conference.

There's no need to make this a referendum on anything.

 

Would anyone be shocked if there's another chapter to play out and the Lakers make a bit of a run, get the 7 or 8 seed and win a game in round 1?

 

I'd be pretty surprised, but it's within the realm of possibility. Math is starting to be the big enemy of that scenario, however.

 

There is zero and I mean zero chance of this happening. This team has checked out. Gone fishing. Done.

 

Yes. They're 6.5 out of a playoff spot with 17 to play.... and they'd have to leapfrog the Kings, who are a much better team. It's not happening.

 

Not only is it not happening, no one involved with the team appears to want it to happen.

 

Why the Lakers' 2019 NBA playoff odds are next to impossible