Tbh I think we're just seeing an end of an era. Pretty wild that KD Lebron and Steph were the best players 6 years ago and now they're all fighting for the play in seed
Yeah, they're all getting close to the end, quickly. Any of them are still good enough to come through, but the team around them is just too shaky. I still think Phoenix has a shot if they finally get healthy but we're 30 games in and they've played together 1 time (I think), but I wouldn't be surprised if they just stay the way they are.
JJ really nails it with the Warriors about energy. The Warriors have given away leads in the 4th quarter and that has to do with belief that a team can win, rather than avoid the loss. The negative energy will take away the winning belief. The Suns I recently watched play vs the Magic, they had their core 3 (Booker, Beal, Durant) they can beat anyone, I would think they could cause some issues during playoffs, especially if their core is healthy. Lakers, I have no hope in, AD/LB don’t have enough support to compete.
agreed. AD, AR and LeBron are playing well and the Lakers can't buy a game. The Warriors lack of size is really hurting them and CP predictably just broke his hand. The Suns look very good with all 3 healthy but you have to hope and pray they are all available for the post season.
But the one thing he’s wrong on is Steph being the one bringing the consistent energy. I love Steph don’t get me wrong but he’s consistent and relatively quiet. Looney is the guy he should have referenced there
It is nothing to do with energy. Steve Kerr has no idea what he’s doing, putting certain players out of position, and completely exposing the fact that they’re so lost both offensively and defensively.
Been a laker fan for 23 years , I absolutely did not think that . My whole group chat was confused. We got smacked by Denver why run the same unit back
@Rodrickwashington-mf5dk yeah its crazy what analysts said over the summer. Reddick said they won the off season and shay. Perk was saying this team was dangerous and could beat anybody
@@Rodrickwashington-mf5dk If you can acquire new players, without trading anybody in return, why not do that. They got Christian Wood, who I think is a top-10 forward in the league on the court. He has been playing less than 20 minutes per game, and started one game. His points per game average has gone from 17 ppg last season to 7 ppg this season. Before Wood came to L.A., he had some issues off the court. Not sure what the deal is, but he isn't playing nearly enough. They also got Gabe Vincent, who had a decent run to the finals as a Heat. He's been healthy for five games. I don't expect too big of an impact from him this season. Rui Hatchimura is the most accurate 3-point shooter in NBA playoff history. I'd say he shouldn't be traded. And Austin Reaves was the best shooter of the WCFs. AD is a natural PF, and is forced to play as a center. In a center-driven league. That's a problem, that should be solved first. Then set the rotations straight. It's less than three months into the season, and less than a year since Russ was traded away, so there's lots of room for the chemistry to keep evolving. After Russ' departure, this Lakers team had the best record in the league last season. But all this is on LeBron's team. If things don't improve, I'd look at LeBron first.
As a Nuggets fan it's honestly kind of wild how the Western teams it looks like they have to climb over in their title defense are completely different than the ones they had to worry about last season.
It reminds me of a superhero movie. They dominate the threat, then immediately there are a dozen even worse threats that rise up. There are literally 8 teams that could win it all in the West, but 5 or even 6 of them could implode with a key injury or problem with the team vibe.
@@Rodrickwashington-mf5dk His last 2 games he shot 11 from 24, 6 from 18.....4 from 15 from the 3 point line.😂 What you smoking. lool Out of the 35 games Lebron has scored 19 points or less in 9 of them . Only 3 bad games you think....closer to a third of the current season no cap
Lakers, Warriors, and Suns fighting for the 8th seed is just wild to see. Lebron, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, each not making the playoffs and all being healthy, for the most part, is insane.
It's not that insane. Those players are still elite, but no longer the best in the league and their supporting casts are mediocre or injured a lot. It's very hard to consistently force your will on another team for long stretches during the season or 7 games in the post season when you're 35+ years old. The NBA of today belongs to Jokic, Giannis and Embiid - we have transitioned to their era, with players like Tatum, SGA and Luka knocking on the door. All of them have balanced rosters behind them and can dominate in an entire season.
The Warriors failed to manage their salary $211M in salary. Bloated contracts on players that are coming off the bench. I love what Klay has done throughout his career but 40.6M based on his production this season is a team killer. Can’t just point a finger at him the roster is loaded with similar issues.
Darvin Han thinks his players are gonna give their all after he turn on them for PRINCE and CAM. It doesn’t work like that, having your coach back is important and players gave up on him.
Bingo, HUGE disrespect from Ham to the players that nearly took us to the promise land last season and then got paid over summer. After all that, you’re gonna turn around and start CAM REDDISH over them? LOL
Its so rewarding seeing them fully built. Pacers, OKC, Timberwolves (kinda), Memphis. Its just a matter of time when the spurs and piston come together.
I believe in the suns to turn it around before everyone else but I think people forgetting that these young teams were getting better the whole time while everyone else was worried about those three.
Then we would see how much LeBron affects the playing time of Christian Wood, for example. If Wood is allowed to play 35 minutes, he would score 25 ppg alone.
I remember not too long ago when JJ and everyone in the media were saying that the Lakers had the best off season and would be very very good this year . Now like EVERY YEAR since Miami we're back to " LeBron needs more help" . The Suns have 0 excuses, they have Booker and KD even wyen Beal is injured.
Isn’t that what they say about everyone? Why did the Bucks trade for Dame unless it was to get more help for Giannis, or why did the Clippers trade for Harden if not to get more help for Kawhi and PG. Why trade for KD, if not to get more help for Booker?
@@WilsonYeung true, but the difference is that you don't hear them say "Booker needs more help " or "Giannis needs more help". Only LeBron the supposed "goat" needs more help EVERY SINGLE YEAR
Funny how all these Talking Heads were saying this roster was great. Now it's terrible. It's the same roster as the end of last year. It really wasn't good then it's not good now. They played one of the easy closing set of games in the NBA after the all-star break. The Talking Heads got a big hard-on about them winning when they really weren't beating anyone good.
I’m surprised they managed to find a formula there. For a moment it seemed like the team messed up by adding Harden. Lets see how it plays out in the playoffs.
Warrios took a big lead when they play fast off Nuggets, but flipped over when they tried to seize the win with slow pace. Apprently, they need to find the pace and confidence at 21-22 season
@@alejandroserrano7755 or maybe Lebron just ain't really coachable or good nuf a leader. I just saw Heats the other day playing well w/o Butler while having a bunch of nobody players on their squad.
@@TellenJones come on bruh, hating on Lebron at this stage of his career is lame. Miami has an amazing coach in Spo and have young guys on there. They play team basketball. Which is why I say Ham isn’t a good coach.
Lakers in my eyes and based off climbing out of last seasons mess in the greatest NBA Turnaround of all time from 2-10 to wcf still have time to change this but its not a ton of time and time is running out. It's simple there fixes they need more guards capable of shooting / scoring and a solid back up big. A big part of this is the rotation issues and the questionable starting 5. Obviously DLO, Rui, Vincent are hurt but if they were in especially DLO and Rui the starting 5 should go back to what got them to wcf. DLO, Reaves, Bron, Vando, AD. Rui 6 man. Until trades are made that will help them win more games. As for trades I really think they should target Zach Lavine, and Caruso, Drummond. They might be able to get all 3 of them and if they did that fixes most there issues including shooting, scoring , and a solid back up big. If I'm them im open to trading everyone accept Bron, AD, Reaves. Keep those 3 and preferably keep Vanderbilt and maybe a young rookie but everyone else I'd be open to part with.
Warriors are playing to their limits. This is why they had so many close games. They dont have enough size so it was quite a miracle they almost beat Denver. I dont get why someone can even hint at some criticism of Kerr when he for example integrated Saric and Paul right away. They have great chemistry as a team but they just dont have a solid second option and one more big guy. If both Dray and Klay performed as curry does, close to their prime, then they can beat anybody.
Are you kidding me? The Nuggets only won by a slim margin in each of the Warriors vs. Nuggets last 3 games. Also, the Refs helped the Nuggets by making a lot bad calls and getting to the free throw line.
Cp3 should not be getting minutes on a Steph driven team. He is too small and is shooting horribly all season. Him and Wiggins are the main reason for our szn not Klay who actually isn’t doing as bad as people make it seem.
@@kimjonghyun3471 CP3 should get more minutes, to keep him going until clutch time. Steph has given up a dozen of big leads in the fourth, and CP3 should take over the play-calling late.
If I could drag Wilt out of his grave and make him 24, he'd be a God in today's super soft NBA. That's not happening and Klay and Green playing like their primes more than 20 games a year is a stretch. As the say Father Time takes everyone no matter who you are.
Even so they have a young core in kuminga, moody, and Podzemski that should start or get more minutes. Problem is Kerr wants the og warriors to close out games
@@kdawg6887 Everybody plays a part why they're losing. But there are small factors and the reasons for why they're losing. Kerr is not the reason. He's a factor.. but who can blame him. Any coach gets a pass in my opinion with Draymond Green on the team. Look at his track record over the past 15 months.. and thats supposed to be the voice, leadership and heart of your team? + the whole stuff with Klay, who refuses to accept that he's not that guy anymore + CP3 doing CP3 things minus the great basketball. Saying "they have great young players" aint it. Its 2024. Everybody has great young players.
Klay is washed? He's been shooting well lately and his defense is looking like pre-injury Klay. Wiggins is playing better too. I think it's a combination of factors. They can't gel if the lineups keep changing. It was ridiculous for Kerr to leave JK out in the 4th quarter against Denver. Dray getting banned probably is a factor. Of course they do need size. Unfortunately, Looney hasn't been playing well so far and he's key for rebounding and defending in the paint.
Although the teams of Lakers, Suns, and Warriors is struggling in this regular season. We all know that if everyone is healthy they can make a difference when come playoff times. Higher expectations for this teams is normal but every other teams had a great changes from their lineup, great players stepping up, off the bench. But let's see if one of this team make it to the playin and even make everything turns around regardless of their standing right now.
Both teams are playing exactly the way any sensible person would have expected. It’s JJ and the media who overhyped these teams. GSW are old and small. Lakers additions are all non-rotation cast offs from other teams. But all of you said these teams would be great that the pacific division is stacked. Look at your season previews.
Thank you! Anyone on the Lakers outside of LeBron, AD and Reaves could score 20 points in a game or be benched in a playoff series. LeBron is 39. AD is injury prone and can be inconsistent. They got swept last season in the WCF… how is this team better? KD is 35 and has had significant injuries. Booker misses time with injury, as does Beal. Who else is a championship rotation player on their entire roster? They have no depth or defense and their only big is Nurkic. Ask Portland fans how that went. Why were the expectations so high? Klay and Draymond are raging against the dying of the light and CP3 is 38. Wiggins has regressed and the Warriors have little size, and ironically- shooting.
Idk who did what to who or whatever but it’s a dark cloud over the Lakers. Players on the team don’t hit open shots. I 100% see the bricks as THE BIG ISSUE. Every time they miss, it visibly demoralizes the team and the incentive to play D gets less and less. This team plays defense very good especially in spurts but the offense fails to capitalize far too often.
The problem with the warriors is that Steve Kerr is great at coaching great players but when the players are no longer great he seems lost. If there is a lack of energy or effort that is on the players AND the coach. The only time I see any energy out of Steve Kerr is when he's complaining about something.
You’re telling me Luka is able to play great without Kyrie, and they don’t give the same excuse for him but Durant and Booker needs Booker in order to be great? Lol
With the warriors, for me it's really the Draymond issues. He wasn't able to join camp and the first few games due to his injury. Then he got suspended, then another suspension. I believe, Steph and the others was completely devastated in a way, they put so much faith in Draymond this season but feels like they were left hanging.
@@alejandroserrano7755 I hate to disagree but you are right. However, with the roster they have now, it's very evident that they need him rather than not.
The way the game is played in the regular season its getting closer and closer to baseball. The impact of star players is far less in the regular season; depth across the roster is the most important thing. The average offensive skill player in the league is just better than it's ever been before along with rule changes favoring skill over just backyard basketball physicality. It's kind of like every player in baseball can hit for power now and hit home runs w/ teams focusing their development on launch angle and exit velocity, etc.. .(NBA 3 ball, ball movement, ball handling, off ball movement, etc.). I'm overly generalizing it but basically it's become an attrition thing. Lakers are built for the playoffs, that's why they dominate the in season tournament but have a hard time making it through the rigors of the season at the modern offensive pace. You can no longer rely on two-three players offensively for an entire season; it's too high of a workload (and Lebron and AD are more of two-way do it all players than purely skill offensive players (they are power players). Basically every team is playing efficiently on offense now ala spurs basketball so there are no easy wins anymore because the other team is going to score over 100. Basically skill is winning over power and athleticism, until you get to the playoffs; then you need a combination of both.
The real answer is the Lakers never got that much better after the trade deadline. They just got lucky in the playoffs with matchups against teams without any real centers.
Grizzlies were doomed without Adams and Clarke and Warriors are the Lakers best matchup. They would’ve been swept by the nuggets in first round if they had lost the play in game against the twolves. Luckiest conference finals ever
In my personal opinion if you have a big 3 one of them has to be a big the other a guard or have those skills, that’s y I think phx is struggling they have no rim protector and no playmaker.
I predicted the warriors would be disappointing I didn’t understand why anyone thought they would be better than last years team, everyone hated Poole but he gave them explosive offense at times when they needed it. They don’t have anyone like that on their bench now
Explosive offense with at least 3 turnovers while shooting shots with 0 IQ and letting old players like Mike Conley run right past him, there’s a reason he has the worst plus/minus in the league out of 500 players
Poole was a good fit for them but in reality he wasn’t. If that makes senses. He clearly wanted to do whatever he wanted and the huge contract elevated his ego. Plus the punch incident.
The warriors falloff been wild .. klay,wiggs,cp3 all been mid it's really surprising they are even close to top 8 when steph & pods really only guys who have contributed nightly everyone else hit or miss
Have you watched the warriors at all? Klay got back in rhythm and CP been playing real good and started being efficient, they just need another scorer and a big man.
The warriors need a big and a coach who doesn’t actively hate his young players while making the most brain dead decisions/rotations that anyone with basic basketball knowledge can see is wrong.
@ecoblitz3655 simpleton logic, oh if we lost and they didn't play, we'd have won if they did? When Moody shooting 33% from 3? Micky Mouse kiddie logic hahaha
@@moon9light You clearly don’t know ball lmfao. Its clear Kerr isn’t helping the ypung players find their role on the team. Kuminga needs to be turned into their 3rd option. As a coach, He isn’t doing that.
JJ, you have the best sports podcast around, but it's a bit disappointing you're referring to sports betting sites on your show, sponsored or not. So many people who love sports struggle with gambling addiction and in an industry where it's so purvaisive, it makes it challenging for people who are recovering or still struggling with their addiction to try and avoid that kind of trigger
I hate the bash thrown at Prince. I hope lakers don’t trade him. I love his confidence from deep he ain’t afraid to shoot it. I love that confidence in players.
Kerr need to put down the ketamine!! Why he would sit a hot kuminga and put in cp3 for defense is beyond me (reference to a few of the double digit leads blown)
@@penkima4923 him commenting and what my eyes seeing are two different things. Wiggins had more rebounds and assist with points in less time than wigs but go off
@@pleaserewind295 uh duh nothing shows that because they haven’t played fully healthy for any stretch. Nothing has shown they can’t either😁 can’t wait to find it bc it looks good in a short sample
@@pleaserewind295they beat the wolves handily and almost beat a fully healthy clips team with no KD, almost beat the Nuggets hampered as well. The suns problem is the injuries
@@D15-b8j The problem is KD isn't just older, but fragile. Hoping he's healthy is a risky bet. They have squat for depth and have put everything on having 3 guys who can score 80-90 points. We'll see how it works out.
The Lakers, Warriors and Suns’ struggles aren’t that surprising. All three teams are built around stars who are in their mid-late thirties and/or have long injury histories. Each team has glaring deficiencies in depth, defense or size.
I think the miss season tournament messed up the Lakers. I think it’s like a false hope type if thing where their energy is vanishing because it felt they win a championship but at the same time they’re aware of it that is not. Confused their focus perhaps.
Teams rebuilt through Free Agency and Trades every year don’t stand a chance anymore. There is to much talent and continuity around the league these days. You have to build through the draft and develop your talent. Maybe acquire one or two (at most) pieces through a trade or FA to be able to compete. And to also allow that new piece to find his role and get comfortable in that role. The era of the “super teams” and complete rebuilds mid season are over. Teams like Philly, Boston, Milwaukee, Denver, Sacramento, OKC, Minnesota are all perfect examples of what I just stated.
What is surprising about the warriros ? CP3 is not a starter for a playoff team. Neither is Klay. Kerr can't develop young players and stuck to his vets giving Klay unlimited rope because he's in a contract year. Poole got shipped out and the organization sent the message to the players that there will be no accountability. Warriors need a total re-build with a new coach. Otherwise save the video and play it again next year when CJ is playing in NZ next to Lamb.
I wonder if it's Kerr for not developing their bench. The Warriors always had great defense sense; since the last chip, the defense is gone. Kerr might have been lucky for the players he had, but now.. he can't figure it out. Develop the amazing bench and have players drive to get fouls.. go the Denver route, lol
They're both old. Except for Wiggins and AD who are both mentally and physically old respectively. Father Time is undefeated. It's the changing of the guard
Wow. If your bingo card had neither the Lakers nor the Warriors nor the Suns in the top 8 of the West at this point... (especially when, as JJ points out, they opened the season as 2, 3, and 4 according to odds makers).
You mean a 5th that was more a matter of who you played and when and where? It didn't pick the best team. Just a team that played teams at the right times. Where a great team had 1 bad game and was out. in a 7-game series that bad team never beats the good one. But in 1 game, grats I guess.
warriors and lakers fans are used to their owners stocking the team with expensive, great players, theyd go into the playoffs more stacked than any other team, now the league is balancing out and everyones freaking out about how they need more good players, both teams have plenty right now.
What are you even talking about? Post KD era Warriors haven’t gotten any “expensive great players” since they’ve been over the cap space. Outside of Wiggins (mind you nobody thought that was a good trade) Warriors have been getting players on low contract offers hoping it works out.
Warriors have had hardest schedule of the season. Rest of the season will be much easier. They’ll be way better for the rest of season. They can go toe to toe with any team. They have trouble finishing against good teams because of size issue. They’ll be fine after a trade. That’s before we even talk Draymond, etc. They can run up score on any team… closing has been a problem, but Draymond back or a big will help them a lot.
@kylebushnell2601 wtf are you even laughing about lol, he's correct Warriors have played 8 games vs teams under .500, least amt of any team. Phoenix has played like 19.
It’s funny how nba media always changes tunes every 2-3 weeks lol over the summer it was all about lakers and the “big 3” suns being the dangerous teams while doubting defending champ nuggets since they lost key pieces off bench.. now it’s all a different tune lol and it’s gonna keep changing
If they trade LeFraud James, the Lakers will go on a winning streak. There will be a lot of ball movement, and Anthony Davis scoring average would go up to about 31-32ppg
10 месяцев назад
@@DaMixWizard if you think the 🐐 is the problem, you’re just a casual.
@GonzaloOyarzunVargas the G.L.O.A.T(Greatest Loser Of All Time) is the problem, the main problem. Nobody wants to play with him. Now his teammates think he wants to trade them. They feel they're in the hot seat. The players have no motivation because they know by the trade deadline they will be out of there. The G.L.O.A.T plays no defense & he's slowing down that young team progress. Trade him Now & get AD some help. Without LeFraud, AD would average 32ppg & 13reb a game
LEBRON is the problem for the Lakers. Poor attitude. Poor defense. Stat padding in the 4th Quarter. Offensive ran thru him holding the ball for 20 seconds. Blaming everyone else. Its all LEBRON. The elephant in the room the media refuses to address. Its pathetic
Warriors need a big, lakers need a scorer, and suns need bench depth and they all need health
And the Bucks need some perimeter defense
On the money
Lakers need a second star next to Davis, that is not stat-padding and actually gives a damn about defense.
They all need to be younger which is not possible
Warriors need an actual coach. Not a coach experimenting because he doesn’t know what to do. Kerr needs to go.
The league is just balanced and more evenly competitive. When you add injury to the mix and the antics of a Draymond, the floor gets even more even.
This is the conversation that I have wanted to hear for a while. Thank you JJ.
Tbh I think we're just seeing an end of an era. Pretty wild that KD Lebron and Steph were the best players 6 years ago and now they're all fighting for the play in seed
it’s not them they are performing well it’s the other players around them
@@user-if7yg2hs3q Lakers are now 1 loss away from tying up the GS record tho
@@helpjdjwhile true having a couple of guys making that kind of money hinders the roster build.
Yeah, they're all getting close to the end, quickly. Any of them are still good enough to come through, but the team around them is just too shaky. I still think Phoenix has a shot if they finally get healthy but we're 30 games in and they've played together 1 time (I think), but I wouldn't be surprised if they just stay the way they are.
steph struggles with his shooting, unlike kd and lbj
JJ really nails it with the Warriors about energy.
The Warriors have given away leads in the 4th quarter and that has to do with belief that a team can win, rather than avoid the loss. The negative energy will take away the winning belief.
The Suns I recently watched play vs the Magic, they had their core 3 (Booker, Beal, Durant) they can beat anyone, I would think they could cause some issues during playoffs, especially if their core is healthy.
Lakers, I have no hope in, AD/LB don’t have enough support to compete.
agreed. AD, AR and LeBron are playing well and the Lakers can't buy a game. The Warriors lack of size is really hurting them and CP predictably just broke his hand. The Suns look very good with all 3 healthy but you have to hope and pray they are all available for the post season.
@@maxpennacchini3261the suns are a second round exit, Beal is a inexperienced “star” . I guarantee the Suns will be a C disappointment
But the one thing he’s wrong on is Steph being the one bringing the consistent energy. I love Steph don’t get me wrong but he’s consistent and relatively quiet. Looney is the guy he should have referenced there
It is nothing to do with energy. Steve Kerr has no idea what he’s doing, putting certain players out of position, and completely exposing the fact that they’re so lost both offensively and defensively.
@@gualacheesesteakfacts Suns overrated and Beal is not that guy
"LA won the off season"
"they're gonna win 55 games"
And now here we are
Been a laker fan for 23 years , I absolutely did not think that . My whole group chat was confused. We got smacked by Denver why run the same unit back
@Rodrickwashington-mf5dk yeah its crazy what analysts said over the summer. Reddick said they won the off season and shay. Perk was saying this team was dangerous and could beat anybody
@@Rodrickwashington-mf5dk If you can acquire new players, without trading anybody in return, why not do that. They got Christian Wood, who I think is a top-10 forward in the league on the court. He has been playing less than 20 minutes per game, and started one game. His points per game average has gone from 17 ppg last season to 7 ppg this season. Before Wood came to L.A., he had some issues off the court. Not sure what the deal is, but he isn't playing nearly enough.
They also got Gabe Vincent, who had a decent run to the finals as a Heat. He's been healthy for five games. I don't expect too big of an impact from him this season.
Rui Hatchimura is the most accurate 3-point shooter in NBA playoff history. I'd say he shouldn't be traded. And Austin Reaves was the best shooter of the WCFs.
AD is a natural PF, and is forced to play as a center. In a center-driven league. That's a problem, that should be solved first. Then set the rotations straight. It's less than three months into the season, and less than a year since Russ was traded away, so there's lots of room for the chemistry to keep evolving. After Russ' departure, this Lakers team had the best record in the league last season.
But all this is on LeBron's team. If things don't improve, I'd look at LeBron first.
@@Rodrickwashington-mf5dkhow did you guys feel about resigning dlo over Schröder and beasley?
Come playoffs Lakers gon wipe your favourite team in a 7 game series
As a Nuggets fan it's honestly kind of wild how the Western teams it looks like they have to climb over in their title defense are completely different than the ones they had to worry about last season.
Didn't Jokic say that last year the T-Wolves gave them the most trouble in the playoffs?
It reminds me of a superhero movie. They dominate the threat, then immediately there are a dozen even worse threats that rise up. There are literally 8 teams that could win it all in the West, but 5 or even 6 of them could implode with a key injury or problem with the team vibe.
@@verward Not sure if I caught that. But Anthony Edwards was the best player in that series. Better than Jokic.
I just think it’s reg season that in a playoff series they’d all be diff. My worry would just be MAKING the playoffs
@@penkima4923thats not even a bold statement its just a lie. Jokic led him in every stat category and percentage.
Lakers relying heavily on a 39yo + their inability to space the floor consistently..
Call it…
The Old Man & The Three
Sorry bro I think that one’s taken
Aaaaahh I seent what you did there
Lebron is cooked, he doesn't defend and other end he jacks up bricks from 3 or attempts to do layups. Lakers are doomed.
Cap Bron is having one of his most efficient scoring years of his career. He’s had 3 bad games out of 35.
@@Rodrickwashington-mf5dk His last 2 games he shot 11 from 24, 6 from 18.....4 from 15 from the 3 point line.😂 What you smoking. lool Out of the 35 games Lebron has scored 19 points or less in 9 of them . Only 3 bad games you think....closer to a third of the current season no cap
Hope you do some segment about current/old coaches that would be great!
Lakers, Warriors, and Suns fighting for the 8th seed is just wild to see. Lebron, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, each not making the playoffs and all being healthy, for the most part, is insane.
The youngins taking over
It's not that insane. Those players are still elite, but no longer the best in the league and their supporting casts are mediocre or injured a lot. It's very hard to consistently force your will on another team for long stretches during the season or 7 games in the post season when you're 35+ years old. The NBA of today belongs to Jokic, Giannis and Embiid - we have transitioned to their era, with players like Tatum, SGA and Luka knocking on the door. All of them have balanced rosters behind them and can dominate in an entire season.
_The future is now, old mans_
Young teams taking over. The old heads about to be up out of here.
image all 3 of them miss the playoffs that would be so crazy
Teams get old. Players get old. It happens to every team and every player. 🤷🏻♂️
The Warriors failed to manage their salary $211M in salary. Bloated contracts on players that are coming off the bench. I love what Klay has done throughout his career but 40.6M based on his production this season is a team killer. Can’t just point a finger at him the roster is loaded with similar issues.
Injuries and their lack of improvement.
This was the year they shoulda gotten a big man.
Darvin Han thinks his players are gonna give their all after he turn on them for PRINCE and CAM. It doesn’t work like that, having your coach back is important and players gave up on him.
Bingo, HUGE disrespect from Ham to the players that nearly took us to the promise land last season and then got paid over summer. After all that, you’re gonna turn around and start CAM REDDISH over them? LOL
these rebuild teams are finally rebuilt and unlocked. it’s exciting and great for the league (pacers fan so im bias)
Its so rewarding seeing them fully built. Pacers, OKC, Timberwolves (kinda), Memphis.
Its just a matter of time when the spurs and piston come together.
It's called the changing of the guard. And its about time.
I believe in the suns to turn it around before everyone else but I think people forgetting that these young teams were getting better the whole time while everyone else was worried about those three.
With the lakers, if you remove LeBron and AD, i have a hard time believing they can reach more than 40pts for a full game.
Exactly- the team itself is awful
Then we would see how much LeBron affects the playing time of Christian Wood, for example. If Wood is allowed to play 35 minutes, he would score 25 ppg alone.
@@andrewschuschu3499 We don't know what the team is. All we see now is LeBron affecting everything.
Lakers have the perfect line up right there. Remove AD from center position and put in Wood or Hayes.
LMAO ur funny man @@alejandroserrano7755
The younger teams are coming up now & the older teams are fading
I remember not too long ago when JJ and everyone in the media were saying that the Lakers had the best off season and would be very very good this year .
Now like EVERY YEAR since Miami we're back to " LeBron needs more help" .
The Suns have 0 excuses, they have Booker and KD even wyen Beal is injured.
Lakers tax
Isn’t that what they say about everyone? Why did the Bucks trade for Dame unless it was to get more help for Giannis, or why did the Clippers trade for Harden if not to get more help for Kawhi and PG. Why trade for KD, if not to get more help for Booker?
@@WilsonYeung true, but the difference is that you don't hear them say "Booker needs more help " or "Giannis needs more help".
Only LeBron the supposed "goat" needs more help EVERY SINGLE YEAR
Funny how all these Talking Heads were saying this roster was great. Now it's terrible. It's the same roster as the end of last year. It really wasn't good then it's not good now. They played one of the easy closing set of games in the NBA after the all-star break. The Talking Heads got a big hard-on about them winning when they really weren't beating anyone good.
Mean while Kawhi Harden and the clippers are dominating the league
I’m surprised they managed to find a formula there. For a moment it seemed like the team messed up by adding Harden.
Lets see how it plays out in the playoffs.
Congrats on 1,000,000 subs
Warrios took a big lead when they play fast off Nuggets, but flipped over when they tried to seize the win with slow pace. Apprently, they need to find the pace and confidence at 21-22 season
The problem is playing fast when your best players are in their mid 30s....
@@SDesWriter Steph still can run...
Warriors are cooked
@@vincent0606 Not for 82 games.
Happy new year guys. Great stuff per usual. Looking forward to listening to the losing streak segment. 🙌🏿❤️🥰
I remember JJ said in summer that Lakers had a good offseason acquiring lots pieces.
They do have a good team but they have like 3 players injured and Ham isn’t the best coach.
@@alejandroserrano7755 or maybe Lebron just ain't really coachable or good nuf a leader. I just saw Heats the other day playing well w/o Butler while having a bunch of nobody players on their squad.
@@TellenJones come on bruh, hating on Lebron at this stage of his career is lame.
Miami has an amazing coach in Spo and have young guys on there. They play team basketball. Which is why I say Ham isn’t a good coach.
We need more segments about the Knicks!!
The thing is, there is no ´rockstar’ with the Knicks… Brunson? Randle? That’s the thing…
Lakers in my eyes and based off climbing out of last seasons mess in the greatest NBA Turnaround of all time from 2-10 to wcf still have time to change this but its not a ton of time and time is running out. It's simple there fixes they need more guards capable of shooting / scoring and a solid back up big. A big part of this is the rotation issues and the questionable starting 5. Obviously DLO, Rui, Vincent are hurt but if they were in especially DLO and Rui the starting 5 should go back to what got them to wcf. DLO, Reaves, Bron, Vando, AD. Rui 6 man. Until trades are made that will help them win more games. As for trades I really think they should target Zach Lavine, and Caruso, Drummond. They might be able to get all 3 of them and if they did that fixes most there issues including shooting, scoring , and a solid back up big. If I'm them im open to trading everyone accept Bron, AD, Reaves. Keep those 3 and preferably keep Vanderbilt and maybe a young rookie but everyone else I'd be open to part with.
Warriors are playing to their limits. This is why they had so many close games. They dont have enough size so it was quite a miracle they almost beat Denver. I dont get why someone can even hint at some criticism of Kerr when he for example integrated Saric and Paul right away. They have great chemistry as a team but they just dont have a solid second option and one more big guy. If both Dray and Klay performed as curry does, close to their prime, then they can beat anybody.
Are you kidding me? The Nuggets only won by a slim margin in each of the Warriors vs. Nuggets last 3 games. Also, the Refs helped the Nuggets by making a lot bad calls and getting to the free throw line.
Cp3 should not be getting minutes on a Steph driven team. He is too small and is shooting horribly all season. Him and Wiggins are the main reason for our szn not Klay who actually isn’t doing as bad as people make it seem.
@@kimjonghyun3471 CP3 should get more minutes, to keep him going until clutch time. Steph has given up a dozen of big leads in the fourth, and CP3 should take over the play-calling late.
If I could drag Wilt out of his grave and make him 24, he'd be a God in today's super soft NBA. That's not happening and Klay and Green playing like their primes more than 20 games a year is a stretch. As the say Father Time takes everyone no matter who you are.
There is nothing disappointing about the Warriors.
This is EXACTLY what people expected from them.
CP3 injured, Klay washed, Draymond banned.
Even so they have a young core in kuminga, moody, and Podzemski that should start or get more minutes. Problem is Kerr wants the og warriors to close out games
@@kdawg6887 bla bla bla the same "coach is at fault" narrative, ignoring the big issues.
@Defort-jd8xe I mean it's not just the coaches fault but Kerr does play a part to why the warriors are losing.
@@kdawg6887 Everybody plays a part why they're losing. But there are small factors and the reasons for why they're losing. Kerr is not the reason. He's a factor.. but who can blame him. Any coach gets a pass in my opinion with Draymond Green on the team. Look at his track record over the past 15 months.. and thats supposed to be the voice, leadership and heart of your team? + the whole stuff with Klay, who refuses to accept that he's not that guy anymore + CP3 doing CP3 things minus the great basketball.
Saying "they have great young players" aint it. Its 2024. Everybody has great young players.
Klay is washed? He's been shooting well lately and his defense is looking like pre-injury Klay. Wiggins is playing better too. I think it's a combination of factors. They can't gel if the lineups keep changing. It was ridiculous for Kerr to leave JK out in the 4th quarter against Denver. Dray getting banned probably is a factor. Of course they do need size. Unfortunately, Looney hasn't been playing well so far and he's key for rebounding and defending in the paint.
Although the teams of Lakers, Suns, and Warriors is struggling in this regular season. We all know that if everyone is healthy they can make a difference when come playoff times. Higher expectations for this teams is normal but every other teams had a great changes from their lineup, great players stepping up, off the bench. But let's see if one of this team make it to the playin and even make everything turns around regardless of their standing right now.
Both teams are playing exactly the way any sensible person would have expected. It’s JJ and the media who overhyped these teams. GSW are old and small. Lakers additions are all non-rotation cast offs from other teams. But all of you said these teams would be great that the pacific division is stacked. Look at your season previews.
GSW are old, SLOW and small. Not a formula for success in today’s NBA.
Well said
@@TheCoz27they literally just had a season where they missed the playoffs and win the finals the year after 😐
Thank you! Anyone on the Lakers outside of LeBron, AD and Reaves could score 20 points in a game or be benched in a playoff series. LeBron is 39. AD is injury prone and can be inconsistent. They got swept last season in the WCF… how is this team better? KD is 35 and has had significant injuries. Booker misses time with injury, as does Beal. Who else is a championship rotation player on their entire roster? They have no depth or defense and their only big is Nurkic. Ask Portland fans how that went. Why were the expectations so high? Klay and Draymond are raging against the dying of the light and CP3 is 38. Wiggins has regressed and the Warriors have little size, and ironically- shooting.
As a blazers fan I need the warriors to continue to implode. We still got that pick.
🤣🤣🤣......Always look on the bright side of life......
Need more Tommy Alter.
Idk who did what to who or whatever but it’s a dark cloud over the Lakers. Players on the team don’t hit open shots. I 100% see the bricks as THE BIG ISSUE. Every time they miss, it visibly demoralizes the team and the incentive to play D gets less and less. This team plays defense very good especially in spurts but the offense fails to capitalize far too often.
The problem with the warriors is that Steve Kerr is great at coaching great players but when the players
are no longer great he seems lost. If there is a lack of energy or effort that is on the players AND the
coach. The only time I see any energy out of Steve Kerr is when he's complaining about something.
He doesn’t help the young guys to find their role on the team.
Nothing wrong with them, teams are just better. Every thing is even-keeled, that’s good, I love it
You’re telling me Luka is able to play great without Kyrie, and they don’t give the same excuse for him but Durant and Booker needs Booker in order to be great? Lol
Well the Suns rely more heavily on those 3 stars. In order for them to work well.
Dallas has a good team and just added Kyrie.
All these teams are playing with offenses that are from the past... Playing 2 non shooters + Klay Steph just doesn't do what it did 8 years ago
Yeah and it doesn’t help Klay isn’t shooting as deadly as he did before.
Warriors used to be a threat from 3 and in transition.
isn’t it just a natural thing? the changing of the guard, so to speak?
With the warriors, for me it's really the Draymond issues. He wasn't able to join camp and the first few games due to his injury. Then he got suspended, then another suspension. I believe, Steph and the others was completely devastated in a way, they put so much faith in Draymond this season but feels like they were left hanging.
Draymond has been an issue since he punched Poole tbh
@@alejandroserrano7755 I hate to disagree but you are right. However, with the roster they have now, it's very evident that they need him rather than not.
WELCOME TO A NEW ERA OF THE NBA.
The way the game is played in the regular season its getting closer and closer to baseball. The impact of star players is far less in the regular season; depth across the roster is the most important thing.
The average offensive skill player in the league is just better than it's ever been before along with rule changes favoring skill over just backyard basketball physicality. It's kind of like every player in baseball can hit for power now and hit home runs w/ teams focusing their development on launch angle and exit velocity, etc.. .(NBA 3 ball, ball movement, ball handling, off ball movement, etc.). I'm overly generalizing it but basically it's become an attrition thing. Lakers are built for the playoffs, that's why they dominate the in season tournament but have a hard time making it through the rigors of the season at the modern offensive pace. You can no longer rely on two-three players offensively for an entire season; it's too high of a workload (and Lebron and AD are more of two-way do it all players than purely skill offensive players (they are power players). Basically every team is playing efficiently on offense now ala spurs basketball so there are no easy wins anymore because the other team is going to score over 100.
Basically skill is winning over power and athleticism, until you get to the playoffs; then you need a combination of both.
JJ such a smarter and better player since he stopped playing 🥳
The real answer is the Lakers never got that much better after the trade deadline. They just got lucky in the playoffs with matchups against teams without any real centers.
Gotta love regular season overreactions. Never fails
Grizzlies were doomed without Adams and Clarke and Warriors are the Lakers best matchup. They would’ve been swept by the nuggets in first round if they had lost the play in game against the twolves. Luckiest conference finals ever
Yeah, the Lakers played pretty well in the playoffs, but they absolutely lucked out to get as far as they did.
JJ that warrior stock is way under water.
Tommy brings out the best out of JJ
In my personal opinion if you have a big 3 one of them has to be a big the other a guard or have those skills, that’s y I think phx is struggling they have no rim protector and no playmaker.
I predicted the warriors would be disappointing I didn’t understand why anyone thought they would be better than last years team, everyone hated Poole but he gave them explosive offense at times when they needed it. They don’t have anyone like that on their bench now
Explosive offense with at least 3 turnovers while shooting shots with 0 IQ and letting old players like Mike Conley run right past him, there’s a reason he has the worst plus/minus in the league out of 500 players
Poole was a good fit for them but in reality he wasn’t. If that makes senses.
He clearly wanted to do whatever he wanted and the huge contract elevated his ego. Plus the punch incident.
I want JJ to be a coach. Head coach for the Warriors!😊
Anyone know what headphones these guys are using? They look comfy af
Hey JJ are you doing any First Take shows anymore?
The warriors falloff been wild .. klay,wiggs,cp3 all been mid it's really surprising they are even close to top 8 when steph & pods really only guys who have contributed nightly everyone else hit or miss
Have you watched the warriors at all? Klay got back in rhythm and CP been playing real good and started being efficient, they just need another scorer and a big man.
Sad how Wiggings reverted back into his Timberwolves self.
The Warriors just aren't that good but Kerrs reluctantly to stick with a younger more athletic lineup is clearly hurting them
Everybody got sick this week lol. Can hear in both of you
The warriors need a big and a coach who doesn’t actively hate his young players while making the most brain dead decisions/rotations that anyone with basic basketball knowledge can see is wrong.
Lol what are you even talking about
Podz, TJD, Kuminga start or play significant minutes each game. Dafuq are you watching.
@@moon9light damn same reason why he’s taken them out (and moody) in crucial games we’ve lost? Sure buddy.
@ecoblitz3655 simpleton logic, oh if we lost and they didn't play, we'd have won if they did? When Moody shooting 33% from 3?
Micky Mouse kiddie logic hahaha
@@moon9light You clearly don’t know ball lmfao.
Its clear Kerr isn’t helping the ypung players find their role on the team. Kuminga needs to be turned into their 3rd option. As a coach, He isn’t doing that.
JJ, you have the best sports podcast around, but it's a bit disappointing you're referring to sports betting sites on your show, sponsored or not. So many people who love sports struggle with gambling addiction and in an industry where it's so purvaisive, it makes it challenging for people who are recovering or still struggling with their addiction to try and avoid that kind of trigger
I’m surprised at how bad the Lakers have been this year. I didn’t think they were great but at least be in the 6th seed
Phoenix 8 chill on us Jj these teams been healthy we haven’t we coming just watch when KD gets back love the content tho 💪🏽🏆
Lakers seem to not have any offensive plays besides the pick n roll, drive/kick and one on one basketball. It's hard to watch at times...
I wish the lakers would stop flexing every time they score. Just hoop man.
I didn't see Bum flexing or self coronating after Denver swept the Fakers 😂😂😂😂
Curious what your opinion is with Atlanta? What do you think the issue is? What do you think the direction is?
i dont think the warriors or lakers are particularly bad, it's just there are so many INSANE teams like the clippers, the celtics, the nuggets ect...
I hate the bash thrown at Prince. I hope lakers don’t trade him. I love his confidence from deep he ain’t afraid to shoot it. I love that confidence in players.
“A bunch of minimum players are not playing great” wow. You don’t say
Can anyone give me the link to buy Tommy ‘s Adonis creed jumper please??? Thanks in advance 🧡
Imagine if they both reach the WCF
Lol
Yeah IMAGINE, because it's not gonna happen 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Kerr need to put down the ketamine!! Why he would sit a hot kuminga and put in cp3 for defense is beyond me (reference to a few of the double digit leads blown)
Kerr commented on that. Wiggins was playing too well to be subbed out again.
@@penkima4923 him commenting and what my eyes seeing are two different things. Wiggins had more rebounds and assist with points in less time than wigs but go off
Warriors are buns. Kerr is making this year a disaster. It starts with him.
Suns had early injuries to there stars are now getting healthy. They will be fine when all 3 are playing. Suns need health and will be fine
How? They will get better, but nothing shows they can beat any top team like Denver or the Celtics. Unless the idea is a championship next year.
@@pleaserewind295 uh duh nothing shows that because they haven’t played fully healthy for any stretch. Nothing has shown they can’t either😁 can’t wait to find it bc it looks good in a short sample
@@pleaserewind295they beat the wolves handily and almost beat a fully healthy clips team with no KD, almost beat the Nuggets hampered as well. The suns problem is the injuries
@@D15-b8j The problem is KD isn't just older, but fragile. Hoping he's healthy is a risky bet. They have squat for depth and have put everything on having 3 guys who can score 80-90 points. We'll see how it works out.
The Lakers, Warriors and Suns’ struggles aren’t that surprising. All three teams are built around stars who are in their mid-late thirties and/or have long injury histories. Each team has glaring deficiencies in depth, defense or size.
I think the miss season tournament messed up the Lakers. I think it’s like a false hope type if thing where their energy is vanishing because it felt they win a championship but at the same time they’re aware of it that is not. Confused their focus perhaps.
Metu from the suns is the most underrated player on the suns
The aging superstars are getting old and lack of defence.
The young teams are so fast.
The suns do not get a pass, they knew all 3 of those players were injury prone asf when they made those trades !
Not 3, not Booker.
Jazz on the other hand is looking better and better, they are throwing their hat on the potential play-in tournament group!
Teams rebuilt through Free Agency and Trades every year don’t stand a chance anymore. There is to much talent and continuity around the league these days. You have to build through the draft and develop your talent. Maybe acquire one or two (at most) pieces through a trade or FA to be able to compete. And to also allow that new piece to find his role and get comfortable in that role. The era of the “super teams” and complete rebuilds mid season are over. Teams like Philly, Boston, Milwaukee, Denver, Sacramento, OKC, Minnesota are all perfect examples of what I just stated.
It's win or lose. Coaches plays players but it's winloss
What is surprising about the warriros ? CP3 is not a starter for a playoff team. Neither is Klay. Kerr can't develop young players and stuck to his vets giving Klay unlimited rope because he's in a contract year. Poole got shipped out and the organization sent the message to the players that there will be no accountability. Warriors need a total re-build with a new coach. Otherwise save the video and play it again next year when CJ is playing in NZ next to Lamb.
I hate to tell you this but CP3 doesn’t start 😂 People really hop on the Internet and talk nonsense
@@gualacheesesteakehhh he has been in and out the starting rotation depending the lineups
I told everybody that the in-season tournament was going to be a joke. Lakers in season champs, 3 and 10 in their last 13.😂😂😂
I’d like to see the Lakers go and get Brogdon, DFS, and Royce Oneale. Not stars, but very good probably cheaper rile players.
All of the west coast teams are doing fine. No need to worry.
I dont understand how people had high expectations in Lakers and warriors who lost Poole to cp
@@TheCoz27 yeah but after last year and with a worse roster
Lakers and warriors don’t have the same problem lol
Neither of them have a center, so they have the same exact problem.
I wonder if it's Kerr for not developing their bench. The Warriors always had great defense sense; since the last chip, the defense is gone. Kerr might have been lucky for the players he had, but now.. he can't figure it out. Develop the amazing bench and have players drive to get fouls.. go the Denver route, lol
They're both old. Except for Wiggins and AD who are both mentally and physically old respectively. Father Time is undefeated. It's the changing of the guard
"We are not a negative podcast"... except when we talk about the Lakers
The Warriors brought a guy in who's known for losing and now he affected them
Wow. If your bingo card had neither the Lakers nor the Warriors nor the Suns in the top 8 of the West at this point... (especially when, as JJ points out, they opened the season as 2, 3, and 4 according to odds makers).
Lakers need to help Bron win his 6th ring this season. Already got his 5th ring last month.
You mean a 5th that was more a matter of who you played and when and where? It didn't pick the best team. Just a team that played teams at the right times. Where a great team had 1 bad game and was out. in a 7-game series that bad team never beats the good one. But in 1 game, grats I guess.
These teams are old. It shouldn't surprise anyone
warriors and lakers fans are used to their owners stocking the team with expensive, great players, theyd go into the playoffs more stacked than any other team, now the league is balancing out and everyones freaking out about how they need more good players, both teams have plenty right now.
What are you even talking about? Post KD era Warriors haven’t gotten any “expensive great players” since they’ve been over the cap space. Outside of Wiggins (mind you nobody thought that was a good trade) Warriors have been getting players on low contract offers hoping it works out.
SGA is on a mission I really think he took some of Steph’s confidence after blocking that 3
Why won't GSW replace head coach Kerr?
I think the lucky win in 2022 is delaying their decision.
Warriors have had hardest schedule of the season. Rest of the season will be much easier. They’ll be way better for the rest of season. They can go toe to toe with any team. They have trouble finishing against good teams because of size issue. They’ll be fine after a trade.
That’s before we even talk Draymond, etc.
They can run up score on any team… closing has been a problem, but Draymond back or a big will help them a lot.
😂
@kylebushnell2601 wtf are you even laughing about lol, he's correct
Warriors have played 8 games vs teams under .500, least amt of any team. Phoenix has played like 19.
My Golden State wishlist:
Pat Spencer to the senior team. Avgs 55/40/88 in the G league and CP3 is out
Potential trade for Myles Turner
Real question is why does winning the in season tournament matter when it absolutely does not
KD and others said, it had a playoff feel to it. So winning it is a good sign.
It’s funny how nba media always changes tunes every 2-3 weeks lol over the summer it was all about lakers and the “big 3” suns being the dangerous teams while doubting defending champ nuggets since they lost key pieces off bench.. now it’s all a different tune lol and it’s gonna keep changing
I'm just enjoying Warriors' games whether win or lose.
If you see Lakers’ roster, there is no way in hell they get to be competitive, regardless of having LeBron (and that says it all, IMO).
If they trade LeFraud James, the Lakers will go on a winning streak. There will be a lot of ball movement, and Anthony Davis scoring average would go up to about 31-32ppg
@@DaMixWizard if you think the 🐐 is the problem, you’re just a casual.
@GonzaloOyarzunVargas the G.L.O.A.T(Greatest Loser Of All Time) is the problem, the main problem. Nobody wants to play with him. Now his teammates think he wants to trade them. They feel they're in the hot seat. The players have no motivation because they know by the trade deadline they will be out of there. The G.L.O.A.T plays no defense & he's slowing down that young team progress. Trade him Now & get AD some help. Without LeFraud, AD would average 32ppg & 13reb a game
LEBRON is the problem for the Lakers. Poor attitude. Poor defense. Stat padding in the 4th Quarter. Offensive ran thru him holding the ball for 20 seconds. Blaming everyone else. Its all LEBRON. The elephant in the room the media refuses to address. Its pathetic
Facts
The Warriors does not have their hit man, Draymond Green, to hurt other team players and to disrupt the game, they start losing.