You're seeing why. Last year's team didn't look this athletic and this connected. Losing Lebron and Smart are tough, but this team looks so much deeper and high energy.
Props to Rob and JJ for recognizing what needs to be done.
Cap circumvention is a clear form of cheating and a major rule violation, but it feels like they've just been allowed to continue operating as normal as if they didn't do anything wrong. What's craziest to me is that they weren't stripped of draft picks and they were allowed to trade Kawhi away (the hold up on the Kawhi trade is completely voluntary IIRC, the league won't stop them from doing so.)
Adam Silver really dropped the ball here. This is a significant rule violation and they're getting away with it.
During the civil rights movement, BLM protests, and other progressive movements, Jews stood front and center in support of the protesters, on the side of progress. Jews have also been a core constituency of the Democratic party, being arguably the second most reliable voting bloc behind black people (particularly black women.)
And instead of standing with Jews, the Democratic Party is starting to betray them. These seeds were planted after October 7th where many of the BLM protesters and leftists cheered and supported the terrorist attacks instead of empathizing with the people who had stood with them previously. And the Democratic Party itself is now running these radicals as candidates whether it be El-Sayed, Mamdani, Darializa, or many other antisemites or antisemite-adjacent candidates. It’s a profound betrayal of one of the core Democratic constituencies, and it’s really sad.
I love Lebron, wish he could return, and think him leaving is a massive loss for the team. However, because of his age, he can’t provide consistent energy on a nightly basis. It wasn’t just him as well, role players like Rui and Ayton didn’t provide the consistent energy and motor that players around Luka and Austin need to be bringing every night. It’s one reason why this team got so much better when Rui was moved to the bench and Marcus Smart became the permanent starter.
The front office clearly listened because after this overhaul, this team is now loaded with energetic and athletic dogs who play with high energy and are willing to do the dirty work night in and night out. And even Mamu, who isn’t known for athleticism, plays with a lot of effort. Luka and Austin will be so much better this season because they can actually lead and there are players who will protect them.
I can’t wait for the preseason so I can watch an energetic and fast Lakers team.
They just are!
They've put the majority of matches on broadcast TV, sent studio crews around the country to do College Gameday/Big Noon Kickoff style pre-match shows, they've showed teams and fans celebrating/mourning after matches, and they've had some solid announcing crews. Obviously it hasn't been perfect (Alexi Lalas lol,) but they've done an amazing job treating the World Cup with respect and treating it like a pinnacle in the sports world instead of the afterthought it once was in the United States.
Marcus, Rui, Luke, and Ayton provide value in certain ways, but the OKC series showed that they have clear limitations and with the cap space that was available, it was time for a reset.
Are the Lakers closer to contending? No, losing Lebron throws a huge wrench into their ability to contend. But this offseason showed me that their priorities have changed. The roster has more players who can dribble, pass, and shoot, and the overall athleticism and speed is way up. There is a lot of work to be done, but for the first time in a long time, I can see a real plan from the Lakers and a real roster building philosophy. And now was the best time to do it.
What Paraguay did today is nothing to what the US has to deal with when they play at Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, etc. They are molded by the shithouse.
Missed goaltending on Kornet, missed offensive interference on Wemby, not calling a foul on Wemby when he was clearly holding KAT.
I usually don't think these games are rigged, but this one is insanely suspicious.
It's a group of hardworking, mature, high effort players. The best part here is that their star player took less money so they could build a winner. It's just a fantastic culture of selflessness, and they deserve the Finals more than anyone else in the East does.
Arguably the biggest sporting event this weekend might be Cavs/Pistons game 7. It's also the only NBA game this weekend, and the final game of the 2nd round and the NBA has decided to put it behind a paywall when it should be on ABC or NBC instead. It just feels like the NBA is trying to lower their audience.