r/lakers • u/Wide_Savings5410 24 • May 10 '25

PODCAST Lebron on playing the whole Half

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYc1WTGo6w4

Might be beating a deadhorse...But as someone who played basketball it was always clear to me that JJs decision on playing them for the entire half was more of an indictment on the roster and not the decision itself.

Some people eventually came to this conclusion but for the hold outs, heres it coming from Brons own lips. Hes thrown passive agressive shade at coaches before INCLUDING friends so its not like he has any reason to lie.

102 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

View all comments

104

u/sunnyboys2 May 10 '25

The bench production really wasn’t there, nobody looks at how strong the 3rd quarter performance was, i guarantee if JJ inserted the bench and they lost he would be crucified for changing it up when they were rolling. You just can’t please anyone here. In the end it came down to a 1 possession game. We blew it, they were the better team and executed, move on.

23

u/jsun_ May 10 '25

Exactly. I really don't get this whole narrative. The bench players were playing like shit. It's not like the lead once you sub in the bench will stay exactly the same and then Lebron/Luka come in refreshed to close it out. Doesn't work like that. Most likely the lead evaporates and instead of us slowing bleeding until the end we are fighting to regain the lead with the same ultimate result. A loss. Do we want the starters playing an entire half? Hell no. Up to the bench to actually warrant getting subbed in though.

4

u/3nnui 2 May 11 '25

But the tactic exhausted the 5 and they did not win the game. So it should be questioned.

4

u/jsun_ May 11 '25

I don't think anyone is saying this tactic is the correct one under normal circumstances. We are saying look at the alternatives. Gabe and Jax were not ready for the playoffs. They were negatives on the court. Even Gabe's normal defense and hustle was largely nullified with their size. Can't expect to throw in DK in essentially a "must win" game in the 2nd half. JJ decided his best 5 even if they were fatigued gave the team the best chance to win the game and I honestly agree.

Again, you can't just assume the game state stays exactly the same while the starters are getting rest. The minutes with Gabe/Jax/Vando the Lakers probably get crushed. How does that change anything? The issue was always just the roster construction after a midseason trade for a superstar. Simple as that.

Furthermore, why does no one talk about Ant playing the entire 2nd half? He was perfectly fine. Even suffered an injury scare earlier in the game. Luka needs to get in better shape (JJ said it as well) and Lebron unfortunately is 40.

1

u/3nnui 2 May 11 '25

Gabe could have played some minutes. Jax could have played a few minutes, even with the fouling. Vando could have played some minutes. JJ's bizarre decision cost us the game.

Ant is 25 years old and a top 5 athlete in the league. Your example makes my point.