2017-18 Lakers Season Watch Thread (27-34, 10th Slot on 3/2)

[CelticsElite]

Terrible day for us. Nets lost and the Lakers win.

At least the Suns won.

yup. The suns win sort of nullifies that lakers win. Suns still better record than lakers

[Adelaide Celt]

Terrible day for us. Nets lost and the Lakers win.

Remember when not so long ago the total opposite was true...

[CroCorvus]

This is what i hate in the NBA... Detroit wins against LAC nad GSW and then, after a day off!, lose to the Lakers!?? C'mon man...
The Lakers are top 8 worst team in the league but they surely are not in the top 5. They have some talent and some solid players and they have no reason to tank, so this is why I think the pick will not go to us... hope Im wrong. 

[GreenEnvy]

I keep telling myself it’s too early to start paying attention to the Lakers record, but it’s hard not to.

I think if it was’t for that protection on the top pick, I would care more. It really doesn’t matter where they fall, we aren’t guaranteed the pick. They can finish worst and we don’t get it. Or they can finish 8th and we do.

I think the sweet spot would be 4th-worst. Decent odds to move up, but unlikely to land the top pick or fall more than one spot.

[TheSundanceKid]

Bottom 6 as of this morning are Lakers, Suns, Bulls, Hawks, Kings, Mavs. I expect those to be the bottom 6 come the end of the year as well. The Pacers and Nets both seem to have enough to keep them milling over and the other teams around them are all playoff chasers.

It's all going to come down to lottery balls, can the Lakers pick jump up to the top 3 or can it stay within the top 5. At least the new lottery rules give us an extra advantage of being 2 or 3 if the Lakers finish 5/6th

The new lottery rules will come into effect in 2019. Here are the odds for each team in the 2018
draft



The chances of the pick landing 2-5 are as follows

If the Lakers have the worst record : 75%
2nd worst record  : 80.1%
3rd worst record :80.4%
4th : 70.9%
5th : 46.5%
6th : 15.2%
7th : 10.7%
8th : 7.2%
9th : 4.4%
10th : 2.9%
11th : 2.1%
12th : 1.8%
13th : 1.6%
14th : 1.3%


To put it another way, chances are that bottom 6 isn't good enough. It seems like we need at least bottom 5 (ideally bottom 4).

TP, good point I had forgotten that. You are right bottom 4 would be best. If I look at those 6 teams I can the Kings and Mavs coming ahead of the Lakers but it is all up in the air. Come Christmas we should have a clearer picture, at the moment I'm not going to be swayed by the odd unexpected win, that tends to average out over the course of the season.

[TheSundanceKid]

Where are all the people saying Indiana were going to suck? I know it's early days but they are clearly aiming for that 8th seed. One less team for us to worry about in the race to the bottom (as some of us expected)

[trickybilly]

There is always one early season surprise. This year it's Indiana. They will be 10-10 after 20 games, mark my word.

Only 3 teams (Chicago, Atlanta, Sacto) are dumpster fires. Dallas should start winning games soon.

5th seed still looking good.

[footey]

There is always one early season surprise. This year it's Indiana. They will be 10-10 after 20 games, mark my word.

Only 3 teams (Chicago, Atlanta, Sacto) are dumpster fires. Dallas should start winning games soon.

5th seed still looking good.

Also Orlando.

[moiso]

Where are all the people saying Indiana were going to suck? I know it's early days but they are clearly aiming for that 8th seed. One less team for us to worry about in the race to the bottom (as some of us expected)

I’m guessing that they will still suck.  It’s been a great start for them and I’m happy for them.  But the whole league is out of whack right now as far as wins and losses.  Cleveland and Golden State are losing, Indiana and Orlando are winning.  Lakers are winning too much for my liking.  I don’t expect a lot of this to continue long term.

[TheSundanceKid]

There is always one early season surprise. This year it's Indiana. They will be 10-10 after 20 games, mark my word.

Only 3 teams (Chicago, Atlanta, Sacto) are dumpster fires. Dallas should start winning games soon.

5th seed still looking good.

Also Orlando.

Orlando I expect to fall back into the pack. To be honest it wouldn't surprise me at all if Indiana ended up with the better record between the two.

[tazzmaniac]

There is always one early season surprise. This year it's Indiana. They will be 10-10 after 20 games, mark my word.

Only 3 teams (Chicago, Atlanta, Sacto) are dumpster fires. Dallas should start winning games soon.

5th seed still looking good.

Why will Dallas start winning?  Dirk is on his last leg.  They have a rookie PG.  Their bench is lousy.

I'd expect the Suns to return to reality in a couple weeks.  When the boost from the coaching change wears off.   

[Birdman]

So far this is where I rank my worst teams
1. Chicago
2. Sacramento
3. Atlanta
4. Dallas
5. Phoenix
6. New York
7. Brooklyn
8. Lakers

[green_bballers13]

So far this is where I rank my worst teams
1. Chicago
2. Sacramento
3. Atlanta
4. Dallas
5. Phoenix
6. New York
7. Brooklyn
8. Lakers

I also don't think it's likely that the Lakers will pick 2-5 this year. I can't imagine that they would tank at the end of the season, knowing what could happen if they end up picking 2-5.

I've got my eyes on 19 SAC.

[Big333223]

So far this is where I rank my worst teams
1. Chicago
2. Sacramento
3. Atlanta
4. Dallas
5. Phoenix
6. New York
7. Brooklyn
8. Lakers

I also don't think it's likely that the Lakers will pick 2-5 this year. I can't imagine that they would tank at the end of the season, knowing what could happen if they end up picking 2-5.

I've got my eyes on 19 SAC.

The Lakers have already lost their pick, regardless of where it falls in the lottery. It's either coming to Boston or going to Philly but it's not their own no matter what.

I don't think anyone is saying the Lakers are going to try and lose games, but that their team is not good and they are going to lose a lot of games by being worse at basketball than most everyone else.

[chilidawg]

So far this is where I rank my worst teams
1. Chicago
2. Sacramento
3. Atlanta
4. Dallas
5. Phoenix
6. New York
7. Brooklyn
8. Lakers

Cleveland belongs on that list, based on how they've played so far.