With a clutch record of 22-6 the Los Angeles Lakers remain the most exciting team to watch this season!
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-traditional
Lakers turning into the black magic Pacers is not the development I’ve expected.
bruh if this happens im deadass gonna cry in tears of joy
OKC BRING IT ON
Protect Luka’s achiles at all costs
LeBron is going call black SUV on Rich Paul if Lu Flop want to try something.
Lock Lu Dort up in a maximum security prison
My heart couldn’t take it tbh
Oh it’s on
I’m very happy for you…but you don’t have a bench. Hopefully you can match up with the Rockets since they also have little depth, otherwise I suspect you’ll be out in the first round.
Oftentimes, it’s actually white magic
I remember when people were downplaying their record at first. Now it’s “oh shit, they can still win this”
Or the purple magic 2024 Mavs
Or the gold magic 2022 Mavs
or 2011 Mavs
The difference is that the Pacers were the ultimate feel-good story. People would root for the Thunder against the Lakers.
Lot of people hate the way the Thunder play, not sure if you’re correct on this one.
idk i would root for the lakers in that series
The Luka hero ball brought back some ptsd from winter.
He played luke-warm in the second half but good thing kennard got hot at the end
We got luke-hot instead
Luka played Luke Warm, but JJ played Luke Kennard
He wasn’t luke-warm, just flat out bad. So many bad shots and didn’t adjust his game plan after seeing so many not fall.
Bad shot, after bad shot, or just bricking, even rubbed some of it on AR, very painful to watch but hey win is a win
Did you watch the game? No one was moving and trying to shoot. The whole team is gassed after a full road trip against playoff teams.
I tuned in 2nd half but from stat sheet 1st half luka was playing pretty well, obviously they’re tired after a back to back and luka dropping 60 but we saw how well he played, doesn’t mean he has to just force up the ball
yeah he was playing frustrated because the shot wasnt falling and Dirk was in attendance. Though tbf to him on about 70% of his misses before the 4th he got hacked hard, the refs defo had Orlando to win
Yeah, he had just dropped a 100 points 48 hours ago and most likely had dead legs. He was clearly gassed.
Not bad shots when he’s been making them last 10 games idk lol Just an off night.
Just because curry can shoot from half court doesn’t mean he should, luka can hit every super contested shot and that won’t make it into a good shot
Are u Paul George? I guess u and him are not understanding smth lmao
1⁄13 for 9 points in the second half absolutely disgusting and got bailed out at the end when the ball was off LeBron
Sorry your hate watch fell through
The camera angle was inconclusive therefore they werent gonna overturn it.
LeBron literally touched the ball with his foot out of bounds
The refs called it off Banchero. The top view camera showed his hand on the ball. It looked close to LeBron but I couldn’t tell from the camera angles, but you could see Paolo touching it
lol someone had a failed hatewatch sad instead of watching the clips you’re doing that
it’s a clipper fan that doesn’t exist in real life, just online
Considering what he has done this past few games coming in clutch he gets a pass.
It was also a clear foul on banchero the refs missed so I guess two wrongs make a right lol
…the Los Angeles Lakers remain the most exciting team to watch this season!
Whoa there, son. This isn’t r/Lakers
Look at the username. Its r/luka
Oh yeah, this whole post is irrelevant now, lol.
Might as well be lately
In fairness, they kind of are to me. I watch the Rockets every game, other than the game winner today, I hate watching most of the games, win is a win you take them but its not fun. But when you have talent like Luka who is a walking highlight reel every game, Lebron who is well Lebron you gotta watch him and Austin who is like a mini Luka, that’s entertainment. And then the clutch performances, clutch wins like this, Smart diving around, that’s fun. Watching the Pacers play last postseason was the most fun I’ve had so I guess this is close to that
yeah and this isn’t r/Vitex1988hatestheLakers but that doesn’t stop me from trying to turn it into that
Why haven’t the mods banned this guy yet? There’s clearly something unhealthy going on with this spam
This vitex guy is mentally ill as well
Hes no run of the mill hater
I bribed the mods with pictures of the sexual orca
I AM IRRATIONAL LETS START A NARRATIVE
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLEEEE!!!!!
LOS ANGELES THIS IS FOR YOU!!!!
I swear yall fanbase would do anything to keep Luka away from his kids if you had the chance
Having 2-3 ball handlers/scorers in the clutch is recipe to success
Just look at Luka’s deep runs. Idk how teams don’t get this
Tbf it’s not any 3 ball handlers it’s luka, ar and lebron, easily best trio when it comes to shot creation, ball handling and passing
Luka-Brunson-Dinwiddie and Luka-Kyrie were insanely clutch
I agree though this may even be an upgraded version of those
Watching the rise of Brunson in the 2022 playoffs was special. Especially in that Jazz series, I knew he was legit from that point forward.
You don’t know ball, he plays point GUARD.
/s
The problem is the league is much better now and the Mavs teams especially the Finals team had better defenders like DJJ, PJ, Gafford/Lively. If Lebron can consistently defend well, that’s a great bonus, but really lacking that defensive big.
AR will never be as good as Kyrie. Lakers are gonna need to surround them with top tier role players.
22-6 in clutch games? The Lakers don’t just want to win they want to give you a heart attack first and then win. Most entertaining team in the league and it’s not even close
That’s what we’ve been experiencing like the past 20 years since Kobe been playing lol
No matter who they face, they always make both fans and haters keep on guessing.
I think a lot of that has to do with teams getting up to play the lakers. It’s an honor tbh, but it does mean we get a lot of exciting games
I think Charlotte is right up there with them
Kon is Klay is Klay is Kon
[deleted]
HUM DIDDLY DEE
If they had a clutch record of 6-22 they’d still be an exciting team but I, personally, would enjoy the experience more
Honestly no lead is safe in the final minute of an NBA game at this point.
We’ve seen so many teams down 2+ possessions with less than a minute to go, somehow tie or even win the game – just in the past couple months.
It’s crazy how many teams make just absolutely terrible decisions under pressure.
There might actually be something to the Laker’s clutch record here, they find a way to keep their composure and not lose their brains in the final few minutes.
I think it is a mix between clutch experience in Lebron and Luka, Austin now playing with a lot of confidence and JJ actually making great plays in the clutch (yesterday both the last foul on Bron and the game winning play were inbound and left a player wide open for the two and three respectively)
Plus now having dogs on the bench such as Smart and Kennard. Also Hayes, Hachimura and Ayton seem to have found their rhythms and are playing their parts well. It’s one of those weird instances where everything is clicking together.
I’m still afraid because last year they also ramped up before the playoffs, but to say that the last playoffs weaknesses weren’t dealt with is also a lie. Maybe some players will become unplayable in the playoffs BUT our team is much more dynamic, higher BB IQ, better coached and more complete than last year, I have seen the great majority of our games and that’s how it’s been.
I also recognize that to be a champion we need to have ALL that + an all time performance by two out of three of Lebron, Luka or Reaves because Spurs and OKC are that good, I wish we could see more seasons of Luka and Bron but it’s likely the last.
I’ve had fun with them all year since the Pels decided to act like they had a pick to tank for
Some of those games had no business being clutch imo but you’re not wrong, these games have been really entertaining.
That’s an opinion
Lakers used up all their devil magic before the playoffs eben started wow
honestly, I feel like they have won every single clutch game and that record is a little low
I think this is actually just the Lakers playing to JJs coaching like they were to start the season, but now you have Luka and Bron fully integrated. I’m kind of surprised they kept their clutchness through the growing pains, but LA with AR as the top guy was still really good and I think that speaks to how good a coach JJ is. AR was obvioulsy out of his mind too but still. Big credit goes to Bron. He did exactly what I hoped he’d do and watched the team succeed with Luka and AR and just modify his game to enhance that as still the most versatile player in history. Edit: Forgot to mention that Luka is playing insane fucking basketball and you’d have to have an all time bad team not to be at least decent with a guy playing the way he has been the last month
Most obvious OKC vs lakers WCF
We don’t have consistent defense to win 2 rounds
Playoffs are matchup dependent. You have the best clutch record in the nba. First round is prob Twolves and then second round is spurs.
Not excited about facing wolves but they’re so inconsistent while lakers are a lot better and deeper compared to last year so we do have that going for us
They are gonna have to go through Spurs or OKC to even get there, probably Spurs more likely. Spurs should kill this team on paper. And then the first round, even then they gotta beat Houston, Minny, or Denver which I know they just did, but its different in the playoffs especially for Minny and Denver where they lock in and when they are fully healthy
We can win against Houston or whatever team, we will play in the 1st round and the Spurs dude
Lakers fans be front runners bro
OKC KFC UFC lakers in 5
Lmao chill out. Let’s see if JJ doesn’t lose his mind in round one again.
Playing all 5 guys, especially DFS and LeBron for an entire half of basketball was ridiculous
Idk. No champ in the 2020’s has made it past the second round the year after they won. Also Lakers were hot down the stretch this time last year and got first rounded. Anything can happen.
Tbh we only lost to timberwolves coz we could not rebound at all. DA has been playing rlly well against rudy and Hayes has improved too so that he isnt completely unplayable in the playoffs
Lol
That would be the worst timeline.
Don’t see lakers beating Denver in the playoffs and they will face Denver before then
They literally wipe the floor with Luka now. Also Denver has been incredibly mid this year.
Fwiw Denver hasn’t been fully healthy since November. Also I wouldn’t call their last game wiping the floor when they pulled a rabbit out of their ass to win that one.
Either spurs or Denver would face the lakers and Okc sweeps the lakers if they even make wcf
I mean I fully believe OKC mops the floor but Spurs are still new so I feel like Lakers have the advantage there. Denver isn’t the juggernaut people think they are when it comes to the lakers now that Ayton and Luka arrived
Most exciting? Says who?
Says who
Uh. No. Just. No.
If I were a lakers fan I would hate this stat? Maybe I’m readying it wrong, but, from the title it seems like they are in a lot of close games. The lakers have an incredible roster. So wouldn’t you want a stat like “the lakers are the most boring team because they are overwhelming their opponents”? 28 close games seems like a lot. 45% of your games being that close seems like a concern especially given the wear and tear on your players.
If they have such a high record in clutch moments, that means you don’t want it to be a close game against the Lakers. You really don’t wanna be in a close against a team who tends to pull a whole rabbit out of their ass.
I understand that. Maybe I explained myself incorrectly. I’m saying that wouldn’t you rather not be in close games at all. It’s the NBA so there are few of those. I’m just saying having to be in that many close games, while battle tested, is going to be a beat down on the players come playoffs.
Honestly, a moot point because everyone is battle tested. Just an observation that IF lakers didn’t win it would be because of the amount of close games they’ve played so players are more likely to be nearing their brink.
True, but at the same time, this is a good indication that the team doesn’t crack under pressure. Yes, every team is battle tested, but this is good for playoffs because things can get close at times.
100% agreed. Two ways of thinking though. Are they burned out or are they finding that extra gear? I’m excited to find out.
It can be good and bad. We don’t really blow teams out but we have beaten most of the western conference playoff teams and we clearly can execute very well in close games. We’re optimistic for the playoffs.
Love that perspective. Just worried about durability. I don’t think I should be with that roster for you all. Just with the amount of close games it is something to look out for if multiple series go to 6 or longer.
The only teams with less clutch games this season so far are The Washington Wizards(24) and The Charlotte Hornets(27). The Sacramento Kings are tied with 28. For context, The Thunder have 32 clutch games played with a record of 22-10. The Lakers have played less clutch games than every other playoff team.
See this is good information. This an exact narrative flip of what I was curious about. Lakers blow out more teams than most. Charlotte which are kind of the darlings right now to make a surprise run are the battle tested I referred to. Should be a fun playoffs. Obviously I’m rooting for suns and Boston but this is honestly anyone’s championship right now. Well. Almost anyone’s.
Ya they have 24 non clutch wins, which is almost half of our total wins, I think that’s a slightly higher % than average, this thing with the lakers is that they only have 6 clutch losses vs 19 non clutch losses, that’s a lot of blowout losses for a 3rd seed.
So, like I said in another comment. Regardless of ability to win in the clutch, isn’t that concerning that starters have to play those extra minutes to win? I know individually it isn’t much. But it is a long ass season and those minutes add up.
But every team has played clutch games, most teams more than the lakers. So I don’t understand what point you are making. Yes those minutes are harder and put more stress on teams, but the Lakers have played less of those games and thus less of those minutes. Of course added stress can lead to negatives, but they can also harden and battle test you which could end up being positive.
Yeah, a lot of those “clutch” games are against garbage teams that shouldn’t have any business being that close.
That’s why I hate it when we have a big lead very early in the game because everyone gets complacent and the other team almost inevitably catches up with momentum and we just straight up lose.
I’d rather they win ofc but this is still the lakeshow, I wanna be entertained!
The lakers have an incredible roster
They have two legendary in Lebron/Luka and two great players in Reaves/Smart, they still have a bottom ranked bench which is why they rarely hang on to any lead when the starters rest and crawl back to a win so often when they get back in.
I grew up in Boston. Don’t make me cry about Smart :(. Bottom ranked bench scared me for longevity. The roster is great though.
Sorry, Luka you’re in custody battle for the next 10 years.
Damn… will my Lakers bet to win a ring pay off
Bro ur a clippers fan betting on the lakers to win? This is why nobody respects you guys
If Lakers lose, I’m happy.
If Lakers win, I’m a few hundred up, and I got groceries for the month.
Honestly might be the best first round in the west in a while, everyone out for blood rn
God damn this is the most insufferable sub like have you considered maybe posting this shit in your own sub. God damn even Celtics fans aren’t this stupid.
2nd best clutch time record in the last 15 years. Every other team in the top-6 made the Finals…
No, they aren’t
Honestly, if the game is within 5pts within the last 2 mins just declare mercy rule. You’re not beating the crunch time Lakers
Exciting is stretching it, they often build 10-20+ leads and then all of a sudden they’re in the clutch because they get complacent and lazy.
Man picture the meltdown if Luka wins a title on his first year out of Dallas, lol.
Cardiac Lakers (positively most of the time)
If you like watching the free throw line maybe
lol, no they aren’t
easy to win in crunch time when you can bank on a free throw attempt advantage being handed to you every game
The Lakers have had more free throw attempts than their opponent in 49 games this season and fewer than their opponent in 20 games. They *average* 5.15 more free throw attempts than their opponent per game this season
edit: I see the children of Los Angeles have arrived to downvote some factual statements that make them upset
They’re the Lakers, they remain the most exciting team to watch every season.
Luka was 2 for 13 in the second half
Yet the Magic was still on him and on lebron on the last play leaving Kennard wide open for the three and game winning shot. This team is full of clutch players and you can’t argue about that.
Didn’t matter when Shai scored 20 against the Nets lol
Why bring up a game back in March 19 and that night within a 24 hours stretch, Luka played two games scoring 40 and 60 totaling 100.
Does that undermine SGA greatness no, as you seek to do with your nonsense reply.
They mean just as much
33/8/5 4 steals 1 block +10 +/-
Y’all find barely winning exciting, but I’d rather dominate and rest the starters in the 4th quarter
San Antonio has 7 more clutch games played than the Lakers lol 2 more wins and 5 more losses
And no posts from our fan base - “look how exciting we are by barely beating mid teams”. Enjoy your small wins while you’re watching a dynasty being built.
lol funny you’re using the word dynasty before your team even plays a single playoff game. Don’t get ahead of yourself now
Yes. Games that go down the wire are more exciting , even for fans that don’t support either teams.
Yes, if those teams are good. Nothing exciting about barely beating a play-in team. Pathetic.
Spurs finished 13th ,14th ,15th in WC last three years. Maybe go easy on the judging. You become 2nd seed one year and suddenly you are all high and mighty. Orlando is a good team.
Clearly we have different definitions of exciting
That sounds boring as hell lol. wtf
Waaa waa
In your dreams dork
lmfaoooo
R u 12?
A/s/l ?
Say Goodbye
You ok babe?
sure what time