[NBA] LUKA: 33.8 ppg, 8.3 apg REAVES: 23.4 ppg, 5.6 apg LEBRON: 20.7 ppg, 7.0 apg. No trio has EVER averaged 20+ PPG and 5+ APG for a full season!
The stats in this era are just crazy
These three are sick though. They put three of the same form of high-powered ball-handling playmaking asshole on the same team.
Got sketchy for a bit but now they’re rolling.
Three-headed monster.
I’m honestly still confused how they’re winning so consistently right now
Lebron turned into a full time 3rd option and play finisher so less of the “take turn” offense like early in the season and Lebron and Luka actually look like the want to play defense now lol
I think it took awhile for LeBron to get back into real basketball shape after missing the beginning of season. Their overall effort was pretty terrible for the first couple months
And Luka now looks to be in the best shape of his NBA career. Even from the start of this season, post-weight loss, to now, he looks a lot more fit. And coincidentally he’s been having more energy to play defense, and better second half performances/3pt shooting overall.
In that Cleveland game, Luka looked as fast as I’ve seen him since his early Dallas days.
He’s been driving a lot, even cutting sometimes lol
Menace
That one drive on the fastbreak and dish to LeBron was the fastest I’ve seen that man move all season.
Man lakers fans legit started watching luka just last season lmaooo.
To say this is the best shape of his career is insane. 2nd year luka was peak shape and dunking lmao
The most versatile player of all time, and without exaggeration, it’s not even close.
If “bag” actually meant every basketball skill and not just fancy dribbling, Lebron has the biggest bag of tricks in the history basketball.
the fact he gets comparisons to Magic Johnson while also having averaged 27ppg for his career while also having been DPOY caliber for multiple years is fucking absurd to even think about
Bron is an absolute anomaly of human performance. I feel like some people take him for granted considering how long he had been good.
Makes me think about what Harden said: “I am the system”… and yeah, with Luka it takes a bit of time, not because of who he is or how he plays, plus obviously he had to get healthy, but because everyone else has to adapt to it.
The team works insanely well when Luka is the primary offense and they can move the ball quickly between all 3 of them. This is why, at their peak, Dallas just needed that 3rd option. Someone who would take advantage of being open and have the confidence to push through even the hard times… and damn, was Klay not the perfect decision? :D
Now we are seeing the potential of having a 3+1 offense, whether through the pick and roll with the big man or by sending it to an open shooter like Kennard. When it works, it is nasty as hell. The Lakers literally hope for any kind of blitz or double on Luka, and if Luka is dropping 30+ every game, how are you not going to address it?
I cannot wait for the playoffs, and honestly, more than OKC vs LAL, I really want to see LAL vs SAS. A playoff series with Wemby vs Doncic would be spectacular, whereas OKC vs LAL would be gritty AF.
We play OKC twice in our last 6 games. Should be a good show case for both teams this close to the playoffs especially with the spurs coming for the first seed. Insane finish to the season
LeBron’s assists are no longer coming from him being a ball handler.
Lebron is now what D Wade was to 2012 Lebron and that should be concerning to the west.
Drafted 2 spots apart, and this is 14 years apart btw
Wade is all time, but yes lebron is an entire full category (if not more) above wade
Definitely multiple categories below, IMO. Not saying that as an insult to Wade - he had an incredible career in his own right, easily in the top 30 and probably in the top 25, all things considered. That being said, I don’t think he belongs in the same tier as like Jerry West or Oscar Robertson all-time, for instance, who don’t get put in the same tier as Shaq, Tim Duncan, Bird, etc. who in turn aren’t in the LeBron/MJ tier.
Nicely said
Lebron is kinda liked a combined Karl Malone/Draymond on this team. He is usually a play finisher but at the same time because he is fucking Lebron, he can do Draymond shit to playmake on the fly if defenses takes away his shots
I’m honestly still confused how people here looked at this team with Luka joining late last season and LeBron being out for a considerable time and didn’t understand they would need time to gel and figure out how to play together.
People were calling LeBron washed after the “Dillon Brooks” game against PHX which was right after LeBron came back to the team. It was obvious he was out of shape (at least to me - I was at the game) and he was making mistakes because he was gassed, which should be obvious to anyone who has played sports and has come off an injury.
I was so scared when he had that game though.. he looked so old out there, MY OLD GOAT.
Ya, I know the role players aren’t great, but it’s weird to me that people are surprised that the Lakers are good. It’s a top 4 player, the arguable GOAT, and an all-star with a group of capable role players. People act like it’s Luka and G-Leaguers.
Luka has been locked in on both ends, lebron has settled into his role on the team, and ayton/hayes have actually been very stable and consistent down low
Jj has also made some great adjustments with different lineup combos that work well together
Tbh Luka locking in on defense has made the rest of the team put in a lot more effort on that end. Teams tend to follow the example set by their best player
They even got Jake Laravia looking good out there against The Cavs. It’s going to be some interesting playoffs in the west I think.
Their defense looks completely different from December they actually try now
Damnit if its not fun to watch. Luka hitting 3s and Bron dunking like he’s in his 20s
Luka is the MVP, that’s pretty much it.
Luka is playing bonkers rn mostly
I’m more confused about how it took so long for them to figure this out. A team with Luka, Bron and Reaves should look how they’re looking now. I guess it just took Bron accepting the third option role.
Injuries
One of the three was injured at all times this season. Once they started getting time together they clicked. Also Luka has been playing defense as good as anyone on the team.
And if we’re all being honest, even though I didn’t buy into it at the time, Luka was very clearly out of shape for the time they had together last season. I’m glad the slander (and probably a bit of LeBrons influence as well) motivated Luka to improve himself, because clearly Luka’s been working very hard to reach his full potential
So in reality, it really didn’t take that long for them to figure things out, once they were finally healthy together
2012 Thunder would absolutely be putting up these numbers in today’s game. Almost certainly even bigger numbers. But back then they weren’t even that close
The scores from last nights slate of games were truly bonkers
The stats are a bit inflated from previous years, but these are pretty widely acknowledged to be the best offensive trio in the league. Smartest, too.
It feels weird because when we were playing 2k 10 years ago it felt unrealistic to average a triple double or to score 40/ppg but nowadays it’s just the norm
I thought
And they’ve got Luka Don, A Reaves, and then LeBron
The real big threeeee
I’m talking to the man in the mirror (Ayton!) I’m asking him to change his wayyyss
Oddly prophetic song, really
They traded AD cause they needed change
And you gotta say his name
And ya goooooooot to say his name
HIS NAME IS LEBRON JAMES
It’s luka, Reaves, Then bron
Why were the MVP threads telling me Luka’s teammates all suck unlike the other guys so he should get the MVP?
Because the Lakers roster overall does suck
It’s very top heavy, you’ve got three dudes who can make your offense go supernova
But besides Marcus Smart hardly anybody can play any defense… like… at all
I guess people are just forgetting because they’ve been playing well the past month. Playoff offense and defense is gonna be a huge indicator of what we’ve been seeing majority of the season I would think.
If we are a second round tough out… I would be happy with this season
I’m realistic with my expectations
The big thing is injuries, similar to DEN.
And the rest of the roster construction is iffy.
Before the AS break, they played something like 12 games together as a big 3, and Bron was out all training camp.
Sure, but the struggles in the middle of the season were after LeBron came back. They’ve been talking about it a while this season that AR and Luka have better stats without LeBron. This massive MVP push for Luke to win is talking out of both sides of their mouth.
that’s actually insane balance, three legit creators on one team feels like defenses have to pick their poison every possession
All they really needed was for the big 3 to be healthy. Luka alone is the offense, so once teams started doubling him its 4v3 with either Reaves/Lebron attacking
But I was told that Luka has the worst supporting cast of all the MVP front runners!!!!
I think he does, outside of their top 3 who were injured a lot of the season their team is dog piss and they have no defense other than marcus smart
outside of their top 3
But that’s a weird narrative. The last month of the season last year, the Warriors were the best team in the NBA. And outside of their top 2, they were incredibly weak. Was Steph the MVP?
First of all, not sure by what metric warriors were the best team in the NBA. Assuming from here on last month of the season roughly means last 15 games of the regular season, warriors were 9-6.
Second of all, looking at individual stats, that month (same 15 game stretch) Curry averaged 28/6/5, compared to Shai’s 32/7/5 with better D or Luka’s 30/7/7.
So even speaking on this specific month picked out, I don’t see how Steph had any argument to be the best player during that time period, let alone the MVP for the entire season.
That’s what the Suns thought, they were easy to pick apart.
The 3 high level scorer shit only works if all of them can pass
Difference is playmaking. The worst of the Lakers 3 playmakers is better than any of the three Suns guys. Two of the Lakers playmakers are all time greats in that category.
Yeah that’s a huge difference. Their ability to pass or read the offense is amazing and Reaves is like a sponge just learning every year from LeBron James and now Luka Doncic. So cool to see them climax at the end of the year
I was going to upvote until that last sentence.
Nothing wrong with 3 bros climaxing together
I upvoted because of the last sentence
Okay son
KD is not a legit creator, Book is still better with a PG, and Beal’s best years involved a great to elite at the time PG helping him
All were legit scorers yea, but that only gets you so far with noone to properly run an offense
So many PGs in the league that would have unlocked that team if they signed them over Beal
They should’ve traded for someone like trae young
KD is not a legit creator,
I assume you mean for others?
Yea ofc
It doesn’t always mean that though. There are players who can’t even create their own shot. Others that can but don’t create for others and still others who can do anything. KD can create his own shot. He just doesn’t for others.
That team needed a playmaker. These three guys are all playmakers
Impressive.
I don’t think the Lakers are a top contender, but they are a very dangerous team to play against. They’ve got guys who can take over and make things incredibly difficult. I wouldn’t want to play against them in the playoffs.
Not at all. And having LeBron isn’t even one of the main reasons anymore which is kinda scary.
I think he’s still the main reason. He’s not the best player but he’s the biggest advantage they have over other contenders. Luka and Reaves are amazing but the other contenders have #1s and/or #2s on par. LeBron is the best #3 in the league
It’s crazy that we have LeBron James as our third option lol an off ball GOAT who can also play on ball and read the floor like a general
I’m so hyped for a potential Spurs/Lakers series which is why I’m sure something is going to prevent it from happening.
unless we choke against rockets/wolves. we should meet spurs in second round. we essentially have the third seed locked up. even if we lose both okc games
Aren’t the Nuggets only like a couple games behind you?
we have all the tiebreakers against nuggs/wolves/rockets.
If ANT is healthy, Wolves might be tough. Lakers will be healthy this time at least.
I think it’s time we do start to see them as top contenders. I could see them beating the wolves, rockets, nuggets, and even the spurs in a series. The upcoming two games against OKC will be telling if they can compete with them now since they’re clearly a much better team now than they were in the middle third of the season. If they had been playing in the middle third of the season the way they are now, no one would say they aren’t top tier contenders, so if what they are now is really what they’ve become, they are top tier contenders.
Out of curiosity, I checked what teams even have 3 guys who average 5 assists per game with at least 50 games played
Los Angeles
Luka Doncic (33.8 points, 8.3 assists, 63 games played)
Austin Reaves (23.4 points, 5.6 assists, 50 games played)
LeBron James (20.7 points, 7.0 assists, 55 games played)
Boston
Jaylen Brown (28.8 points, 5.3 assists, 67 games played)
Derrick White (16.8 points, 5.5 assists, 72 games played)
Payton Pritchard (17.0 points, 5.1 assists, 74 games played)
Toronto
Scottie Barnes (18.3 points, 5.9 assists, 74 games played)
Immanuel Quickley (16.9 points, 6.0 assists, 67 games played)
Jamal Shead (6.6 points, 5.4 assists, 76 games played)
Jamal shead averaging that many assists for what his role is is crazy he’s been pretty damn good this season
KD, Kyrie and Harden all put up 20+ and 5+ assists in 2020-21 and 2021-22 as well but perhaps they didn’t play enough games for it to count.
These highlights are really selling AR short. He had a LOT of great plays this season.
REAL MVP r/LUKAMAGIC
bro ur the only person who posts there 😭😭
For now. Gotta start somewhere
Keep it going bud
There’s no such thing as a real MVP. All four of those guys are phenomenal and each one of them deserves to win it
What’s crazy is Dominayton hasn’t even been trying this year, just conserving his energy, but come playoff time, he’ll turn this trio into a quartet!!
STOP, lol
He’s been conservayton
AR about to get paid.
I’m not gonna sit here and say they’re a bonafide championship team but it’s feels like this is the team you don’t wanna see in the playoffs this year and they can carry that momentum to go deep. once you get to the conference finals it’s all a toss up from there
We honestly see this every single year… “nobody wants to see the Lakers in the playoffs”. Maybe this year is different.
You can say that about fans of any team lol me personally I was out on this team from the beginning but this recent turn around has me thinking we can make a run
Interesting. Rockets this year are close ish
Sengun - 20⁄6 KD -26⁄4.7 Amen- 18⁄5.3
Feel like there’s a decent chance next year they get it, and depending on how reed progresses he might be a 20⁄5 player soon
hell yeah!!! can’t wait for tonight’s game
I thought he had no help and was playing with bums?
Remember when Chuck suggested they were lottery bound?
That’s a lot of ball movement
Wolves in 5
I’m expecting this until proven otherwise
LeBron needs more help though
I was told Luka has to put on the cape every night and drag this bum ass roster to being competitive
No help!
Lets see how they fair against the Thunder tonight. Luka got benched the whole 4th quarter of their first meeting.
[deleted]
Bot comment lol
The word “don’t” was removed from another comment made 6 minutes before this was posted, outside of that it’s a copy and paste.
I thought he didn’t have enough help though
Not having much depth outside those two guys combined with them missing over 40 games combined is what people were referring to.
coincidentally lakers have won alot when all 3 are playing. Funny how that works turns out he did just need some more help.
No. They weren’t.
Don’t try to figure out the Lakers. They can be all things, all at once, as long as it gives them a positive narrative to win everything.
Timberwolves fans will idiotically misrepresent what depth means and then 10 seconds later tell you that Luka has help equal to Thunders or Spurs and doesn’t deserve MVP because of it.
these people are insane lol
No one says he doesn’t have help, he has the worst roster construction of the top 6 in the west. Only the rockets are comparable but they have a much better balance of offense and defense in the starting lineup.
Lmao I love that this dumb comment is getting downvoted to hell. Think before commenting moving forward
Lakers fans would have you believe this guy has no help
Theyd have you believe he has no depth or defense on the team(except Smart), and he does not. 30th in the league bench ppg. I think youve intentionally misunderstood the sentiment. *Edited to give Smart some love
It’s gotten a lot better I imagine since moving Rui to the bench and getting Kennard
Absolutely agree, the fit is great. The catch 22 is losing Rui’s 7’2” wingspan on defence for the higher % and faster offball Kennard. Kennard has been a fantastic addition.
Rui is not a good defender mind you
Like at all
I love his scoring for us, but he spaces out a LOT on defense
He’s a fine defender. His issues just get exacerbated next to Lebron and Luka
Rui wingspan doesn’t change how bad of a defender he is
Lmao thank you. Edgy ass comment that completely missed what we’ve been complaining about and something that is completely valid
People keep talking about help while forgetting about the other 4-15 on the team. We’re not in the 2000s anymore
and they’re still mid
3rd in the west is mid? ok
the mid kings
I mean they were also 3rd last season…. Not always a good indicator.
Try watching games next time before you comment, chud.
No