2 of Amerika’s Most Wanted: The Official GOAT franchise Boss Angeles Lakers 2019-2020 season thread
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Flex Luger
Job Is Finished
FUPA
#LWO
Kuz garbage right now and hopefully he finds his stride soon.
ajnapoleon
Veteran
Thats why they dont have issues they all like each other
even rondo having fun ......well rondo kind of fun
THE MACHINE
night owl
Bron averaging his highest FGA/36min in his career (20.5) 
That's a good sign that he's still handling the pace well, even though hes had some
moments. For him to put up that high of fga/36min, while also leading the league in assists is crazy.
Pace in 2005-2006 (the cheat code year for scoring) was 91 poss/game, now its 101 poss/game. So the league averages 10 more possession per game but he plays 7 minutes less per game. So basically hes playing the same amount of possessions he played in 2005-2006 (yes I know the game was more physical then) but does that lend credence to the folks that say his minutes could be reduced even further?
That's a good sign that he's still handling the pace well, even though hes had some
moments. For him to put up that high of fga/36min, while also leading the league in assists is crazy.Pace in 2005-2006 (the cheat code year for scoring) was 91 poss/game, now its 101 poss/game. So the league averages 10 more possession per game but he plays 7 minutes less per game. So basically hes playing the same amount of possessions he played in 2005-2006 (yes I know the game was more physical then) but does that lend credence to the folks that say his minutes could be reduced even further?
That’s probably a bit much. As dominant as they’ve looked, the Lakers schedule has been soft as pancakes. Getting into the mid to upper 60 wins means they likely rolled through everybody.
But a sign of a great to championship level squad is them being able to put away lesser teams even when they don’t execute at 100%. The Lakers have looked the part so far
Flex Luger
Job Is Finished
SAN ANTONIO — When DeMarcus Cousins suffered a torn right ACL in mid-August, his chances of playing for the Lakers this season all but evaporated. When a warrant for his arrest was issued two weeks later in Alabama, it was fair to wonder if he would even be on the roster by the start of training camp.
It’s mid-November, and Cousins is not only still here but also very much a part of the Lakers’ operation. On Monday, he was back in his usual seat for the Lakers’ 114-104 win over the Spurs — at the end of the bench as a vocal, visible and, according to his teammates, valued presence around the league’s best team.
“He’s just been a great guy for us, being around the team,” Anthony Davis said. “Even though he’s not able to play, he’s always involved in practices and shoot-arounds and stuff like that as much as he can.”
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With the exception of the three games he missed this month for the birth of his son and last week’s game in Oklahoma City, when he was reportedly in Mobile for a court proceeding, rare has been the day Cousins hasn’t been present around the Lakers.
Cousins is slowly rehabbing from his latest major injury. Coach Frank Vogel has said that the team has not ruled out a possible comeback before the end of the season. On Friday, Cousins’ attorney told multiple news outlets that the misdemeanor charges Cousins faced for domestic violence had been dismissed.
Before that development, the Lakers made the decision to keep Cousins involved with the team, allowing him to travel on road trips and use the team’s facilities and medical staff.
“It’s easy to struggle with the mental aspect of being an injured player that’s out by not participating in everything,” Vogel said last week. “So we want him in all the film sessions and practices and being with the team as much as possible.”
In making that choice, the organization walked a tightrope of standing behind a player accused of committing a crime — the charge stemmed from Cousins threatening an ex-girlfriend over the telephone — while also trying to show some compassion for a player who suffered a string of career-altering injuries.
Indeed, few players in NBA history have lost out on as much potential income due to injury as Cousins. Poised to receive a $180 million contract extension from the New Orleans Pelicans, he tore his Achilles in 2018 and then signed with the Golden State Warriors for the mid-level exception after receiving no offers in free agency. Cousins suffered a strained left quad in the playoffs and is now rehabbing from knee surgery.
When Davis makes his much-anticipated return to New Orleans on Wednesday, Cousins will also be back in the city where he played 65 games and tore his Achilles tendon in January of 2018. Davis acknowledged on Monday that he sometimes wonders what the Pelicans might have achieved had Cousins stayed healthy.
“We can only imagine what we could have done,” Davis said. “Me and him were definitely a force to reckon with. And having Jrue (Holiday) playing the way he was playing and obviously (Rajon) Rondo leading the pack, it was something that we wish he could have stayed healthy and we could have made a run at something special.
“But then another opportunity here (with the Lakers) and the same thing happened.”
Instead of that payday from the Pelicans, Cousins joined the Warriors for $5.3 million. This year, the Lakers are paying him just $3.5 million on another one-year deal.
They haven’t especially missed his presence, at least not yet. On Monday, LeBron James poured in 33 points to go with 14 assists as the Lakers improved their league-best record to 15-2. When Cousins suffered his injury, the Lakers added Dwight Howard, who has become a key piece of their defensive identity. But what about a 6-foot-11 center who can handle the ball and shoot the 3 and has career averages of 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds?
Like in New Orleans, we can only imagine what Cousins could have done for the Lakers. The whole set of circumstances is enough to make him a sympathetic figure, except for the other qualities that make him so difficult to like.
Though the charges Cousins faced in Alabama were dropped, an audio recording can easily be found online of a man believed to be the Lakers center allegedly threatening to “put a bullet” in the head of his ex-girlfriend.
Throughout the first two months of the season, the Lakers declined to comment on Cousins’ legal situation, and the NBA has not provided an update on the investigation it said it launched in August. Following reports of charges being dismissed last Friday, the league said it was “reviewing the outcome of today’s proceedings.”
Beyond the criminal charges, Cousins has historically been one of the NBA’s most disagreeable players and an annual leader in technical fouls. Even Monday, as camera operators rushed postgame to get into position around Davis’ locker in the tight geography of the visitors’ locker room, Cousins, who was eating dinner off a paper plate at the next stall, warned, “If any of y’all bump me, there’s gonna be smoke.”
This was the first quote he had given to the media, inadvertent though it may have been, since tearing his ACL.
The Lakers and the league have agreed that Cousins is not required to speak to reporters due to the unique nature of his situation.
The resulting dynamic may seem uncomfortable. Internally, though, Cousins has made believers of teammates old and new.
“He’s a nice genuine, good dude, but sometime has his relapses and then you slap him back in the face like, ‘Yo man, get back,’ and he’ll be fine,” veteran forward Jared Dudley said.
Dudley previously only knew Cousins as an opponent.
“He’s the perfect (example of) ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover,'” Dudley said. “Because I have judged him for how he acted on the court. To see him now, to see his maturity as a man more than a basketball player, it’s impressive.”
Rondo, who played with Cousins in Sacramento and New Orleans, has said Cousins’ signing with the Lakers was a key factor in his decision to return for a second season.
“He’s a great person all around,” Rondo said. “Great teammate, it’s my third year playing with him so it’s not anything new to me.”
Cousins is valued by players like Davis, Rondo and Kyle Kuzma, who said Cousins is a “great dude” who has “been in my corner” since he was in high school.
Asked what his greatest contribution to this team has been, Dudley took a few moments to think before answering.
“His voice when it comes to pushing Anthony Davis,” he said. “Someone that’s an alpha dog who can tell LeBron to go at someone’s neck, or just encourage in his own way. A voice that a coach can’t instill.”
If the question is why the Lakers stood by an injured Cousins while he faced criminal charges, the comments from his teammates help explain it.
He is popular where it matters.
Ima need to grab me a taco one of these Tuesdays......
Nice Boogie article too. Let them punk ass reporters know it’s gon be some problems if food get knocked off yo plate....
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Drizzy Dre
All Star
Brehs, I’ve had no TV/Internet since Thursday. 
How is AD’s shoulder looking?
How is AD’s shoulder looking?
Lakerman0834
Veteran
Dat Area Code
323
@CantStop we gonna be riding for Kingram tomorrow ?
I want a close win with BI dropping a 50 piece on that bum Kuz head with AD having another 40 20 game on bum ass franchse. Does that make me a bad fan?
nah....lakers winning with AD and BI both showing out sounds like a good deal to me
@CantStop we gonna be riding for Kingram tomorrow ?
I want a close win with BI dropping a 50 piece on that bum Kuz head with AD having another 40 20 game on bum ass franchse. Does that make me a bad fan?
LWO first and then BI. If we up big we can root for BI. I won't be mad if he's getting buckets but actively rooting for him when the game is close, in theory I would love to but I don't think I can
Trojan 24
Veteran
I been telling bruhs that eye jammy set him back
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