Originally Posted by
verminaard
I have actually watched a lot of Laker games recently, including the entire Bucks game. Lebron actually looks just as good on offense as he always has. If anything he might even be better than his last couple Cleveland years, as he is shooting the 3 better. That being said, he doesn't play defense anymore. He doesn't even try. Case in point, in the Bucks game in crunch time Giannis was covering him, but Caldwell-Pope was covering Giannis. That obviously isn't going to work.
The Lakers dont have a single defensive stopper on the team to play defense for Lebron. Paul George would have been such a perfect fit for him, because he would have covered the other guys best wing/forward and let Lebron rest on defense. I don't think we can understate how much not getting George threw a monkey wrench in the best layed plans for Lebron and the Lakers.
They REALLY need a good 3 and D wing who can cover multiple positions. They get that and one more all star caliber player in free agency (e.g. Irving, Kemba, or ideally Davis), and I think they are back competing next year. But it appears they aren't even in the Kawhi running (who would also be a good fit) so I don't even know who that would be.