It ain't like hali is leagues above luka in terms on defending , and luka is a way better point guard and a facilitator. So if Haliburton with a Pacers squad that 0-10 their last 10 game without him can take the thunder to 7, why won't the lakers be able to do the same if we surround Luka with some legit defenders?
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Have you not seen the effort against the contending teams? Enjoy the season but let’s be real, this is not the year we’re winning it all
Your last sentence answers everything, ” if we surround Luka with some legit defenders”
Halliburton had an extremely deep, balanced, and complementary supporting cast around him. The roster was literally made to support Halliburton’s deficits and show its strength.
Luka got only offense star power and significantly less work with from role player/bench pov with roster that was not constructed for him.
The Pacers had an elite 3-10 on their team and one of the best coaches in the NBA. If just Aaron Nesmith was in the starting line up and Obi Toppin was coming off the bench for this Lakers team, then yeah they could win for sure
Hali has his deficiencies for sure but low effort isnt one of them you can’t have deficiencies and low effort Lukas a way better player of course but that’s just the reality unfortunately
Western Conference vs Eastern Conference. Lakers don’t even make it out of the West to the finals.
Pacers had ball movement, shooting, & defenders.
Hail was a pass first player always got his team involved Luka is a ball hog
Clearly defined roles, solid role players. Defensive minded team and coach. Non halo offense, can’t compare this team to any Luka team.
Halliburton moves the ball and himself without the ball
Luka has to get in better running shape and be a threat without the ball
He passes and stands still
Rick Carlisle hated coaching Luka because of this.
First of all, the Pacers had a very balanced roster. Secondly, they overachieved like crazy. Nobody was really predicting them to go on a run like that. The amount of late winners they had was absurd. People were questioning if they were committing black magic lol. Lastly, Luka has been to the finals and has a shot of winning it all. Very talented player but still has bad habits that he needs to work on if he wants to win championships and be an all time great.
Haliburton was insanely clutch in the playoffs. That was the most clutch run in nba history. The Pacers were also very mentally resilient, they were able to chip away at any lead. The Lakers, especially Luka and Lebron, pretty much give up once their opponents start to pull away.
Hali is also a way more consistent defender than Luka. His defense improved significantly last year… they aren’t in the same league defensively.
But the worst part about Luka this year is that his offense is extremely inefficient. His 3pt shooting percentage is low and his turnover rate is high. That’s unacceptable for a weak defensive player.
If he’s goint to be a defensive liability, he’d better be oppressively good offensively, unfortunately, he hasn’t been that this year.
Luka can win, and it’ll depend primarily on what we do in the offseason.
The NBA has become a weak link league. Your team is only as good as your weakest link. Gone are the days where a single strong link could cover up bad team building. The lakers have a lot of weak links.
Based on the way this sub talked about Luka you’d think he’s one of the worst players in the league. It’s wild how much everyone shits on him
It’s clear, Luka is a scrub, Lebron is the goat, and all other players mentioned in comparison to Luka are better as a few commenters mentioned in this thread.
What a silly question for a sub full of doomers
People like to have simple narratives like “<player they don’t like> will never win a championship because no team has ever won with a player like this” until it actually happens.
They said the same thing about Jordan, LeBron, Jokic, etc.
im a pacer fan that got recommended this post and i cant believe how many laker fans here apparently believe luka cant win them a title. op brings up good points its more about roster construction and luck in the modern nba than ever. when luka gets the right team that fmvp will have his name on it trust
Because our roster is horrible. We’ve got the worst bench players in the world. Zero production, no one can step up consistently. I think we rank dead last. So that means without Luka scoring for us we have nothing else to bring to the table. Indiana is a system, they’re able to spread the floor, play defense, and play fast.
Because Haliburton is in better shape, and somehow more clutch. He had the most game winning shots in the last 5 seconds in NBA playoffs history. Haliburton is not a good defender, but he’s always able to push the pace and keep with other teams. This keeps his team in games, and he’s always able to bring them home.
You can also see how much they are lacking without him (and Turner). It doesnt matter how balanced their roster is. They cant survive without him.
Not comparable engines. One is heliocentric, the other is pass first. Both empower their teammates in much different ways.
because this reddit is probably the worst of them all and people know fuck all about ball.
And any person on some shitcast saying this should be taken as seriously as your random reddit poster on here.
Pacer fan here. 2 things.
1st LUKA 100% can win a championship. He just lost the finals the year before us. Stop listening to morons. You have the 1a best iso scorer in the game (sga being 1b)
2nd in addition to all the work off and on ball Tyrese does to help his much better supporting cast he really tries on defense. Has almost no physical tools past his lankyness. But he cares, jumps lanes and works hard. He’s got a crazy engine. Effort and grind takes no true skill. Anyone can add it.
Pacers always had a skeleton of a very well put together team with Haliburton the facilitator and accentuator of all their strengths.
As soon as they traded for Siakam he balanced out their roster and everyone suddenly fit into their role perfectly but they added a 2way wing who could score and defend.
Lakers aren’t even in the same stratosphere in how it’s designed.
Haliburton didn’t have to worry about young athletic teams like spurs, OKC, rockets and wolves that improve basically every year… and I haven’t even mentioned the Nuggets who have the best player in basketball. The west is a different ball game, we should all know this as LA fans. Pacers also had an extremely deep roster that allowed Hali to be the 3rd best player a lot of nights.
Lmao this sub is ridiculous
Luka also carried that Mavericks team especially when Kyrie decided he was done playing in the Finals. Did it all on 1 leg.
Look at the East bruh
Yeah put nembhard, nesmith and siakim on a team with Luka would be almost unstoppable. Add a rim running shot blocking stretch 5. I got Luka and the pacers over OKC. With that said, We have no players like any of the ones listed above.
For me , it’s not that Luka isn’t good enough to be the 1A on a championship team b/c he easily is.
For me, it’s the roster surrounding him. That Indy roster was built perfectly to both complement Hali’s strengths and minimize his weaknesses.
The equivalent Luka Lakers version of that 2024-25 Pacers team would be something like:
PG Luka/Pippen Jr.
SG D.White/V.Williams Jr.
SF Herb/S.Sharpe
PF J.Johnson/P.Watson
C Ware/Goga
That’s just an example. Getting a roster like that around Luka is extremely hard given the assets the team has.
Steph is a horrible 1:1 defender. So is James Harden for that matter. Difference there is that the GSW developed a system which allowed Steph running the offense and being option 1A while developing a system and surrounding him with players that complimented him on the O side and played D well enough.
So the Lakers can win with Luka but not with the current roster and GM.
I’m convinced Gugenheim Partners are seeing Luka as the cornerstone of the franchise for the foreseeable future. They will come in, replace the GN and hire the best coaching and front office talent and surround him with the right systems and players.
The lakers can win a title with Doncic..they just have to figure out how to build the right team to accentuate his positives and cover his weaknesses
They’re such different players how is this even a comparison