GatewayRedbirds.com

The Lakers have already won nearly a third of their total from last season. They are a fun team to watch.

Yeah, the Lakers are a good young team. Randle is playing well, Russell, even Swaggy P. Lou WIlliams might be their best player so far.

Watching them play the Kings last night, total contrast in enjoyability factor. Boogie is probably the least entertaining, most frustrating great player in the history of the league. Come to think of it, for all the numbers he puts up, Boggie might not even qualify as a great player because he has such lapses of laziness and lack of want. He went something like 18 minutes last night without scoring a point, was dogging it up and down the floor, and then post-game got all coy about how the refs were letting the Lakers beat him up.

They are assembling some great depth and just need Ingram to breakthrough. Larry Nance, Jr. might be my favorite bench guy.

Concur on Boogie. Anthony Davis is in a similar dumpy situation and at least on the surface, tries to make the best of it.

Yeah Nance is off to a good start. Ingram needs to bulk up.

File also under young and fun to watch: Philly. I freaking love Embiid. Okafor is playing fairly well, Richaun Holmes is a decent rotation player, Covington has played very well. Simmons is on track for a January return, and while they're bad, they're still highly competitive on good nights--lost to the Cavs by 1, the Pacers by 4 in OT, the Pacers again in OT, Magic by 2, OKC by 6. They could easily be 4-5 instead of 1-8. They're probably my League Pass watch tonight against Harden and the Rockets.

Harden putting on a show

Alvin Gentry can't coach very well.

Jrue Holliday is back Friday. Wonder what the Pelicans roster move will be. Frazier has been good, but Holliday should give them a much-needed boost, they're like 26th in offensive efficiency this year even with AD having a super-high usage rate while being one of the most offensively efficient players in the league.

...and speaking of returns, what happens in Philly when Nerlens Noel comes back? They already have two dynamic bigs in Embiid (who I love) and Okafor (who I like a lot), and I can't see how Noel fits into the rotation. Teams don't really play a big-heavy lineup these days, and teams that skew that way don't always do very well. Do they flip Noel to a team that needs rim protecion for a shooter or for a draft pick? I can't see Embiid/Okafor/Noel being sustainable in the same lineup.

Why hasn't picking at the very top of the draft for so many years worked for the 76ers?