Let's discuss

 Came across this mess you've likely seen by now

Here is the video if you're curious. The part we are discussing starts at 9 minutes in. It's something for sure. 

Then this commentor came up (before you ask, this account somehow dick sucks only in /r/NBA and never in /r/Lakers. Public bus style riding the peen for less epoints is wild.)

I mean Rui and Austin have had some pretty good games recently. They've been producing the whole season, why hasn't it worked yet?

This is a great point. SGA can stop and pop 3s, but he loves driving that lane and using 80 tricks all at the same time to completely destroy his defenders. 

The last time OKC and LA purple played, Lebron had 12. Knetch was their leading scorer and second was DiAngelo Russel. Last time Luka played OKC he was 4th in scoring with 16. 4 of which came from FTs. Surely someone wouldn't presume that the Lakers were somehow offensively better than OKCs defense, right? RIGHT?!

I'm not going to get into the historics of what OKC is doing in spite of the serious and biased disparity of foul calls. Let's just look at Net Ratings, Offensive Ratings, and Defensive Ratings.

Offensive Ratings

I don't think removing Luka from Dallas is going to get rid of all of their offensive production. I'd expect him to make LA's ORtg go up simply because he is just that good, but how far? I'd assume maybe competitive with PHX. That's an educated guess.

Defensive Ratings

I want you to honestly break this down. OKC is 4.4 pts better defensively than the Clippers. The Clippers are 5 pts better defensively than the 15th ranked Lakers. You would have to fall down to NOLA to find a lower defensive rating in the same degree as OKC - LAC. 

Net Rating

Truthful time; There are 2 teams on this list that I could see someone honestly saying they have a shot. Not guaranteed, just a shot. Those teams are no where near #12 or the #10 spot LA will likely rise to.

Of course, these are all metrics based on regular season performance, but there is still value in the data. Especially if you are the team considered the best and large market teams are desperate to prove they aren't just boring wild 3s and post dishes, ignoring the biggest problem they have with that label being their players bought it through years of being "the best" so 3s and post dishes are what you did. Was he the best at doing it? Sure, you could make that argument. Was it always exciting and fun to watch? Fuck no. It was undeniable, but it was not fun. This Thunder defense is tough to follow because of how it operates but holy shit it is a blast to watch. Their switches are seamless and constant. If you weren't convinced before, todays NBA is a very different game from what the 90s and early 2000s were. It's a flurry of constant movement and adjustments. That wasn't the case 15 yrs ago when they walked every possession to the 3 pt line and tried to pop a long 2.

Sometimes guys are good at getting it into the basket and can survive multiple decades doing that, but eventually... they fall off.

I'm not saying, but I'm not not saying either. 

The end may be sooner than some realize in their hyperbaric chambers and what nots. And it is just because a major aspect of the game has left them. It had to.

UPDATE

So, this factoid dropped today after I wrote all of that and wasted my time.

Inevitable.