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Speaker 2: All right, welcome to Hoo's tonight here at the Volume.

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Speaker 2: Happy Friday, everybody. Hope all of you guys had an

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Speaker 2: incredible week. We have a very special show for you

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Speaker 2: guys today. My friend Jovan Buha, who covers the Lakers

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Speaker 2: for the Athletic and does an incredible job, has been

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Speaker 2: there on the ground at Lakers training camp getting.

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Speaker 3: Us ready for the season.

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Speaker 2: I'm really really excited to talk all things Lakers and

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Speaker 2: get some up close and personal perspective. Jovon, how's it going, man,

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Speaker 2: It's good to see you.

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Speaker 3: It's great man. It's great to see you.

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Speaker 4: And this feels like the first week of school and

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Speaker 4: you're seeing all your friends again.

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Speaker 3: Everything is going great, So no complaints from me.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I covered Timberwolves MAVs yesterday and like getting out

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Speaker 2: of that off season grind to like actually covering real

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Speaker 2: basketball feels good. And I have to say I'm probably

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Speaker 2: as excited for this particular NBA season as I have

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Speaker 2: for any time in my life. Is there's just so

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Speaker 2: much talent the top of the league. There's so much parody,

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Speaker 2: there's so many different teams that could rise above this

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Speaker 2: group of incredible talent at the top of the league.

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Speaker 2: I'm excited. But you have been on the ground at

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Speaker 2: Lakers training camp. We are through four days of practice

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Speaker 2: and media day. What is the pulse around the team,

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Speaker 2: obviously going into their first preseason game tomorrow.

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Speaker 4: Well, the vibes around the Lakers are at an all

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Speaker 4: time high. I can say that this is my fourth

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Speaker 4: training camp covering the team, and this is the most

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Speaker 4: positive and optimistic and confident that the group has been

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Speaker 4: since I've been there. So I think one that that's

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Speaker 4: a great sign for Laker fans. But two, you know,

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Speaker 4: the talk of camp has been how Lebron James has

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Speaker 4: looked like his pre injury self, which I think if

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Speaker 4: we're mapping out how this team ultimately wins a championship,

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Speaker 4: it's got to be Lebron getting back to being a

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Speaker 4: top ten player consistently. And you know, Darvin ham was

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Speaker 4: comparing him to his third or fourth year self athletically.

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Speaker 3: I don't know if I buy the that.

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Speaker 4: Lebron's looking like a twenty two or twenty three year

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Speaker 4: old right now. But you know, as we saw at

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Speaker 4: the end of last season, and with the way that

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Speaker 4: the playoffs went, barring you know, Game four against Denver

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Speaker 4: and a few other big performance and says like he

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Speaker 4: wasn't himself clearly, and there were times that he would

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Speaker 4: be laboring on that foot. There were times he appeared

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Speaker 4: a little differential to Austin Reeves or Anthony Davis. So

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Speaker 4: I think if the Lakers can get the pre injury

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Speaker 4: version of him, which remember in December or January when

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Speaker 4: Ad went out, he was routinely dropping thirty points a night,

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Speaker 4: had some forty point games in there as well, and

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Speaker 4: really looked the best he had looked offensively, in my opinion,

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Speaker 4: in a couple of years. So, if you can get

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Speaker 4: that version of Lebron with this continuity that they have now,

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Speaker 4: the deeper supporting cast, the improved three point shooting. I

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Speaker 4: think that's where you can be really dangerous offensively. The

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Speaker 4: other thing has been Anthony Davis's jump shot. By all accounts,

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Speaker 4: it's looked much better than it has over the past

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Speaker 4: couple of seasons. And then rookie Jalen hood Schafino has

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Speaker 4: gotten multiple shoutouts. Just got a shout out today from

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Speaker 4: AD for his pick and role play, his court vision,

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Speaker 4: his point of attack defense. So again, vibes are at

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Speaker 4: an all time high right now compared to where they've

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Speaker 4: been in the past, and right you know, right.

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Speaker 3: Now, all the buzz has been about Lebron and eight.

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Speaker 2: You know, it's interesting because we're going to talk about

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Speaker 2: the contenders at the top of the league and where

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Speaker 2: the Lakers stack up later on in the show. But

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Speaker 2: when I look back at the Denver series, it really

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Speaker 2: came down to three things for me. Their backcourt athleticism.

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Speaker 2: Bruce Brown just kicked their ass because he was bigger, faster,

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Speaker 2: and stronger than all of the guards back there. And

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Speaker 2: then the backup center position was tough. It wasn't as

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Speaker 2: big of a problem in the Denver series because Denver's

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Speaker 2: bench center is kind of a position that's also in flux.

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Speaker 2: But throughout the postseason it was an issue, especially in

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Speaker 2: the Memphis series when they were staggering. Jaron Jackson in

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Speaker 2: with the bench group, so that Lebron was, you know,

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Speaker 2: having to deal with that. But then the last piece

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Speaker 2: was the shot making piece. Every single one of those

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Speaker 2: games was close. Three of the four games went down

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Speaker 2: to a clutch situation, meaning it was within five points

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Speaker 2: with less than five minutes left, and then that fourth

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Speaker 2: game that didn't go I think it was Game three

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Speaker 2: that didn't go to a clutch situation. The Lakers had

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Speaker 2: a double digit second half lead, and that might have

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Speaker 2: actually been Game two. But the point is every single

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Speaker 2: one of those games was kind of hanging in the

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Speaker 2: balance going into the later portion and when push comes

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Speaker 2: to shove, every single playoff game we've ever seen basically

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Speaker 2: grinds down into a rock fight at the end of

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Speaker 2: these games, and the whistle gets swallowed and it's super

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Speaker 2: physical and you can't get easy shots, and it really

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Speaker 2: comes down to can you make tough, contested shots over

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Speaker 2: the top, and time and time again, Jamal Murray did it,

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Speaker 2: and Nikola Jokic did it. And Lebron James couldn't and

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis couldn't, and so, you know, we can talk

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Speaker 2: about trades and we could talk about hypotheticals and different

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Speaker 2: guys they could bring in that might be able to

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Speaker 2: rectify that, But the easiest solution is Lebron James and

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis getting back to where they were in twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty where they can make those shots. They're never going

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Speaker 2: to make them at as high a rate as that

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Speaker 2: Nugget squad or even the Suns or a lot of

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Speaker 2: these other teams around the league that have higher level

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Speaker 2: shot makers, but if they can at least take away

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Speaker 2: some of that gap, then their physical advantages can come

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Speaker 2: to the surface, because even in Lebron's limited state, he

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Speaker 2: was so dominant out of the post in that postseason run.

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Speaker 2: He's still one of the best matchup attacking big forwards

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Speaker 2: at bullying his way to the rim against smaller defenders

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Speaker 2: that we have in the league, and so they have

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Speaker 2: so many advantages elsewhere on the roster. If they can

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Speaker 2: just kind of mitigate that gap, that can make a difference.

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Speaker 2: And the Jalen hud Schafino stuff is super exciting to

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Speaker 2: me because he is that big, strong, athletic guard that

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Speaker 2: can really like actually hanging in the physicality areas of

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Speaker 2: the game. Darvin Ham was talking a lot about him

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Speaker 2: and how big and strong he is for his position.

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Speaker 2: I could see that being something that could help mitigate

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Speaker 2: that issue a little bit. Go as far as like

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Speaker 2: the motivation level goes, Where are you at with this

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Speaker 2: Denver La trash talk stuff? I think it's so silly

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Speaker 2: because I can't even imagine why anyone would care that

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Speaker 2: the Lakers want revenge. If they didn't, it would be weird.

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Speaker 2: What's your take on the whole, Mike Malone, Bruce Brown

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Speaker 2: trash talk Lakers feeling motivated situation.

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Speaker 3: Well, I'm with you.

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Speaker 4: I think it is a little silly, but I think

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Speaker 4: it's as close to a modern rivalry as we have

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Speaker 4: right now, probably in the NBA, you know, with the

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Speaker 4: raw to turnover and stars going team to team. You

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Speaker 4: don't see the classic rivalries that we had in the

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Speaker 4: eighties and the nineties and the two thousands. But for me,

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Speaker 4: I mean, I get why the Lakers feel the way

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Speaker 4: that they do. I think Denver and look, Denver won,

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Speaker 4: so you can talk trash when you win and you

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Speaker 4: can kind of celebrate whichever way you want. But you know,

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Speaker 4: with Mike Malone saying he's the Lakers daddy at at

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Speaker 4: you know, their celebration and at the parade, and then

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Speaker 4: him kind of poking fun at Lebron's retirement and say

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Speaker 4: he was going to retire, and like, there's just been

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Speaker 4: little jabs there, And you know, it's interesting to me

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Speaker 4: because Mike Malone and Lebron used to have a great

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Speaker 4: relationship back when Malone was an assistant in Cleveland. So

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Speaker 4: you know, things have obviously taken a turn there a bit.

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Speaker 4: But I'm really interested to see how the Lakers come

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Speaker 4: out on opening Night. I don't want to get to

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Speaker 4: hyperbolic with it, but I think it's a chance for

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Speaker 4: them to land a haymaker, to send a message to

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Speaker 4: start the season. And for them, looking at that opening schedule,

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Speaker 4: they have a very difficult slate to start. I mean

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Speaker 4: just the first three games alone at Denver home against Phoenix,

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Speaker 4: then at Sacramento. You could easily go zero to three

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Speaker 4: over those three games. You could go three and oh

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Speaker 4: as well. But for them, with the way that they've

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Speaker 4: started the last few seasons a little bit slower, I

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Speaker 4: think it's important to go to Denver, you know, send

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Speaker 4: them a message of we're not afraid of you. You

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Speaker 4: don't have a psychological advantage over us anymore, you know,

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Speaker 4: forget like the sweep was last season, put that behind us,

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Speaker 4: and then also start the season one and oh and

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Speaker 4: just kind of get some momentum and carry that over

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Speaker 4: because we've seen them struggle in the preseason the last

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Speaker 4: few years, we've seen them struggle to start the year,

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Speaker 4: and I think another loss to Denver again, it's not

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Speaker 4: debilitating by any means, but it would just kind of

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Speaker 4: continue the trend of Denver I think having an edge

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Speaker 4: over them.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the psychological element is always interesting. It reminds me

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Speaker 2: of the Clippers in twenty twenty, where it was like

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Speaker 2: they lost an opening night and then they lost on

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Speaker 2: Christmas Day, and it kind of felt like the Clippers

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Speaker 2: had a little bit of a mental advantage. But then

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Speaker 2: the Lakers got them once right before the bubble in

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Speaker 2: rather convincing fashion in the fourth quarter, and then they

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Speaker 2: got them at the start of the bubble, and then

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Speaker 2: it's like, literally, there was never a psychological advantage since then,

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Speaker 2: except for they've just been so limited from a roster

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Speaker 2: standpoint in recent seasons, but you never felt like if

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Speaker 2: the Lakers had to play the Clippers in that postseason

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Speaker 2: run in the bubble that they would have had any

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Speaker 2: issues because it felt like they had kind of overcome that,

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Speaker 2: And that psychological advantage can definitely play a role. It

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Speaker 2: plays a role in everything, like how comfortable the role

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Speaker 2: players are, how comfortable you know, the team might feel

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Speaker 2: if they're down by ten in the middle of the

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Speaker 2: third quarter, and belief that they could come back like

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Speaker 2: that sort of thing. I one hundred percent agree with you.

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Speaker 2: I think coming off of last season, in their two

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Speaker 2: and ten start, it's almost vital for their belief in

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Speaker 2: the locker room to notch two or three key kind

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Speaker 2: of like signature wins, just to kind of give them

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Speaker 2: that belief that pushes them forward. Because this team in particular,

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Speaker 2: you know, when I look at the top of the

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Speaker 2: league and I look at Milwaukee and Boston, and I

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Speaker 2: look at Phoenix and Denver in LA, all of them

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Speaker 2: have different strengths, and the Lakers' specific strength has to

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Speaker 2: be the defensive end. They're never going to be these

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Speaker 2: teams like Denver or Phoenix or Milwaukee from a skills standpoint,

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Speaker 2: They're never going to be able to go shot for

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Speaker 2: shot with Dame or with Jokic or with KD or any.

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Speaker 3: Of these guys.

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Speaker 2: They have to be a blue collar, beat you up

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Speaker 2: defensive team. Now, my question would be it I actually

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Speaker 2: was talking with my buddy Anthony Irwin about this yesterday,

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Speaker 2: and I find it to be really interesting. You know,

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Speaker 2: we know that D'Angelo Russell is the contract that's kind

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Speaker 2: of poised as the guy who could be traded. And

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Speaker 2: to be clear, I'm sure the Lakers will approach the

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Speaker 2: season as though they don't intend to make a trade

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Speaker 2: and see what this group is capable of, and they'll

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Speaker 2: make that call when they get to the deadline. But

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Speaker 2: I think D'Angelo Russell in one of the forwards basically

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Speaker 2: functions as whatever your salary is if you did decide

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Speaker 2: to make a trade. Now, I look at it as

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Speaker 2: like there's two different directions they could go. They could

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Speaker 2: either go all in on that defensive identity and try

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Speaker 2: to find basically a more dependable, starter caliber player at

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Speaker 2: the two or three that's a perimeter defender, or they

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Speaker 2: can go in on a shot maker, try to find

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Speaker 2: somebody to help Lebron and ad and slow down half

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Speaker 2: court environments. Which need do you think is more important

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Speaker 2: for the Lakers? And if you were the GM, which

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Speaker 2: direction would you go in terms of actually strengthening out

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Speaker 2: the weaknesses of the roster.

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Speaker 3: I really like that question.

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Speaker 4: I mean ideally both if I know those types of

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Speaker 4: guys are hard to find and potentially out of the

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Speaker 4: financial range that they're looking at with d Lo plus

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Speaker 4: whoever else you want to lump in there. If I

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Speaker 4: had to choose one between the two, I would lean defense.

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Speaker 4: I do think that this group's perimeter defense. It's interesting

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Speaker 4: because they're running it back with essentially, you know, most

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Speaker 4: of the roster that wasn't the number two defense to

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Speaker 4: close out the regular season. But I think going from

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Speaker 4: Dennis Shruder to Gabe Vincent is a slight downgrade at

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Speaker 4: the point of attack. I think Gabe is better defensively

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Speaker 4: than some people have given him credit for, at least

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Speaker 4: when I see them discussing his role, but you know,

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Speaker 4: he's not Dennis.

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Speaker 3: And then I think Vando.

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Speaker 4: I'm really interested to see what Vando's role is this season,

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Speaker 4: whether it's starting, coming off the bench, how many minutes

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Speaker 4: is it Just because as we saw in the playoffs,

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Speaker 4: teams were really able to scheme him off the floor,

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Speaker 4: and I think the jury's out with him where you know,

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Speaker 4: when you're game planning for the Lakers, you are going

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Speaker 4: to just completely ignore him and dare him to make

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Speaker 4: you pay. So, you know, I think, if I'm looking

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Speaker 4: at it, I think they probably need a little bit

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Speaker 4: more primitive defense. If we're talking about how they match

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Speaker 4: up with, say the Suns, it's a bit concerning. Like

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Speaker 4: let's just even if you throw Vando out there with

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Speaker 4: the projected starting group, like he takes probably KD, I

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Speaker 4: would assume, and then we were putting Austin on book

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Speaker 4: and then d Lo on Beal or you know.

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Speaker 3: Who's Lebron guard.

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Speaker 4: Like, I just think there's a lot of questions there

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Speaker 4: defensively for the Lakers, with how they match up with

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Speaker 4: teams like Phoenix and the Clippers and the Celtics, teams

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Speaker 4: with multiple scoring wings, and so I would be looking

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Speaker 4: to plug that hole. But I still think the shooting

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Speaker 4: is a big issue potentially as well, where on paper

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Speaker 4: it is better, but they were a bottom five three

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Speaker 4: point shooting team last year, So even if you go

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Speaker 4: from like twenty fifth to twenty eight.

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Speaker 3: That still might not be good enough.

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Speaker 4: I think you got to nudge up closer to fifteen twelve,

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Speaker 4: you know, try to crack the top ten if you can,

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Speaker 4: because historically that's kind of what we.

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Speaker 3: See with teams that win the championship.

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Speaker 4: So between it, I think they need to address both, honestly,

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Speaker 4: But if I had to pick one, I would lean defense.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I've been thinking about this NonStop all summer because you know,

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Speaker 2: the way I look at the Laker offseason was a

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Speaker 2: lot of people are missing the boat. Yeah, they didn't

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Speaker 2: get demonstrably better in terms of their ceiling, but they

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Speaker 2: did get deeper at a bunch of key positions, which

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Speaker 2: will help them in the dregs of the regular season,

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Speaker 2: particularly with Lebron and Anthony Davis inevitably missing forty to

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Speaker 2: fifty games between the two of them. Right, So I

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Speaker 2: like the offseason from that perspective, But that top end

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Speaker 2: improvement did not take place in this particular offseason unless

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Speaker 2: there's some gigantic leap from a player like Rui or

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Speaker 2: a player like you know, a player like Christian Wood

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Speaker 2: for instance, or something along those lines. So like, I

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Speaker 2: don't really see that move there and so in when

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Speaker 2: I look at the the guys at the top of

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Speaker 2: the league, you almost have to look at it from

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Speaker 2: the stand point if you can't try to play them

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Speaker 2: at their game when you're not as good at it.

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Speaker 2: So like, I don't like the idea of targeting a

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Speaker 2: shot maker unless it's somebody the caliber of Kyrie Irving,

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Speaker 2: which is highly unlikely. Right, So Like, if it's someone

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Speaker 2: like Kyrie, then you look at it like, yeah, we

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Speaker 2: can go shot making toe for tow with toe to

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Speaker 2: toe with some of the best teams in the league.

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Speaker 2: But if it's anybody kind of below that tier, if

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Speaker 2: you want to get in a shot making contest with

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Speaker 2: the best teams in the league, you're just gonna lose.

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Speaker 2: is yours. So like what I like about going in

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Speaker 2: on a perimeter defender that's more functionally fitting with the starters,

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Speaker 2: is like a high caliber role player at the two

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Speaker 2: or three is in that predicament. You can lean in

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Speaker 2: on the thing that your best at, which is the

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Speaker 2: defensive end of the floor. And there's no chance if

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Speaker 2: you get a high level, above average perimeter defender that

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Speaker 2: can function offensively. If you get a player like that Phoenix, Denver, Boston, Milwaukee,

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Speaker 2: they're not gonna be able to hang with you defensively.

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Speaker 2: Not with Anthony Davis as the best defensive player in

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Speaker 2: the world on the front line, and what you have

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Speaker 2: in Jared Vanderbilt and Lebron's you know, and Lebron's engaged

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Speaker 2: defensively the type of high IQ help defender that he

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Speaker 2: can be. Now, obviously that's a trade deadline issue. So

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Speaker 2: looking at like the meat and potatoes of the season,

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Speaker 2: you know, you and I had a conversation earlier this

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Speaker 2: week and you made a point that I think was

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Speaker 2: really interesting and I want you to kind of expound

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Speaker 2: upon it a little bit. You had mentioned the idea

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Speaker 2: of kind of pairing D'Angelo Russell with Jared Vanderbilt and

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Speaker 2: Ruey Hotchi Mura with Gabe Vincent, and I think it's

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Speaker 2: really smart because Vanderbilt is this you know, kind of

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Speaker 2: second tier maybe top tier perimeter defender and then Ruy

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Speaker 2: Hachimura can struggle with that, but gave Vincent's clearly a

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Speaker 2: much better point of attack defender than D'Angelo Russell. So

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Speaker 2: can you, like, do you do you think those pairings

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Speaker 2: are going to have to stay together or do you

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Speaker 2: think that Darvin Ham's going to go with somebody different

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Speaker 2: in that three spot? Like after this four week, four

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Speaker 2: days of practice, is there any intel on who's in

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Speaker 2: the lead to get that three spot with the perimeter

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Speaker 2: defense issue, Yeah, I.

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Speaker 4: Mean it's been the talk of camp like that. That's

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Speaker 4: the one question the Lakers have right now is who

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Speaker 4: is the fit starter and specific who is the starting

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Speaker 4: small forward.

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Speaker 3: Unless they throw a wild card in.

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Speaker 4: And I know Jackson Hayes did some scrimmaging with eighty

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Speaker 4: the first couple of days as a five to four tandem,

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Speaker 4: and eighty spoke about that today at practice. But from

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Speaker 4: my understanding, it's been a competition between Ruy Van do

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Speaker 4: Oh and Tornyan Prince Tory Prince being a dark Corse

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Speaker 4: just because of his three point shooting, and I would

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Speaker 4: say around average defensively, not going to kill you on

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Speaker 4: that end, but not necessarily a plus the way that

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Speaker 4: a Vando is or a Ruie can be, you know,

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Speaker 4: potentially in bigger matchups, as we saw him defending Jokic

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Speaker 4: in the playoffs. But I think, you know, those tandems

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Speaker 4: make the most sense. So with Delo starting, it feels

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Speaker 4: like Vando's getting the edge a bit in camp so far.

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Speaker 4: I know that that first day, which is theoretically I

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Speaker 4: mean first day of camp, like that's the first thing

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Speaker 4: you want to see, Vando was the primary guy with

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Speaker 4: the starting group, so I want to give him the

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Speaker 4: slight edge right now. But everything I've been hearing entering

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Speaker 4: camp was that Rui was the favorite. So it feels

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Speaker 4: like there's some mixed messaging going on right now. Maybe

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Speaker 4: the Lakers are trying to just play at Koy and

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Speaker 4: they don't want us to know yet, But everything I've

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Speaker 4: been hearing, for whatever reason, it's I mean, it's the

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Speaker 4: preseason and people are going to see it in Denver

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Speaker 4: on opening night. I don't think it really dramatically shifts things.

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Speaker 4: But to your point, I think they should try and

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Speaker 4: keep those pairings together, and that's where I see it potentially,

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Speaker 4: as you start Dlo and Van do Oh, but you

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Speaker 4: end up closing with Gabe and Ruey, similar to the playoffs,

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Speaker 4: where for those first couple of series it was a

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Speaker 4: lot of Delo starting alongside vand Oh, and then when

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Speaker 4: it came to crunch time, it was Dennis and Ruey

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Speaker 4: closing games, and that ended up being the Lakers' best

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Speaker 4: lineup was that they're big three with Dennis and Ruey.

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Speaker 4: I could see it being similar with Ruey and Gabe.

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Speaker 4: So that's how I kind of see that breaking down. Personally,

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Speaker 4: I would start RUI. I think that each of the

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Speaker 4: three small forward options has clear strengths, but they also

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Speaker 4: have clear weaknesses. And to me, Ruy is the best

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Speaker 4: blend between offense and defense. And I know he's not

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Speaker 4: the perimeter defender that Vando is, but I just think

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Speaker 4: starting Vando comes with so much risk offensively of you know,

434
00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:24,960
Speaker 4: we saw him working on his corner.

435
00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:26,000
Speaker 3: Three's today after practice.

436
00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,480
Speaker 4: Was I would say shooting in the thirty percent based

437
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,840
Speaker 4: on what I saw. I didn't see all of them,

438
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:37,280
Speaker 4: but was not shooting great, I would say, And you know,

439
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,920
Speaker 4: I think that's just a concern of can this guy

440
00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:42,199
Speaker 4: be our full time starter? Like I look at it,

441
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,320
Speaker 4: as if you start Vando in the regular season, that

442
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,560
Speaker 4: is a temporary measure. One come playoff time, he's probably

443
00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:49,960
Speaker 4: gonna have to move to the bench and be more

444
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,320
Speaker 4: like a twelve to fifteen minute a night guy. So

445
00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,119
Speaker 4: I don't see the point in having a different starting

446
00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,359
Speaker 4: lineup in the regular season versus the playoffs. I know

447
00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,840
Speaker 4: you have to make adjustments, but for me, Rui is

448
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,040
Speaker 4: the best of those three players. He's getting paid the

449
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,000
Speaker 4: most of those three players, and I think he offers

450
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:05,880
Speaker 4: you the best blend of offense and defense.

451
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,240
Speaker 2: Has there been any buzz surrounding Torrian Prince because I

452
00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:12,879
Speaker 2: look at him as you know when you look at

453
00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:18,120
Speaker 2: those three forwards buy functionally on offense kind of can

454
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:19,720
Speaker 2: play the three because he can shoot well and he

455
00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:23,400
Speaker 2: can attack closeouts, but he can also kind of mismatch

456
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:25,959
Speaker 2: attack a little bit in the post. But defensively, he's

457
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:27,920
Speaker 2: clearly a four, like he's got a great screen navigator.

458
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:29,560
Speaker 2: He's more of a guy that can switch and guard

459
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,720
Speaker 2: bigger players. And then Vanderbilt defends like a three, but

460
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,240
Speaker 2: offensively is like a four. But Torrian to me, is

461
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,080
Speaker 2: like that best mix of like perimeter defense at the

462
00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:40,800
Speaker 2: wing and perimeter offense at the wing. Does he have

463
00:22:41,040 --> 00:22:43,600
Speaker 2: any chance to crack into this conversation or is he

464
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:45,920
Speaker 2: kind of, like clearly the third guy in that tier.

465
00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:48,520
Speaker 4: I think he has a chance. I would put him

466
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:50,600
Speaker 4: third right now. I think it's gonna be Ruy or

467
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:55,440
Speaker 4: Vando ultimately starting. But Torrian got a shot on day

468
00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,960
Speaker 4: two as the primary guy with the starting group I've

469
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,240
Speaker 4: been told. So he's been in the mix, and again

470
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,040
Speaker 4: he's by far the best shooter you know, almost a

471
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:06,720
Speaker 4: career forty percent three point shooter.

472
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:07,080
Speaker 3: Ruey.

473
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,400
Speaker 4: We'll see if he can translate his playoff success into

474
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:11,960
Speaker 4: the regular season. But he was a guy who shot

475
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,359
Speaker 4: twenty nine percent with the Lakers after the trade deadline,

476
00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,320
Speaker 4: then that bumped up to just over forty eight percent

477
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:22,800
Speaker 4: in the postseason. So Torian offers clear value as a shooter.

478
00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:25,520
Speaker 4: I just don't know if I don't know if there's

479
00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,240
Speaker 4: a big gap between, say, trying to make him your

480
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:30,959
Speaker 4: primary wing defender and trying to make Ruey your primary

481
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:31,520
Speaker 4: wing defender.

482
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:32,760
Speaker 3: Like Ruy, he.

483
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,040
Speaker 4: Said he hasn't slimmed down. He looks slimmer, he looks

484
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:38,560
Speaker 4: more athletic. We've seen some of those scrimmaging clips that

485
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,439
Speaker 4: the Lakers Social team has posted. He's taking guys off

486
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,359
Speaker 4: the dribble and dunking and attacking the rim with force.

487
00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:48,200
Speaker 4: So I think Ruey again is the best of the three.

488
00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,159
Speaker 4: And you know, like I would say, I've talked to

489
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:53,440
Speaker 4: some people at the team that are like, why don't

490
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:55,720
Speaker 4: you just go matchup based and why don't we have

491
00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,520
Speaker 4: a revolving starting lineup where some games, you know, if

492
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,960
Speaker 4: you need the perimeter defense for a certain matchup, go

493
00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,840
Speaker 4: Vando if you need, you know, like I think against Denver,

494
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,720
Speaker 4: Rui makes more sense like that for opening Night, you

495
00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:11,480
Speaker 4: put Ruey on Jokich and then you have ad As

496
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,160
Speaker 4: you know, roaming and helping on the back line, whereas Vando,

497
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,440
Speaker 4: I think it's gonna be a similar thing where they

498
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,840
Speaker 4: just completely ignore him and he kind of isn't doesn't

499
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,000
Speaker 4: really have a clear guy to defend, Like I don't

500
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,679
Speaker 4: think Murray is a great matchup for him. So we'll see,

501
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,680
Speaker 4: you know, again, all the intel I'd gotten before camp

502
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,960
Speaker 4: was Ruey. Seems like since campus started they've been leaning

503
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,040
Speaker 4: a little bit more towards Vando. But we're not really

504
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,119
Speaker 4: gonna know until the end of preseason. That's what Darvin

505
00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:40,000
Speaker 4: said of one we'll actually see the full rotation will

506
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 4: probably be either the second to last preseason game or

507
00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:43,160
Speaker 4: the final one.

508
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,199
Speaker 2: Well really looks great, and like, like I think it

509
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,040
Speaker 2: was this the spin move Donc. I think was against

510
00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,159
Speaker 2: Maxwell Lewis where he kind of like bumped him off

511
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:51,720
Speaker 2: and then spun and then went up off one leg.

512
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,840
Speaker 2: He made Max look really small on that play, which

513
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,200
Speaker 2: is another one of those things that makes me realize, like, okay,

514
00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,719
Speaker 2: like Maxwell Lewis is what six ' seven and probably

515
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,239
Speaker 2: two twenty two fifteen like, and he just made him

516
00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:04,400
Speaker 2: literally look like a child next to him. Like that's

517
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,679
Speaker 2: how big and strong Rui can be. I think Rui's

518
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,280
Speaker 2: clearly the best player to put in that spot. It's

519
00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,359
Speaker 2: more just it causes you to have some issues in

520
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:16,280
Speaker 2: terms of your defensive configuration based on matchups. Like I

521
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,359
Speaker 2: think you might have to consider doing more switching because

522
00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:22,240
Speaker 2: of lebron Ad and Rui and their ability to kind

523
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,320
Speaker 2: of guard multiple positions on that back line. And honestly

524
00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 2: liked Angela Russell's pretty big and strong too, and like

525
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:31,800
Speaker 2: I like, maybe you don't trust him navigating screens super well,

526
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:33,760
Speaker 2: but maybe he can slide his feet on defense and

527
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:35,440
Speaker 2: force someone to shoot over the top, you know, or

528
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,280
Speaker 2: something along those lines. But again, they're gonna have to experiment,

529
00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:42,000
Speaker 2: and your idea about the matchup specific starting lineup is

530
00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:44,639
Speaker 2: perfectly fine. I think the only real downside there is

531
00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:46,840
Speaker 2: there is something to be said about, you know, the

532
00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,119
Speaker 2: chemistry and continuity that can be gained by giving a

533
00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,679
Speaker 2: lineup a specific lineup a ton of repetition. But the

534
00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:54,760
Speaker 2: reality is is over the course of the season, one

535
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:57,040
Speaker 2: of those guys will separate themselves and it will just

536
00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,640
Speaker 2: make more sense to have them start on any spacecific game.

537
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,760
Speaker 2: How much do you view ades jump shot as like

538
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:06,919
Speaker 2: a swing factor in this particular season.

539
00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,000
Speaker 4: I think it's arguably the biggest swing factor of this season,

540
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,879
Speaker 4: aside from health, which is a big swing factor with

541
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,280
Speaker 4: this group, especially with Lebron and Ad. But to me,

542
00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,679
Speaker 4: I mean, as you were saying earlier, eight shot making,

543
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,600
Speaker 4: to me, what was arguably the key of that bubble run,

544
00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:27,320
Speaker 4: Like you just couldn't guard the guy when you have

545
00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:30,040
Speaker 4: to guard him out to eighteen twenty twenty four feet,

546
00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:31,800
Speaker 4: that just that unlocks.

547
00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:35,159
Speaker 3: It is dribble drive game, his face up game like that.

548
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:38,480
Speaker 4: There's just so many elements that it improves the spacing,

549
00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:39,960
Speaker 4: and that to me is going to be the key.

550
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:42,800
Speaker 4: I was speaking with someone from the team earlier this

551
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,359
Speaker 4: week of and they kind of brought up like, you know,

552
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,480
Speaker 4: I know you're skeptical of the two big lineups, and

553
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:50,280
Speaker 4: we were kind of talking through it, and I was like,

554
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,399
Speaker 4: to me, it's going to come down to a D

555
00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,920
Speaker 4: shooting and eight like you, Yes, Christian Wood obviously is

556
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,600
Speaker 4: a above average three point shooter, and I think he's

557
00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,720
Speaker 4: going to provide some nice pay can pop options and

558
00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,560
Speaker 4: you know, catch and shoot thread and all that stuff.

559
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,200
Speaker 4: But it really has to be especially when he's playing

560
00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,679
Speaker 4: with Jackson Hayes, it has to be a dy to

561
00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:12,400
Speaker 4: some extent spacing the floor and keeping defenses.

562
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:12,760
Speaker 3: Honest.

563
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,440
Speaker 4: So, uh, for me, what when we because really going

564
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,560
Speaker 4: back to the playoff run, Like as you said, I

565
00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,560
Speaker 4: think that the Lakers shot making and crunch time was

566
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:24,879
Speaker 4: an issue really throughout the playoffs, and you know that

567
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:28,560
Speaker 4: they did win several close games, but to me, it

568
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:30,960
Speaker 4: was just like when the Lakers would lose last season,

569
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,840
Speaker 4: a lot of it came down to their crunch time

570
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,359
Speaker 4: offense just stalling. They're dribbling out the clock and then

571
00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,160
Speaker 4: they're going to run some type of ISO for Lebron

572
00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,720
Speaker 4: or a D and then you know there They'll occasionally

573
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,480
Speaker 4: make it, but a lot of the times they're gonna miss.

574
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:47,080
Speaker 4: And uh, that would be kind of the blueprint for

575
00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,119
Speaker 4: how the Lakers offense would crater in crunch time. So

576
00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,520
Speaker 4: for me, if Ad can get back to doesn't even

577
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:54,920
Speaker 4: have to be thirty three percent on three and a half,

578
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 4: three is a game. But if you can get to

579
00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,240
Speaker 4: I mean thirty two, thirty three percent, maybe fewer attempts

580
00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:02,960
Speaker 4: and you know, bump up his mid range accuracy, bump

581
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:05,600
Speaker 4: up his mid range attempts like that is something that

582
00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,080
Speaker 4: I think is a vital development for their offense. If not,

583
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 4: then I feel like he just kind of has to

584
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:13,119
Speaker 4: play the five. Like I think, if Ad is not

585
00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,560
Speaker 4: spacing the floor, you have another guy in Jackson Hayes

586
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:18,159
Speaker 4: probably not spacing the floor. And then Christian Wood, I

587
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,600
Speaker 4: don't think, just wants to be a spot up shooter

588
00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:21,200
Speaker 4: all the time.

589
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:23,399
Speaker 3: Like I just don't see how it works.

590
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:27,600
Speaker 4: So to me, eighty shot is arguably the key to

591
00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:30,120
Speaker 4: the playoff offense and then also the key to making

592
00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:31,440
Speaker 4: some of these two big lineups work.

593
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:34,040
Speaker 2: I have one hundred percent agree with you. I think

594
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:37,159
Speaker 2: it is literally the most important thing this season, and

595
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,240
Speaker 2: I think of it on three specific levels. One just

596
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,560
Speaker 2: over the course of the game getting easier points every

597
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,600
Speaker 2: once in a while, Like if Ad can just pick

598
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:48,840
Speaker 2: and pop and take four nineteen footers, you know, off

599
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,400
Speaker 2: the catch in the short role and he makes you know,

600
00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:53,080
Speaker 2: one or two of them, that's an extra two to

601
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:55,440
Speaker 2: four points a game there that he can get just

602
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,960
Speaker 2: kind of bolstering his offense. Then, like specific coverages can

603
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:04,040
Speaker 2: become a problem too, so like eighty's floater is enough

604
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,600
Speaker 2: of a perimeter shot in normal pick and roll coverages,

605
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,360
Speaker 2: like against a drop coverage, if Lebron can get downhill,

606
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:12,760
Speaker 2: or if d Lo can get downhill and hit Ad

607
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:14,880
Speaker 2: around ten feet and he could take that little pop shot,

608
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 2: it's fine. But what ends up happening is they do

609
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,240
Speaker 2: end up switching more towards the later portions of games,

610
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:23,000
Speaker 2: and it does turn into a Lebron ISO from the perimeter,

611
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,960
Speaker 2: maybe in Austin Reeves io from the perimeter, and on

612
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,760
Speaker 2: those possessions when Ad can't function as a spacing threat

613
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,240
Speaker 2: off the ball, it becomes an issue, especially when Jared

614
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:36,320
Speaker 2: Vanderbilt is out there. It's funny we put a lot

615
00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,400
Speaker 2: of it on Jared Vanderbilt, but most lineups in the

616
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,440
Speaker 2: NBA have a non shooter out there. It's a common

617
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,840
Speaker 2: thing that you'll see around the NBA. You've got to like,

618
00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,600
Speaker 2: the Nuggets basically won a championship like that with Aaron

619
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,760
Speaker 2: Gordon out there last year, the Warriors the year before,

620
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:52,200
Speaker 2: Draymond Green and Cavon Looney. It's a typical problem. It's

621
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:55,200
Speaker 2: when you cross like that threshold to where there's nowhere

622
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,280
Speaker 2: near enough shooting in the lineup in total, when Lebron

623
00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:00,880
Speaker 2: and ad are broke and you're trying to run Jared

624
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:02,880
Speaker 2: Vanderbilt out there, Yeah, it can be a problem. And

625
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,320
Speaker 2: so like you buy yourself so much more margin for

626
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:09,520
Speaker 2: air in those specific situations when the actual stars of

627
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 2: the team can make a damn jump shot. And then lastly,

628
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,840
Speaker 2: it's rescue possessions. Like you call it crunch time, one

629
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,320
Speaker 2: hundred percent agree, Like, it's not just crunch time, it's

630
00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:19,680
Speaker 2: also the three or four possessions during the game when

631
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:21,200
Speaker 2: you have four seconds on the shot clock and someone

632
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,320
Speaker 2: has to jack a shot up. But like, it makes

633
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:25,520
Speaker 2: a big difference when you can occasionally make one of those.

634
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:27,920
Speaker 2: It's funny because like the Lebron crunch time offense thing

635
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,000
Speaker 2: has kind of been the same forever. It's like, let's

636
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,760
Speaker 2: pretend there's five clutch possessions at the end of the game.

637
00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,880
Speaker 2: Lebron will take like four step back threes and he'll

638
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 2: make like one of them, you know, and then like

639
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,400
Speaker 2: he'll have that one possession where he physically bullies his

640
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,280
Speaker 2: way to the rim and gets a bucket. That's five

641
00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,480
Speaker 2: points in five possessions. That's fine when the Lakers are defending.

642
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,480
Speaker 2: The problem is this last year, as Lebron missed all

643
00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,200
Speaker 2: four of those threes, like every single game he couldn't

644
00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:52,720
Speaker 2: make a damn three, and so like they actually crater

645
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,600
Speaker 2: down below kind of like the minimum allowable amount of

646
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:58,760
Speaker 2: jump shooting in the lineup, and so it is on

647
00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:03,920
Speaker 2: both of them the thing that too, and oh god, yeah,

648
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,480
Speaker 2: like literally so like it was, it was, it was

649
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:09,880
Speaker 2: completely untenable, right, So, like it's one of those things

650
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,440
Speaker 2: where honestly, Lebron gets guarded like a jump shooter even

651
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,320
Speaker 2: when he can't shoot. So it's I'm less worried about him,

652
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,040
Speaker 2: and he's just so good at finding ways to be

653
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,120
Speaker 2: good and impactful offensively even when he's not making shots.

654
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,080
Speaker 2: But with Anthony Davis in particular, especially with how much

655
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,320
Speaker 2: we uh like we see guys like Austin Reeves run

656
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:30,680
Speaker 2: the offense or Dangela Russell run the offense or Lebron

657
00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:33,120
Speaker 2: run the offense in those predicaments, he needs to be

658
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:34,920
Speaker 2: able to make a shot. I think it's I think

659
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,920
Speaker 2: it's vitally important to the success of this team, especially

660
00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:40,640
Speaker 2: when we get into slow down playoff environments. Again, like

661
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:45,240
Speaker 2: they have this defensive punch, and that defensive punch can

662
00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:47,440
Speaker 2: put them over the top, but not if they get

663
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:49,760
Speaker 2: their ass kicked in every other area of the game.

664
00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:53,560
Speaker 2: It's it's vitally and it's vitally important. Where do you

665
00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:58,360
Speaker 2: see where do you see the the Lakers stacking up

666
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,720
Speaker 2: right now? Among get it, Like, I think there's six

667
00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:03,520
Speaker 2: teams at the top of the league. I'd say it's

668
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:06,800
Speaker 2: the Warriors, the Lakers, the Suns, and the Nuggets, and

669
00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:08,840
Speaker 2: then the Bucks and the Celtics. And I think the

670
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,280
Speaker 2: Warriors are clearly at the bottom of that tier. And

671
00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:13,240
Speaker 2: really the only reason I have them on that tier

672
00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,040
Speaker 2: is out of respect for the fact that they have

673
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,160
Speaker 2: the same five guys in the starting lineup that won

674
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,080
Speaker 2: the title literally, like you know, sixteen months ago or whatever,

675
00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,680
Speaker 2: So like it's a respect nod to them, but they'd

676
00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,000
Speaker 2: be underdogs against every single one of the teams above

677
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:27,440
Speaker 2: them in a playoff series. Where do you put the

678
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,479
Speaker 2: Lakers stacked up with those other five teams?

679
00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:34,040
Speaker 4: I have them fifth and third in the West, fifth

680
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:39,080
Speaker 4: overall behind Denver, Phoenix, Milwaukee, and Boston. I would say

681
00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:47,160
Speaker 4: that the Dame and Drew additions for Milwaukee and Boston, respectively,

682
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:51,320
Speaker 4: have also altered my perception of things a little bit

683
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:53,640
Speaker 4: where I think you could have made a case the

684
00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:57,520
Speaker 4: Lakers were above maybe one or both, and now it's

685
00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:01,400
Speaker 4: me they're clearly behind both. But I know we have

686
00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:05,720
Speaker 4: a disagreement on Phoenix and Phoenix versus LA. But for me,

687
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:10,080
Speaker 4: I just look at I think those four teams I

688
00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:14,320
Speaker 4: trust their playoff offenses a little bit more than the Lakers.

689
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 4: I mean Denver, of course, reigning champs. We just saw

690
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,360
Speaker 4: the run that they went on Phoenix. I think sometimes

691
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:24,760
Speaker 4: we overthink the fit of star trios, and to me,

692
00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:27,160
Speaker 4: all three guys can play on and off the ball.

693
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,440
Speaker 4: All three guys are plus shooters. I think they're going

694
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,200
Speaker 4: to have an insane offensive rating when those three play together,

695
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,360
Speaker 4: and you have multiple types of guys that you can

696
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:35,960
Speaker 4: plug in there.

697
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:37,400
Speaker 3: You can go big, you can go small.

698
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:40,960
Speaker 4: They don't have a traditional point guard, but I'm fine

699
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:42,640
Speaker 4: with that if I have Kevin Durant and Devin book

700
00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:46,800
Speaker 4: Are running my offense personally. And then looking at Milwaukee,

701
00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,280
Speaker 4: like I mean, Giannis Dame pick and roll is going

702
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:51,200
Speaker 4: to be maybe the best pick and roll in the league.

703
00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:55,080
Speaker 4: And then you have Boston, where I think Kris aps

704
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,120
Speaker 4: Porzingis gives them an interior element that they haven't had.

705
00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:00,800
Speaker 4: He just led the league in terms of post up

706
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,920
Speaker 4: points per possession. Then I think Drew Holiday being a

707
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,759
Speaker 4: third or fourth option is much more appropriate slotting for

708
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,080
Speaker 4: his skill set and what you want from him at

709
00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:13,080
Speaker 4: this stage of his career. So I just look at

710
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:15,839
Speaker 4: you know, I think Boston is you know, that top

711
00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:18,480
Speaker 4: six to me's probably the best top six in the NBA.

712
00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:22,080
Speaker 4: Denver's coming off a championship, Phoenix to me as the

713
00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:26,200
Speaker 4: best trio in the NBA in my opinion, and then Milwaukee,

714
00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:30,920
Speaker 4: Damon and Giannis two top eleven twelve guys, Like I

715
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:33,200
Speaker 4: don't know. It's close. Like, I think you can make

716
00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:35,280
Speaker 4: the case for the Lakers. I also think the Lakers

717
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,440
Speaker 4: are gonna make a move at the trade deadline.

718
00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:38,360
Speaker 3: I think they are.

719
00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:40,839
Speaker 4: One move away from the final roster, so once that

720
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,319
Speaker 4: move happens, I could easily see them jumping up to

721
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,560
Speaker 4: four to third, maybe even second on this list.

722
00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:51,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're in a similar wavelength. I'd put the Lakers

723
00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:54,400
Speaker 2: over the Suns just because I'm really concerned about the

724
00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:56,400
Speaker 2: Suns and their commitment to the dirty work and the

725
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,520
Speaker 2: specific elements they're gonna have to thrive in. I think

726
00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:01,640
Speaker 2: there's gonna be a little bit of an example of

727
00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,239
Speaker 2: diminishing returns with the Suns. Like I love Bradley Beal,

728
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:06,560
Speaker 2: and I'm with you in terms of in a vacuum,

729
00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:09,719
Speaker 2: that trio is just so insanely talented. But the reality

730
00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:12,799
Speaker 2: is is that you know, when when you put the

731
00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:15,759
Speaker 2: three of them together, one of them almost always is

732
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:18,680
Speaker 2: going to be out of rhythm or primarily off the ball,

733
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,720
Speaker 2: and there's usually that's a type of player that thrives

734
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:25,200
Speaker 2: and catch and shoot situations and can attack close outs,

735
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,040
Speaker 2: but is a guy who devotes his energy and effort

736
00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:30,319
Speaker 2: to the little things as a cutter or on the

737
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:32,480
Speaker 2: defensive end. And I just I'm not sure that there's

738
00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:34,520
Speaker 2: a guy on the Sun's roster that's willing to embrace

739
00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:36,400
Speaker 2: That could completely change my mind about that when I

740
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:38,279
Speaker 2: see them start playing. So we'll see when we get

741
00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,799
Speaker 2: to that point. As far as the guys above them,

742
00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:44,640
Speaker 2: I don't think they have a case over anybody, like

743
00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:46,960
Speaker 2: like they could beat Denver. I don't think they can't

744
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,640
Speaker 2: beat Denver. I just think they have to play like

745
00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:51,000
Speaker 2: almost a perfect series, and judging on what we saw

746
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:52,960
Speaker 2: last year, kind of feels like a long shot.

747
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:53,759
Speaker 3: But I agree with you.

748
00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:56,359
Speaker 2: I think I think that the front office has done

749
00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,000
Speaker 2: a really nice job but positioning themselves to make the

750
00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:02,600
Speaker 2: one big trade that could potentially push them over the top.

751
00:36:02,719 --> 00:36:04,160
Speaker 2: All right, I have one last question before we get

752
00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 2: out of here. Who is the breakout player on this

753
00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,479
Speaker 2: year's team. So obviously, if we go back to twenty

754
00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:13,160
Speaker 2: twenty one, we have, you know, Alex Caruso coming off

755
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:15,320
Speaker 2: of starting in the NBA Finals, he shoots forty percent

756
00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,600
Speaker 2: from three. Kyle Kuzma kind of becomes this really gifted

757
00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:22,000
Speaker 2: help defender shoots his best percentage from three as a

758
00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:25,759
Speaker 2: Laker and kind of gets the recognition that gets him

759
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,720
Speaker 2: the long term deal in the future. Obviously, Malik Monk

760
00:36:28,719 --> 00:36:31,160
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty two is a veteran minimum guy who

761
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,600
Speaker 2: popped in a big way Austin Reeves last year. Obviously

762
00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:37,440
Speaker 2: becomes way better than anybody really expected him to become.

763
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,080
Speaker 2: Who's that guy in twenty twenty four, Who's the guy

764
00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,480
Speaker 2: that the scouting department found that no one values enough

765
00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:45,160
Speaker 2: and that's going to blow everybody away when we start

766
00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:46,600
Speaker 2: playing basketball.

767
00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:51,360
Speaker 4: Ex Christy, give me all the Max Christie stock. Jackson

768
00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:53,120
Speaker 4: Hayes was at I mean, it's kind of been the

769
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,320
Speaker 4: common question we've at this point spoken with every player

770
00:36:56,360 --> 00:37:00,120
Speaker 4: on the team this week, and the one common questions

771
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,200
Speaker 4: always who stood out in scrimmaging, Like who's impressed you?

772
00:37:03,239 --> 00:37:04,120
Speaker 3: Who surprised you?

773
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:08,399
Speaker 4: And Jackson Hayes immediately went to Max Christie, like Max

774
00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,359
Speaker 4: Christie is a dog. Jackson Hayes was there in summer Leak,

775
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:14,279
Speaker 4: so he saw the Max Christie breakout there, but he's

776
00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:18,799
Speaker 4: like seeing it up close and in person with the

777
00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:21,640
Speaker 4: scrimmaging and just the way that that there's the clip

778
00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:25,160
Speaker 4: of Max driving and finishing at the rim with an

779
00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:28,040
Speaker 4: and one. Like I think he just said today we

780
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,440
Speaker 4: spoke with him, he's put on about fifteen sixteen pounds

781
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:33,840
Speaker 4: of muscle since being drafted by the Lakers, and you

782
00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:36,560
Speaker 4: see it like he's just he's filled out a bit,

783
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:39,800
Speaker 4: and I think he's going to play that kind of

784
00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:41,120
Speaker 4: back up two three role.

785
00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:42,799
Speaker 3: And you know, I.

786
00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:45,359
Speaker 4: Look at it as like I would love to see

787
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,480
Speaker 4: an Austin Max backcourt. And you know, put in you

788
00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:51,120
Speaker 4: can put in Tory Prince there, you can put in Rui,

789
00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:53,480
Speaker 4: you can put in Vando, whoever at the three with

790
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:56,720
Speaker 4: Lebron and Ad. But just like those two guys together,

791
00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:01,160
Speaker 4: I think compliment each other with high basketball Q. You know,

792
00:38:01,239 --> 00:38:04,120
Speaker 4: Max can potentially be that perimeter defender. I thought last

793
00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:06,840
Speaker 4: year he was ahead of the curve in terms of

794
00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:10,040
Speaker 4: rookie defense. And I mean we're talking about like the

795
00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:12,439
Speaker 4: Lakers needing perimeter defense, like it could end up being

796
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:15,760
Speaker 4: Max Christie. I would not be surprised if, aside from Vando,

797
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:19,280
Speaker 4: he ends up being the best perimeter defender on this roster.

798
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:22,400
Speaker 4: So looking at that backup role of like, can he

799
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:25,239
Speaker 4: play fifteen to twenty minutes a night, potentially bump that

800
00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,520
Speaker 4: up to twenty to twenty five deeper in the season.

801
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:31,479
Speaker 4: But I think the ceiling for Max is like again

802
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:33,560
Speaker 4: kind of forcing, maybe not forcing his way to the

803
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:36,840
Speaker 4: starting conversation, because I think with Gabe and Dilo there,

804
00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:39,280
Speaker 4: it's gonna be tough to leap frog both of those guys.

805
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:40,600
Speaker 3: But he could potentially be.

806
00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:43,680
Speaker 4: A closing lock where the Lakers just go bigger on

807
00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:47,400
Speaker 4: the perimeter and say, you know, try and score against

808
00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:50,799
Speaker 4: Austin Max and Vando or Austin Max and Ruie and

809
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,160
Speaker 4: we're just gonna switch everything. We're gonna, you know, plague

810
00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:56,440
Speaker 4: a bunch of guys six or five and above, and

811
00:38:57,200 --> 00:38:59,480
Speaker 4: you know, use that to our advantage. So I look

812
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:01,680
Speaker 4: at Max is already he has the three and D

813
00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:04,200
Speaker 4: skill set, he showed that last year, but the on

814
00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:08,440
Speaker 4: ball shot creation he went to Austin Reeves University for foul.

815
00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:12,400
Speaker 3: Drawing, Like those are things that he didn't.

816
00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:14,880
Speaker 4: Necessarily have in his bag last year or wasn't comfortable

817
00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:18,320
Speaker 4: with at least, and if he's confident and comfortable similar

818
00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:19,880
Speaker 4: to Austin, I kind of look at it as a

819
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:22,399
Speaker 4: similar thing where like last year there were times Max

820
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:25,200
Speaker 4: would pass open and open shot and the coaching staff

821
00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:26,759
Speaker 4: will get on him and be like, you got to

822
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,680
Speaker 4: take that, like even if someone else is open, even

823
00:39:29,719 --> 00:39:31,879
Speaker 4: if you think there's a better look, like you need

824
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:34,120
Speaker 4: to take that corner three on the swing pass like,

825
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:36,640
Speaker 4: or you need to you know, pump, fake drive, make

826
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:40,520
Speaker 4: a move, do something. But play with aggression, play with assertiveness.

827
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:42,960
Speaker 4: And I think you started to see a little bit

828
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:44,879
Speaker 4: more of that last year, but ultimately he got phased

829
00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,520
Speaker 4: out of the rotation this year. To me, he's looking

830
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:49,600
Speaker 4: like the eighth or ninth man, and if he can

831
00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:52,600
Speaker 4: get real minutes and play with confidence, I think he

832
00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:54,760
Speaker 4: has a lot of upside within this rotation.

833
00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:59,319
Speaker 2: Yeah, I really liked the potential for Max because of

834
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:01,800
Speaker 2: his ability to function essentially.

835
00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:01,959
Speaker 3: As a two.

836
00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:05,360
Speaker 2: And I think a lot of people overthink this stuff

837
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:08,000
Speaker 2: from the standpoint of, you know, what they need to

838
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,800
Speaker 2: do offensively for the position, Like the twenty twenty Lakers

839
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:13,960
Speaker 2: a lot of times would start KCP or Danny Green

840
00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:15,640
Speaker 2: at the one, like it would be KCP and Danny

841
00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:17,520
Speaker 2: Green with Lebron a d and JaVale McGee. And it

842
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:19,960
Speaker 2: was because you know, from the same point of what

843
00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:24,600
Speaker 2: the offense was. Lebron functionally was the point guard, so

844
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:27,120
Speaker 2: they didn't need a point guard to be a point guard.

845
00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:29,600
Speaker 2: They needed a point guard to guard point guards. And

846
00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:32,319
Speaker 2: that's the thing is, like, there's a there's an opportunity

847
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,200
Speaker 2: on this team in the in the space of perimeter defense.

848
00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:39,480
Speaker 2: And like Max Christy could functionally operate as a two

849
00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:42,880
Speaker 2: and allow you to keep Ruey as the three because

850
00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:46,400
Speaker 2: of his ability to slide his feet, navigate screens and

851
00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,600
Speaker 2: back pressure. He's got that unique combination of quickness and

852
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:52,399
Speaker 2: tenacity and give a shit for lack of a better term,

853
00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:55,440
Speaker 2: but also has the length to bother players. Like in

854
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,719
Speaker 2: these drop coverages, you have to have the ability to

855
00:40:58,719 --> 00:41:01,400
Speaker 2: pressure from behind. You have to have the ability to,

856
00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:04,320
Speaker 2: like when you're getting over the top of the screen,

857
00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:07,960
Speaker 2: make the offensive player worried about pulling up because of

858
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,520
Speaker 2: your ability to create problems with back pressure. Like Dennis

859
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:13,839
Speaker 2: Schroeder is good of a point of attack defender as

860
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:16,960
Speaker 2: he is just Jamal Murry didn't even see him when

861
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:18,799
Speaker 2: he was rising up in these jump shots. He's too

862
00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:22,480
Speaker 2: small and so like I think he's a great example

863
00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:25,680
Speaker 2: of a player that could benefit from a roster need

864
00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:28,920
Speaker 2: and find an opportunity that otherwise you would never expect.

865
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:32,919
Speaker 2: A player of his age to find Jovan This was awesome, man.

866
00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:35,120
Speaker 2: Why don't you take a couple of minutes really quick

867
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:37,239
Speaker 2: just to tell us about what you've been working on

868
00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:41,480
Speaker 2: lately and how we can follow the team by following you.

869
00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:42,600
Speaker 3: Yeah.

870
00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:47,959
Speaker 4: Well, I've all my works at the Athletic you can read.

871
00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:50,640
Speaker 4: I've been writing these notebooks on kind of different topics

872
00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:54,960
Speaker 4: from camp on a daily basis. Bigger picture, I'm working

873
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:58,800
Speaker 4: on a Laker's Nugget story about the playoff series and

874
00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:01,640
Speaker 4: the Lakers feelings and what they've learned from that. I

875
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:04,160
Speaker 4: also have a Frank Vogel story that I'm working on

876
00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:07,560
Speaker 4: that I think Laker fans will be interested in. And

877
00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:13,360
Speaker 4: I'm documenting everything on social media, whether it's Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, shorts.

878
00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:16,720
Speaker 4: TikTok has kind of been more my bread and butter recently,

879
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:20,239
Speaker 4: but trying to take fans behind the scenes with what

880
00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:21,799
Speaker 4: it's like to be a reporter, what it's like to

881
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:25,000
Speaker 4: cover the team, just behind the scenes stuff, so you

882
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:29,680
Speaker 4: can follow all that at Jovon Bouja j Ova and Buha.

883
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:33,759
Speaker 2: Yeah, yovonn does incredible work. I just was reading his

884
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,880
Speaker 2: ten Biggest Storylines piece yesterday that was awesome. The social

885
00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:39,480
Speaker 2: media stuff he's doing, He's given you guys a lot

886
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:41,400
Speaker 2: of access. I highly recommend you guys follow him on

887
00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:44,200
Speaker 2: all platforms. Yovan, again, thanks for taking the time for

888
00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,319
Speaker 2: us today. We sincerely appreciate it and we will see

889
00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:46,879
Speaker 2: you next time.

890
00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:47,719
Speaker 3: Yes, sir, thank you.

891
00:42:47,800 --> 00:43:07,840
Speaker 1: Jason The Volume