1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: The volume Lakers Tonight is presented by FanDuel Sports Book. 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,719 Speaker 1: There's no better place to make every moment more than 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: with FanDuel. You get great odds in markets for the 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: NBA and a gel college, and so much more. It's 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: America's number one sports book. It's super easy to use. 6 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: Plus you can combine multiple bets from the same game 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: into a same game parlay. If you are new, just 8 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: download the fandel Sports Book app to get started. Now 9 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: sign up with promo code Jason T so they know 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:35,160 Speaker 1: I sent you twenty one plus in president Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, 11 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: permitted parishes only, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia 12 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: or West Virginia. First online real money wager only. Refund 13 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: issued as non withdrawable site credit that expires in fourteen days. 14 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: Restrictions apply see terms at sports book dot FanDuel dot com. 15 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: Gambling problem called one eight hundred, next step or text 16 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: next step to five three three four two in Arizona 17 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: one eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven 18 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: seven or visit CCPG dot org slash chat in Connecticut 19 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: one eight hundred gambler or visit FanDuel dot com slash 20 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: RG in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, in Virginia one eight 21 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: seven seven seven seven zero stop in Louisiana one eight 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: hundred to seven zero seven one one seven for confidential help. 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: In Michigan one eight seven seven eight Hope and Why 24 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: or text hope and Why to four six seven three 25 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: six nine in New York. In Tennessee redline dial one 26 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: eight hundred eight eight nine nine seven eight nine in Tennessee. 27 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: Visit www one dot one eight hundred gambler dot net 28 00:01:46,959 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: in West Virginia. All right, welcome to Lakers Tonight, presented 29 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: by FanDuel Here at the Volume, I am Jason Timp 30 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,959 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. I hope your guys weekends are off 31 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: to a good start. I'm not sure that I've ever 32 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: hated a basketball team as much as I've hated this 33 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:23,079 Speaker 1: Lakers team. There's something so off about the way they 34 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: approached the game that is offensive to all fans, and 35 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: I know all of you guys can relate to me 36 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: in that regard. We are going to break this game 37 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: down in its entirety. We are going to talk about 38 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 1: Lebron passing, Carl Malone and then if you guys stick 39 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: around at the end, we're gonna talk a little bit 40 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: about Steph Curry's injury, what that means for the Warriors 41 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: and the Minnesota Timberwolves have won ten of their last 42 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,239 Speaker 1: eleven games, and they've beat a bunch of really good teams. 43 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: So we're gonna dive into that and what that means 44 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,359 Speaker 1: and what I think of them in particular. But let's 45 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: start with the Lakers. You know, I've tweeted this or 46 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: said it on the podcast at least a half dozen 47 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: times this year, but this Lakers team is allergic to success. 48 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,119 Speaker 1: And what I mean by that is every time they 49 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: do something good and are handed some sort of reward 50 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: for their action, they immediately relax. They do not use 51 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: that as a motivation to keep pushing. They use it 52 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: as an excuse to pull their foot off the gas. 53 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: So they're up thirty six six at the end of 54 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: the first quarter. And the most important thing that I 55 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: noticed was defensive effort, but particularly at the point of attack. 56 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: Everybody was doing a good job sliding their feet, keeping 57 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: people in front, and then on every time they got 58 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: to stop, they forced people to shoot over the top. 59 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: This is a Wizard's team that's down a bunch of 60 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: bodies tonight, right. You know, Kyle Kuzma is out of 61 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: the game, Bradley Bills out for the season, so they're 62 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: limited offensively. So when they slide their feet and compete 63 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: on defense, they get stops. And then they started running 64 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: the other way in transition and getting all sorts of 65 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: easy baskets in the full court transition possessions. But in 66 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: the last three quarters of the game, everything that they 67 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:05,520 Speaker 1: did to build that ten point lead, everything that contributed 68 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: to their success, they stopped doing. They completely let their 69 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: foot off the gas. Defensively. They gave up a hundred 70 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: and one points in the final three quarters and as 71 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,480 Speaker 1: a result, they gave Washington a chance. And then at 72 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: the end of the game, when you give teams a chance, 73 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: it becomes a maker miss league. Lebron misses a wide 74 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: open three on the left wing, Christaps Porzingis makes a 75 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 1: three at the top of the key. You throw now 76 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: all of a sudden efforts not an issue because you 77 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: are playing hard in crunch time. But now those ugly habits. 78 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: I talked about this last night with Toronto, a sloppy 79 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: basketball team that has been sloppy l season will be 80 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: sloppy when they need to play solid basketball. It's it's 81 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,120 Speaker 1: those habits are not in place, and so even though 82 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: the effort is there, they're gonna make silly mistakes, and 83 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 1: they did. I talked a lot over the last week 84 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: about the way teams like Dallas have been using double 85 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: teams to compensate for their lack of side and they 86 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: have that down to a science. The Lakers do not 87 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 1: have that. So when the Wizards started going down to 88 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: Kristaps Porzingis and crunch time against Lebron and against Stanley 89 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: Johnson again, just by having some reasonable double and recover scheme, 90 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: they would be able to handle Christaps Porzingis. He's not 91 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,160 Speaker 1: a good enough player to kill you in a game 92 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: like that, But the Lakers aren't sharp in those areas 93 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: of the game. The Lakers are not a team that 94 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,599 Speaker 1: has established a scheme that that they have all of 95 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 1: the details ironed out. So when that happened, they couldn't 96 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: handle Kristaps Porzingis. They got killed by that mismatch. A 97 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:37,840 Speaker 1: couple of shots missed for you, A couple of shots 98 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 1: make for them game over. And that's what I'm talking about. 99 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 1: When I when I talk about this saying they're allergic 100 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: to success. If they understood how they got that ten 101 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: point lead in the first quarter, and they replicated it 102 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: for the second quarter, maybe you're up twenty five. Maybe 103 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: the dynamic of the game changes. You're replicated in the 104 00:05:56,320 --> 00:06:00,080 Speaker 1: third quarter, you're up thirty. Now Lebron sits out in 105 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,719 Speaker 1: the fourth quarter. Now it's we're having fun on the 106 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: sideline while the young guys are the bench players are 107 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: out on the floor doing their things. They are allergic 108 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: to success. They don't understand why they have good results 109 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: and why they have bad results. They haven't been able 110 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: to make that association. And because of that, they haven't 111 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: made the necessary efforts and the necessary steps to establish 112 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: those habits in order to actually have some consistent success 113 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 1: more than one quarter of things going well, more than 114 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: one quality win. What if the Lakers put together three 115 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: or four quality wins. We haven't seen that all season 116 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: because this team doesn't have the basketball character to do that. 117 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: Here in a few minutes, I'm gonna talk about what 118 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: this team could look like with Anthony Davis coming back. 119 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,800 Speaker 1: What is the best case scenario for this team? And 120 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: it has a lot to do with those habits. I'll 121 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:51,840 Speaker 1: get to that in a minute. I wanted to get 122 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: to Lebron because you know, in this complete travesty of 123 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: a season, he is one of the rare bright spots. 124 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: He is still playing arguably the best basketball of his 125 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 1: career and at least on the offensive end of the 126 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: floor in his nineteen season, which is absolutely amazing. You passed, 127 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: car I'm alone tonight. It's obviously a big moment. To me. 128 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: The most the most important element to Lebron's scoring longevity, 129 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: what got him to this point is the way he 130 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: developed as a jump shooter. It talked about this a lot, 131 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: uh the other night when he had fifty again talking 132 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: about his shot making ability. But it's pretty crazy to 133 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: see the transition that Lebron's underwent over the course of 134 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 1: this last decade. So we back up to two thousand thirteen, 135 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: so about nine years ago in the in in the 136 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: finals against Greg Popovich. Mind you, this is literally ten 137 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: years into his career. He is established in the heart 138 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 1: of his prime. He's a defending champion. He's got four 139 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: m vps at this point, so he's already like firmly 140 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: in the top ten players of all time. Hot on 141 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: MJ's heels with lots of years left, he's already established, 142 00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: but he had a glaring weakness. He wasn't a good 143 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: jump shooter, at least in the previous season, and even 144 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: throughout most of that series, Gregg Popovitch, playing off of 145 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: Lebron really messed with him. He didn't have He had 146 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: some proficiency with his jump shot that hadn't matched up 147 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: with his confidence in his jump shot, and so when 148 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: Gregg Popovitch did that, it got in Lebron's head a 149 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: little bit. And in the early portions of that series, 150 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: Lebron really struggled mentally with the coverage that Gregg Popovitch 151 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: was throwing at him. But he breaks through, right He 152 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:28,560 Speaker 1: breaks through in game six, in game seven, makes a 153 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: bunch of jump shots, particularly in Game seven. He makes 154 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: five threes in that game and the rest is history. 155 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,440 Speaker 1: Since that day, Lebron has been an incredible jump shooter 156 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: this season, coming into tonight, in his last seven games 157 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 1: now eight because he was four for ten again tonight, 158 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 1: So in his last eight games he's averaging over nine 159 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: three point shots per game attempted and making over them. 160 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,679 Speaker 1: So here we were halfway through his career well established 161 00:08:57,679 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: in the heat of his prime. He had a major 162 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 1: week this and here we are nine years later, and 163 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: he has not only rectified that weakness, but it's now 164 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: a strength. If you go into NBA dot Com and 165 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: you pull up all the three point shooters in the 166 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: league that are attempting at least seven threes per game, 167 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: there's like thirty guys in the league that are that 168 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: high volume three point shooting, and Lebron's right in the 169 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:24,559 Speaker 1: middle of the pack in terms of percentage, and he's 170 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: ahead of a lot of big name guys who that 171 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: you think of his three point shooters. That's what Lebron 172 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: has turned himself into. He is now a league average 173 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 1: high volume three point shooters. So I translate that to 174 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:40,319 Speaker 1: he's one of the better three point shooters in the league. 175 00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:44,079 Speaker 1: That is an incredible accomplishment for a player that already 176 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: had so much in his bag, that already had so many, 177 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,880 Speaker 1: so many things accomplished, and yet he just continued to 178 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,120 Speaker 1: adapt and continued to evolve. It's a testament to his 179 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: work ethic and it's the reason why he's here today, 180 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,839 Speaker 1: averaging thirty points per game in his nineteen season on 181 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,680 Speaker 1: over sixt tru shooting, passing Karl Malone and looking like 182 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: one of the best players in the world. That that's 183 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: what that took. As he's lost that little bit of athleticism. 184 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 1: He needed to adapt, he needed to evolve. It's like 185 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: the opposite of Russell Westbrook in so many different ways, 186 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: and it's been interesting to see. I remember back in 187 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: it was like either two thousand and sixteen or two 188 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: thousand and seventeen, Lebron had a bad jump shooting game 189 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: and one of a reporter asked him about it, and 190 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 1: Lebron flat out said to the reporter, I wish I 191 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: could remember more of the details, but he specifically said 192 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,200 Speaker 1: to the reporter, I'm not a jump shooter. That's not 193 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: what I do. That was his mentality kind of at 194 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:39,559 Speaker 1: that time, like he had worked to the point where 195 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: he could shoot well enough, but it wasn't you know, 196 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 1: was something that was his bread and butter. Now, I 197 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: bet you if you asked Lebron that same question, he 198 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 1: would pridefully answer that he believes he's a great shooter. 199 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: And that's that's where again, that's where the stubbornness has 200 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,079 Speaker 1: to fade away. Compare that type of approach to what 201 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,439 Speaker 1: you've seen from Russ. You need to as you get older, 202 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: be willing to read the writing on the wall, see 203 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: what's still working for you, see what's not working for 204 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 1: you anymore, to watch films, see where opportunities are. And 205 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,679 Speaker 1: I think Lebron understood that the easiest way for his 206 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 1: to him to extend his prime was to become a 207 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: better three point shooter, and he took advantage of that, 208 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: and that's why he's still where he is in the league. 209 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: At this point, you know you're gonna see a lot 210 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 1: of nefarious characters, people that have bad intentions tried to 211 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: undercut these statistical accomplishments from Lebron at this point in 212 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 1: his career, which for the record upfront is flat out 213 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: stupid and unfair, jealous. It's just ugly behavior from those people, 214 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 1: because the reality of the situation is Lebron has won 215 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: more championships than any player or franchise since he came 216 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,199 Speaker 1: into the league in two thousand three. He's been to 217 00:11:45,240 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: the finals ten times. His winning resume speaks for itself. 218 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:50,440 Speaker 1: If you want to try to pretend like he's not 219 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 1: all about that get out of here man like, for instance, 220 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:55,599 Speaker 1: he very easily could have sat out tonight on the 221 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: back of a back tail end of a back to 222 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: back and played in Cleveland and had this accomplishment in 223 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,440 Speaker 1: front of his home fans. Credit to Lebron for seeing 224 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: a winnable game on the resume or on the schedule 225 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 1: and thinking he had an opportunity to get his team 226 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: some buffer and the standings under the circumstance, especially with 227 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,680 Speaker 1: their schedule coming up. But like, what's so interesting about 228 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: it to me is if you remember after in two 229 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 1: thou seventeen when the Lake when the Calves won the 230 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 1: Eastern Conference. After the game, there was some footage in 231 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,320 Speaker 1: the locker room of him telling all of his teammates like, Hey, 232 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: this isn't guaranteed. Enjoy this moment, Enjoy the little victories. 233 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: And it's it's super interesting to me because Lebron is 234 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: a guy again who's been to the mountaintop more than anybody, 235 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:44,199 Speaker 1: any team, any coach, Andy GM and anybody right now 236 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: in this ere except for Greg Popovitch, I suppose, But 237 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: at this point, you know, uh, like it's easy to 238 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:57,240 Speaker 1: lose sight of the perspective of the fact that only 239 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:02,000 Speaker 1: one team can win an NBA championship and understand that 240 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: you're gonna go up to bat, you know, so many 241 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: times in your career, and you're not guaranteed to win 242 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,120 Speaker 1: it every time. So in those years when you don't, 243 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: you have to take time to appreciate and take time 244 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 1: to relax and kind of soak in the little accomplishments 245 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: along the way. That's always been one of Lebron's major philosophies, 246 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: and I think that's what he views with this accomplishment. 247 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,360 Speaker 1: He knows he's a winner. He knows anybody who's being 248 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: you know, objective about this, knows he's a winner. And 249 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:32,920 Speaker 1: he knows that this is a big deal. You know, Lebron. 250 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:34,960 Speaker 1: You could make the case that I said this in 251 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: the video I released earlier. You can make the case 252 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 1: that just his scoring is enough to put him in 253 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:42,680 Speaker 1: the goat conversation. You know, when you look at a 254 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: guy like MJ or Kobe, it's this two way dominant score, right, 255 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:47,839 Speaker 1: a guy who could score in a million different ways, 256 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,480 Speaker 1: especially in crunch time, and can guard the other team's 257 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: best player. Well, even if I just simplified Lebron's game 258 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,800 Speaker 1: down to that, his ability to do things defensively as 259 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,679 Speaker 1: a versatile perimeter defender, and his ability to score the basketball. 260 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: He's every bit as good at those things as the 261 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: all time greats. He's every bit as good at those 262 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,560 Speaker 1: things as Kobe, as MJ. That's what makes his goat 263 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: case so compelling, because he has so much more that 264 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 1: he brings to the table as a basketball player then 265 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 1: just those two things, and and and that's why I 266 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: think it's important to appreciate these accomplishments, to take that time. 267 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 1: You're not guaranteed Lebron next year. I expect the Lakers, 268 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: if health, health willing, I expect the Lakers to be 269 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,200 Speaker 1: very firmly in the top tier of contenders. I think 270 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: they learned a bunch of valuable lessons this year. I 271 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: think they're gonna approach the season way more seriously. I 272 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,600 Speaker 1: think they're gonna get more, They're gonna fix a lot 273 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: of the issues they made. They're gonna be relevant again 274 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: next year. The focus can be winning. And you know, 275 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: maybe when Anthony Davis gets back and they're in the 276 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: play and the focus can't be winning. But right now, 277 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: I understand and I respect the idea that you of 278 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 1: Lebron just taking advantage of the small victories and taking 279 00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: the time to appreciate. Start your bracket with a bang. 280 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,720 Speaker 1: Right now, Fandel sports Book is giving new customers a 281 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty dollar instant bonus guaranteed. That's right. 282 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: You'll get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus site 283 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: credit and all you have to do is place your 284 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 1: first bet of five dollars or more. How you bet 285 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: the bracket is up to you. You could choose from 286 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: the money line, totals, prop bets, and so much more. 287 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna be all over Arizona from Tucson. They have 288 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: NBA size and athleticism. I think their defense is going 289 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 1: to carry them. Plus with the cash out, the balls 290 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: in your court so you can close out your bet 291 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: whenever you want before the game is even over. Joined 292 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: FanDuel today with promo code Jason T. Then you can 293 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: place your five dollar bet to score one hundred and 294 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: fifty dollars in bonus site credit guaranteed. That's promo code 295 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: Jason T on the Fandel Sports Book app twenty one 296 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:56,320 Speaker 1: plus in president Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, permitted parishes only, Michigan, 297 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia or West Virginia. First 298 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: online real money wager only refund issued as non withdrawalable 299 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: site credit that expires in fourteen days. Restrictions apply. See 300 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: terms at sports book dot fan duel dot com. Gambling 301 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: problem called one eight hundred next step or text next 302 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:19,040 Speaker 1: step to five three three four two in Arizona one 303 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven 304 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:27,840 Speaker 1: or visit CCPG dot org slash chat in Connecticut one 305 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 1: eight hundred gambler or visit FanDuel dot com slash rg 306 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,280 Speaker 1: in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey. In Virginia one eight seven 307 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: seven seven seven zero stop in Louisiana one eight hundred 308 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: to seven zero seven one one seven for confidential help 309 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: in Michigan one eight seven seven eight hope and why 310 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: or text hope and why to four six seven three 311 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 1: six nine in New York. In tennessee redline dial one 312 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,520 Speaker 1: eight hundred eight eight nine nine I have an eight 313 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: nine In tennessee visit www one dot one eight hundred 314 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 1: gambler dot net in West Virginia that really quickly before 315 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:10,880 Speaker 1: we move on from the Lakers, I wanted to I've 316 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: been work thinking about this over the course of the 317 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: last week, because the Lakers have been playing a little 318 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 1: bit better basketball. Not great, but they're playing a little 319 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: bit better basketball. They should have won tonight. They should 320 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 1: be on a little bit of a windstreak here. So 321 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: what is the best version of this Lakers team? What 322 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,439 Speaker 1: does it look like with Anthony Davis coming back? And 323 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: does it have enough to make a run at things? 324 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 1: And when you start to look at the pieces available, 325 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:34,439 Speaker 1: it doesn't look that bad. If you look in the 326 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 1: front court, I've got Lebron and Anthony Davis, which is 327 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: as good of a front court as you'll find anywhere 328 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: in the league. You've got when in Gabriel now is 329 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:45,440 Speaker 1: another guy that kind of like is the opposite of 330 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: the Dwight in the DeAndre Jordan's. He's thinner, much faster, 331 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: can get up and down the floor with the style 332 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,480 Speaker 1: that the Lakers play, can guard on the perimeter better. 333 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: They can almost use him as a wing in a 334 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 1: lot of ways. That's interesting. Then you go on the 335 00:17:57,359 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: wing and you've got Stanley Johnson. He's okay, you know, 336 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: car Melo. Anthony's not really a defensive wing, but he 337 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: accomplishes a lot of what a Wayne can do offensively, 338 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:07,200 Speaker 1: and you've got Austin Reeves who's one of the better 339 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: off ball players in the league already as a rookie, 340 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: so they're pretty decent on the wing. And then you 341 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: look at the guards and you've got Russell Westbrook, who 342 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: we do not need to talk about. Let's just leave 343 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,400 Speaker 1: that on the side. And then we've got Taylor Horton Tucker, 344 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:20,920 Speaker 1: who's an okay backup guard right in the league. And 345 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: then you've got Malik Monk, who's a offensive microwave type 346 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,880 Speaker 1: of guy, gives a lot back on defense, but he's 347 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,159 Speaker 1: definitely a net positive type of player. And then you've 348 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 1: got some depth. You've got DJ Augustine, You've got Avery 349 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: Bradley and Dwight Howard, guys that complain specific matchups when 350 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,920 Speaker 1: you need something. They've got nine solid guys in that rotation. 351 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: So in theory, this is still a team that has 352 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: a puncher's chance to beat anybody, because if you've got 353 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: seven solid rotation players with Lebron and a D they 354 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: should be able to beat anybody if something's break right correct. 355 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: But they, like we talked about earlier, they don't have 356 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: the habits and what's concerning to me is if you 357 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:01,520 Speaker 1: asked me, Jason, how does Lebron in a d work 358 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:03,840 Speaker 1: their way through the playing tournament and beat Phoenix in 359 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: the first round. How do they do that? I would 360 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,879 Speaker 1: tell you it starts right now, right at this moment. 361 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: For the rest of the season, they need to work 362 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: on establishing habits. Treated as like a like a three 363 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:19,440 Speaker 1: week long training camp. You've got three weeks here, you 364 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 1: got you know roughly what I think twelve games. Take 365 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: these twelve games, treat them like a training camp. Really 366 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,240 Speaker 1: build out those habits. Take it seriously so that when 367 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 1: Anthony Davis gets back, you have the habits to match 368 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,480 Speaker 1: your talent. Are they the most talented team in the league. No, 369 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,159 Speaker 1: but we've been over that. They're not good enough with 370 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: their role players. But they have a puncher's chance to 371 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: beat anybody. So if you attach that with championship level habits, 372 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 1: then they can win. They need to show us over 373 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: the course of the next few weeks that they can 374 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: put multiple games together of success. Now do I think 375 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:56,919 Speaker 1: that's going to happen. No, That's why I said this 376 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,359 Speaker 1: is the best case scenario. But if are in that 377 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,400 Speaker 1: locker room and you're looking at each other and you're like, hey, 378 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: are we gonna go for this or not. That's what 379 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 1: you have to deal with. That's what that needs to be, 380 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:09,919 Speaker 1: the actionable item. It's one thing to sit in the 381 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,080 Speaker 1: locker room and say, hey, guys, when a D gets back, 382 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: we're gonna make a run at this. No, you have 383 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: some steps you gotta get through first, and that and 384 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: and right now, you've got to somehow distance yourself entirely 385 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,440 Speaker 1: from the previous you know, psychology of this team and 386 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:28,240 Speaker 1: somehow start fresh and build a new identity around this 387 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: group of guys. There's enough new faces in there with 388 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: d J. Augustine, with when you in Gabriel, with Stanley Johnson. 389 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:35,679 Speaker 1: You've got enough new faces in there to try to 390 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 1: do that. They just got to do that. But here 391 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,640 Speaker 1: we are again. I think it's March nineteen, and they 392 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,840 Speaker 1: just showed us again that that's not who they are. 393 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 1: So that's why what I'm laying out is the best 394 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:52,199 Speaker 1: case scenario and not the most likely scenario for those 395 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: of you who are just joining us. This is Lakers Tonight, 396 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 1: presented by FanDuel here at the volume. I wanted to 397 00:20:57,720 --> 00:20:59,960 Speaker 1: move on for to Steph Curry for a second, because 398 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,080 Speaker 1: is we haven't had a chance to talk about him 399 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,199 Speaker 1: since his injury. I've done as much digging as I 400 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,199 Speaker 1: can and paid as close attention as I can to 401 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,199 Speaker 1: the reports that have come out, and it sounds to 402 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,159 Speaker 1: me like there's optimism that he's coming back before the 403 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:14,359 Speaker 1: end of the season. It's gonna be very similar to 404 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,600 Speaker 1: what happened to Lebron last year. Guy dives into his leg, 405 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: suffers a lower leg injury, gonna be coming back with 406 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 1: just a handful of games left. I think Lebron came 407 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,399 Speaker 1: back with four games left last season. They might be 408 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,360 Speaker 1: able to get three or four with step this year. 409 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 1: You know, back in December, I did a list of 410 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,360 Speaker 1: what I said were my best contenders, my top contenders 411 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 1: in the league, the teams that I thought were most 412 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:38,720 Speaker 1: likely to win the championship, And at that point in time, 413 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,199 Speaker 1: I had the Golden State Warriors number one because they 414 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: were so incredible defensively, and at that time Steph was 415 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,199 Speaker 1: still playing well. Steph was a top tier superstar, like 416 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: one of the best players in the world. And I'm 417 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: always going to defer to those kinds of guys, especially 418 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,920 Speaker 1: when they have an unbelievable defense, and they had Clay 419 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,919 Speaker 1: Thompson on the way back, Jordan Pool was playing well. 420 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,359 Speaker 1: There was a lot of reasons to be optimistic that 421 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,120 Speaker 1: that Golden State team could be really good. But then 422 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,439 Speaker 1: Steph went into a slump. And in the times that 423 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 1: I've talked about the Warriors since I've said one thing 424 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:13,040 Speaker 1: very consistently. The only way that the Warriors are going 425 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: to win the title is Steph Curry has a nuclear 426 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 1: playoff run, absolute peak Steph thirty plus points per game, 427 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: you know, uh true shooting knocking down half his threes. 428 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: That's what it's gonna take for this team to win. 429 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 1: And he's not really shown anything. He's had these little 430 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,360 Speaker 1: burst where things have looked a little better, but he's 431 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: not as bad as he was in January. But he 432 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 1: has not a set. He has not shown us a 433 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 1: consistent stretch of the old staph and so the injury 434 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: is frustrating on that front because he's a perimeter player 435 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 1: who relies on his handle in his jump shot, which 436 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:52,119 Speaker 1: means he's very dependent on rhythm. For those of you 437 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 1: have played the game at some level, whether that's you know, 438 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 1: in high school, college, or even if you just play 439 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:00,439 Speaker 1: in your men's league. You're familiar with the concept rhythm. 440 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: You have to feel comfortable with the basketball and confident 441 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:05,720 Speaker 1: with the basketball. That does not happen, but the flip 442 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: of a switch. It takes time. It's so the the 443 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,440 Speaker 1: idea of Steph busting out of his slump becomes way 444 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: less likely now that he's sitting out with the lower 445 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,840 Speaker 1: leg injury. The only like silver lining that you could 446 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: cling to is if maybe, just maybe his slump was 447 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,800 Speaker 1: associated with another nagging lower body injury and somehow he 448 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:32,440 Speaker 1: can rectify both of those during this rehab. Kind of 449 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,239 Speaker 1: like Anthony Davis when he sprained his knee. He was 450 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,720 Speaker 1: not looking good before the knee injury. Then he went down, 451 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: then he came back, and when he came back, he 452 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 1: looked spry, right, he looked lighter, he looked like he 453 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: was faster. He had all of these you know, this 454 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: kind of this newfound physical energy. Right, maybe that happens 455 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: with Steph. I don't think it's likely, but that's the 456 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: best case scenario. The whole thing was Steph getting hurt 457 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: is exactly what frustrates me so much about this Lakers team, 458 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,119 Speaker 1: because is Lebron getting hurt. That's gonna happen. He got 459 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: hurt a couple of times this year. Anthony Davis getting hurt, 460 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,360 Speaker 1: that's gonna happen. But it's all about getting healthy at 461 00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:10,920 Speaker 1: the right time. And right now you're seeing some teams 462 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,480 Speaker 1: around the league, particularly two of the top tier contenders, 463 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:17,440 Speaker 1: Golden State and Phoenix, dealing with some injuries. You could 464 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: be getting healthy while the other teams are on the 465 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,719 Speaker 1: down downward trajectory. But instead, you messed around all season 466 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,440 Speaker 1: from day one of training camp. You didn't take it seriously. 467 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:30,199 Speaker 1: So you're a bad basketball team. So now instead of 468 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:32,399 Speaker 1: being a team that can capitalize on things. Look at 469 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,919 Speaker 1: Milwaukee last year. We talked about them last night. They 470 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 1: were nineteen and seventeen against five hundred and above teams. 471 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 1: They were not a dominant regular season team. Yeah, you know, 472 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: Janice kind of fell by the wayside a lot in 473 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 1: the discourse. But look at what happened. Lebron and Anthony 474 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: Davis got hurt. You had all the injuries that happened 475 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:53,160 Speaker 1: to the Brooklyn Nets, you know, like like they Trey 476 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 1: Young got hurt in the conference finals. So some things 477 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 1: broke right from Milwaukee. Next thing, you know, they're holding 478 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,879 Speaker 1: the trophy. That's that's the way things can break in 479 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:05,959 Speaker 1: the NBA, and that's why it's so important to always 480 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: keep your eye on the prize even as you're dealing 481 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,760 Speaker 1: with little nagging injuries and things along those lines. That's 482 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,239 Speaker 1: what annoys me about this Laker team. I would like 483 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: Lebron and a d s as a puncher chance against 484 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 1: anybody in the league if something's broke right, and I 485 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,359 Speaker 1: don't know that they are even remotely close enough to 486 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 1: the level of basketball, not talent, just basketball to be 487 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:28,879 Speaker 1: able to compete in any of those environments. All Right, 488 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:30,480 Speaker 1: before we get out of here, I wanted to really 489 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,160 Speaker 1: quickly hit on the Minnesota Timberwolves. So they are ten 490 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 1: and one in their last eleven games in that stretch, 491 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: they have the number one offense and number one defense 492 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 1: in the entire NBA. They have the best net rating 493 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:47,159 Speaker 1: in the league in that stretch by nine point eight 494 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:51,480 Speaker 1: points over second place. They beat the Bucks, the Lakers, 495 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: the Heat, the Warriors, and the Calves in this stretch, 496 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 1: So it sounds amazing, right. A little bit of context. 497 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: When they played the Bucks, they didn't have j Honice. 498 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:02,600 Speaker 1: When they played the Lakers, they didn't have Anthony Davis. 499 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 1: When they played the Heat, they didn't have Jimmy Butler, 500 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,280 Speaker 1: when they played the Warriors, they didn't have Dreamond Green, 501 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:08,679 Speaker 1: and when they played the Calves, they didn't have Darius Garland. 502 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 1: The last time they played a healthy contender was the 503 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,439 Speaker 1: Philadelphia seventy sixers in that first game with James Harden 504 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:19,200 Speaker 1: at home, and they got utterly obliterated. So, to be clear, 505 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: you have to take care of business in the NBA. 506 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:24,480 Speaker 1: Like look at the Lakers. They can't even beat bad 507 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,679 Speaker 1: teams at this point, so I never want to undercut success. 508 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: They are playing really good basketball right now, but they've 509 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: had some good fortune with the injuries. Looking at the 510 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: team specifically, there's a lot of things that I like 511 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: about them because of their the what they've done in 512 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,440 Speaker 1: the draft. They're actually pretty athletic on the wing. Jared 513 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:46,919 Speaker 1: Vanderbilt and Jaden McDaniels bring that kind of athleticism and 514 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,880 Speaker 1: that dirty work element that's so important. Torrian Prince has 515 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:53,679 Speaker 1: also helped on that front. Carl Towns is one of 516 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: the better matchup problems that you have in the league. 517 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 1: Right That's always gonna make me optimistic about a team 518 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,840 Speaker 1: in the playoffs. The reason why I'm not stoked on Minnesota, 519 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: the reason why I don't think there as good as 520 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: any of these other teams that I've been showcasing on 521 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: this show recently, is their guards are too irradic. Anthony 522 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 1: Edwards is young, super talented. This is nothing to be 523 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,440 Speaker 1: said about his ceiling, But D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards 524 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 1: are not going to be able to execute with that 525 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:29,360 Speaker 1: that slow down, methodical, super intelligent basketball that they're going 526 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,040 Speaker 1: to have to play to beat the super top tier 527 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,440 Speaker 1: teams in the league. If you're gonna outduel Steph Curry, 528 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: if you're gonna outdue that Phoenix Suns team with Chris 529 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 1: Paul or god forbid you, you know, make it to 530 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 1: the finals and you have to beat somebody out East, 531 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:44,000 Speaker 1: you have to be able to execute. This is something 532 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: I talked about a lot with these other contenders, right like, 533 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: how did how do they stack up against the best? 534 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 1: And I would say Anthony Edwards and D'angela Russell is 535 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:56,679 Speaker 1: perimeter Excuse me as perimeter decision makers are gonna be 536 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: at near the end of that list in terms of 537 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,680 Speaker 1: teams that are gonna be in this playoff runs. So 538 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: they're playing some good basketball right now, a lot to 539 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,880 Speaker 1: get excited about. But I wish they had that one 540 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 1: really savvy perimeter decision maker that could settle them down 541 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,080 Speaker 1: and get them into their stuff, get them calm when 542 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,639 Speaker 1: things are going bad, get to get the ball to 543 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:16,680 Speaker 1: the right guy when he's hot and has it going. 544 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,000 Speaker 1: Those are the kinds of things that would make me 545 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,720 Speaker 1: more optimistic about that team. And obviously, because Carl Towns 546 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 1: is a post player, he's not a He's not a 547 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,239 Speaker 1: guy who can initiate from the perimeter. That limits what 548 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 1: he can do in the half court of a playoff 549 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:30,600 Speaker 1: series when teams are really dialed in on him as well. 550 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,560 Speaker 1: So good timber Wolves basketball here in the last couple 551 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:36,119 Speaker 1: of weeks, but I'm not as high on them as 552 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: their fans probably are. All right, guys, that is all 553 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,600 Speaker 1: we have for tonight. We will be back Monday after 554 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,360 Speaker 1: the Lakers play in Cleveland. As always, I sincerely appreciate 555 00:28:45,360 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 1: your guys support, and I will see you the volume