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Speaker 2: responsible gaming resources. All right, welcome to tonight. You're at

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Speaker 2: the volume. Happy Thursday, everybody. Hope all of you guys

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Speaker 2: are having an incredible week. Well, we have a weird

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Speaker 2: kind of stretch here in the season for the Los

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Speaker 2: Angeles Lakers. They played on Monday against Atlanta Hawks, and

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Speaker 2: then we get three consecutive days off before we get

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Speaker 2: into a matchup with the albeit without Joel Embiid on Friday.

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Speaker 2: I thought it was a good point. We haven't talked

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Speaker 2: with yovonn since March fifth, after the Lakers got a

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Speaker 2: big win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They've played six

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Speaker 2: games since then. They've gone three and three. They've wins

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Speaker 2: against the Bucks, Timberwolves, and Hawks. Two quality wins in there.

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Speaker 2: Losses to the Warriors and the Kings twice, all three

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Speaker 2: pretty concerning losses. So a good chance for us to

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Speaker 2: take a little bit of like a deep dive into

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Speaker 2: the Lakers before we head into the stretch round to

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Speaker 2: see if there's anything left to be achieved this season. Yovann,

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Speaker 2: you guys know, he covers the Lakers for The Athletic

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Speaker 2: does incredible job. Also is doing some instant reaction content

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Speaker 2: and other analysis on his YouTube channel.

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Speaker 3: Let's get into it, Jovon.

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Speaker 2: I want to get to the housekeeping stuff before we

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Speaker 2: get into some of the basketball talk. So there's been

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Speaker 2: lots of conflicting reports about the injured Lakers players and

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Speaker 2: their return to the time return to the floor in

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Speaker 2: their timelines. I've seen stuff saying from Yovonn or excuse me,

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Speaker 2: from Darvin saying that, you know, Gabe and Jared Vanderbilt

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Speaker 2: are progressing nicely. I've seen reports that none of them

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Speaker 2: are going to come back this season at all whatsoever.

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Speaker 2: For the record, three weeks from Sunday is the final

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Speaker 2: game of the regular season, So I'm gonna try to

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Speaker 2: nail you down to a date here, Yovon, what is

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Speaker 2: your best guess as to when Gabe Vincent returns to

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Speaker 2: the lineup.

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Speaker 1: That's the tough one. I so from conversations I've had

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Speaker 1: with people in and around the team, there's more optimism

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Speaker 1: that Jared Vanderbilt is going to be making his return

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Speaker 1: before the end of the regular season. Gabe Vincent. I've

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Speaker 1: also heard conflicting things. I've heard he's done, you know,

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Speaker 1: he's not returning at least in the regular season, and

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Speaker 1: I've heard he's really pushing and it's just a matter

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Speaker 1: of like another week or two. So if I had

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Speaker 1: to guess, I would I would put it like the

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Speaker 1: last week of the season. But it does seem from

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Speaker 1: most of the information that I've heard, it is trending

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Speaker 1: toward him, you know, being more likely to not return

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Speaker 1: at least in the regular season now, you know, So

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Speaker 1: I'm putting the odds like maybe seventy five percent toward

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Speaker 1: not returning in the regular season in comparison to you know,

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Speaker 1: coming back. So that one, that one's a tricky one.

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Speaker 1: But it does sound like if he does come back,

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Speaker 1: it's more likely final like week week and a half

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Speaker 1: maybe is the most optimistic return date for him.

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Speaker 2: I'm on the fence with Gay Vincent, because like part

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Speaker 2: of me goes, he's one of the few guys on

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Speaker 2: the roster who is a semi competent perimeter defender, and

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Speaker 2: so that would be immensely valuable in this group. But

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Speaker 2: the other side of that, I look at the roster

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Speaker 2: and I look at kind of Spencer Dinwoodie is the

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Speaker 2: same type of guy, but bigger and probably not as

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Speaker 2: good off the ball, but better on the ball, probably

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Speaker 2: a little bit better defensively than Gabe as well, And

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Speaker 2: so I don't really see much of a rotation opportunity,

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Speaker 2: Like I don't think you're gonna jam Gabe into the

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Speaker 2: rotation and kick Austin ord Lo out. It's gonna be

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Speaker 2: Spencer that sacrifices minutes, and then obviously guys like Max

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Speaker 2: and Cam that end up sacrificing minutes. And so then

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Speaker 2: I look at the other side of it, and I go,

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Speaker 2: if he has a knee issue, he's got a three

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Speaker 2: year contract, right, If I'm not mistaken, I think there's

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Speaker 2: a player option in the final year, so like Lakers

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Speaker 2: have team control over him next year.

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Speaker 1: For sure.

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Speaker 2: We have talked a lot, and we're gonna talk more later.

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Speaker 2: In the show about you know, potentially the foundation of

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Speaker 2: this team needing to be shifted and then potentially having

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Speaker 2: to make an all in type of deal. And if

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Speaker 2: they did, like if they made a deal for like

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Speaker 2: a Trey Young for instance, chances are on Austin Reeves

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Speaker 2: is gonna be in that type of deal. Chances are

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Speaker 2: all three draft picks that become available at the at

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Speaker 2: the draft would be included in that sort of deal.

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Speaker 2: All of a sudden, a guy like Gabe Vincent at

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Speaker 2: eleven million a year still on the payroll becomes immensely

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Speaker 2: valuable to the team heading into the following season if

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Speaker 2: you were to make that sort of trade. And so

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Speaker 2: I almost feel like getting him healthy into next season

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Speaker 2: is more important than trying to rush him back this

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Speaker 2: year into a role that's not necessarily as kind of

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Speaker 2: like open and waiting for him as people think.

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Speaker 3: Would you agree with me there?

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Speaker 1: Yeah? And I think you can make the same case

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Speaker 1: for Vando, Like Vando has more of an immediate opportunity

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Speaker 1: to make an impact for this group just given his

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Speaker 1: skill set, but he has a four year extension that

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Speaker 1: kicks in next season. So from the Lakers perspective, it's

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Speaker 1: not like either one of these guys are impending for agents,

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Speaker 1: where as cold as it might be, like you don't

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Speaker 1: necessarily factor in their future with your group and it's

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Speaker 1: just about like, hey, can you help us, you know,

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Speaker 1: make a run in the postseason. But with both players,

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Speaker 1: they have some you know, something invested longer term and

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Speaker 1: potentially putting that at risk for a group that right

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Speaker 1: now is looking like it's going to be locked into

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Speaker 1: the nine or ten game, you know, depending on you know,

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Speaker 1: barring a disaster from Dallas or Phoenix, like the Lakers

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Speaker 1: are going to be the nine or ten seeds. So

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Speaker 1: I think for them it's something they're kind of weighing too,

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Speaker 1: of just like I think Vando is a more again

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Speaker 1: more likely to return, and that's the one that I mean,

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Speaker 1: players have been openly talking about it. I've kind of

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Speaker 1: found it funny where Ruy Hachimora we were talking to

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Speaker 1: him at practice and he had a line of like

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Speaker 1: talking about the starting lineup and he was basically like,

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Speaker 1: you know, and Vandon was going to come back and

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Speaker 1: it's going to help our defense. And then Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: had another quote where he was talking about lineups and

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Speaker 1: he was like Yeah, then Vando's going to come back,

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Speaker 1: and that's going to shift thing. So players have been openly,

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Speaker 1: you know, basically saying that Vando was coming back at

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Speaker 1: some point.

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Speaker 3: Now with the.

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Speaker 1: Lakers injury through this season, it's been all over the

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Speaker 1: place in terms of information and what's been real, what

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Speaker 1: hasn't been you know, Gabe came back technically in December

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Speaker 1: and then had to set back and we haven't seen

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Speaker 1: him since. So like, it has been kind of all

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Speaker 1: over the place with that stuff. But I definitely think

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Speaker 1: with Gabe there's develpment of you have him for a

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Speaker 1: couple of years in theory, and whether it's preserving him

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Speaker 1: as a trade asset or just preserving him as a

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Speaker 1: potential guy who could step in and be that three

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Speaker 1: and D guard around your stars that you wanted him

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Speaker 1: to be initially. I think there's some incentive there to

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Speaker 1: not rush him back and you know, force him to

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Speaker 1: potentially reinjury it. And then with Vando again, I think

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Speaker 1: there's more urgency just because we saw right before the

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Speaker 1: break or you know, right before he got injured, like

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Speaker 1: he was playing great and he was headed toward returning

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Speaker 1: to the starting lineup, and the Lakers had that double

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Speaker 1: overtime win against the Warriors. That group, that the group

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Speaker 1: that they started last season with, you know, played the

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Speaker 1: final sixteen minutes of that game and played great. And Vando,

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Speaker 1: they're figuring out ways to use him offensively. He was

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Speaker 1: shooting threes with confidence, operating at the elbows, operating as

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Speaker 1: a cutter, so like they were starting to kind of

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Speaker 1: figure it out. And just this is the way the

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Speaker 1: Lakers season has gone. Another unfortunate break for them. But

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Speaker 1: I think Vando's the one that I have more optimism

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Speaker 1: in terms of his return, And I'm sure you're gonna ask,

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Speaker 1: so I'll just say, like, I think that one's more

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Speaker 1: within the next couple of weeks. But there's still hurdles,

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Speaker 1: like neither player has returned to practice yet, and that's

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Speaker 1: a big sign of like, you know, can they start

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Speaker 1: doing on time? Still the ways out, So it still

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Speaker 1: a ways out, But based on both what we've seen

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Speaker 1: publicly from the players kind of openly saying Vano's coming back,

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Speaker 1: to some of the conversations behind the scenes, that there's

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Speaker 1: a lot more internal optimism with van do.

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Speaker 2: His foot freaks me out a little bit from the

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Speaker 2: standpoint of like your initial point, which is like there's

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Speaker 2: a case to be made that even with Vando, you're

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Speaker 2: thinking about the future. And specifically, his foot strain was

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Speaker 2: in that like upper middle part of his foot, which

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Speaker 2: is where you can get into some weird injuries that

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Speaker 2: could potentially be you know, substantial like six to nine

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Speaker 2: month type of injuries. And so I understand some of

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Speaker 2: the reticence to force him back out there. That said,

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Speaker 2: if he is ready, I think he's got to go.

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Speaker 3: And the main reason.

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Speaker 2: Why is he literally you know, this Laker team is

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Speaker 2: so interesting to me because they are not like team

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Speaker 2: They don't have like team wide issues that are completely

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Speaker 2: and utterly unaddressable, that are that are impossible to overcome. So,

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Speaker 2: for instance, like they don't have a team speed issue

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Speaker 2: down the line, they actually have a good amount of

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Speaker 2: speed at specific position groups, right, you know, like they

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Speaker 2: Lebron is still a guy that can bring speed and

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Speaker 2: pace and transition. Jackson Hayes runs the floor really well.

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis when he's engaged, can run up and down

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Speaker 2: the floor. It's like just this specific position group, it's

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Speaker 2: that that like kind of two three position group where

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Speaker 2: they have very little speed and they have very little like, uh,

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Speaker 2: they don't have a player on the roster like we've

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Speaker 2: talked about all year that is a legitimate starter caliber

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Speaker 2: guy that can play on both ends of the floor.

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Speaker 2: And so, to me, any hope for the Lakers making

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Speaker 2: some sort of run surrounds Jared Vanderbilt sliding back into

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Speaker 2: that three spot in the starting lineup, and more specifically,

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Speaker 2: like you know, kind of as we shift forward here,

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Speaker 2: we're talking about this most recent stretch since the OKC

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Speaker 2: Game three and three. They beat the Bucks and the Timberwolves,

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Speaker 2: two teams that are kind of slower right and down

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Speaker 2: the roster, and they have fast guys on the roster obviously,

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Speaker 2: but they're a little slower down the roster. Then they

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Speaker 2: run into teams like Golden State and Sacramento that have

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Speaker 2: a ton of team speed that caused them a lot

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Speaker 2: of problems. And so I look at Jared Vayner built

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Speaker 2: as the kind of guy that gives them a little

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Speaker 2: bit more resiliency against some of their weaker matchups. And

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Speaker 2: so from that standpoint, like he's a complete and total necessity.

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Speaker 2: And what's so interesting is you had talked about I

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Speaker 2: remember heading into the deadline that the Jared Vanderbilt injury

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Speaker 2: was going to add a layer of urgency for them

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Speaker 2: to address that perimeter defense group. And it's interesting because

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Speaker 2: we knew that, everyone knew that, including the team, and

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Speaker 2: then when Jared gets hurt, you go this extended stretch

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Speaker 2: without that position group filled, and then you have all

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Speaker 2: of these issues. But over the last six games since

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Speaker 2: the Oklahoma City win, obviously it's been a lot up

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Speaker 2: and down.

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Speaker 3: What have you learned about the Lakers over that span.

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Speaker 1: Well, I've learned that Sacramento is a terrible matchup for them,

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Speaker 1: and it doesn't make sense. I did a podcast episode

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Speaker 1: on my podcast kind of ranking first the five potential

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Speaker 1: Plain opponents and then the top four in the West. So,

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Speaker 1: assuming they get through the play in, these are the

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Speaker 1: top four teams, and like, how do they match up?

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Speaker 1: And on paper I wanted to put Sacramento as the

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Speaker 1: easiest matchup, but I kind of hedged it and put

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Speaker 1: them third, And that was before the two losses to them,

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Speaker 1: So like now it's like, I just they can't beat

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Speaker 1: Sacramento for whatever reason, Like the Manta Sabonis is just

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Speaker 1: a terrible matchup for eighty D. Aaron Fox is a

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Speaker 1: terrible matchup for the Lakers backcourt, and maybe if you

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Speaker 1: get Van Doll back, he has enough time to ramp

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Speaker 1: up and get back to starter level minutes, like he

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Speaker 1: can take that assignment and make an impact in that game.

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Speaker 1: But I thought I was pretty discouraged with the way

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Speaker 1: because we've talked about it all season, where this group,

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Speaker 1: like one of the things that if you're trying to

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Speaker 1: make the case for the Lakers going on a deep

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Speaker 1: run has been their ability in single elimination formats and

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Speaker 1: just sort of like when the stakes are high, this

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Speaker 1: group rises to the occasion. And we saw it in

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Speaker 1: the n Season Tournament. We saw it last year when

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Speaker 1: they went on that run and needed to reel off

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Speaker 1: eighteen nineteen games to close the season. They did that,

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Speaker 1: they make the conference finals. So like, yes, they have

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Speaker 1: a Denver problem, and I mean who doesn't in the

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Speaker 1: league right now, but you know, putting that aside, like

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Speaker 1: for the most part, they've fared well against most of

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Speaker 1: the West, but the problem has been, like we're looking

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Speaker 1: at that three and three stretch, the three games they

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Speaker 1: needed to win were the three games they lost, Like

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Speaker 1: three and three would have been fine if they beat

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Speaker 1: Sacramento twice and beat Golden State once. But the games

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Speaker 1: they won, like, you know, every game matters at this point,

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Speaker 1: but the teams that they're in direct competition with were

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Speaker 1: the teams that they lost to, and that is what

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Speaker 1: you put them in this nine to ten hole now

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Speaker 1: where you're potentially gonna have to So they close the

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Speaker 1: season out at Memphis, at New Orleans. Now you potentially

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Speaker 1: have to go at Golden State, then like at Phoenix

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Speaker 1: or Dallas just to get into the playoffs, and then

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Speaker 1: you're potentially going to Denver for a game one, so

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Speaker 1: you're on like a five game road trip through the

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Speaker 1: first game of the playoffs, and like, that's just a

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Speaker 1: brutal way to start a series. So the fact that

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Speaker 1: they couldn't get at least one of those Sacramento wins

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Speaker 1: was a bit concerning to me, and for the first

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Speaker 1: time really this season, it did raise the question of, like,

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Speaker 1: can this team actually ratchet it up when they need to,

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Speaker 1: Can they rise to the occasion in a because that

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Speaker 1: was essentially like a must win game, like both of

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Speaker 1: them were, and then once you lose the first one,

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Speaker 1: it's like you have to go in a Sacramento and

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Speaker 1: win that game, and the fact that like, yes, you know,

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Speaker 1: Delo had an off night, Like, but when I look

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Speaker 1: at Lebron and like his defensive effort and just the

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Speaker 1: way that he kind of mailed it in. Like I

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Speaker 1: went back and watched all nineteen made threes for the Kings,

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Speaker 1: and about half of those you could attribute to some

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Speaker 1: form of Lebron James either mistake or apathy defensively, and

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Speaker 1: the fact that he had that type of performance defensively

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Speaker 1: in such a big game was concerning. And then but

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Speaker 1: then he comes out and he drops forty on Golden

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Speaker 1: State and almost you know, single handedly kind of wills

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Speaker 1: them into a close game down the stretretch. And then

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Speaker 1: he destroys Atlanta and sets the tone early and comes

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Speaker 1: out and is just attacking the rim. So like, it's

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Speaker 1: just this team has continued to be like night to night,

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Speaker 1: you don't really know what you're getting that the highs

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Speaker 1: are high, the lows are low. But I would say

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Speaker 1: like that my biggest takeaway was sort of like they

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Speaker 1: had several situations there where they needed to win if

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Speaker 1: they wanted to potentially rise in the standings, and the

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Speaker 1: fact that they couldn't get it done that was the

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Speaker 1: first real time I started to kind of doubt, like,

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Speaker 1: is this team really just who they've been all season,

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Speaker 1: which has been an inconsistent group that is a nine

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Speaker 1: or ten seed, and nine or ten seeds typically losing

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Speaker 1: the plan or probably in the first round.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the Warriors game, you just have to chalk up

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Speaker 2: to bad luck. Like I genuinely think like at least

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Speaker 2: two out of three times they play that game with

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Speaker 2: the healthy Anthony Davis, they win.

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Speaker 3: I agree and like that.

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Speaker 2: But at the same time, like when you go three

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Speaker 2: and ten in the middle of the season, that cuts

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Speaker 2: substantially into your margin for air, which is you know,

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Speaker 2: like that's the reality you and I were talking before

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Speaker 2: we recorded. If they go seven and seven in that stretch,

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Speaker 2: or seven and six in that stretch, or even just

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Speaker 2: six and seven in that stretch. Literally, if they went

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Speaker 2: six and seven in that stretch, they're tied for the

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Speaker 2: seven seed right now and one game back of Sacramento.

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Speaker 2: You know, so like you now, you're in a predicament

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Speaker 2: where you know, if you're if you're in that four, five, six, seven,

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Speaker 2: eight range and Anthony Davis gets an elbow to the

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Speaker 2: eyeball and he's out for the rest of the night

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Speaker 2: and you take a loss. You can weather that storm

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Speaker 2: and you can survive it, but you cut substantially into

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Speaker 2: your margin for error. With all the shenanigans in the

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Speaker 2: middle of the season, the Sacramento games, it's tough because

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Speaker 2: the first one, I really just think like it was

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Speaker 2: the kind of thing that happened a few times to

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Speaker 2: the Lakers at home over the course of the season,

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Speaker 2: like the Brooklyn Nets game, the Phoenix Suns game where

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Speaker 2: they came in and beat him, where it's almost like

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Speaker 2: it's almost like they once they let go of the rope,

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Speaker 2: it's really hard for them to regain control of the situation.

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Speaker 2: Like they played really well in the Brooklyn game to start,

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Speaker 2: and then when Brooklyn started going at him, they just

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Speaker 2: could never regain the situation. Same thing with Sacramento. Really

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Speaker 2: good at the start, then they get blitzed in that

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Speaker 2: second quarter run and they can never regain control the situation.

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Speaker 2: The road game, it was just so many things went

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Speaker 2: poorly from the start, like literally D'Angelo Russell has another

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Speaker 2: disaster of a game, Anthony Davis has a disaster of

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Speaker 2: a game, and then Lebron is a disaster of a game,

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Speaker 2: even though I do think Sacramento's a bad matchup for

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Speaker 2: the Lakers and they give him a bunch of issues,

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Speaker 2: Like I don't think that Lebron ad and d Lo

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Speaker 2: are gonna play terribly every single time they play against them,

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Speaker 2: Like Lebron for all of the like you talked about it,

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Speaker 2: Like Lebron literally in that game was just ducking under

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Speaker 2: picks on Harrison Barnes and just letting him kind of

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Speaker 2: settle into those easy kind of pullback threes, wasn't making

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Speaker 2: any sort of low man rotations, wasn't engaging himself physically

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Speaker 2: to try to score the basketball, like it was just

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Speaker 2: a float through type of night when he's literally the

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Speaker 2: one guy out of their core guys. Because Delo does

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Speaker 2: struggle against speed and ball pressure, Anthony Davis does struggle

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Speaker 2: against low center of gravity power bigs. Lebron James is

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Speaker 2: eating Harrison Barnes's lunch every time they've played, basically in

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Speaker 2: his NBA career, that is a huge matchup advantage for him,

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Speaker 2: and he just didn't bring it on a big nine.

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Speaker 2: Who knows what was going on, but he just didn't

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Speaker 2: have it. And so like it's unfortunate because like, like

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Speaker 2: literally just in that stretch, you get the win against

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Speaker 2: Golden State at home, and you just split against Sacramento,

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Speaker 2: you're five and one and you're sitting one game back

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Speaker 2: of the seventh seed, and so it's unfortunate. And so

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Speaker 2: Austin Reeves said, and after practice yesterday he said that

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Speaker 2: he felt the intensity ratchet up after the last two losses.

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Speaker 2: Here's my question at this point in the season, like,

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Speaker 2: should Laker fans just accept Thisker team for what it is,

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Speaker 2: which is pretty mediocre, or do you really think that

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Speaker 2: they have a level they can ratchet up to to

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Speaker 2: try to salvage this situation.

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Speaker 1: I think there's a level that they can ratchet up to,

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Speaker 1: but I want to see it for more than one

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Speaker 1: game against an Atlanta Hawks team that was seven games

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Speaker 1: under five hundred entering the game and didn't have their

393
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Speaker 1: best player in Trey Jung or arguably the best player

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Speaker 1: if you want to make the case for the Jonte Murray.

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Speaker 1: But like you know, I think them beating the Hawks

396
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Speaker 1: by thirty was nice, but it's still the Hawks, and

397
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Speaker 1: like to me, I want to see them close out

398
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Speaker 1: that so to close the homestand they have the Philadelphia

399
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,199
Speaker 1: seventy six Ers on Friday, the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Like,

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Speaker 1: I want to see them beat both of those teams

401
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Speaker 1: and go into this six game road trip with some

402
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Speaker 1: momentum and and you know, I think those are both

403
00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:21,080
Speaker 1: winnable games. Sixers obviously without embiid Pacers, you already beat

404
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Speaker 1: them in the nd season tournament. And and you know,

405
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Speaker 1: their defenses of you been historically bad, you know, at

406
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Speaker 1: times this season, So like I want to see that

407
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Speaker 1: and then go into the road trip and go at

408
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Speaker 1: least four and two, And if they can reel off

409
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Speaker 1: a stretch here of like six and two over their

410
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:41,040
Speaker 1: next eight games, that to me is ratcheting it up.

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Speaker 1: That to me is showing you guys are serious about

412
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Speaker 1: closing the season. You're not just mailing it, because at

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Speaker 1: this point, like I know, Houston's been hot lately and

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Speaker 1: they've been on something of a run, but like really

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Speaker 1: it's just a matter of like the Lakers are gonna

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Speaker 1: be the ninth seed or the ten seed, right like Dallas. Again, Dallas,

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Speaker 1: like Luca probably has to get injured, or like the

418
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Speaker 1: Suns like Haiti year Booker has to go out and

419
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Speaker 1: those teams have to go under five hundred for the

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Speaker 1: rest of the season for the Lakers to have a

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Speaker 1: realistic shot to ascend in the standing. So barring that,

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Speaker 1: it's just a matter of are you ahead of the

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Speaker 1: Warriors or are you, you know, behind them? And really,

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Speaker 1: I think with the way that the Lakers have played

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Speaker 1: at Chase Center, like they could beat the Warriors on

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Speaker 1: the road, Like I would not be surprised by that

427
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Speaker 1: they did it last season, they've done it this season,

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Speaker 1: So like I don't think home court advantage like I

429
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Speaker 1: think it probably matters a little bit more for the

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Speaker 1: Lakers just because the Warriors historically haven't played as well

431
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Speaker 1: at Crypto dot Com, like Stephen Clay, They're shooting numbers

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Speaker 1: over the last few years have been a little bit lower.

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Speaker 1: So like, if the Lakers are the nine seed, I

434
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:41,959
Speaker 1: do think they're gonna win that matchup. If they're the ten,

435
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:43,840
Speaker 1: it's it's probably a little closer to fifty to fifty.

436
00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:47,160
Speaker 1: But like, realistically the Lakers could just kind of mail

437
00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,280
Speaker 1: it in for the next twelve thirteen games and be

438
00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:53,720
Speaker 1: fine and just be again, you're the ten seed, all right, whatever,

439
00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,000
Speaker 1: Like you're basically on the same path but to me,

440
00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,560
Speaker 1: if they show a level of urgency over the next

441
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,520
Speaker 1: eight games and go, oh, like, the one thing here

442
00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:04,160
Speaker 1: is that they've been a terrible road team and they

443
00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,600
Speaker 1: you know, we can count like Boston, New York, like

444
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,080
Speaker 1: the memorable road winds, you can kind of and you know,

445
00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,880
Speaker 1: Clippers like, but but some of those for the most part,

446
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,440
Speaker 1: they've beaten lottery teams on the road. So like this

447
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:20,000
Speaker 1: is a stretch where you got Washington, Toronto, Brooklyn, you know,

448
00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:22,520
Speaker 1: now Milwaukee, Indiana. Those are a couple of tougher games.

449
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:23,919
Speaker 1: But like, if they can go at least four and

450
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,399
Speaker 1: two on that six game trip, that to me is

451
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,919
Speaker 1: showing like this is a serious basketball team entering the

452
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:33,160
Speaker 1: play and stretch with some momentum. If not, if they

453
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,359
Speaker 1: go four and four or three and five or whatever,

454
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,119
Speaker 1: like I think at that point you just kind of

455
00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:40,600
Speaker 1: have to say, like that's who they are, and whether

456
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,240
Speaker 1: they get vandill back, whether they get gave back, whether

457
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,320
Speaker 1: they get Christian back for the play and like whatever,

458
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,440
Speaker 1: it probably just doesn't matter at that point.

459
00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,879
Speaker 2: I think personal limitations are part of it. Like, like,

460
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,159
Speaker 2: honest to guy, guys, this is this is a group

461
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,560
Speaker 2: that has a gaping hole at one of the most

462
00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,280
Speaker 2: important position groups in the NBA, which is like your

463
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,080
Speaker 2: point of attack defender group. It's been literally the biggest

464
00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:05,760
Speaker 2: narrative surrounding the team all season long. That said, I

465
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:07,879
Speaker 2: do think effort is part of it, because like like

466
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,200
Speaker 2: the Lebron game in Sacramento, like Anthony Davis in both

467
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,280
Speaker 2: Sacramento games, Like Ad got his butt kicked in both

468
00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,680
Speaker 2: Sacramento games, like literally, and so there's a certain there's

469
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,800
Speaker 2: a certain element to it where Lebron and Ad bring

470
00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:26,440
Speaker 2: the physicality in the group, right, and Ruey as well,

471
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,680
Speaker 2: and then Austin and d Lo and Torreon and a

472
00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,520
Speaker 2: little bit of Spencer as well. They bring most of

473
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,720
Speaker 2: the offensive skill elements to the table, right, there's a

474
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,199
Speaker 2: certain level of variance there, just with shot making and

475
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,280
Speaker 2: things along those lines. But if you get a combination

476
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,600
Speaker 2: of a specific personnel weakness at the point of attack

477
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,240
Speaker 2: and a lack of engagement from your front court, things

478
00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,399
Speaker 2: can fall apart pretty quickly. And I think so, I

479
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,880
Speaker 2: think it's I think it is genuinely a piece of both.

480
00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:57,280
Speaker 2: And there's a conversation to be had about Lebron James

481
00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,800
Speaker 2: and Anthony Davis as the foundation, and I want to

482
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:01,480
Speaker 2: do that here in just a second, but I want

483
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:03,879
Speaker 2: to stay on the play in for a minute, So

484
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:07,560
Speaker 2: like I'm just gonna put you on the spot and

485
00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:10,200
Speaker 2: then I'll give my thoughts. Do you think the Lakers

486
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:11,919
Speaker 2: play a seven game series in April?

487
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:19,120
Speaker 1: Honestly, with the way the last couple of weeks have gone,

488
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:23,360
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say no. I think they. I think they

489
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:25,920
Speaker 1: win the first playing game and lose the second playing game.

490
00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:27,480
Speaker 1: That that's how I see it plan out.

491
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:34,040
Speaker 2: So this is super interesting to me because the Lakers are,

492
00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:38,800
Speaker 2: in a weird way built for the play in tournament

493
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:43,080
Speaker 2: in a different way than some other teams. They do

494
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,320
Speaker 2: not rely on variants as much as everyone else. They're

495
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,679
Speaker 2: actually a good shooting team. Now that's been like one

496
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:52,119
Speaker 2: of the most underplayed elements of the Lakers this season.

497
00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:54,000
Speaker 2: They are now ninth and three point percentage for the

498
00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:56,640
Speaker 2: entire season. Remember all those metrics we were talking about

499
00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:58,679
Speaker 2: early on about how they were just terrible at shooting

500
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:00,879
Speaker 2: in every phase. By the way, you and I kind

501
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,240
Speaker 2: of saw coming because we talked about during those phases

502
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,720
Speaker 2: like these were good shooters that weren't making shots, Like

503
00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:07,880
Speaker 2: the Lakers just have a roster full of good shooters.

504
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,040
Speaker 2: It didn't make sense that they were shooting as poorly

505
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:11,159
Speaker 2: as they were, and a lot of it had to

506
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:12,640
Speaker 2: do with just the rhythm and flow of their five

507
00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:16,760
Speaker 2: out offense. They're shooting forty percent from three since January first,

508
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,800
Speaker 2: that's the second best mark in the league over a

509
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,080
Speaker 2: now almost a three month span, So like, they can

510
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,399
Speaker 2: really shoot, but they're twenty ninth in attempts, Like they

511
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,520
Speaker 2: don't take a ton of them, and they're second in

512
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:30,040
Speaker 2: points in the paint for one hundred possessions since January first,

513
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,400
Speaker 2: So like, this is a team that, like in any

514
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,879
Speaker 2: one game sample size, they do experience less variants in

515
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,119
Speaker 2: terms of jump shot result than most teams simply because

516
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,280
Speaker 2: they don't take a ton. That does bode well. I'm

517
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,200
Speaker 2: going to look at this through the lens of Jared

518
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:49,919
Speaker 2: Vanderbilt being there. I think the Lakers are going to

519
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:52,240
Speaker 2: get the nine seed. I think they're going to be

520
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,399
Speaker 2: end up above Golden State. A big part of that

521
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,600
Speaker 2: is right now they are a game up and they

522
00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,640
Speaker 2: have a home game against Golden State on April. It's

523
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:04,320
Speaker 2: like in the first like week or two of they

524
00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:08,080
Speaker 2: must win. Yeah, yeah, and I believe the Lakers will

525
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,359
Speaker 2: win that game. So if they have Jared Vanderbilt and

526
00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:12,720
Speaker 2: they're healthy and they're good to go, I think they'll

527
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 2: win that game. Even without Jared Vanderbilt, I give him

528
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:16,600
Speaker 2: a good chance to win that game. I just think

529
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,520
Speaker 2: I think in a Lebron ad physically imposing type of game,

530
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,960
Speaker 2: I think they would just find a way. So if

531
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,560
Speaker 2: they win that game, they're effectively two games up on

532
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,200
Speaker 2: Golden State. So I think they're gonna end up getting

533
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,800
Speaker 2: that nine seed. We get into a play in setting.

534
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,880
Speaker 2: I believe the Obviously you'd be foolish to count steph Out.

535
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:35,840
Speaker 2: I'm not sitting here pretending like the Warriors can't win

536
00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:37,360
Speaker 2: that game, but I would pick the Lakers to win

537
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 2: that nine to ten game. Then we go on the

538
00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,280
Speaker 2: road and they're going to be against somebody in that group,

539
00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:48,720
Speaker 2: that group that we talked about, Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, right,

540
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:53,520
Speaker 2: all three of those groups, at the very least Lebron,

541
00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,560
Speaker 2: if not Lebron and Ad will have substantial physical advantages

542
00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,399
Speaker 2: on the front line. And so if they can drag

543
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:04,320
Speaker 2: that game down into the mud, I like their chances.

544
00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,280
Speaker 2: But what what you always have to be a cognizant

545
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:10,919
Speaker 2: of is like the buzzsaw type of game where you

546
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:13,879
Speaker 2: go in and the other team hits for their first

547
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,760
Speaker 2: five threes and you're down by nine to ten, you know,

548
00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:19,679
Speaker 2: points in the first five six minutes.

549
00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:21,480
Speaker 3: And this team does have.

550
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:22,879
Speaker 2: A little bit of like a let go of the

551
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,240
Speaker 2: rope thing going on, which we talked about earlier about

552
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,080
Speaker 2: the Brooklyn game, in the Sacramento game.

553
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,280
Speaker 3: So, like, I do think that I'm gonna get.

554
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:33,879
Speaker 2: According to Vegas they have a little bit less than

555
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,800
Speaker 2: a fifty percent chance of getting in. I'm gonna go

556
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:38,560
Speaker 2: on the other side of that and give them a

557
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:41,320
Speaker 2: little bit more than a fifty percent chance of getting in.

558
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:44,679
Speaker 2: I will not be the least bit surprised if they

559
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,960
Speaker 2: get eliminated. But I do think that it's not hard

560
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,520
Speaker 2: for me to see the Lakers winning a home playing

561
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:54,600
Speaker 2: game and then going on the road and Lebron and

562
00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,040
Speaker 2: Ad just kind of playing bully ball and getting it done.

563
00:27:57,119 --> 00:27:59,280
Speaker 2: And so I'm gonna give them, let's just say, a

564
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,000
Speaker 2: fifty five percent chance that I think they play a

565
00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:04,040
Speaker 2: full seven game series and then from there, like who

566
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:05,879
Speaker 2: the hell knows, Like the top of the West is

567
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,240
Speaker 2: still completely jammed together like that could go in seventeen

568
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:12,359
Speaker 2: different directions here down the stretch. So like I, there's

569
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,720
Speaker 2: again I maintained, there's just a tiny, tiny, tiny little

570
00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:19,440
Speaker 2: light at the end of the tunnel. Last thing I

571
00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:21,080
Speaker 2: wanted to get into before we get out of here today.

572
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,720
Speaker 2: After this season, we have a mostly healthy Lebron James

573
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,160
Speaker 2: and Anthony Davis with a lot of young talent around them,

574
00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,680
Speaker 2: albeit a roster that has some gaping holes. And you

575
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,520
Speaker 2: did some venting early on about the health the medical staff,

576
00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,720
Speaker 2: and there's some some legitimacy to that, but for the

577
00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:43,160
Speaker 2: most part, it's been a healthy Lebron James and Anthony Davis.

578
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,280
Speaker 2: And we're sitting in this play in situation again. So

579
00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,800
Speaker 2: do you think after this season, if the Lakers did

580
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 2: get eliminated, or if they lost in the first round,

581
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,040
Speaker 2: do you think there we've reached a point where the

582
00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:59,600
Speaker 2: Lakers have to consider tweaking the Lebron James Anthony Davis foundation?

583
00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,560
Speaker 1: Is that good enough anymore? I think it's still good enough.

584
00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,240
Speaker 1: And I will read you some numbers here. So these

585
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,440
Speaker 1: are per cleaning the glass Lebron and eight on the floor.

586
00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,080
Speaker 1: I have outscored opponents by three point three points per

587
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:18,360
Speaker 1: hundred possessions, which if you extrapolate that to a team context,

588
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:20,840
Speaker 1: that would put them as like the ninth or tenth

589
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 1: best net differential in the league. Lebron and AD with

590
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:30,960
Speaker 1: no Taurian prints plus nine point six points per hundred possessions,

591
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:33,840
Speaker 1: which would be the second best mark in the NBA

592
00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:38,360
Speaker 1: behind the Boston Celtics. And the context there, of course

593
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,920
Speaker 1: is like, obviously Torrian if you're bringing him off the

594
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,360
Speaker 1: bench and he's just you know, a second unit guy

595
00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:46,600
Speaker 1: playing fifteen to twenty minutes to night, he's of course

596
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,400
Speaker 1: going to spend some level of time with Lebron and AD,

597
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,280
Speaker 1: but most of those minutes have come with starting groups

598
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:57,960
Speaker 1: and closing groups and like critical stretches of you're closing,

599
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:01,600
Speaker 1: like the first half, you're closing a game. So really,

600
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,640
Speaker 1: I mean, the data is there, of like, the Lakers

601
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:08,200
Speaker 1: have been much better with those two without Torrion, and

602
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,960
Speaker 1: that's often been with Jared Vanderbilt or Ruy Hachimora or

603
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,440
Speaker 1: Christian Wood as that third front court guy. And then

604
00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,280
Speaker 1: looking at the big four I'll call them. So that's

605
00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:23,360
Speaker 1: the Lebron eighty Austin Dilo plus four points one hundred possessions,

606
00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,160
Speaker 1: which is eighth best mark in the league in a

607
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,960
Speaker 1: team context, the Big Four without Torrion, so that's basically

608
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:32,400
Speaker 1: any starting group that doesn't include Torian, and again some

609
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:36,200
Speaker 1: closing groups plus six point nine points per one hundred possessions,

610
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,120
Speaker 1: which is the fourth best mark. So the lineup data

611
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:44,200
Speaker 1: is there where basically any version of Lebron and eighty

612
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:49,120
Speaker 1: or Lebron eighty Austin Dilo without Torrion has been pretty successful.

613
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,160
Speaker 1: And of course the sample size is a bit smaller

614
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,480
Speaker 1: because they have played so many minutes of Torrion. So

615
00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:57,160
Speaker 1: like maybe in an alternate universe like Ruy starts or

616
00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,640
Speaker 1: Vando is healthy, and the numbers still aren't as great

617
00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:04,360
Speaker 1: as they've been without Torrian, but like really like Torrian's

618
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:06,880
Speaker 1: last on the team and plus minus by almost double

619
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:10,040
Speaker 1: the next guy. The next guy next Lois is Jackson Hayes,

620
00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:13,160
Speaker 1: Torrian's almost double him, So like there's just been a

621
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:16,960
Speaker 1: sample size of Torrian. Prince has been overtasked with the

622
00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:20,560
Speaker 1: starting role that the Lakers have been better with him

623
00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:24,800
Speaker 1: in bigger lineups, and instead the Lakers have continued to

624
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:27,400
Speaker 1: go opposite where they're playing him at the four for

625
00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:29,440
Speaker 1: a lot of stretches, like he's basically become the backup

626
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:33,520
Speaker 1: power forward over this stretch without Van Dell, without Christian

627
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:35,440
Speaker 1: So like, I don't want to put it all on Torreon,

628
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,960
Speaker 1: to be clear, but I do think that there's still

629
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,120
Speaker 1: a foundation there of like Lebron and ad. You look

630
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,200
Speaker 1: at the n Season Tournament Championship, you look at some

631
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:46,480
Speaker 1: of them are like they're three and one against the Clippers,

632
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:49,800
Speaker 1: They're three and two against the Suns, They're three and

633
00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:53,680
Speaker 1: one against the Thunder. Like they've been at least five

634
00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:57,160
Speaker 1: hundred or better against most of the West, with Denver

635
00:31:57,240 --> 00:32:00,920
Speaker 1: being an exception, Sacramento and Minnesota. So like, just looking

636
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:04,240
Speaker 1: at that, I still think, you know, with the right

637
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,000
Speaker 1: players supporting pieces like this is a group that can

638
00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:11,200
Speaker 1: contend for championships. Now, what I will say, though, is

639
00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:13,480
Speaker 1: you have to nail the rest of the roster, and

640
00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,240
Speaker 1: you have to nail the lineups and the rotation. And

641
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 1: I think the Lakers have fallen short in both regards right,

642
00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:21,280
Speaker 1: and part of it has been out of their control.

643
00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:24,440
Speaker 1: Where Like Gabe Vincent was their primary offseason edition, He's

644
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:28,720
Speaker 1: played five games and in theory, like the theory of

645
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,080
Speaker 1: Gabe Vincent around Lebron and eight. It's a guy who

646
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:34,320
Speaker 1: can play off the ball, be a plus shooter, take

647
00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,160
Speaker 1: that basically that dentist role that they didn't have until

648
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,480
Speaker 1: they got Spencered Dinwiddie, and be a point of attack

649
00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:44,160
Speaker 1: guy and defend either backcourt spot. Jared Vanderbilt has missed

650
00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:47,320
Speaker 1: over half the season. Now, like that was a guy

651
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:49,840
Speaker 1: who is the projected starting small forward. So like some

652
00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,000
Speaker 1: of the stuff has been injury related and out of

653
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,920
Speaker 1: their control. But again, I think they didn't have enough

654
00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,000
Speaker 1: perimeter defense in general. I don't think they have enough

655
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,080
Speaker 1: dirty work guys. And then looking at the lineups and

656
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:05,640
Speaker 1: the rotations, like Torrean Prince starting forty nine games was

657
00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,360
Speaker 1: just a mistake and it just never made sense from

658
00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 1: the beginning. And the Lakers pivoted from not having Jared

659
00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:14,360
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt because that was the plan. He was going to

660
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 1: be the starter once they kind of started sifting through

661
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,080
Speaker 1: things in training camp. He gets injured in the second

662
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,320
Speaker 1: preseason game. And then I know you've talked about it

663
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,000
Speaker 1: a lot the Galaxy braining things like instead of just

664
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,760
Speaker 1: going to Rui Hachimura, who's a guy you just invested

665
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,080
Speaker 1: in for seventeen million dollars a year. You go to

666
00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:34,800
Speaker 1: Torreon Prince, who is a career journeyman bench wing, and

667
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,600
Speaker 1: not only do you go to him, you don't even

668
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,400
Speaker 1: make him really like a placehold starter, Like you're playing

669
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,240
Speaker 1: him thirty to thirty five minutes a night and he's

670
00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,160
Speaker 1: shattering all these minutes records that he hasn't reached since

671
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:48,560
Speaker 1: his second season in the league, and the lineups have

672
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,800
Speaker 1: just been bad. And then instead of pivoting and saying, Okay,

673
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,040
Speaker 1: we tried this, it's not working, you ben Austin and

674
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,560
Speaker 1: then you benched Loo that at one point you have

675
00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:00,920
Speaker 1: your third, fourth, and fifth PA highest paid play coming

676
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,640
Speaker 1: off the bench for a team that is top heavy,

677
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,240
Speaker 1: and it just doesn't make sense from like a financial

678
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,480
Speaker 1: perspective of this is a group where you should be

679
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,239
Speaker 1: playing your highest paid players because that was the way

680
00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:14,319
Speaker 1: that this roster was formed. And so I know I'm

681
00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:15,880
Speaker 1: going on a bit of a rant here, but like,

682
00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,799
Speaker 1: just in looking at it, it's been clear there is

683
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,240
Speaker 1: still that foundation of a championship contender in my opinion,

684
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 1: with Lebron and ad and one healthy, but you got

685
00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:28,800
Speaker 1: to nail the guys around them. I think that was

686
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:30,759
Speaker 1: kind of hit or miss, and then you gotta nail

687
00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:32,880
Speaker 1: the rotations and the lineups, and I think that's been

688
00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:33,840
Speaker 1: a big miss this season.

689
00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:38,799
Speaker 2: The part everything you just broke down, all those decisions

690
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,600
Speaker 2: that all coincided in the three and ten stretch, which

691
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:45,279
Speaker 2: is like, if the Lakers do not play in a

692
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,799
Speaker 2: first round playoff series, that is what we have to

693
00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:50,080
Speaker 2: point to is where it all went wrong, because just

694
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,720
Speaker 2: simply based on the standings, they have been a good

695
00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:58,080
Speaker 2: playoff team outside of that three and ten stretch. That

696
00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:00,560
Speaker 2: that's where it all went wrong, and that is when

697
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,319
Speaker 2: all that galaxy braining was taking place. Here's the thing

698
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:09,000
Speaker 2: I do believe in Lebron James and Anthony Davis as

699
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:12,279
Speaker 2: a playoff duo. I think that when you get into

700
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:15,800
Speaker 2: that setting and they both are engaged physically more often

701
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,960
Speaker 2: than not, they are deeply impactful on both ends of

702
00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:21,840
Speaker 2: the floor, both as offensive and defensive players. And I

703
00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:24,279
Speaker 2: think the best giveaway of that is, like Lebron and

704
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,080
Speaker 2: Adier are better now than they were last year. They're

705
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:28,040
Speaker 2: better basketball players now than they were last year, and

706
00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:29,680
Speaker 2: last year they were good enough to take their team

707
00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:32,920
Speaker 2: to the Western Conference Finals. Here's the thing though, both

708
00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:35,839
Speaker 2: ends of the floor for those guys depend on a

709
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:39,960
Speaker 2: certain level of physical exertion. Right Lebron James is probably

710
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,880
Speaker 2: the biggest chasm between the night to night defensive effort

711
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:44,720
Speaker 2: and his defensive ceiling that you have in the league.

712
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:47,640
Speaker 2: Totally makes sense. He's thirty nine years old, but on

713
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,719
Speaker 2: any given night he's a bad defensive player, and then

714
00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:53,799
Speaker 2: when he tries, he's a very good defensive player. It's

715
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,200
Speaker 2: like it's a crazy chasm between the two sides. And

716
00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:00,520
Speaker 2: then even with Anthony Davis, like it's it's weird because

717
00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:03,800
Speaker 2: when AD's really engaged defensively, he's best defensive player in

718
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,600
Speaker 2: the world, complete world stopper. But then like his night

719
00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:09,200
Speaker 2: to night efforts sometimes can go from that to something

720
00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:11,440
Speaker 2: significantly lower as well. And then when you go to

721
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:13,960
Speaker 2: the offensive end of the floor, because teams switch their

722
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:17,000
Speaker 2: ball screens because they double team them in the post

723
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,080
Speaker 2: a lot like they so much of Lebron and AD's

724
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:24,240
Speaker 2: offensive success comes down to physical exertion. And so because

725
00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:26,040
Speaker 2: of that, because you have a thirty one year old

726
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:28,480
Speaker 2: Ad who's had a bunch of injuries and generally is

727
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,200
Speaker 2: a guy that's not necessarily the highest motor player in

728
00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,920
Speaker 2: NBA history, And because Lebron James are thirty nine years

729
00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:38,359
Speaker 2: old in the regular season for eighty two games, you

730
00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:43,080
Speaker 2: have a foundation that depends so much on Lebron and

731
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:47,680
Speaker 2: Ad playing hard and playing with physical exertion, and so

732
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,640
Speaker 2: when they don't like that, like one of the biggest

733
00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:53,000
Speaker 2: things that went wrong in that Sacramento game is Lebron

734
00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:55,600
Speaker 2: and Ad just didn't bring it physically when they went

735
00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,319
Speaker 2: on the road. And so again, like what I look

736
00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:02,120
Speaker 2: at is like when you're an offensive minded star, like

737
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:04,560
Speaker 2: I'm let me just talk about like Luca for instance,

738
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:09,280
Speaker 2: because even on Luca's Knights, where he's not playing any defense,

739
00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:14,479
Speaker 2: he's still just a super nova offensively. All of these

740
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:17,200
Speaker 2: guys that are like that, they do play hard on

741
00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:21,560
Speaker 2: offense every night because offense is fun and they have

742
00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:24,480
Speaker 2: this supreme skill set and so they can bring it

743
00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:27,000
Speaker 2: every single night, and in the eighty two games, it

744
00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:31,520
Speaker 2: impacts winning more than the two way player that's dependent

745
00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:34,240
Speaker 2: on effort and energy, because that effort and energy can wane,

746
00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:37,359
Speaker 2: and when it wanes, their athletic gifts are not being

747
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,520
Speaker 2: weaponized as much, and so they don't have as much impact.

748
00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,920
Speaker 2: And so I think there is a conversation to be

749
00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:44,880
Speaker 2: had about Lebron and Ad in the regular season, and

750
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:48,840
Speaker 2: the conversation is very simple. You either need to surround

751
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:54,160
Speaker 2: them with high motor athletes or you need to surround

752
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,760
Speaker 2: them with or put them next to a supremely gifted

753
00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:01,000
Speaker 2: offensive player. And no, Austin Reeveson and Dangelo Russell are

754
00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:03,879
Speaker 2: not good enough. So like, that's the thing, like one

755
00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:06,040
Speaker 2: of the things that I see at a potential Trey

756
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:07,840
Speaker 2: Young acquisition if they were to make that sort of

757
00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,600
Speaker 2: move this summer, and it could completely gut the depth

758
00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:13,440
Speaker 2: chart and leave them some other holes. But at the

759
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:16,719
Speaker 2: very least over an eighty two game regular season, Trey

760
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:20,719
Speaker 2: Young brings so much to the table offensively that it

761
00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:22,719
Speaker 2: would make up for a lot of the lack of

762
00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:24,719
Speaker 2: physical exertion you can get from time to time for

763
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:28,680
Speaker 2: Lebron and Ad, which you can't have anymore. Is like,

764
00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:32,080
Speaker 2: I think this season has been a strong indicator that

765
00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:36,240
Speaker 2: just surrounding them with offensive skill that does not bring

766
00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:39,279
Speaker 2: high motor athleticism to the table is not good enough

767
00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:42,960
Speaker 2: because those offensive players are not good enough to carry

768
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:46,239
Speaker 2: the offense. They require Lebron and Ad to bring a

769
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:49,040
Speaker 2: certain level of physical exertion, and then they're also not

770
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:51,440
Speaker 2: good enough defensively. And so this team has been so

771
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:54,640
Speaker 2: dependent on Lebron and AD's effort, and so on any

772
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 2: given night, when Lebron and Ad really bring it, they

773
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:00,319
Speaker 2: can beat the best teams in the league, but they

774
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,560
Speaker 2: can lose to anybody because of the exact same reason.

775
00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:07,439
Speaker 2: And so they are now there this particular build, which

776
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:10,480
Speaker 2: is essentially I would argue it's offensive skill around Lebron

777
00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:13,400
Speaker 2: and Ad. It's d Loo, it's Austin, it's Torrian Prince.

778
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:15,719
Speaker 2: Even Ruy Hachimura is a guy that brings a certain

779
00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:18,680
Speaker 2: level of physicality to the table, but he cannot rebound

780
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:20,239
Speaker 2: as well as you'd like, and not defend as well

781
00:39:20,239 --> 00:39:22,560
Speaker 2: as you'd like from time to time. The only guy

782
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,040
Speaker 2: there that's a professional defender is Jared Vanderbilt. He's the

783
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:28,080
Speaker 2: only guy. And so now that he's gone, you've seen

784
00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:32,200
Speaker 2: all those limitations, and so do I think that after

785
00:39:32,239 --> 00:39:36,359
Speaker 2: this season, like you absolutely have to tweak in one

786
00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:38,360
Speaker 2: of those two directions. You either need you get a

787
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,359
Speaker 2: star guard in here, like a real star guard that

788
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:44,040
Speaker 2: can run the entire offense for eighty two games. So

789
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:45,960
Speaker 2: that Lebron and Ad can do what they want to

790
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:48,520
Speaker 2: do for eighty two games, which is set screens and

791
00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:51,120
Speaker 2: roll into the open parts of the floor and let

792
00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:54,160
Speaker 2: other people do the work. That's just their personality at

793
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:56,360
Speaker 2: this point. So you either got to do that or

794
00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:58,600
Speaker 2: you got to put a bunch of Carusos and Vanderbilts

795
00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:01,920
Speaker 2: and Bruce Brown's types around them so that even if

796
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,280
Speaker 2: they don't bring a ton of physicality to the table,

797
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:07,040
Speaker 2: the other guys will and then you can win with defense.

798
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,920
Speaker 2: But I do think, as much as I agree with

799
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,160
Speaker 2: you that I believe in the Lebron and Ad ceiling,

800
00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,720
Speaker 2: I do think that they've got to do something different

801
00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:17,680
Speaker 2: in the regular season because this doesn't work.

802
00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:18,160
Speaker 3: Do you agree?

803
00:40:18,239 --> 00:40:21,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, we're totally We're totally in agreement, like I think,

804
00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:23,480
Speaker 1: And that's where I was kind of getting at, is

805
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:26,680
Speaker 1: like I mean, I don't think they nail the supporting pieces,

806
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:28,920
Speaker 1: Like I don't think they have enough of the dirty

807
00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:33,000
Speaker 1: work guys, and like they have this like if you

808
00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:34,840
Speaker 1: look at some of the trends of the guys that

809
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:36,960
Speaker 1: they've signed, it's been a lot of pedigree guys, right,

810
00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:40,360
Speaker 1: Like I mean, Christian Wood, even though he wasn't a

811
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:42,680
Speaker 1: pedigree guy coming into the NBA. He's kind of become

812
00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:45,319
Speaker 1: is a name, at least if you're comparing him to

813
00:40:45,400 --> 00:40:47,359
Speaker 1: like some of the other backup bigs in the league,

814
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:50,160
Speaker 1: Like most people know who Christian Would is at this point,

815
00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:53,920
Speaker 1: and then even Cam Reddish or Jackson Hayes, like I

816
00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:56,160
Speaker 1: think they need like and I think even if they

817
00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:59,600
Speaker 1: go the third starter route, like you still have to

818
00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:01,840
Speaker 1: add those dirty work guys and it's going to be

819
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:04,839
Speaker 1: like a bunch of medal ludes. But I think this

820
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:07,960
Speaker 1: roster ended up in hindsight's always twenty twenty and it's

821
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,320
Speaker 1: easy for us to sit here and criticize it. Although

822
00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:13,000
Speaker 1: I think we did have some of these concerns entering

823
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:16,320
Speaker 1: the season, and I think they've bore out to some extent.

824
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:20,080
Speaker 1: But like this roster, I do think ultimately trended more

825
00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:25,759
Speaker 1: offensive than defensive, and then your margin for error was

826
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:28,680
Speaker 1: so slim with it where you lose two of your

827
00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:32,680
Speaker 1: better perimeter defenders in Gabe and your best in vandoh

828
00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:34,560
Speaker 1: and then one of your best in Gabe and like

829
00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:37,399
Speaker 1: then all of a sudden it teeters and like that.

830
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,600
Speaker 1: So I've been looking at for me everything with the Lakers,

831
00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:42,319
Speaker 1: and kind of how I've been judging them recently has

832
00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:45,400
Speaker 1: been looking at the numbers since February third, because that

833
00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:48,120
Speaker 1: is when Ruy Haschimora entered the starting lineup, and that's

834
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:53,160
Speaker 1: basically been their rotation into like Christian played some of that,

835
00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:55,200
Speaker 1: but like no Vando, because I think it's kind of

836
00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:57,799
Speaker 1: pointless until we know Vando is for sure coming back

837
00:41:57,920 --> 00:41:59,480
Speaker 1: or we see him back in the lineup for sure.

838
00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:02,880
Speaker 1: Look at those numbers since then, they are second in

839
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:05,279
Speaker 1: the league in offense and twenty seventh in defense. And

840
00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:08,120
Speaker 1: that's where some of my pessimism comes in with them

841
00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:11,040
Speaker 1: making a run in the plan is like I just

842
00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:13,759
Speaker 1: don't have confidence in their defense right now, and part

843
00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,880
Speaker 1: of that is just the injuries and how things have

844
00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:19,080
Speaker 1: shaken out, like part of it is the roster construction,

845
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:21,279
Speaker 1: and like, so I look at it, I think they

846
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:24,280
Speaker 1: need some of those dirty work wing and guard types,

847
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:26,799
Speaker 1: but I also think they need a big man that

848
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:31,160
Speaker 1: you can comfortably close games with next to Anthony Davis

849
00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:35,800
Speaker 1: in certain matchups against the Sabonis, against the Jokic against

850
00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:38,400
Speaker 1: even if Nurkic is just you know, killing him for

851
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:41,080
Speaker 1: whatever reason, Like you need that kind of big bruiser

852
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:44,360
Speaker 1: that it's a tough player to find that you know,

853
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:47,000
Speaker 1: they don't grow in because ideally that player has some

854
00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:49,680
Speaker 1: level of skill where they can be a DHO guy

855
00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:52,839
Speaker 1: or they could be potentially like a floor spacer. And

856
00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:55,680
Speaker 1: again that that's a very difficult player archetype to find.

857
00:42:55,719 --> 00:42:59,760
Speaker 1: But like someone you can at least play for fifteen

858
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:03,200
Speaker 1: twenty minutes a night against Denver and against some of

859
00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:05,880
Speaker 1: the top teams in the league and like have confidence

860
00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:07,880
Speaker 1: that they can hold their own and if need be

861
00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:10,880
Speaker 1: closed next to Anthony Davis, and I don't think Christian

862
00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:13,879
Speaker 1: Wood or Jackson Hayes is that level of big man.

863
00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:17,640
Speaker 1: And I think moving forward, as they start to reshape

864
00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:21,799
Speaker 1: and reallocate some of their resources, I do think investing

865
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:25,360
Speaker 1: in a better big man next to Anthony Davis should

866
00:43:25,400 --> 00:43:27,719
Speaker 1: be not at the top of the list. I still

867
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:29,799
Speaker 1: I agree with you overall, like if you could get

868
00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:31,640
Speaker 1: an elite three and d Wing, or you could get

869
00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:35,200
Speaker 1: an elite ball you know, guard ball handler to come

870
00:43:35,239 --> 00:43:37,359
Speaker 1: in and be an upgrade over Austin and Dilo, Like

871
00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:40,359
Speaker 1: I think those two are probably greater needs. But right

872
00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:43,319
Speaker 1: there at number three for me is a big man

873
00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:46,640
Speaker 1: who you can comfortably play fifteen to twenty minutes a

874
00:43:46,719 --> 00:43:50,239
Speaker 1: night against good teams and close with AD because I

875
00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:53,759
Speaker 1: think not having that has shifted their lineups into being

876
00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:55,960
Speaker 1: too small. And that's what you've seen lately is like

877
00:43:56,080 --> 00:43:58,839
Speaker 1: they struggle on the glass. They've been playing again these

878
00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:02,400
Speaker 1: lineups with like Cam when he's healthy, Autorian at the

879
00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:05,200
Speaker 1: flour and like, that's not what you should be doing

880
00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:07,520
Speaker 1: with this group. You should be playing bigger. All the

881
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:10,200
Speaker 1: lineup data shows Lakers are better when they're bigger. That's

882
00:44:10,239 --> 00:44:11,960
Speaker 1: been the case the season, that was the case in

883
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:14,960
Speaker 1: twenty twenty. Obviously closing games are going to close with

884
00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:17,120
Speaker 1: eighty at the five, But like for the most part,

885
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:18,840
Speaker 1: for the meat and bones of the regular season, like

886
00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:21,640
Speaker 1: you got to go bigger, and for me, I think

887
00:44:21,719 --> 00:44:26,040
Speaker 1: finding better you know, big men that compliment AD again

888
00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:29,160
Speaker 1: is something that they kind of overlooked the last few years.

889
00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:31,880
Speaker 1: They've tried the minimum guys. It hasn't worked. I think

890
00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:34,680
Speaker 1: they need to go out and get a better second

891
00:44:34,760 --> 00:44:37,319
Speaker 1: or third big depending on how you want to label it.

892
00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:42,279
Speaker 2: Yeah, to your point, like instead of going after the

893
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:44,400
Speaker 2: thin athlete type, they need to get more of a

894
00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:47,120
Speaker 2: big body kind of a guy that can you know,

895
00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,719
Speaker 2: bang with the other big centers around the league. An

896
00:44:49,719 --> 00:44:53,359
Speaker 2: example of a guy who might be somewhat affordable as

897
00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:56,680
Speaker 2: an option, there is someone in that like Xavier Tillman

898
00:44:56,800 --> 00:45:00,000
Speaker 2: type of archetype, as a guy that like like maybe

899
00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:04,040
Speaker 2: can play two shifts as like alongside Anthony Davis and

900
00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:07,440
Speaker 2: specific lineup groups. And I'm more talking about the archetype.

901
00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:09,600
Speaker 2: I'm not even familiar with this contract situation off the

902
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:11,319
Speaker 2: top of my head, but like that's the kind of

903
00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:13,480
Speaker 2: guy that is like a lower level center in the

904
00:45:13,480 --> 00:45:15,560
Speaker 2: big in the in the league that's more considered as

905
00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:18,359
Speaker 2: a backup big that can like kind of slide into

906
00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:20,919
Speaker 2: that kind of position. But again, bottom line, they need

907
00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:24,480
Speaker 2: they need to have some sort of more physical foundation

908
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:27,840
Speaker 2: around Lebron in ad like the I think the best

909
00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:30,799
Speaker 2: example of this offensive skill from a star kind of

910
00:45:30,800 --> 00:45:32,480
Speaker 2: carrying you in the regular season that I can think

911
00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:35,040
Speaker 2: of is like Lebron's jump shot. Like, think about how

912
00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:37,200
Speaker 2: often this year the Lakers have been able to just

913
00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:39,279
Speaker 2: kind of get through a regular season game that they

914
00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:42,640
Speaker 2: otherwise would lose because Lebron's just hitting threes. I mean,

915
00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:45,000
Speaker 2: even the Clippers game the other like a month ago.

916
00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:47,560
Speaker 2: That was a great example, Like they lose that game

917
00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:49,560
Speaker 2: by fifteen points if Lebron just doesn't hit a bunch

918
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:52,000
Speaker 2: of threes. And that's the thing is like when you

919
00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:55,439
Speaker 2: have an offensive skill superstar like a Luca or Trey Young,

920
00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:58,120
Speaker 2: like you're you're gonna win a lot of games in

921
00:45:58,120 --> 00:46:00,919
Speaker 2: the regular season just off of offense of skill. And

922
00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:03,239
Speaker 2: and that's the thing is we found out is like

923
00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:07,800
Speaker 2: Austin and Dlo and even Lebron, they're not consistent enough

924
00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:11,640
Speaker 2: as scores to to be able to do that sort

925
00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:14,880
Speaker 2: of thing. Lebron requires a certain level of physical imposition

926
00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:17,480
Speaker 2: to be a consistent offensive player, same with a d

927
00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:21,040
Speaker 2: and then Austin and Dilo or textbook like non star

928
00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:23,200
Speaker 2: guards that are going to have a certain level of

929
00:46:23,239 --> 00:46:26,560
Speaker 2: inconsistency that is kind of natural with what they with

930
00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:30,680
Speaker 2: what their archetype is, right. But yeah, I'm really curious

931
00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:33,960
Speaker 2: to see where they go because like this this no

932
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:36,480
Speaker 2: matter what happens this year, I think this year was

933
00:46:37,400 --> 00:46:40,680
Speaker 2: a complete and total giant red flag in terms of

934
00:46:40,719 --> 00:46:43,560
Speaker 2: this particular roster build and for Darvin Ham and so

935
00:46:43,600 --> 00:46:46,200
Speaker 2: I'm really curious to see what they decide to do

936
00:46:46,239 --> 00:46:49,640
Speaker 2: this summer. All right, Jovon, why don't you shout out

937
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:51,920
Speaker 2: for us what you've been working on as of late

938
00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:53,280
Speaker 2: so people can find your other content.

939
00:46:53,600 --> 00:46:57,240
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I recently started a podcast, was actually around

940
00:46:57,280 --> 00:47:00,560
Speaker 1: the time we did our last episode, So check out block.

941
00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:04,080
Speaker 1: I'm on. Episode six will be coming out on Friday.

942
00:47:04,640 --> 00:47:07,280
Speaker 1: So I'm doing it twice a week, once a solo show,

943
00:47:07,440 --> 00:47:10,080
Speaker 1: once with a guest. I have to have you on, Jason,

944
00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:15,640
Speaker 1: and we'll flip the script and put you ed El

945
00:47:15,680 --> 00:47:17,799
Speaker 1: has had you know, I'll grill you a little bit.

946
00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:21,719
Speaker 1: But yeah, so that and then YouTube stuff. I've been

947
00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:25,040
Speaker 1: turning out content postgame reactions and trying to get a

948
00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:26,919
Speaker 1: video up every single day, trying to do a live

949
00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:31,200
Speaker 1: stream once a week. So it's been fun. I've again,

950
00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:34,120
Speaker 1: I've I've learned a lot from you and Paul and

951
00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:37,040
Speaker 1: everyone here at the Volume, and you guys have really

952
00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:39,879
Speaker 1: informed how I'm trying to build this out and having

953
00:47:39,880 --> 00:47:42,240
Speaker 1: a lot of fun with it. And if you enjoy

954
00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:45,520
Speaker 1: our interviews here, I hope you consider checking it out.

955
00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:49,080
Speaker 3: Yeah, make sure you guys get over to check out.

956
00:47:49,080 --> 00:47:52,400
Speaker 2: You Havevon's YouTube channel in his new podcast, We're definitely

957
00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:53,960
Speaker 2: gonna have him on a couple more times here down

958
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:55,680
Speaker 2: the stretch as we get into some of these more

959
00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:58,080
Speaker 2: important regular season games, and then obviously as we head

960
00:47:58,120 --> 00:48:00,799
Speaker 2: into the playing game, and then man, we are going

961
00:48:00,840 --> 00:48:03,560
Speaker 2: to have a very interesting summary yovon, a lot of

962
00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:05,120
Speaker 2: stuff to talk about when we get there.

963
00:48:05,160 --> 00:48:07,000
Speaker 3: All right, guys, that is all we have for today.

964
00:48:08,520 --> 00:48:11,000
Speaker 2: We probably are going to have a quick little instant

965
00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:13,839
Speaker 2: reaction to Celtics Bucks coming out here in a couple

966
00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:17,360
Speaker 2: of hours. And then tomorrow on Friday, we have the

967
00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:21,520
Speaker 2: Nerd Sash guys coming on to do three big NBA questions,

968
00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:23,280
Speaker 2: and then we also have a mail bag for this weekend.

969
00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:24,000
Speaker 3: I will see you guys.

970
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:56,840
Speaker 1: Then the volume