WEBVTT - Lakers/Nuggets Postgame Spaces 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:18.120 Mmmmmm, all right. Welcome to Stay to the Lakers presented 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:22.040 by DASS Radio. Happy Saturday, everybody. I am glad to 0:00:22.120 --> 0:00:25.240 be back. I missed your rogs. We haven't talked since Sunday, 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:30.400 played a little podcast version of phone Tag for various reasons. 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:32.879 But I'm excited to get to the bottom of a 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:36.120 bunch of stuff with you tonight because the Lakers uh 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:39.400 did something that I think we're not entirely shocked by, 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:42.280 but continues to stick with a bunch of the themes 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:45.599 that I've been meaning to talk with you about since Sunday, 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:48.000 which is good because we have a lot of topics 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:49.640 to get to. But first of all, how are you doing, buddy? 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:54.760 How is your week? It's going well. The Lakers obviously 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:56.440 aren't helping any of it, but you know, I'm having 0:00:56.440 --> 0:00:58.800 a nice little get together at my house here. Friends 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:01.920 brought over some flukin stuff, so it's nice. I'm enjoying myself, 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:04.040 if you know. The Lakers don't want me to, so 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:05.560 I'm joining mouth. How are you though, man? How is 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:07.679 your ski trip? How was the vacation? I'm doing good. 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:10.200 Skiing was fun. Um that family trip that I do 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:11.640 with my wife's family we go in a couple of 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:13.640 ski trips every year, but the one with my wife's 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.160 family is always a ton of fun um, not too 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:19.840 much travel, not too much drama traveling, which is something 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:21.800 I'm thankful for because I know that a lot of 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:25.520 people are dealing with a bunch of uh inconveniences on 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.600 that front. But the snow conditions are amazing. Skiing is 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:30.760 my second favorite thing to do in the world, behind basketball, 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:32.520 and I had a good time doing it. But anyway, 0:01:32.560 --> 0:01:36.600 let's get to the game, because you know this team 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:40.080 is fundamentally broken. This is you know, there's a thing 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:43.560 that you keep tweeting that you've tweeted throughout the season, 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:46.440 something that I've reiterated on the podcast. I'm not calling 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:48.960 you out by any stretch of the imagination, but you 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:53.240 say there's a good team in there, somewhere somewhere there is. 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.360 I think you're right. But the good team that's in 0:01:56.400 --> 0:02:00.360 there is Lebron and they d it's not anything else. 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:05.240 And one of the themes of my podcast that I 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:10.280 did on Thursday was this idea that the Lakers made 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:15.919 an identity change through personnel that has backfired and is 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:19.320 backfired miserably and the Lakers have had a couple of 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:24.359 different options moving forward. They can either say, hey, Kendrick 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:27.880 Nunn was out, Hey Anthony Davis has been out of one, 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:32.360 Lebron has missed time, we're integrating new pieces. You know, 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:34.079 this guy has been hurt. That guy has been hurt. 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.440 We can blame it on all these issues, or we 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:42.360 can acknowledge the reality of the situation, which is, we 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:44.880 brought in a bunch of guys who may be on 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:47.959 their own volition, bring a certain amount of stuff to 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:51.360 the table as basketball players. But this concoction of basketball players, 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:55.160 all these guys put together, they can't win in this league. 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.799 It's a problem. And so I wonder if the Lakers 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:00.959 are going to ever come to terms with that fact. 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:02.880 But it's like, I mean, here's the thing, Rogers, and 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:04.320 is the last thing I'll say for kick it over 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:08.600 to you. They had a spirited film session after getting 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:13.160 lit on fire by a terrible Sacramento Kings team. All 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:17.200 the things they did wrong, all the missed opportunities, all 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:20.120 the mistakes, the defensive mistakes, and the little details that 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:24.800 they dropped, and then from the opening tip tonight, none 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:27.799 of that stuff was put into practice. None of it right, 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:32.919 and so they don't like, don't burden yourself with caring 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:35.280 more than they do, because for whatever reason, this group 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:40.400 of guys doesn't care, you know. But that's where I'm at. Yeah, 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:42.680 none of that's wrong. And I also got killed at halftime. 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.240 You know, I said, I thought they played hard to 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:47.920 an extent, and I would have loved to be a 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:49.920 fly on the wall right in that film session. I 0:03:49.960 --> 0:03:52.120 would of love too went down, I would of love 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:53.960 because we all watched the same tape. You know, the 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:55.680 film is the same weather I watch it here, you 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:57.960 watch it in a you know, a fancy film room. 0:03:58.000 --> 0:03:59.640 Like the tape. The tape is the same. We gave 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:03.040 up points tonight Denver. You know, hit everything. They were 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.800 super hot from three I think they were fifteen ours. 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.040 You know, Jameson, I know how to like. Our schemes 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:12.920 don't really have any rhyme or reason right Like, there's 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:16.000 there's no like, there's no end goal to what we're doing. 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:18.359 I feel like, and we just double team for no reason. 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:20.640 I thought early on, I thought Dwight on your kitch 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:22.440 was good. I thought that was a smart way to 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:24.200 start the game. And I thought Dwight was good. He 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:26.880 had a bunch of offensive rebounds. Russell Westbrook for the 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:28.840 first five minutes the game was getting to the basket. 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:30.360 I think they had Will Barton on him, or they 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:33.039 had another guard on him. And then immediately that what 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:35.440 we've talked about all season, Teams are going to eventually 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:38.640 just switch their big wing onto him or break forward. 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:41.440 They switched Aaron Gordon onto him, and Russell Westbrook just 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:44.440 continue to drive through him, right and Eron Gordon is 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:46.839 not a guy you can drive through him. And you 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:48.840 know that if you want to look at glass alf fool, 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:51.640 maybe Aaron Gordon has to take Anthony Davis when they're playing. 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:54.640 But most good teams might have three, you know, big 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:56.760 wing guys they can throw on Lebron Russe and a 0:04:56.839 --> 0:04:58.480 d And that's what they did tonight. And again Russ 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:00.760 put his head down, went to the basket, missed a 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:02.880 bunch of layups at the rim, Aaron Gordon was on 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:05.880 and decided to take some you know, questionable jump shots. 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:07.520 This this is not on Russ. I think our problem 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:10.520 tonight was defensively, but it's a team wide issue that 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:12.479 we're seeing. And my point on there's a good team 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:15.360 in here. There's a ladder, and I keep saying there's 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:16.960 like a step by step process. We have to go 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:19.520 through that, but we can't go there if we quit 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:22.840 along the way, right, And that's kind of what I'm saying. 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:25.080 There's a like, there's a breaking point. I think also 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.599 the small ball. I think when you start Malik Monk 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.200 and Avery Bradley like and there, it's not their fault 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:32.840 in terms of like personally and it's not personal for them, 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:34.720 it's just you spart two guys who are like six 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:36.760 one Like, there's a breaking point to that. And then 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.200 Lebron James is not going to be you know, the 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.720 engaged Draymond while also having the offensive load that he is. 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.800 Like that's and you said tonight he has to be better, absolutely, 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.240 but that's just the Lebron that we're getting. I thought 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:50.200 White again starting helped with that, but there was a 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:53.279 quit there. Denver went up like ten to twelve points, 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.559 and the body language just shifted between the whole team. 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.200 I thought our only real, you know, fire that we 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:01.719 showed was when Russ took it personal against Aaron Gordon. 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:03.720 I think they got double technicals or something, and he 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:05.960 had a little fire to him there, but there's a 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.920 there's a human element to this team that's that's rough 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:11.000 to watch every night. I think Anthony Davis fixes a 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:13.440 lot of the basketball problems. I think Kendrick Nonna helps 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.160 a lot of the basketball problems from the you know 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:18.560 where the help is coming from. He can kind of 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:21.440 take over stuff. But there's like an issue where we're 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.560 not even making teams going to their second and third progression. 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.480 I thought Denver was very easy. Uh Yoki post of 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:29.520 double team one passed away open three? Uh one passed 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:31.320 away as a cut Like it's just there's no rhyme 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:33.320 of reason to we're doing so. I don't know, man, 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:35.159 that I don't have answered. This was one of the 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:38.680 most frustrating, one of the most like, uh, kill your 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:41.760 spirit type of games. I guess uh to watch and 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:44.120 the rust of Westwark fits going to be the conundrum 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:46.160 we tried to solve throughout the season. But this defense 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:48.440 has been getting worse and worse, and I think our 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:50.320 small ball has hit up breaking point to where teams 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:52.320 just know what to do. They go right to the 0:06:52.400 --> 0:06:54.960 rim every time, and eventually there's a breaking point to 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:57.080 where the game collapses. We either give up an open 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.400 corner three or layups at the basket. And that's again 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:01.560 what happened to it is what happened against Sacramento is 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:05.039 what happens against Memphis. Like this is a consistent theme 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.719 and and I'm not sure when it really I'm glad 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:09.160 you brought up the stuff with the scheme because this 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:11.520 teame doesn't really match up with the personnel. That is 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:14.920 certainly the case, but like what's what's funny is just 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:18.600 in general, this team has departed from what made them 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:20.920 good and this is a this is a concept. I 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.000 feel bad for the listeners because I've been hammering this 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:25.600 home for the last like two weeks. But like, again, 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:32.120 think about the Lakers. We started KCP at point guard, five, 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:37.000 We started Danny Green at the two, six, We started 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:41.600 Lebron at the three, nine, Anthony Davis at at power forward, 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.200 and Jamal McGee at center. And even when we went small, 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:49.840 it was Alex Crusoe ripped six six freak athlete coming in, 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:53.760 or it was Kyle Kuzma coming in. You know, we 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:57.520 are the small guy we would play would be a 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:01.040 Rondo or and Avery Bradley. We we were a huge 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:04.680 basketball team that it was incredibly athletic up and down 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:09.040 the roster, and we punished teams with our physicality. And 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:12.480 when you watch those that playoff run. The interesting part 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:14.760 about it, and this is a consistent theme that I've 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:18.040 talked about. Why I think it's so important to build 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:22.760 defense first and then to let the offense kind of 0:08:22.760 --> 0:08:27.480 come from that is because defense is the ultimate energy, 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:31.880 effort focus, you know, behavior in all of sports. Right, 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:35.040 it's not fun to play. Defense doesn't get you on 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:39.120 highlights usually, right, So a lot of guys struggle with 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:44.040 effort on that end. So if you're a defensive team 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.400 and you get stops and you get out in transition 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:52.600 like that Lakers team did, even limited offensive players, the 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:55.200 same reason why we made all these trades this summer 0:08:55.200 --> 0:08:59.400 to get better offensive players. Even those limited offensive players 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:04.280 had offensive success in that playoff run because they fed 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:07.440 off their defense. We saw Mark Kith Morris make a 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:12.840 ton of huge threes. We saw KCP attacking closeouts making threes. 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.559 We saw all of these players Alex Crusoe started in 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:20.320 the NBA Finals, had big moments. These guys they built 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.600 their offense off of the strength of their defense, and 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.720 it was a proven formula. And what was so funny 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:29.439 is we saw, you know, the team really fall apart 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:32.920 against Phoenix in the playoffs last year, and it kind 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:37.040 of it changed the tone of this entire era, which 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:39.840 is strange because what really happened in that Phoenix series 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:43.160 was we didn't shoot the ball well. Yeah, but we 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:45.040 didn't shoot the ball well even when we were winning. 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:47.160 If you remember, guys, when we were doing the State 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.920 of the Lakers postgame shows in the playoff run, we 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:52.480 were up to one in the series, and Roger and 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:55.160 I were talking about how we felt really good about 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:58.880 our chances because we hadn't made any shots yet, you know, 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:03.240 and like, and we knew from the team that KCP 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:05.320 was a better shooter than he was showing that Kyle, 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.199 BECAUSEMA was a better shooter than he was showing. Alex 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:09.840 Cruso was a better shooter than he was showing. We 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:12.920 knew that eventually shots would going and things would be fine. 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:16.160 But instead, Anthony Davis goes down and so as a result, 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:19.920 the offensive Britain becomes even greater. Guys continue to struggle, 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:23.839 we lose, and then everybody in the front office and 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.679 including Lebron and A D apparently look at each other 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:29.560 and go, Nope, this whole thing is broken. We need 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:33.720 to fundamentally change what made us who we were. And 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:38.040 that's ridiculous to me because again, you had a proven 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:42.120 method to win basketball games at this level. And now, 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:45.360 even what's crazy about it is even when we have 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.000 guys on the floor who have that identity, when we 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.400 have Stanley Johnson out there, when we have Austin Reeves 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:55.280 out there, the problem is is there always playing alongside 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:58.800 guys like Malik Monk, guys like Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley, 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:01.320 who's been struggling a little bit with his lack of 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:05.640 size lately. The totality of the lineups just don't possess 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:10.640 the same imposing physical nature that earlier versions of our 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:13.640 team had. And so this is why, like I tweeted earlier, 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:15.920 like this needs to be the two thousand eighteen Calves 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:20.160 trade deadline. You can if this team this is you 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:21.959 texted me after the pot on Thursday, you go, I 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:24.440 want to talk about the concept of going down with 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:27.960 the ship because I've seen a couple of people and 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:30.679 not calling them out or anything, I'm just saying I disagree. 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:34.160 I've seen people say like all we need is this 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:38.240 little trade here and Kendrick Nunn coming back, and I 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.959 thoroughly disagree with that. This is a team that needs 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:46.640 wholesale changes. And to me, pretending is though Kendrick Nunn 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:48.960 is going to fix the problem, pretending as though even 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.080 Anthony Davis is going to fix the problem. To me, 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:56.920 that's not acknowledging the reality of the situation, which is 0:11:56.960 --> 0:12:00.079 that even when Lebron and Anthony Davis or hell me 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.800 this season and on the floor together, they didn't win 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:05.240 at the same pace, not even nearly the same pace 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:09.319 that they did in previous seasons. So something is wrong 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:14.960 here and at the deadline. I think everybody needs to 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:18.520 be available, They need they need to do whatever they can, 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:22.280 like the Warriors did this past offseason, to try to 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:28.080 recreate what they had in season, bring back as much 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.959 size and athleticism as they can't Guys who enjoy and 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:35.920 appreciate and embrace the dirty work, because then you might 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:38.880 be able to get and recapture some of that flame. 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:41.920 But right but right now, man, like, I'm sorry, but 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:44.760 you can't have a film session about all your defensive 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.520 breakdowns and then come back and give seventy seventy three 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:49.960 up and a half and then tell me, Okay, well, 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:52.040 Kendrick None will do a better job chasing over that 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:54.880 screen and everything will be fine. You know. I just 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:59.640 I just think that that's delusional in my opinions. You 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:02.800 might right, like this time, this team might need wholesale changes. 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:05.360 I just don't see them coming right in. And you 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:08.800 said going down with the ship. You know you've heard 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:10.640 the term like you made your bed, you laid and 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:12.560 you've heard that right before, Like, and I feel like 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:14.880 that's kind of what this is. Except this bed is 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.480 like tied to the floor and right now there's like 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:20.160 springs coming out of it, right And like for a 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:21.760 lot of the season we had none of our wings, 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.120 and then once our wings came back, Andy Davis went 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:28.120 out like and again, like Jason, we've already seen wholesale changes. 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:31.920 Stanley Johnson is starting like it's starting basketball games. Austin 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:34.679 Reeves was undrafted. He was not. You can tell me 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:36.760 the Lakers loved Austin Reeves, and I would believe you. 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:38.880 Obviously they went and made sure they got him. There 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:40.400 was no way they thought he would be a sixth 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:42.720 seventh man, which is what he is. His talent level 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:45.040 is showing that he's a sixth seventh man on this team. 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.760 We've already seen that. Kept Baysmore, who was slotted probably 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:49.520 by a lot of fans to be the starter, right, 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.520 to be that to guard who defends at the point 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:54.480 of the tech. He can't even play. He's playing garbage 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:56.800 time minutes and he's still struggling in those type of 0:13:56.960 --> 0:13:59.400 in those type of environments. DeAndre Jordan's started for twenty 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:01.880 three games this season. He's now out of the rotation. 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:05.040 We've already seen these small wholesale changes here. I just like, 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:07.600 I think the trade stuff is, you know, up pie 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:11.280 in the sky type of dream. Right, are our guys 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.440 who can move our THHD Kendrew Donne and at first 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:15.360 whatever that can get you? Fine, but this is the 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:17.600 team to me, Russell Westbrook's not going anywhere it makes 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:19.560 I don't like to bring up the contract. I think 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.320 that's been you know, talked to at nausea. But like 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:24.240 he makes forty four million dollars, you're not moving him 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:26.440 for anything tangible that's gonna help you this season, in 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:28.360 my opinion, So that fit has to be figured out. 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:30.760 You can bring a Jeremy Grant in, but there's basketball stuff, 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.560 Jason that's that's wrong, and there's human elements stuff that's 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.160 been wrong. Anthony Davis and Lebron and Russell Westbrook played 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.600 fifteen games together this year, and in those games, Anthony 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:41.080 Davis took off a lot of those you know what 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:43.080 I mean. Lebron was a game offensively, but I think 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:45.680 the defense still wasn't there. Russell Westbrook was still lost 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:47.520 on a lot of possessions. We started them next to 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:50.360 DeAndre Jordan's. I twoted the staff the other day, Russ, 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:52.480 Lebron and A D have played a hundred and ninety 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:55.680 minutes together where eighties at center, that's close to nothing. 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.080 Stanley Johnson has already played. Now be leave if you 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:00.480 clue tonight, like a hundred minutes next to Braun and 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:02.920 a D. Just think about that, like he's already played 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:04.680 almost as much as you know those three have played. 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:08.040 Where eighties at is optimal lineup. Like, there's basketball stuff 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:09.520 I think we have to get to and I think 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:11.440 we're now at the point where we have to find 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:14.400 solutions that are in house before we bring anyone else. 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:16.600 And you can bring Jeremy Grant in, Jason, and if 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:19.560 the rest fits still isn't pretty. If Russ still isn't 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:22.280 aligned to I believe the role that he needs to 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:24.480 be to where his skill level is, this team's gonna fail. 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:26.560 Like it's that's just what it is. If Anthony Davis 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:29.400 comes back and isn't the defensive monster two way guy, 0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:32.120 this team is going to fail. There's no outside force 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:34.320 that can come in. And I see tonight the fire 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:37.080 frame Vogel stuff is back, you know, on the on 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:39.560 the timeline, and I've I've I've said my piece on that. 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:42.440 Who knows the locker room kind of politics there, But 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:44.680 I just think there's inside stuff we have to fix. Man, 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:46.720 Lebron's body language. We can get into that as well. 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.760 I thought that was pretty poor tonight, like from from 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:52.400 the get go. Uh And that's I don't know how 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.640 where to place blame on that, because when you're down 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:57.280 twenty and the other teams sating everything again, the human 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.360 element like he's not gonna be all engaged. It's just 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:01.600 stuff I'm seeing. Man. I think Malik Monks are real 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:03.680 bright spot. I think that's something we found. I think 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:06.120 there's defensive issues though. You start Milik Monk and Avery 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:08.160 Badley with a small ball lineup, and tonight we started 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:10.200 Dwight Howard. But there's a breaking point to that. Too 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:11.960 many teams to have over six six guys are just 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.480 gonna take advantage. And we've been seeing that in the past, 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:16.080 and that, you know, small ball thing was fun. I 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:18.440 think it's something we can go to in ten twelve 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:20.480 minutes for it's playing that thirty five minutes to night. 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:24.640 It's probably not feasible against teams with competent UH competition 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:27.360 on the other side, but you're not wrong. Wholesale changes 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:29.960 might be needed. I just don't think that's happening mid season. 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:32.520 I think that's a that's a dream. I don't think 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.640 they have the pieces to move like the eighteen. You 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:39.120 know how people compare Lebron throwing, you know, Dwyane Wade 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:42.000 to UH trading Dwyane Wade. I think that was that year, right, 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:49.560 I think, yeah, But let me like how Dwyane Wade 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:51.560 Lebron are closed. But I mean Dwyane Wade was on 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:53.360 a minimum deal and he sent it back to Miami, 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:56.840 So like there's I think that totally different circumsense here. 0:16:56.920 --> 0:16:58.680 I think Russell Westborok's here to stay and we have 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:02.000 to kind of uh try to work. So, I mean, 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:04.480 here's the thing, rog if they're not going to make 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:07.000 any changes, let's just call it what it is, guys, 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.760 I'm here to tell you. If they don't make any changes, 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:14.040 this team is losing in the first round guarantee. Like 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:16.560 that's just going to happen, because we're probably going to 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.919 catch either Utah or Memphis in the first round and 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:24.280 both of the if we slip even further, and every 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:26.720 single one of those teams is beating us like they're 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:30.480 they're beating us, like even if Lebron, like even with 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:33.720 Lebron playing as well as he is, unless Anthony Davis 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:36.800 literally gets back to the top five player that he 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.480 was in the bubble, and who knows, let's let's even 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:43.520 in that circumstance. If Lebron and they d are playing that, well, 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:46.840 are we good enough anywhere else on the floor? Like 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:52.000 I personally, here's my question, Jason, if they're playing forty 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:55.399 minutes a game against Phoenix, in them Lebron, you get 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:57.400 Bubble a D and you get Lebron at this level, 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:01.640 it's that's right that I would I would like our chance, 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:04.600 I would like our chances A little bit better if 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:07.919 Anthony Davis looked like that. But I haven't seen Anthony 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:09.960 Davis looked like that since the bubble, even when he's 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:14.720 been healthy. The reality, you're right, and so the reality 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:19.040 is is he's declined for whatever reason and confidence and 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:23.199 skill set whatever you wanna call it, motor, whatever it is, 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:25.639 he's declined to the extent that, like the whole Lebron 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:27.560 and a d are going to trump everything hard just 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:31.840 isn't the same that it that it was now now 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:34.960 Frank is a separate thing. Like you know me, guys, 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:37.159 Like my whole thing with Frank from the beginning has 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:40.000 not been what he brings to the table schematically or 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:42.800 with the rotation, although I have bones to pick there. 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.400 My my, my concerns with Frank were always buy in. 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:52.520 And guess what if you look at everybody in your 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:55.280 team and have a spirited film session and then they 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:57.159 all go out on the court and give you the finger, 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:02.360 that's buying, okay. And so sometimes, and this is a 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:06.639 phenomenon that happens in sports, sometimes players just get sick 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:11.439 of listening to a coach. It happens, it's it is 0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:14.000 a consistent thing to happen now I'm not I'm not 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:16.800 there yet with with with Frank, like I said, Like 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:19.399 I said, my whole thing with Frank is buy in. 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:23.719 Like I get worried when Lebron James, after looking like 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:27.719 Draymond freaking Green for two weeks all of a sudden, 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:31.520 is just not offering help on drives. That concerns me. 0:19:32.240 --> 0:19:36.280 But but can you expect can you expect him to that? 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:38.800 We'll get into that, but before we move on to 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:40.679 the Lebron thing, because like I want to look at 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:42.800 this trade deadline thing for just a second longer, because 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:46.560 the Russ thing, in my opinion, is separate from the 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:49.560 rest of the roster thing. Okay, because like the Russ 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:53.120 question for me, as you know, Raj has always been 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:57.879 about the playoffs in the ceiling. Because I knew going 0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:01.400 into this trade Russ wasn't the guy everybody thought he was. 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.600 I knew why because I've watched basketball over the last 0:20:04.600 --> 0:20:07.720 five years, and apparently I'm not the only one. Because 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:08.920 I read a story the other day that there was 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:11.680