WEBVTT - Lakers/Heat Postgame Spaces 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:17.760 M m all right, welcome to the State of the Lakers, 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:20.160 and then a boy Dash Radio. Happy study everybody. I 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:21.960 hope you had a good week. I hope you had 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:25.040 a good weekend, whether it was productive or relaxing, depending 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:27.800 on what you needed. We are going to talk about 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:32.199 that somewhat predictable Laker game tonight, but before we get 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:35.280 down to that, we're gonna welcome our special guests, Mr 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.760 Vannikila Wall, one of my favorite basketball minds on Twitter. 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:42.239 I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to come hang 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:44.360 out with us tonight, Sir. How are you doing. I 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:47.319 am doing good. Did a lot of housework today and 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.519 uh tempered my expectations as to what we were going 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:53.400 to see tonight from from this uh, from this Laker team, 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:57.440 considering how many and so I had playing in the background. Uh. 0:00:57.480 --> 0:00:59.600 And then as soon as they went down super early 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:01.600 in the game, by like twenty, I was like, yeah, 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:04.720 all right, that's kind of expected. We're in Miami, a 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.280 bunch of that guys. I'm sure they're not taking it seriously. 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:09.679 And then so how we got a pretty exciting finish. 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:12.440 So that was that was kind of interesting, But you know, 0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:14.399 too little, too late. I guess it's sort of the 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:18.160 theme of today. Yeah, we've seen that kind of game 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.760 a couple of times this season that we come out 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:24.360 overmatched and the fight comes, but the fight comes way 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:26.400 too late, and at that point the other team is 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.280 kind of like go of the rope, and at that 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:31.039 point you basically have to play perfect basketball, and no 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:33.400 one can play perfect basketball. So that's why you only 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:38.720 see that kind of come back once every several thousand tries. Yeah, 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.520 but you know, I thought the Lakers were outclassed and 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:46.200 outmatched in a lot of ways. It was interesting. Um, 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:50.240 you know, gravity is a concept that we became familiar 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.400 with as a result of Steph Curry having to do 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:57.040 with the idea of panic chasing shooters around the perimeter 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.240 and giving up things around the rib. And since you've 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:02.400 kind of seen a similar effect from a bunch of 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:04.400 really high level shooters that have come into the league, 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:07.080 and Duncan Robinson is one of them. And I thought 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:08.679 the story at the beginning of the game was the 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:13.760 Lakers because they're an undisciplined team, because they're a team 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.840 that has had to change defensive schemes a half dozen 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:20.320 times this year, because they have personnel groups that all 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:24.239 have to have specific defensive schemes ran for them. They 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.800 botched coverages uh NonStop to start the game, mostly sending 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:31.360 multiple players that Duncan Robinson and then sending multiple players 0:02:31.360 --> 0:02:33.840 at the role man, which is a recipe for wide 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.079 open dunks and layups and threes on the back end. Uh. 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:40.040 And it was sloppy and Miami controlled it throughout, and 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:41.600 even when we came back at the end, I thought 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:44.160 it was more product of Miami letting up in us 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:47.280 just simply playing harder. So I didn't really take too 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:49.600 much from that. But before we, you know, get into 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:51.919 some of the larger scope stuff, because I do want 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:54.880 to talk a little bit about just how we move 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.680 forward from here. But what was your initial takeaway or 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:01.440 just your overhead takeaway from the game today? Yeah, so, um, 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.880 you know, I thought we started off really lax, like 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:07.320 just kind of the the attitude of the team. You know. 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:09.640 I don't know if it's because it's we're starting so 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:12.720 many vets, like the whole starting rosters, like not really 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:15.400 any young guys, and probably the two guys with the 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:17.760 most energy are are gonna be are gonna be brawn 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.360 and like Russ um. But but I thought they started 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:24.040 off really flat. Um. You know, we beat Miami already, right, 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:26.280 like we beat him in ane overtime game in in 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:28.520 Staples Center at the time, and that was actually without 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.200 Braun uh and that was of a d But like 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:34.040 this was a game where for sure, like playing small 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:37.360 ball probably doesn't work because Eric Spoelster sitting there saying, Okay, 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:40.320 if you're gonna play small ball, like watch this uh. 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:42.040 And and he just kept you know, kind of using 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.960 his bigs uh, finding ways to to get to the rim, 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:48.560 to to get the Lakers to collapse and stuff like that. Um, 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:52.520 I thought we look slow, like really slow compared compared 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:55.080 to my and and you know, Miami is not one 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:56.800 of those teams like it. You know, they didn't have 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:00.040 Tyler Harrow, they didn't have Kyle Lowry, but they have 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.320 like their their offensive principles are in place. They're like 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:04.960 a I don't want to call them a system team 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:06.760 because I feel like sometimes the de values like what 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.320 the players do, but like they know what they want 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:12.280 to run and they know what they want to do. Um, 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:14.600 you know, make the extra play, collapse the paint, get 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.640 somebody to come come over, find the three point shooter, 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:19.400 and I mean they ran it to perfection, like the 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:23.000 reason they went up twenty. We were chasing like constantly 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:26.360 the entire game. And then, um, I think I don't 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:29.760 know if you watch the local broadcast, but yeah, on 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:33.800 the local broadcast or sorry, the l A broadcast. Um, 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.720 what's it called stud lance? He was just saying like, oh, yeah, 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:38.599 the the entire goal is to take Dwight Howard away 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:40.040 from the paint because they know that nobody's gonna be 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:41.960 able to come and help, you know, at the rim 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:43.480 and stuff like that once they get it. So it's 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:45.320 just you know, I think they Miami came in well 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:47.160 prepared with the game plan. They knew what the Lakers 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:50.080 small ball was. Um, and you know, credit to Erik 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:53.640 Spoelstra and and and those guys for executing it. Yeah. Absolutely. 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:55.800 And for the record, you know, going in like talent 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:57.680 is a huge issue year. I kind of pointed this 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:01.680 out before before for the last game against the Magic. 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:03.960 But when you're looking at the starting lineup and it's like, Okay, 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:07.440 I've got Lebron James, but I've got Russell Westbrook who 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:09.640 is mostly a shell of his former self, and we'll 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:11.960 discuss that a little bit more later. But you've got 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:14.280 Avery Bradley, who was literally cut by the Golden State 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:17.279 Warriors earlier this year when buying for the fifteenth roster 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:20.599 spot and is an extremely I would call him like 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:24.080 a one dimensional basketball player, Like he has one elite skill, 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.000 which is strictly ball pressure, and even that you know, 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:30.720 comes with a bunch of downsides, and and obviously offensively, 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.440 he's he's very hot and cold. And then you got 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:36.680 Trevor Reza, who I actually, this is one of the 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:38.360 big things I've been wrong about this year. I thought 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:41.080 he'd be better than he's been, and he's been and 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.640 he's been really bad. And if you watch him now, 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:45.480 we're not gonna get too far into him, but he 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:47.320 is actively hurting the team on both ends of the 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:49.280 ploor right now. And then you have Dwight Howard, who's 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:52.640 a backup sent uh, you know, a guy who definitely 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:55.160 belongs in the league, definitely can play that backup center 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:58.000 role in a championship level team. He's definitely not over 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:02.479 underqualified for that, but he is overqualified underqualified to be 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:07.080 a actual, you know, um starting NBA center on a 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:09.320 good team. So you're looking at that starting lineup and 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:13.599 it's it's basically four really limited basketball players and Lebron James. 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:14.840 And then you go to the bench and it's like, 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:17.240 you know, we we've been advocating for the young guys 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:20.039 a lot, but it's like Austin Reeves, undrafted free agents, 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.440 Stanley Johnson was out of the league. Molikue Monk Lakers 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:25.040 were the only team that offered him a contract th 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:27.800 ht second round pick. You're looking at this and there's 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:29.640 just not a lot of talent on the roster, so 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:31.599 you have to cut the team some slack in the 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:33.320 sense that you're not going to go on the road 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:36.160 into Miami and just beat the Miami Heat like that. 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:39.040 But at the same time, we also functionally look like 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:42.720 a disorganized, bad basketball team. So I think that, like 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:46.600 I think even if with our adjusted expectations, they're not 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:49.440 performing up to that level, if that makes sense. So 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:52.520 what do you make so even even the Orlando game, right, 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:54.880 like, like like you already mentioned that, you know we're gonna 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.640 get into rust a little bit later, um so so um, 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.640 we can do that. And but like you know, the 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:02.840 general theme of some of these losses and a lot 0:07:02.839 --> 0:07:07.160 of the conversation about the losses to the playoff team. 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:08.800 The teams has been you know, the the up and 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:11.080 down on Russell Westbrook, what version do you get and 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.120 so like the last two games he's been okay, um, yeah, 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:17.360 but the defense has been so bad. What what do 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:19.240 you make of that? What do you make of Like, so, 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:22.520 how did we go from being a super terrible defensive 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:25.480 team even though Braun and Rust shot well in the 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:28.120 first half of that Orlando game. We figure it out 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:29.520 in the second half of that game, and then we 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:31.880 show up in this Miami game and they were completely 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:34.880 lost yet again at the start of this game. What 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:36.440 what do you make of that? What do you think 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:38.520 that is? Is it? Is it just talent? Do you 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:41.320 think it's preparation? What are your thoughts on that? So 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:43.360 it's I think it's a bunch of things. But like, 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.240 for instance, if you've got a team, like a really 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:47.440 smart defensive team, a team like the Miami eat, I 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:49.840 think you can run really advanced schemes, Like I think 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:52.760 you can do things where you're switching certain actions which 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:55.720 are also you know, running traditional traditional pick and roll 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:58.120 coverages on other actions, or maybe you might keep a 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:00.160 lock and trail defender on a shooter and not which 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:02.280 those screens like, you can mix all of that up 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.680 when you've got personnel that kind of fits into that 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:08.640 identity of a smart defensive team. But we certainly don't 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:10.880 have that. Like when you look at the personnel down 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.280 the roster, we have too many guys where defense has 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:15.400 been on the back burner during their career. Doesn't mean 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:17.920 they can't play defense, it just means you have to 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:20.560 simplify things for them. I think that's really important. So 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:23.520 for instance, like what did the Brooklyn Nets do last year? 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:26.880 Were they asking Kyrie Irving and James Harden and Kevin 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:28.960 Durant even who's a player who has been lacks of 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:30.880 days go on the defensive end for a lot of 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:34.000 his career. You know you're not gonna ask those guys 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:36.360 to do anything super advanced, And so they broke it 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:40.720 down to something outrageously simple. Guys just switch everything and 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.840 if they beat us one on one attacking a specific 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.360 matchup will live with the results. But that way it's 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:49.200 super easy. There's it's it's it's a there's no like 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.679 having to decide what coverage you're running when something gets 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.800 run your way. It's just we're switching everything and when 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:57.880 and if you lean into that the way they did 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:01.160 for the entire season, then you get good at it. 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:02.880 You get pretty good at it, and you know, and 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:05.280 one of the biggest things of switching is communicating. This 0:09:05.360 --> 0:09:07.800 is one of the big things that fell apart today 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:11.800 as you see multiple Laker defenders run to an open 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:14.120 three point shooter or to an open roll man instead 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:16.440 of just one guy going in that direction. And that's 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:21.120 just fundamental sloppiness. You're not talking starting from the basic 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.440 like entry levels of basketball. When you're educating like a 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:26.600 six or seven year old and how to play defense, 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:28.600 you teach them to talk. When you're on the ball, 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:31.840 you yell ball, why so that everybody around you knows 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:34.200 that you're guarding the ball. When you're one pass away, 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:36.800 you yelled deny, Why so that everybody on the court 0:09:36.840 --> 0:09:39.160 knows that you're guarding one pass away. If you're in 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:42.080 help site underneath the basket, you always yell midline or 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:44.200 help or depending on the program. It's it's those kinds 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.600 of things. Those are basic basketball things that the Lakers 0:09:47.679 --> 0:09:50.040 just aren't doing right now. They're not talking, they're not 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:52.280 even like letting each other know what they're doing while 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:54.760 they're on the floor. So it's it's a combination of 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.320 sloppiness and an over complicated scheme in my opinion. Yeah, yeah, 0:09:58.360 --> 0:10:02.679 so that's that's been like the biggest thing, you know, Like, um, 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:04.560 I think if you follow, if you follow the Lakers 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:06.600 on the on the timeline and stuff like that, especially 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:08.560 without lost is obviously are low lights? Are are what 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.839 gets the individual low lights? You know, rush shooting the 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:13.440 ball off the top of the backboard and stuff. I 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.160 got that stuff will be highlighted and you'll just think 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.160 to yourself, like, oh man, this team just sucks. But 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:20.480 there's like a fundamental issue I feel like with this 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:22.960 team when it comes to not just efforts, but it's 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:24.800 just like what do we do? Like sometimes I just 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.200 sit there and watch what are we doing? Like I'm 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:29.640 so confused as to why is it that we switched 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:31.840 on this time but then on this time we didn't switch? 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.000 When were we in dropped? Like why did why did 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.360 we spend the entire possessions switching every single thing and 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:40.000 then at the very last moment we dropped? Like it 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:42.000 is that? Is that a player thing? Is that a 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:44.760 coverage thing, you know, what is it? And so I 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:47.839 think that's been sort of the sign Like I don't 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:50.160 I don't know how to kind of explain it um 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:53.600 going from game to game, but you know, the talent 0:10:53.640 --> 0:10:56.040 disparity is definitely one of those things. The you know, 0:10:56.120 --> 0:11:01.600 even more than the talent disparity, the athleticism disparity crazy 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:05.880 for this team, like there like consistently, if we play 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:09.120 a young team, a young physical team at like that 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.360 wants to like even even Orlando that wants to get 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:14.480 into your space and stuff like even the Indiana game, 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:16.880 like Tory Craig is trying to press Lebron the second 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.080 half of that game from full so that he can't 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.000 get his rhythm or anything like that. If we play 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:23.199 against teams that are athletic and and just kind of 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:25.040 want to press us and stuff like that, this team 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:28.400 seems to like basically bold, like pretty much like it 0:11:28.480 --> 0:11:30.280 just allows itself to get out of rhythm and stuff 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:33.120 I got. And I don't know if that's because we 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:35.319 got a bunch of old guys that you know, they're 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:36.640 just not gonna do that kind of effort in the 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:40.040 regular season, or if it's because that's just kind of 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:41.920 what we are, like, we can't keep up with these 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:44.200 sort of teams, maybe at least not until the playoffs. 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:45.960 And so that's why we're seeing this sort of thing 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.760 happen over and over again. It's it's it's mind boggling 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:52.439 to see the inconsistency um game the game when when 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:54.520 it comes to these situations. Yeah, you know what, It's 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:56.560 interesting because the name over the course of the summer, 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:00.360 the entire Laker fan base was on the same page, 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:02.319 like when are they going to sign someone who's taller 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:05.800 than six four? Like like that was the thing because 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:07.920 you look at you look at a team, like you 0:12:07.920 --> 0:12:09.439 look at a team like Miami and you're like, oh, 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:13.640 there's Max Struss. He's six ft six two fifteen pounds 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.000 and built like a truck. And you're like, you're like, 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:18.640 that's not even what a top seven or eight player 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:22.120 on their team, but like he's just a big athletic player. 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.640 So guess what, Like if you're running a smart defensive 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:26.480 scheme and the guy knows how to do his job, 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:29.840 like he's not an easy guy to run over and 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:31.560 get to the basket. And we used to have a 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:34.000 bunch of those guys and you know, this is where 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:35.760 you know that when I when I talked about the 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:38.280 rush trade, which we're gonna get to into more detail later, 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:40.840 I talked a lot about what was lost in the process, 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:44.080 Like you know, because of the mismatching salaries, you know, 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:46.480 there was more money coming in, so that had directly 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:49.920 affected the Alex Caruso thing, which then you're talking about 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:53.440 losing Kyle Kuzma, Alex Crusoe and KCP like three really 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:56.600 high level NBA athletes with size you know at their 0:12:56.679 --> 0:12:59.560 position that went out the door. But like a lot 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.040 of that have been undone. A lot of that damage 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:05.920 could have been undone with if with the veteran minimums 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:12.400 our general manager actually approached that replacing those specific archetypes 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.840 like that was we we literally brought in because Carmelo 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.680 Anthony is tall, guys, but he's really like Carmelo Anthony 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:20.520 is a lot more Shanning Fry at this phase of 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.640 his career than Carmelo Anthony. So yeah, his his lateral 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:25.880 like there there should be even even this is this 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.360 has been an issue with even also like like Arizona 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:30.960 since he's been back, like to his mobility, like the 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:35.280 mobility from some of our wings, specifically Carmelo specifically, like 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:39.559 Aresa has been really really bad, like like there must 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:41.760 have been at least two I'm trying to remember off 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:45.760 the time, maybe two times where a Reason almost like god, 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:47.839 his ankles broken just off of the jab step, like 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:49.760 because he was trying to trying to guess which way, 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.160 like Caleb Martin, which Cody Martican, I don't know what 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.400 joint is, Like you could tell like he was he 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:56.880 was gonna be in trouble, like he didn't know what 0:13:56.960 --> 0:14:00.640 was going to happen. And it's purely because the guy 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:02.920 that he's going to go close out on is much 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:06.640 more athletic, much more aggressive, and these guys know, like 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.240 the opposing team knows, Hey, if you make you know, 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.160 a misdirection cut, if if you jab right and go left, 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:15.040 or if you jab left and go right, Carmel is 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:16.640 gonna bite. He's gonna put it in one of these 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:18.800 plays and you're gonna get a lane or Reason is 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:20.280 gonna bite and you're gonna get one of the things. 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:23.400 And that that's the part that like, um, that's the 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:25.480 part that kind of concerns me. You know, like they're 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:28.920 minimum players, so we should probably not be uh, you know, 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:31.000 putting them under such a microscope, because that's why they're 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:35.240 minimum players. But the part that bothers me, jays, is 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:39.160 why are we putting minimum players in this position? Like 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:41.880 it seems almost unfair to those guys. It's like, why 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:45.600 are we asking these guys to guard athletes and then 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:47.720 getting mad at them for not being able to guard athletes? 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.840 Like there should be some some foresight or some just 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:53.040 kind of common sense from from our front office that 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:55.040 these guys just can't do it. Like Carmel is a 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:57.080 great specialist, Like if you just stick them in a 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.000 corner or you have them doing the trailing the trailing three, 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:01.520 he's like he did like towards the towards the end 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:03.800 of this game. It's great, but he can't be like 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:08.880 a core. I gotta make four rotations or four coverages 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:11.080 in a single defensive possession, you know what I mean. 0:15:11.120 --> 0:15:13.920 Like you're not gonna you're gonna get more breakdowns and 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.280 you're gonna get um, you know, positive stuff out of it. 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:19.600 So it's it's it's very interesting to see this kind 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:22.240 of what happens and and um, you know, I think 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:24.200 it's putting a lot of pressure on even guys like Braun, 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:26.840 even guys like Russ. At least, I ant Davis comes back. 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:28.600 So I'm hoping he comes back next game so we 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:31.080 can see how things sort of work out. It will 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:33.240 certainly help with slotting, although it'll be frustrating at the 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:35.760 beginning because of the fact that he's probably not gonna 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:37.680 play a ton of minutes. But this is a perfect 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:39.560 setup for the question I'm gonna ask you, because, like, 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.400 I think that that, like that fundamental approach to the 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.520 off season was where this went off the road. Even again, 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:49.000 looking accepting the Rush trade for what it is, because 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:51.560 we're gonna get into rust later, then looking at the 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:55.680 moves they made around that, I fundamentally disagree with the approach. 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:57.560 So I'll give you. I'll give you two examples. So 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:02.760 Kendrick Nunn, so you, from what I heard, Rudy Gay 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:05.640 would have signed with the Lakers had they offered him 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:08.680 the mL E. They absolutely would have done. So that 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:11.680 was in the works. Then I guess Rob was like, no, actually, 0:16:11.720 --> 0:16:13.880 we're gonna be the veteran minimum, and then the Jazz 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:16.480 swooped in and got him under some pressure from Mike Conley. 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:20.840 That's what I've heard, So essentially you fundamentally decided that 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:24.760 you thought Kendrick Nunne because I don't know if it's 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:27.600 it's because he fits the archetype of guard that Frank 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:31.920 likes or because you underestimate what Rudy does offensively, but 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.000 that is that basic approach, like instead of getting this 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:38.440 versatile wing that can guard multiple positions and do things 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:41.440 with the basketball offensively, We're gonna go for this versatile 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:44.160 guard who can defend a little bit at his position 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:47.280 and uh and uh, you know, do some things with 0:16:47.320 --> 0:16:50.720 the basketball. But that size difference that kind of went 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:53.400 down the line with all of the signings. So for instance, 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.440 like instead of getting guys like Wayne Ellington, you know, 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:00.240 or Malik Monk's actually worked out okay, But in said 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:02.840 of that archetype, like why wasn't it more guys like 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:06.040 Wesley Matthews, who everybody in late in the Laker fan 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:09.320 base was clamoring for. Why wasn't it guys like James Ennis. 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:12.880 Why wasn't you know that that archetype of Stanley Johnson, 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.399 that type of player who's a fringe NBA player but 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:18.040 brings an elite skill in the form of their athleticism. 0:17:18.119 --> 0:17:20.879 Like that is where the Lakers went off the rails. 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:23.159 Now you could argue that we could argue when it 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:25.440 comes to Russ as to that trade off and whether 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:27.959 that was worth it. But even with the Rush trade, 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:31.480 they had the ability to be bigger and more athletic 0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:34.880 than they are and they chose not to be because, 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.040 for whatever reason, they told themselves that Carmelo, Anthony and 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:42.119 Trevor Rizzo was enough, which is which is outrageous. So 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:44.840 so yeah, it's it's it's it's sorry saying I don't 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.280 want to you're good, They're good. Well, I was just 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:51.119 gonna tee you up. I was gonna say, so accepting 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:54.440 that this is the reality, what would you do if 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:57.920 you were robbed at this headline? What would you do? Yeah? 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:01.159 So so my biggest my biggest thing about the team is, um, 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:04.359 there's like they have to raise the athletic profile of 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:08.960 this team, like especially on the wings, Like there's there's 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:12.000 should be no confusion from any Laker fans about the 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:15.080 lack of size when it comes to just the perimeter 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:17.520 and wing guys that we have. It's very clear that 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:21.520 Carmelo and Trevor Reaso are not are not the guys 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:26.160 that that can consistently say active on the wings for 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:28.800 this team. And they're not even if you put them 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:31.120 in just three and D roles, they're not even doing 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:32.560 the D part, you know what I mean, Like they're 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:35.679 they're just they're just like it's not consistently good, like 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:37.840 at least with Avery Bradley, Like and I know we 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:40.560 don't like it, but at least with Bradley. You see 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:45.040 the effort with Bradley and and and he's trying. Even 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:47.040 how our Lando game the second half of that game, 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.080 he got a bunch of deflections, he got a couple 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:50.920 of dig dig plays where he just kind of pulled 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:52.960