WEBVTT - Big Three Player Grades

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the State of the Lakers on Dash Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Happy Tuesday, everybody. I am out of town, but I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to get something out to you guys over the

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<v Speaker 1>course of the next couple of days while I was traveling,

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<v Speaker 1>so I took the time to do some letter grades

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<v Speaker 1>for the Lakers players. Here. We're about a third of

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<v Speaker 1>the way through the season at this point. Obviously we're

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<v Speaker 1>trending up, but I want to take a look at

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<v Speaker 1>kind of the total picture of what the team has

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<v Speaker 1>looked like to this point. UM tonight at midnight, I

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<v Speaker 1>guess this will be Tuesday morning for you guys. The

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<v Speaker 1>I will have Lebron, a d and Russ up, and

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<v Speaker 1>then the rest of the role players will post at

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<v Speaker 1>midnight on Tuesday for you guys to listen to on

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<v Speaker 1>Wednesday before the game. UM, a couple of little rules.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm basing these letter grades based on what I and

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<v Speaker 1>what we expected coming into the season, you know, relative

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<v Speaker 1>to their expectations. It's obviously not fair to grade Molik

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<v Speaker 1>Monk on a veteran minimum contract on the same scale

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<v Speaker 1>that we grade Lebron James or Anthony Davis or Russell Westbrook.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just not the way that we should evaluate them,

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<v Speaker 1>So keep that in mind as as I'm doing this.

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<v Speaker 1>But these are both gonna be pretty short. Like I said,

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<v Speaker 1>obviously everyone seems to be trending in the right direction,

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<v Speaker 1>but just wanted to take kind of like take a minute,

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<v Speaker 1>take a deep breath, and just kinda take a look

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<v Speaker 1>back at how things have gone so far and how

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<v Speaker 1>guys are looking as we move forward for the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of the season. So starting with Lebron, and I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>be especially hard on Lebron and a D here, And

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<v Speaker 1>the main reason why is because you know, I think

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<v Speaker 1>I think Lebron and a D made a calculation that

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<v Speaker 1>was you know, shortsighted and didn't take into a how

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<v Speaker 1>the factors that led to their situation. Right, So Lebron

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<v Speaker 1>and a D completely dominate to start the season, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>from the opening tip in the first preseason game, totally

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<v Speaker 1>different vibe than this year's preseason. They attacked it, especially

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<v Speaker 1>on the defensive end, and even though they lost that

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<v Speaker 1>opening night game against the Clippers, they really were rolling

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<v Speaker 1>everybody all season long. They started twenty four and three

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<v Speaker 1>and we're truly dominant. Then they're mostly dominant throughout the postseason.

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<v Speaker 1>So this is where I think they got some made

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<v Speaker 1>a made a bad read on the rest of the league.

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<v Speaker 1>So coming into the following season, which starts if we

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<v Speaker 1>remember early, because they were planning on waiting until Martin

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<v Speaker 1>Luther King Day, but they didn't. Instead they went ahead

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<v Speaker 1>and started, uh right before Christmas. So I caught a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people off garden, A lot of people showed

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<v Speaker 1>up into camp out of shape, and a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>teams got off to slow starts or poor starts. Meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>the Lakers, even though Anthony David was significantly beneath his

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<v Speaker 1>output from the previous season, the Lakers were literally twenty

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<v Speaker 1>one and six, and obviously the fall the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the season was derailed by injuries. So as far as

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<v Speaker 1>Lron and a D were concerned, a D was coasting.

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<v Speaker 1>Lebron was playing really well, but you know, a D

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<v Speaker 1>was coasting, and it was enough for them to win

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<v Speaker 1>regular season games, and I think they tricked themselves into

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<v Speaker 1>thinking that's the way it would always be. But a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of that had to do with the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>all of the other teams in the league that season,

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<v Speaker 1>because of the quick turnaround, we're also struggling to get

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<v Speaker 1>their legs underneath them. Meanwhile, so the Lakers kind of

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<v Speaker 1>had that advantage and the quick turnaround. They were most

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<v Speaker 1>recently attached to quality basketball, and a lot of that

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<v Speaker 1>just lingered for them. So moving forward and going into

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<v Speaker 1>this season, I think they thought they could take that

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<v Speaker 1>same approach, and that just wasn't the case. Given the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that it was a normal off season, and given

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that there were a lot of teams coming

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<v Speaker 1>back to full strength teams like Golden State, teams like Brooklyn,

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<v Speaker 1>in addition to some established teams from previous years like Phoenix,

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<v Speaker 1>like Utah, and like Milwaukee. The Lakers were gonna have

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<v Speaker 1>to attack this season. They were gonna have to bring

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of energy, and their stars were gonna have

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<v Speaker 1>to be great. And I think you saw that right

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<v Speaker 1>away in preseason, I thought, I think you saw that

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<v Speaker 1>lack of intensity and just the Lakers operating at a

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<v Speaker 1>level beneath that of the rest of the league, which

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<v Speaker 1>even with their talent there, even their talent was not

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<v Speaker 1>enough to overcome that. And so that's kind of like

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<v Speaker 1>the bigger picture thing when I'm looking at Lebron and

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<v Speaker 1>a d here, but we can dive into two each

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<v Speaker 1>of them individually. So you know, Lebron has had a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of good this season. He shot the ball really well,

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<v Speaker 1>um when when they've been good quality shots, he's fifty

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<v Speaker 1>on wide open threes, obviously not shooting well when he's

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<v Speaker 1>taking contested threes. He does have the highest true shooting

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<v Speaker 1>percentage of the on in a d ERA and there's

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<v Speaker 1>a bunch of different reasons for that. I think this

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<v Speaker 1>is one of the reasons why. UM. I think this

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<v Speaker 1>is one of the ways that Russ has really helped.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, Lebron is attempting two point six wide open

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<v Speaker 1>threes per game, which is the highest since he came

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<v Speaker 1>to l A. I think that has a lot to

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<v Speaker 1>do with Russ and having another guy who pressures the

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<v Speaker 1>rim and kicks the ball out to him. Lebron having

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<v Speaker 1>that capability of being a really, really deadly off ball

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<v Speaker 1>threat is part of what makes the Russell Westbrook experiment work.

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<v Speaker 1>The when Lebron has when Russ has the ball, Lebron

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<v Speaker 1>is still so effective, and that has made things easier

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<v Speaker 1>for Russ now. Obviously, for the first chunk of the season,

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<v Speaker 1>Lebron struggled with availability, so I want to cut him

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<v Speaker 1>some slack there. Obviously, both of those injuries were injuries

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<v Speaker 1>that if they happen now, I think he might try

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<v Speaker 1>to play throom. But at the beginning of the season,

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<v Speaker 1>the Lakers thought, given their easy schedule, they'd be able

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<v Speaker 1>to rack up wins, and they just weren't able to.

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<v Speaker 1>And so Lebron took that as an opportunity to try

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<v Speaker 1>to just keep as close to a physically as he could.

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<v Speaker 1>And and I want to cut him some slack for that.

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<v Speaker 1>But even when he was available, like outside of that

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<v Speaker 1>Golden State game, which I thought Lebron was one of

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<v Speaker 1>Lebron's better two A performances this season, you know, up

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<v Speaker 1>until this recent stretch, Lebron was really inconsistent. When he

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<v Speaker 1>was healthy, You'd see him dominate the Cleveland Cavaliers at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the game, but kind of bs his

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<v Speaker 1>way through the first three quarters, or dominate the Houston

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<v Speaker 1>Rockets at the end of the game, but kind of

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<v Speaker 1>coast and leak out and get his dunks and stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>but not really be that engaged, dominant to a player

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<v Speaker 1>that you've seen in recent weeks. And then finally, as

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<v Speaker 1>I was preaching in the NonStop in the pod Urgency

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<v Speaker 1>had to kick in Eventually. You can't sit there as

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<v Speaker 1>a competitor and continue to get kicked upside the head

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<v Speaker 1>and not eventually fight back. And I think after that

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<v Speaker 1>triple overtime lost a Sacramento, Lebron finally understood the gravity

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<v Speaker 1>of the situation and finally started to engage in the season,

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<v Speaker 1>and from there he's completely taken off. I have him

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<v Speaker 1>in a B minus um and a D at a

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<v Speaker 1>C plus. They both have had similar seasons in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of their ebbing and flowing engagement. The reason why I

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<v Speaker 1>gave Lebron just a slightly better grade than a D

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<v Speaker 1>is he does have this dominant stretch here, this last

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<v Speaker 1>seven game stretch, or Lebron has looked like the best

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<v Speaker 1>player in the world, or at least in that conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>Anthony Davis hasn't really had that stretch yet. I believe

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<v Speaker 1>he will. I believe he will soon, but he hasn't

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<v Speaker 1>had that stretch yet. That's why I'm giving Lebron that

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<v Speaker 1>little edge there. He's trending towards becoming in that conversation

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<v Speaker 1>of the best players in the league. Specifically changes the

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<v Speaker 1>ceiling of this team. He just was too relaxed to

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<v Speaker 1>start the season because he made a bad read on

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<v Speaker 1>the situation league wide. Um, but moving in the right direction.

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<v Speaker 1>I just, you know, I hold Lebron too high standards,

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<v Speaker 1>so I'm not I'm not gonna cut him, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>so much slack when his peers, the guys that we're

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<v Speaker 1>trying to say he's better than, have attacked to the season,

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<v Speaker 1>like Hadie and Steph have alright, moving on to Anthony Davis. So,

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<v Speaker 1>like I said, no dominant stretch yet that's been the

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<v Speaker 1>big differentiator between him and in Lebron this season. But

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<v Speaker 1>similar idea came into the season taking a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>really really tough off the dribble jump shots, the same

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<v Speaker 1>kind of shots he was taking and making in the bubble,

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<v Speaker 1>and as he was missing him and missing him and

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<v Speaker 1>missing him, he just wasn't making the adjustment. He wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>leaning into his identity as a rim attacker. And yes,

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<v Speaker 1>the you know, the big lineups played a role in that,

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<v Speaker 1>especially with Lebron, you know, as a guy who likes

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<v Speaker 1>to drive the basketball from the perimeter. But both of

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<v Speaker 1>those guys have played with two bigs a lot in

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<v Speaker 1>this era and gotten the hell of a lot more

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<v Speaker 1>rim pressure than they got over this stretch, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think that has a lot to do with just trying

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<v Speaker 1>to save their legs, trying to coast, thinking they might

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<v Speaker 1>be able to be a dominant team without having to

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<v Speaker 1>put that stress on their bodies, when the reality was

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<v Speaker 1>they were always going to have to do that. But

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<v Speaker 1>what I'll give a D credit for is similar to

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<v Speaker 1>Lebron right around the time of that Sacramento game, He's

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<v Speaker 1>been a lot more engaged on both ends of the floor,

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<v Speaker 1>specifically in those post up situations. He's shooting a lot

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<v Speaker 1>fewer of these turnaround jump shots over both shoulders that

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<v Speaker 1>he's shooting at an extremely low percentage, and he's taking

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<v Speaker 1>more interior jump shots, like trying to generate a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit more separation to get a little bit closer to

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<v Speaker 1>the rim and shooting that little fade away from seven

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<v Speaker 1>to ten feet instead of seventeen to twenty feet. And

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<v Speaker 1>in there he's just a lot more accurate as a shooter,

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<v Speaker 1>and in there he's allowed he's able to use his

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<v Speaker 1>physical tools more to turn it into a higher percentage shot.

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<v Speaker 1>A shot you know, the A D stuff is tricky.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not really fair to him because he's so incredibly

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<v Speaker 1>talented that he can be, you know, inconsistent with his

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<v Speaker 1>engagement and with his effort, but still put up monster numbers.

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<v Speaker 1>So many people have pointed out, you know, leading the

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<v Speaker 1>league in points in the pain. Yeah, that's awesome. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>he has a very very difficult job. That's true. Um

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<v Speaker 1>that said, as a superstar talent, it is expected that

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<v Speaker 1>you have a difficult job, and there's no excuse for

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<v Speaker 1>after three consecutive days off where you get to rest

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<v Speaker 1>your body to come into a game like he did

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<v Speaker 1>against Boston and coast through half before you really engage.

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<v Speaker 1>That will always be the thing that it's hard for

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<v Speaker 1>me with a d is. Even with as dominant as

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<v Speaker 1>he is, he should be in the conversation for the

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<v Speaker 1>best player in the world, and I think the only

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<v Speaker 1>thing that separates him from that and being in the

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<v Speaker 1>tier right below that is that consistent engagement, being a

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<v Speaker 1>self starter, finding ways to motivate yourself on a night

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<v Speaker 1>and night out basis, to leave a physical imprint on

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<v Speaker 1>the game on both ends of the floor. The big

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<v Speaker 1>things that I'm looking for him moving forward for the

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<v Speaker 1>rest of the season or one out of area plays

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<v Speaker 1>he's starting to make more of them. But you know, again,

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<v Speaker 1>a d has a job on the floor. But one

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<v Speaker 1>of the beauties about him being so good is that

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<v Speaker 1>he can extend beyond his job and cover for the

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<v Speaker 1>shortcomings of his teammates. And he always has had the

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<v Speaker 1>ability to do that, but he keeps it in reserve,

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<v Speaker 1>specifically when he's trying to avoid getting hurt or when

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<v Speaker 1>he's trying to save his legs for the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the season. I'd like to see him kind of dip

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<v Speaker 1>into that a little bit more, try to use a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit more of that reserve, just because it's so

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<v Speaker 1>important as this team is establishing its habits to give

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<v Speaker 1>his teammates confidence and to lean into that side of

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<v Speaker 1>things until they really get up to speed with Frank's

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<v Speaker 1>system and what they're asked to do on both ends,

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<v Speaker 1>specifically with their defensive responsibilities and their rebounding responsibilities down

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<v Speaker 1>the line. And this is something I said in the

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<v Speaker 1>pod last night. Down the line, once everyone has good habits, hopefully,

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<v Speaker 1>if you rip off a bunch of wins in a

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<v Speaker 1>row and you establish habits, even with guys who have

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<v Speaker 1>struggled with those same habits in the past, if you

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<v Speaker 1>established those habits then you might have the ability, if

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<v Speaker 1>you're a d and Lebron to take a few plays

0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:08.720
<v Speaker 1>off here and there, maybe not take place off, but

0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:12.640
<v Speaker 1>not have to cover for your teammates as much. But

0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:15.200
<v Speaker 1>in the meantime, especially as they're trying to claw out

0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:17.000
<v Speaker 1>the standings, he needs to do more of that. And

0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:18.600
<v Speaker 1>then the last thing is jump shooting. And I'm not

0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:21.760
<v Speaker 1>really talking about his off the dribble jump shooting, his

0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:26.280
<v Speaker 1>post turnarounds or anything like that. I'm primarily talking about

0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:30.520
<v Speaker 1>spot up shooting. I think for the playoffs, ceiling of

0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.640
<v Speaker 1>the Lakers down the line, when you're in these dragged

0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.840
<v Speaker 1>half court sets at the end of these games, Anthony

0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:40.200
<v Speaker 1>Davis being able to knock down and catch and shoot

0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:45.160
<v Speaker 1>three is so important for the spacing in those environments

0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.800
<v Speaker 1>against the top tier defenses. And again, he doesn't need

0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.240
<v Speaker 1>to shoot a ton of them, but he needs to

0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:53.280
<v Speaker 1>shoot a few of them. Again in the bubble, having

0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:56.520
<v Speaker 1>Anthony Davis take three and a half threes per game

0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.520
<v Speaker 1>and knocking them down at a thirty eight percent clip

0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:03.000
<v Speaker 1>was a huge part of why the Laker offense that

0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.760
<v Speaker 1>had struggled most of the regular season had more flow

0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:11.040
<v Speaker 1>and effectiveness in the postseason. That's the thing I'll be tracking.

0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:13.600
<v Speaker 1>I'm not worried about the crazy shots he was making

0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:16.319
<v Speaker 1>in the bubble. To me, that's the different. Yeah. Yeah,

0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.240
<v Speaker 1>if he starts making those and does everything else, well,

0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:20.199
<v Speaker 1>now we're talking about maybe the best player in the world.

0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:22.160
<v Speaker 1>But we all knew that that might have been a

0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:24.240
<v Speaker 1>little bit of a fluke. But he is a good shooter.

0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:26.280
<v Speaker 1>He does have good touch, getting to the point where

0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:30.400
<v Speaker 1>he is a reliable, moderately reliable even just like what

0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:34.439
<v Speaker 1>Russ has been this year. Just being a moderately reliable

0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:37.760
<v Speaker 1>spot up shooter goes a long way towards extending the

0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:40.960
<v Speaker 1>ceiling of this team. So those are the things that

0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.840
<v Speaker 1>I'll look for moving forward. Again, Lebron b minus a

0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.760
<v Speaker 1>D C plus. I gave Russ a B plus. Russ

0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:54.319
<v Speaker 1>was really and I'm partially responsible for this, but Russ

0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:58.320
<v Speaker 1>came into the season under a mountain of negativity. Not

0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:02.600
<v Speaker 1>only was he perceived by most Laker fans to be

0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:06.760
<v Speaker 1>a bad fit with this group, but we also had

0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:10.240
<v Speaker 1>all mentally prepared ourselves for Buddy Healed. We were under

0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.319
<v Speaker 1>the impression that Buddy Healed would be coming in as

0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:16.120
<v Speaker 1>a seamless fit. With Lebron and a D and so

0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:18.120
<v Speaker 1>Russ came in just with a mountain of negativity, and

0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:21.520
<v Speaker 1>again I'm I'm partially responsible for that. And then in

0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.760
<v Speaker 1>addition to that, he was set up to fail. Frank

0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:28.720
<v Speaker 1>playing two big lineups and leaving his shooting on the bench,

0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:34.520
<v Speaker 1>primarily with Russell Westbrook in the lineup was not was

0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:38.400
<v Speaker 1>was putting Russ in a position where it would kind

0:14:38.400 --> 0:14:41.600
<v Speaker 1>of make it extremely difficult for him to tap into

0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.880
<v Speaker 1>the best areas of his game, which are rim pressure

0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:49.600
<v Speaker 1>and physical mismatch attacking, like having smaller guards on him

0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:51.680
<v Speaker 1>and being able to take them and bully ball them

0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:54.120
<v Speaker 1>into the paint, and being able to use his speed

0:14:54.160 --> 0:14:56.360
<v Speaker 1>to beat guys in semi transition to get all the

0:14:56.360 --> 0:15:00.480
<v Speaker 1>way to the paint. Having our slow footed lineup out there,

0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:04.160
<v Speaker 1>having our non shooting lineups out there, made that extremely

0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:06.920
<v Speaker 1>difficult for us. And so the reason why I gave

0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:09.680
<v Speaker 1>him a B plus is when you really think about

0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.280
<v Speaker 1>what the expectation was for him coming into the season

0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.280
<v Speaker 1>and how much negativity surrounded him, and when you really

0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:19.080
<v Speaker 1>think about the lineup decisions that set him up to fail,

0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:24.360
<v Speaker 1>he's massively outperformed those expectations. In my opinion, especially in

0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:26.160
<v Speaker 1>recent weeks, he had a really rough start to the

0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:28.520
<v Speaker 1>beginning of the season. But as we know with the Russ,

0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:30.960
<v Speaker 1>as he's trying to learn how to play with a

0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:32.440
<v Speaker 1>new group of guys, he just tends to have a

0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.960
<v Speaker 1>lot of live ball turnovers. He tends to struggle identifying

0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:38.000
<v Speaker 1>the right time to drive and when not to drive.

0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:40.080
<v Speaker 1>He'll throw the ball out of bounds when he doesn't

0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:41.640
<v Speaker 1>really know where guys are going to be on those

0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:45.560
<v Speaker 1>kickout situations. But as every single person who's watched us

0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:48.680
<v Speaker 1>in the past has told us, he eventually just learned

0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:52.760
<v Speaker 1>where his opportunities were in our offense and he started

0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:54.960
<v Speaker 1>to succeed. And then, honestly, one of the coolest things

0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:58.320
<v Speaker 1>with Russ to see is the way his physical pressure

0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:00.240
<v Speaker 1>on the rim tends to wear on team is over

0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:02.120
<v Speaker 1>the course of a game. At the beginning of the game,

0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.040
<v Speaker 1>he might pick up some charging fouls, he might throw

0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.040
<v Speaker 1>up some stupid shots and not get foul calls. He

0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.480
<v Speaker 1>might try to bullyball guys and it might not look pretty,

0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:11.280
<v Speaker 1>but you know, guys will get in the way of

0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:12.680
<v Speaker 1>him in the first quarter, and then they'll get in

0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:14.240
<v Speaker 1>the way of him in the second quarter, and then

0:16:14.640 --> 0:16:16.120
<v Speaker 1>all of a sudden in the third quarter, they kind

0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:20.040
<v Speaker 1>of stopped getting in the way, and his endless energy

0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:25.480
<v Speaker 1>source and his motor overcomes the opponent in conjunction with

0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.560
<v Speaker 1>his physical tools and now he's living at the rim.

0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:31.800
<v Speaker 1>And that's what we've really seen over the course of

0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:34.400
<v Speaker 1>this last month that's made him look so great. He's

0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:38.040
<v Speaker 1>also shooting thirty seven percent on wide open threes. That

0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:41.160
<v Speaker 1>directly addresses one of the biggest concerns of the fit

0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:43.720
<v Speaker 1>coming into the season. Would Russ be able to knock

0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:46.560
<v Speaker 1>down enough open threes so that if you so that

0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:51.080
<v Speaker 1>if teams completely ignored him, you wouldn't be losing your

0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.680
<v Speaker 1>advantage there, And so far he's done a good job

0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.800
<v Speaker 1>of that. We've also seen some little tricks him attacking

0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.800
<v Speaker 1>when he catches uh when he's open on the wing

0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:01.280
<v Speaker 1>and he catches at the three point line, he'll just

0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.080
<v Speaker 1>catch an attack. We've seen him as a screener with

0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:06.960
<v Speaker 1>Lebron catching the ball in the short roll position. We've

0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:09.359
<v Speaker 1>seen him as a cutter. We're seeing a lot of

0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:12.959
<v Speaker 1>good with Russ. The fit issues are no longer a problem.

0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:14.800
<v Speaker 1>The only reason I gave him a B plus instead

0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.720
<v Speaker 1>of something closer to an A A plus was he

0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:20.040
<v Speaker 1>struggled to start the season, which like it or not,

0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:22.240
<v Speaker 1>it had an impact on the team. And then in

0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:24.600
<v Speaker 1>this last couple of games he seems to be struggling

0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:26.520
<v Speaker 1>a little bit. He had nineteen I think last night

0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.119
<v Speaker 1>against Orlando, but he had single digits or ten or

0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:32.960
<v Speaker 1>fewer in the previous two games. So he seems to

0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:35.360
<v Speaker 1>be trending in the wrong direction right this second. Hopefully

0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:38.919
<v Speaker 1>that's just an anomaly. But again from bottom line, with Russ,

0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.439
<v Speaker 1>I think as a Laker fan, under the circumstances, you

0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:46.040
<v Speaker 1>couldn't possibly be happier with the way that he's performed. Alright, guys,

0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:48.959
<v Speaker 1>that's it for part one. This is going to post

0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:51.960
<v Speaker 1>on Monday night at midnight, so be available for you

0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:54.120
<v Speaker 1>guys on Tuesday morning on your way to work, and

0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:56.960
<v Speaker 1>part two will be exactly twenty four hours later. Thank you,

0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:58.800
<v Speaker 1>guys as always for your support, and I'll see you

0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:03.600
<v Speaker 1>in a couple of days. Book