WEBVTT - Lakers/Bucks Postgame Spaces 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:17.840 M all right, welcome to the State of the Lakers 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:19.840 show on dash Bready. I think you guys so much 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:21.720 to come and hang out. I am very excited tonight. 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.680 This is the most excited I've been about this team 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:28.280 all season. I know that seems crazy coming off of 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:31.760 a loss, um, but I think there was so much 0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:37.239 good out there tonight that I think, in general, um uh, 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:41.080 that we can probably view this as an example of 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:44.199 something that should give us a bunch of optimism. UM. 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:46.280 I don't want to get too far into it right away, 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:48.400 but I just wanted to kind of set that tone 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:51.720 from the start. Um. I felt like this was a 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:55.400 game that the Lakers played on the road against the 0:00:55.400 --> 0:01:00.240 defending champs in Milwaukee. I just I was super rest 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:03.960 of the team. And we're gonna get into why. Uh, 0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:06.120 you know, because obviously, with the scoreboard, may seem like 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:07.760 they didn't really have much of a chance to win, 0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:11.679 but I thought, I thought that they missed a lot 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:15.520 of really good shots for really good shooters tonight, which 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:18.000 if even just a few of those go the other way, 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.000 this could be an entirely different outcome. So and that's 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:22.680 just one small part of it. But I was I 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:25.600 was really really excited. Th h tu looks freaking incredible. 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:28.080 There's a bunch of good that we're gonna get into tonight, 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:30.920 which excites me because Roger and I have just had 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:35.080 to sit here and bitch and moan basically the NonStop 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:38.440 for the last for the last month. So Roger, whore's 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:40.120 your head at right now? Are you as optimistic as 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:43.399 I am? Yeah? This was a good game. Like we've 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:45.800 been begging the team not just get blown out right 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:49.400 and again tonight a game against the defending champs. They've 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:51.720 been struggling, but there's still they still have. Be honest, 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.160 they got Chris Milton back tonight. I'd expect the Lakers 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:56.680 to win, but they have definitely had a chance, and 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:58.800 there was a lot of good process stuff, like you 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:01.640 said tonight, just a lot of marginal decisions. I thought, 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:03.920 impact of the game, some of the lineup decisions that 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:06.240 we can kind of get into that. But Lebron's coming 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:08.480 back Friday at least, that's that's the hopes And that 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.440 was kind of the pretense going into this game. I 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.080 was just kind of just want to look at some 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:15.560 good process stuff, and I thought we saw that tonight. 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:18.639 Janice had a crazy first half, but he also had 0:02:18.680 --> 0:02:21.080 like three threes a couple of turnaround jumpers go in. 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:24.480 So like I thought some of the physicality we didn't match, 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:26.519 but yeah, just a lot of good stuff, like you said, 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:29.720 And definitely I think Taylor Horton Tucker is leading that 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:33.360 train of positivity because man, he looks absolutely incredible. He 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:36.560 looks he looks ready to start on this team, and 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:39.360 that might have some issues with spacing and stuff, but 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:41.600 if his jump shots real, man, he he to me 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:52.360 was the lead again of the story tonight. Yeah, you know, 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:55.040 I think we should start with TNC as well. You know, 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:57.680 we have kind of been on a little roller coaster 0:02:57.760 --> 0:02:59.920 back and forth with this kid about whether or not 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.720 it's been worth trading him for something to buy into 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:06.840 the you know, a title window that that we that 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:10.080 is limited because of the age of Lebron right. And 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:14.359 my main concern was, like, hand, this kid contribute at 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:18.560 the level you need him to contribute to be worth it, 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:20.960 at least enough so that you don't feel like you're 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:23.520 one ft in and one ft out. And what it 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:26.560 had What has ended up happening here is he's taking 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.200 a leap here on both ends of the floor, like 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:31.880 I I called him in the last podcast, Mini Kauai, 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:33.480 And there was this thing that used to happen with 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:35.800 Kawhi Leonard, especially when he was younger, where if you 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:39.040 dribbled in front of him, it was just a disaster 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:40.760 every time because he was just going to take the 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:43.400 ball away from you. He had these ridiculous arms. He 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.200 was really good at reaching without fouling, and we saw 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:48.040 a lot of that tonight. He was on my notes. 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:51.200 You may you remember, you may remember the big play 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:53.800 at the end of the game where he ripped Drew 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:57.000 Holiday and year half board, But throughout the entire first 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:58.880 half of the game, he was just getting his hands 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:02.360 on balls all over the court, off ball, in passing lanes, 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:06.480 on ball at the point of attack, guys, you know, 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:08.200 trying to fight over the top of the screen and 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:12.360 roll he's coming over from behind. He's just turned into 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.240 an incredibly disruptive defender, which was something that we saw happening. 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.480 But we worried about whether or not he'd be able 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:23.000 to bring enough offensively to be playable in the best 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:26.240 Laker lineups, you know, and whether or not they'd be 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:28.280 able to rely on him in a playoffs setting, and 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:32.240 he seems to be significantly ahead of where he was 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:34.520 offensively last year. I know he had a career high 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.600 last game. He had twenty plus again tonight. The dude, 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.359 if he gets his first step on you, there's nothing 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:42.280 anybody can do to stop him from getting all the 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:43.960 way to the rim because of how long his arms 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:46.080 are and how good he is with that little scoop 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.040 shot on both sides of the rim, and he's shooting 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:52.080 well enough from the perimeter right now that he's at 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.320 least every bit as much of a threat as a 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:57.839 bays Moore, you know, or in Avery Bradley. Right, So 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:00.880 you can very much see that that th HD is 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:04.960 trending in the direction of being a bona fide pillar 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:08.000 of this team, and that absolutely, without a shadow of 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:11.080 a doubt, raises their sailing. And whatever you want to 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:13.000 say about Russ in the trade, and whatever you want 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.960 to say about what this team could have about the 0:05:17.000 --> 0:05:19.760 process that this team has gone through in the way 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:22.000 that it's taken shape over the last couple of years, 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.240 the reality of the situation is, is th HT making 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:27.480 a leap like this makes all of that not matter, 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.160 because now it's lebron in a D and th h 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.880 T as this huge pillar and even if things don't 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:37.280 pan out with Russ, which we'll talk about him later, 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:40.040 and I actually think he's starting to kind of find 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:42.640 his groove a little bit, and he's starting to also 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:46.560 look great physically. But the th h T rise completely 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:48.960 changes the ceiling of this team and I think everyone 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:52.640 should be very excited. Yeah. Man, his decision making is 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.360 at a way different level than it was even last season. 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:57.640 Like he's driving to the rim, he's doing all these 0:05:57.680 --> 0:05:59.560 like he drives, gets in the air and then kicks 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:01.839 it out and our shooters weren't really making shots tonight, 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.520 but just his shock curation is so needed. There are 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:06.720 plays where like Russ does a kick ahead to th 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:09.000 HT and he has just a one man it's not 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:11.720 even advantage, it's like a two on two. He gets 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:13.960 right to the basket and he gets fouled or gets 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:15.400 a lay up. I thought there were a lot of 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:17.960 place tonight where he got ACKed and just didn't get 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.360 the call. But he's just really finding of a rhythm. 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:22.560 And I think just his third game back, you could 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:25.600 already see him start to get even more and more comfortable. Man, 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:28.200 And once he starts drawing those foul calls, I think 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:30.200 he's gonna even take the next step. But you're right, 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:32.479 he's making that leap right in front of us, and 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:34.960 I just think just having him, I wish we could 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:36.919 have just staggered, you know, him and Russ, Like, I 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:39.360 think he's showing us that he's like our second best 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.000 ball handler right now. And again we're getting Lebron back, 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:44.480 so obviously that would change. But just without Lebron tonight, 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:46.400 I would have just loved to see him kind of 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.159 get the ball with him. But I wrote down in 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:49.960 my notes here there was a play where he had 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:51.839 Drew Holiday on him, which I think both of us 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:53.839 think is one of the best card defenders in the league. 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:55.800 And like you said, he got one step on Drew 0:06:55.839 --> 0:06:57.760 Holiday and Drew had to kind of foul him as 0:06:57.760 --> 0:06:59.480 he got to the basket because he couldn't do anything 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:03.040 his He's definitely got more skinny, but he's still super strong, 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.880 so like and you combine that with his ball handling 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.440 and it's just a really tough cover. And you're right, defensively, 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:10.680 I thought he was probably our best guy on Chris 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.440 Middleton tonight, like just chasing him over screens giving back 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:16.640 pressure on his length, like you could see that. I 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:18.840 thought Chris Milton got off a little bit when he 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:21.240 was guarded by like Rondo and you had DeAndre Jordans 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.280 kind of coming up on a drop coverage. But I 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:26.240 thought t HD on Chris Milton was fantastic. I thought 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.440 he competed against the honest honest obviously has the strength advantage. 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:31.480 But there was a play I think where THHD kind 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:33.880 of almost drew a drum ball. They didn't really call it. 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:36.640 It's got the ball back and dunked. But you're right, 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:39.280 he's definitely taking another step and it changes everything for 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:42.200 this season, to be honest, Like th HD taking a 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:44.680 leap is and he was kind of paid in that way, 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:46.600 but it was kind of hard to predict for a 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:49.080 twenty year old returning one I think next week. But 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:51.280 you're right, him taking a leap changes everything for this team. 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:53.520 You're adding a I think he can average. I'd say 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:55.560 he can average fifteen a game. Maybe I kind of 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.000 shorten him a little bit. You add like a seventeen 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:00.320 point in game score who can create with a rock 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.520 in his hands, Like that's such a big boost to 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.160 a team that lacks that on so many levels outside 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:07.400 of Russ and Lebron, So it's it's used to see 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:09.960 him really play well. And I think he's not just 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.200 putting up points. I think it's impacting winning as well. 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:14.080 Like I thought he was a big part of why 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:16.960 the game was close to name. Yeah, agree, Like it 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:19.400 changes everything about the team. It changes their ceiling, it 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:23.400 changes their timeline. Th HT taking a leap like this 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.800 this early in his career, you know, it makes it 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.760 so that Lebron can age gracefully. It makes it so 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.520 that you don't find yourself in this awkward situation where 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:35.960 you're watching some ancient old Lebron and Anthony Davis looking 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:37.959 like he's in over his skis because there's not enough 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:39.800 talent on the team. And and then here comes the 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:41.440 debates about whether or not he wants out to go 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:45.760 to Chicago. No, like if th H, his skill set 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:48.520 obviously compliments Anthony Davis in a lot of ways. Two 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:50.280 way guard, a guy who could be a primary ball 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:54.120 handler can get guys into position like that. It's I 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:56.320 don't see. And again we're two we're two games in, 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:58.080 so I don't want to get too over the top here, 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:02.640 but This is absolutely something to get excited about. And 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:05.960 in addition to that, even within the context of Lebron returning, 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:08.840 you know, there's been so much offense run through Monks, 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.400 so much offense run through Rondo, so much offense run 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:14.640 through this theoretical position there. You know, even Kendrick Nunn 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:16.960 is someone that's talked about is being usable in that 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:20.000 in that type of situation, HD's gonna slot right into 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:23.200 that position, that second side creator. He's probably gonna be 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:26.160 on the floor with Russ or with Lebron at all times. 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.480 But if you if you put him on that second 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:31.400 side and have him create on you know, when Lebron 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.480 comes down the floor runs in action for whatever reason, 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:35.400 it doesn't work, the ball gets swung around. Then th 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:38.720 h D is an awesome option to run that second 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:42.520 action and to take some of that you know, workload 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:45.400 off of the off of the Lebron A D pairing. 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:48.120 It's just, you know, again, I don't want to get tooated, 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:52.679 but like this is, this is far far beyond what 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:54.959 I expected to see from him at this point in 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:58.760 the season, and so I absolutely reason to be excited. 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:01.719 Now I want to move on to the to the 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:04.040 shot quality that the Lakers got in this game, because 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:09.560 what's so amazing about a core built around th Ht, Lebron, 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:14.240 Russ and Anthony Davis is, ironically, Anthony Davis is the 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:17.320 more perimeter oriented player in that group. All those other 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:20.600 three are head down, get to the rim guys and 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:24.880 constantly collapse the defense guys. And even without Lebron tonight, 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:28.680 the Lakers did an amazing job generating high quality three 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:32.480 point looks. Now in the past, when you're watching you know, 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:36.120 when you're watching the two thousand twenty Lakers or the 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:39.920 two thousand twenty one Lakers and they shoot in from three, 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:42.160 I think they were. I can't remember exactly what they 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:45.160 were tonight, but it was something like from three in 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:48.000 the past. When you see that, you go, Okay, this 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.640 is just what you get when it's way when it's 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.280 you know, Wes Matthews taking the threes, and it's Region 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.800 Rondo taking the threes, and it's Avery Bradley taking the threes, 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:57.840 and it's Danny Green and it's k CP. You know, 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:01.040 those guys had a certain tendons to not shoot well, 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:05.040 but tonight those were great looks for great shooters. I 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:09.840 think I think, uh, the uh, Mellows two for eight, 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.760 was one for seven, Ellington was one for seven, and 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:16.240 you know, yeah, they took some some deeper threes, some 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:19.080 late clock threes that weren't quite as good as some 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:20.679 of the others, but there were a lot of really 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:23.440 high quality misses in there. And so if you look 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:26.160 at the process, like we always talked about process and results, 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.000 like we lose a game, you know, to Minnesota, we 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:32.160 lose a game to Portland's, and you'd be like, Okay, 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:34.480 we're supposed to win, but our process stucked. We weren't 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:39.720 getting good stuff. We weren't We weren't running inside out basketball, 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:42.720 putting pressure on the rim, generating quality shots, playing defense 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.600 like crazy. Tonight, they competed against the team that is 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:49.760 extremely talented on both ends of the floor. They generated 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:52.440 high quality shots and they just didn't go in. And yeah, 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.720 on the roads, you're gonna get some bad calls. There were. 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:58.480 There were two, in my opinion at three, absolutely atrocious calls. 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:01.640 Janice off Arm and the Tommy Davis. That's an atrocious call. 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.400 That hook shot that he shot over th HD. That's 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:07.400 not a foul. That Chris Middleton play where t HD jump, 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:10.880 that's not a fount that that kind of stuff happens 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:12.920 on the roads. If you're sitting in the locker room tonight, 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:15.559 you can look back at this and say, we had 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:19.040 good process. The result wasn't what we wanted, but we 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:21.800 went into the defending Chaps house without our best player 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:24.840 and we played really good basketball and we lost the 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:26.640 game we could have won, and we did all the 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:28.840 right stuff, and so I think there's really good reasons 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:31.640 to be optimistic coming out of that. Yeah, and you 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.600 talked about the threes tonight. Uh, not to just pour 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:36.920 more fire on the th h D hype train, but 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.120 it was three for six from three tonight as well. 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.520 A lot of those spot up opportunities and if he 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:43.880 can hit those, man like, we're talking about a totally 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:46.160 different player. But you're right, they shot twelve or forty 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.800 three from three. Wayne Ellington m League monk going to 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:52.080 for fourteen really hurts you. Adding Carmelos two for eight 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:54.200 bunch of threes that would have just shifted the tide 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:56.760 of the game there. So, yeah, a lot of good stuff. 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.240 I still think our offense is still very ugly. A 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:01.280 lot of you know, a D post ups, and we 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:04.320 talked about eighties jumper getting better and it looks the 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:06.280 best it did I thought tonight as well. It just 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:09.040 looks super smooth, looks like that bubble a d in 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:11.520 terms of mid range rhythm. Uh, that pick and pop 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:14.840 jumper looks really clean. His balance is there. Hopefully that 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.240 continues when Lebron gets back. But we had a lot 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.160 of open shots that didn't go in. I thought we 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:21.560 competed pretty hard the whole night. Say for like the 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:23.920 end of the end of the second quarter. We talked 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.440 about all the fouls that went against us. Um Anthony 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:29.319 Davis didn't take a free throw tonight, which is fascinating 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:31.679 to think about it. Um. A lot of that is 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:33.600 him not going to the rim either. I would liked 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:35.720 him to be a little bit more aggressive, just the 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:38.200 way that they were defending. But we did create some 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:41.240 good shots, man, and I really wanted us to start. Uh. 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:43.880 Avery Bradley I think played like the first three minutes 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:45.719 of the set of the third quarter, and then he 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:47.800 didn't come into the game again. We just stuck with 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:50.840 Monk and Ellington, and I really wished they started with that. 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.520 And hopefully again when Lebron comes back, you changed the 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:56.360 whole kind of floor balance. But you're right, just a 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:58.679 really good game, good process game, and uh, I think 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:00.800 we can kind of move into Russell web Brooke because 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:03.920 I thought Russ again tonight just looked he had I 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:06.320 think three turnovers right away in the first quarter, and 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:09.200 he finished with three turnovers tonight. Just a good floor game, 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:13.040 nineteen points, fifteen assists, put his head down, like you said, 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:15.360 go into the basket. I think I think you're right. 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:19.040 He's starting to get comfortable. His athleticism looked the best tonight, 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:20.800 Like he had one play where he drove and just 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:23.680 burst with control up and under layup, and I just 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.360 haven't seen stuff like that. He's finishing getting a little 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:29.080 bit better. The decision making isn't going to be great 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:30.960 every night, but I just thought he's getting more and 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:33.800 more comfortable and just having another ball handler and Thhd 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:35.720 out there, you could see how it just opens things 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:37.480 up for him. He doesn't have to be the one 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:39.960 that makes every decision. Does have another guy that swing 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:41.840 to what do you see it from Russ tonight? Because 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:45.040 I thought he's trending upward at least is what it 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.720 feels like. And again getting Lebron back, hopefully it kind 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:49.160 of stays this way, But what do you see from 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:53.840 rest to name so he is There's been stories that 0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:56.880 have been told about Russ from every previous fan base 0:14:56.960 --> 0:15:00.360 that he's encountered that he tends to kind of like 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.560 get his legs underneath them as the season progresses. Now, 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:06.160 he's never going to be the same guy that he 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:09.320 was in his prime in Oklahoma City. Whatever that dream is, 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:11.200 Laker fans need to get that out of their head. 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:15.400 You know, he is starting to look a lot more 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.520 athletic than he did at the beginning of the season, 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:19.760 which is enough when you factor in what they need 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.360 from this position, which is something I've talked about throughout 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:25.200 this entire season. You know, right now, Russ is being 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.440 a primary ball handler, the like the number one guy 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.560 on the team in terms of decision making and and 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.160 uh and is going to draw the best perimeter defender 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:36.360 every single night. That's what he's That's what he's dealing 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:39.240 with right now. But that's only going to get easier 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:41.480 for him when Lebron comes back. He's going to be 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:45.600 attacking lesser perimeter defenders. He's going to be attacking in lineups, 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:49.680 you know, against bench groups because primarily with the starters, 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:51.960 it will be Lebron making, you know, the majority of 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.400 the decisions. In the closing groups, it will be Lebron 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:56.960 making the majority of the decisions. He will be focused 0:15:57.680 --> 0:15:59.960 the same rim pressure that we're seeing, because what we're 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:02.920 seeing from Russ makes sense on paper. It's just they're 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:05.560 surrounding him with a ton of shooting and Anthony Davis 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.560 or Dwight Howard. I guess Dwight got hurt or something 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.080 because they went with DeAndre Jordan in the second half. 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.760 I'm not sure what ended up coming out about that, 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:17.080 but they're basically putting him with one big and three shooters, 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:19.200 and they're saying, put your head down, get to the 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:21.880 damn rim, and if you run into trouble, just throw 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:24.240 the ball out. And even if you throw it to 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:26.320 the wrong guy, we can swing it around and find 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.320 a shooter. That all that that makes basketball sense. That 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:31.640 is something that fits with this group. That is something 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:35.400 that this team actually needs to help carry it in 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:38.000 the non Lebron minutes. And so for it to look, 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.440 you know, like this, in the role where he's the 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.120 number one. In my opinion, it's only need to get 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:45.800 better when he's the number two, and the main reason 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:51.600 why is because he still is taking some absolutely bone 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.240 headed jump shots off the dribble. There was one today 0:16:54.320 --> 0:16:56.520 where he was it was almost like he was trying 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:58.200 to end up on House of Highlights. He was like 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:00.800 the ball was like rolling around in front of him 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:02.280 and he was kind of like tapping down at it, 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:04.840 trying to get the dribble to come back alive, and 0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:06.520 then he just said screw it. He picked it up 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.120 and shot a turnaround fade away. That shot is not 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.359 going to happen when Lebron is back in the lineup. 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:14.520 It's just not going to happen, or shouldn't at least, 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:16.640 I mean, I don't know what that remains to be seen, 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.560 but the point being like, there's going to be a 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:24.200 more like think of it, like on this steak, and 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:27.200 when Lebron comes back, Russ can finally trim a bunch 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.560 of that off, and it should be a little bit more, 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:32.520 you know, it should be a little bit more catered 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:34.840 to what this team actually needs from that position. I 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:38.800 actually really like the fit of having this like secondary 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:43.119 Baal like rim pressure type of guard. It worked. It 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:45.840 really made sense with Dennis Shugar, you know, in a 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:48.800 lot of ways. I think Dennis was better defensively than Russ, 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:51.000 and hopefully Russ kind of comes around on that end 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:53.800 of the floor. He is trending in the right direction, 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:57.840 making incremental improvements on that end. But I I there 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:00.520 is a universe where this fit can work. It just 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:04.840 requires taking primary decision making responsibilities out of his hands. 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.080 And the key moments of the game at the beginning, 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.280 when you're setting the tone, at the end, when you're 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:11.840 closing the deal, those are the times when the ball 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:14.240 will be out of his hands. So this could, in 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:18.320 theory make a lot of sense. It's not entirely unprecedented 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.840 to have your secondary creator be kind of a bowl 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:24.000 in the china shop. It's no different than Jordan Clarkson 0:18:24.359 --> 0:18:26.600 with the Utah Jazz, or even like a Jordan Pool 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:28.720 with the Golden State Warriors. A guy that's like, you're 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:30.600 kind of like, I don't care if you make some mistakes. 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:33.920 You're attacking lesser defenders, You're doing it in smaller portions 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:36.480 of the game. That that makes sense, That role makes 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:39.720 sense for us. It just right now he's kind of 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:43.280 miscast as a lead man. So but even in that 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:48.200 miscastle lead man role. He was pretty good tonight, So 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.479 I'm I'm starting to see the light at the end 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:53.560 of the tunnel with Russ. Yeah, And I thought th 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:56.280 HD kind of did a pretty good job ton I 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:58.959