WEBVTT - Free Agency Round Two? 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:18.239 Mmmm, that sounds funny. Man. It's nice to do this after, 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.000 you know, not have bringing an emotional game to talk about, 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:23.759 or you know, going right after a loss and have 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:25.799 to break it down. So it's a little nicer this time. 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:30.160 We can kind of ease into ease into this one. Yeah. 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:33.440 So I the foundation for this pod. I wanted to 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:36.239 be something that you and I kind of we're bouncing 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:40.440 back and forth on in yesterday's pod, which was are 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:43.440 the Lakers going to attempt to shore up the center 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:46.360 position or are they going to go all in on 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:51.320 small ball? And I thought, and again, this isn't obviously 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:53.640 set in stone, and a lot can change over the 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:55.920 course of the next couple of weeks. But I thought 0:00:56.080 --> 0:01:00.280 that the two signings that took place today were big 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:04.280 indicators of you being right that they're probably gonna go 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:10.080 all in on small ball. We Jaundy Brown is actually 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.080 played in the rotation yesterday, but Jay Huff did not, 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:17.200 and we did and we did sign this new guard. 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:19.160 I believe Mason Jones was the one who's on the 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:23.120 two way. That that two way deal kind of heavily 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:28.520 implicated implies that Jhoff is probably gonna get released. Um, 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:31.840 so we're looking at h Jones coming in and then 0:01:31.920 --> 0:01:37.000 Jamario Jones, who's someone that Laker fans are pretty familiar with, 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:41.920 and uh, and both of those guys are middle size. 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:43.959 I think Mason Jones is pretty big for guard. He's 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:47.080 like six ft four. Jamario Jones is undersize, is like 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:48.920 six ft five. But it's just a bowling of China 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:52.360 who does all the dirty work stuff well. But most importantly, 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:56.000 I think it just was a big indicator that they're 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.400 they're primarily going to try to play small in this stretch. 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:02.840 What did you think about that? Oh? Yeah, this was 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.960 a Lebron get ready for center, right, like like Lebron 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:07.560 get ready to play a lot of center. Because I 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:11.040 feel like that's what these two signings pretty much signified. 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:13.600 I want to I want to start with Jamara Jones though, 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.280 because we have good tape on him as a Laker 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:18.880 and he's kind of bounced around after he left here, 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:22.200 but he's a cult hero U for us as well. 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.840 He's not as known as Ox Screw so obviously and 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:28.160 didn't get the success he's had a similar type of player, 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:31.000 a player that you just whatever he gives you offensively 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.280 is a bonus I think he's a I compare him 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:36.600 a lot to g P two out in Golden State, 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:39.120 where like, if you have a perfect set of players 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.600 around him, he can be really successful. He just played 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:43.840 on a lot of really bad Laker teams, so it 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.600 was tough too. It was tough to gauge the impact 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:49.480 that he does. But he is a really good defensive player. 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.680 Like he's a smart defensive player, gets steals, leads deflections 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:55.160 all the time, big time rebounder, right, And I think 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.600 it's something we've needed. High motor guy, and I think 0:02:57.639 --> 0:02:59.919 it's nice to throw these high motor guys in. We'll 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:02.400 see how how he plays. But I think, like Jamon Johns, 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:04.320 just a nice player to have, you know, I think 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:06.639 he's on the hardship exception and all that, but yeah, 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.079 he's a high rebounding garden. I think that's something this 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:11.680 team misses. But you're right, they're about to lean super 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:15.720 into small ball, super into lebron as center lineups because 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:18.919 I don't think DeAndre Jordan's gonna seems like his minutes 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.480 are gonna kind of till down here as as we 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:23.239 as we go on and hopefully when dy how it 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:24.880 comes back. But yeah, I feel like they're about to 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:27.840 lean fully into this small ball. Do you agree with that? Yeah? 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:33.840 So I think there's a base like ideology behind going 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:37.000 small that I think is really interesting. And it's something 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:39.720 that I've harped on a lot over the course of 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.800 the last couple of years. And actually the LFR guys 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:47.160 hit on today having to do with you know I, 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:49.560 You and I both talked about last night that it's 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.520 it's a lot to ask Lebron to be Draymond Green 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:56.080 on defense and you think about all of the physical 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:58.000 wear and tear that comes with that, and all of 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:01.480 that is relevant here. How verbs one of the things 0:04:01.520 --> 0:04:03.960 that we failed to account with this kind of thing. 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:07.280 And I specifically was hammering this home with Anthony Davis, 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:10.280 but Pete from like a Film Room was talking about 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:15.480 it as it pertains to Lebron. Asking Lebron to break 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:19.880 down an offense when the paint is packed and when 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:24.000 everything he does offensively is difficult, that's also taxing on it. 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.080 And you know what I thought was really interesting? Did you? 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.839 And I'm wondering if you noticed this too. Lebron has 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:35.159 been jumping to try to block shots more than I've 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:39.039 seen him do in years. Have you noticed that, Oh yeah, 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:41.280 he loves it right, Like he's trying to He's not 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:43.359 just trying to block it. He's trying to swatt it 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:45.400 out of bounds to like the third row. Right, He's 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:50.080 not even he's not just trying to block it. He's 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:53.080 going for highlight dunks. And I don't think that's a coincidence. 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:56.360 I think that is directly related to the fact that 0:04:56.400 --> 0:05:00.240 he's been having a ten game over his last night games. 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:02.440 I tweeted this out today. I think he's right around 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:08.720 like and seven on like sixty true shooting, and he's 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:13.240 averaging over a block of game. That's crazy. And I 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.240 think those two things are related. I think Lebron's offensive 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:21.240 job is easier than it's ever been, and there's an 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:27.040 interesting psychology to it. It's human nature, but it's easier 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:30.800 to ask a guy to do the dirty job when 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:34.760 the fun part is easy, and he's deriving confidence from 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:38.160 the fun part. So when the when the Lakers are 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:41.240 getting down on themselves because their offense sucks and the 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:43.560 pain is clogged, and Lebron's having a rough night and 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:46.159 Anthony Davis is having a rough night, it's hard to 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:48.960 then go back and really dial it up on the 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:55.360 defensive end. But you're seeing Lebron put in uncharacteristic defensive 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:57.240 effort for the regular season. We know he does it 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:58.599 in the postseason. We saw him do it in the 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:01.880 whole bubble. You know, high real blocks and net playoff 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:04.839 from that was outrageous. But you're seeing him dial it 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.479 up on that end, and I think it's directly related 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:09.760 to the fact that the offensive end is coming easier 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:13.120 to him, and that is the core ideology behind going small. 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.839 And what's super fascinating about this. Yes, we're asking Lebron 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:21.480 to do a lot, but his offensive job is easier. However, 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:24.480 they needed to have with those small lineups. That's so 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:29.000 imperative that you have these tweeners that can get the 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:32.359 rebounding job done. And obviously a reason coming back helps that. 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:36.000 But Jerry Jamario Jones in particular, I think is a 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:39.159 guy that will be interesting to watch in some of 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:42.200 these small ball lineups. Kind of like I'm blanking on 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:44.000 his name now, of course his fate would have it. 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:46.520 But that kid who's playing for the that set center 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:50.040 a lot um. What's his name? Do you remember? Bruce Brown? Yeah, 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:53.520 Bruce Brown a similar concept to Bruce Brown, like just 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:56.400 just a basketball player, not not even really a position, 0:06:56.520 --> 0:07:00.480 just a guy who's doing the job of of all 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:02.520 of those dirty work things that are needed to be 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:04.279 done on the basketball court. And I'm interested to see 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:08.240 how Jamario Jones fits into that in the short term. Yeah, 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:10.400 and I think the spacing definitely has helped. You see 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:12.480 Lebron at the five a lot, and I think that 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:16.320 uses his role offensively. I'm just like the LPR guys 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:17.920 talked about it, how he can kind of rest a 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:20.480 little bit more offensively because he's not breaking down, you know, 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.920 a paint that's all clogged. I still think, like I 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:24.880 think we talked about it last night, I still still 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:26.960 think it's a lot for him to, you know, anchor 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:29.440 defense as he has to. Um, we'll see how these 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:32.320 two way guys are in these guys on the hardship 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:34.800 exception play. But it's an interesting kind of concept to 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:36.600 look at it because it looks like Lebron has been 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.360 pretty engaged on that end. I mean the Minnesota game, 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:40.720 I thought he was bad for a lot of it, 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:42.480 but last night he turned it on and I think 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:44.640 that's kind of how we'll see it he'll he'll turn 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:46.840 on for games here and there. I'll see how how 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.560 it looks when a d's out right eighties been out 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:51.440 for a while. But yeah, it's an interesting kind of 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:53.800 concept where because we're gonna need him to be that 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:55.920 and it looks like they're about to lean heavily, heavily 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:58.880 into it. Mason Jones, that is an interesting guy to 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.200 kind of bring up as well. He's like a two 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:04.320 pounds six four guard, a lot of skills. I was 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:06.680 kind of reading up reading up on him a little bit. 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:08.400 He's more of like a shooter, and I think that's 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:09.880 something that you can kind of feel in as well. 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:12.120 And we're just gonna need bodies, right we talked about 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:15.160 it yesterday. We're not not sure how the COVID situation 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:17.320 is gonna kind of play out here, at least recent 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.600 at least coming up in the short term. Just need 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.520 players out there, and we need high motor guys. I 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:25.640 think Johndrey Bound is a guy that's gonna stick. I 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:28.119 think he's a high motor guy. I think Jamario jones 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:30.720 Hole kind of game is high motor. That's like what 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.240 how he plays. We'll see Mason Jones on the next 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.480 level as well. We just need guys to play, man. 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:36.920 I thought in that Bulls game a lot of guys 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:39.960 looked tired as well, Uh, playing guys thirty thirty five minutes. 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:41.720 So hopefully you can just throw a couple of bodies 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.880 at these guys. And I think that's what these signings 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.160 kind of signify. Who knows if they make the team 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:48.199 long term, but I think that's what they are. And 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:50.920 Jay Huff is probably cut, which is interesting because I 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:53.880 think center is probably our biggest need on the team, 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:57.040 Like just structurally how the rosters fit right now. Must 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.400 have been bad. He must have been bad in some 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:03.560 of their practice stuff. Sure, yeah, we're not behind the scenes. 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:06.040 And he's a stretched center right which just fits the 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:08.560 archetype you would think this team would like. But obviously 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:12.199 they didn't. They didn't see enough from him to give 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:14.959 him any real minutes on this team. So yeah, they're 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:16.960 about to lean into this small ball and I think 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:19.280 that's what these signings kind of signify. You already have 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:21.800 Isaiah Thomas. Now you throw Mason Jones in their league. 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:23.640 Monk looks like he's gonna come back pretty soon. So 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:26.560 the super guard heavy kind of thing here but yeah, 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:28.360 I think it's a Janny Jamara Jones is a guy 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:30.440 you can kind of throw out there, go get rebounds, 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:32.120 just go play hard for twenty minutes, right, And I 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.560 think that's what you need in small ball. Trevor Reesa 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:36.680 obviously is going to fit a lot into that. But 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:38.679 we'll see if these these new guys can fit in. 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:40.680 But I'm excited to see it. Managamaro Jones is a 0:09:40.679 --> 0:09:43.079 cult hero in l A. Again, not as known as 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.640 Carusoe obviously, but he's definitely in that kind of kind 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:49.480 of field. He was, he was loved for his minutes here. Yeah, 0:09:49.480 --> 0:09:51.720 you know, Mason Jones is probably not gonna stick around, 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:54.840 Jamario Jones is probably not gonna stick around. Isaiah Thomas 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:56.959 is probably not gonna stick around. Johnny Brown is not 0:09:57.000 --> 0:10:00.200 going to be in the rotation. But what the what 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:04.040 this is? This is an opportunity to to kind of 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.560 like spit all some ideas, right, and and so why 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:10.679 not try to see what going all in on small 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:13.800 ball looks like? Because you can fast forward and there's 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:15.800 gonna be a version of this team where we're gonna 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:18.440 be playing small ball without Anthony Davis. And it's gonna 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:24.320 be Lebron, Trevor Reason, you know, Austin Reeves and Russell 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:27.680 Westbrook and a Malique Monk or Kendrick Nunnon or you know, 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:30.800 or every Bradley or Can Pays more like, we have 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:34.760 all of these, you know, different iterations of this team. 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:37.440 And we never even thought coming into the season that 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:40.040 we would be using Lebron at center. So it's kind 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.720 of like a great chance to experiment a little bit 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.240 and and and see because we've seen Lebron at center 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:48.320 with a lot of shooting. What we haven't seen as 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.400 Lebron at center with guys who are big and strong 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:55.319 and athletic that can rebound and run the floor. And 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:58.280 we were going to get that eventually with Trevor Reason 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:01.320 coming back, and so now we can kind of test that. 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:03.400 But it'd be fun to see a line up with 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.800 you know, Lebron, Trevor Reza, and Jamario Jones all playing 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:11.480 in the front court just like just flying around, grabbing rebounds, 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:13.040 running up and down the floor. It'll be fun to 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:15.760 see and so you can kind of test out, like 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:18.400 you know, you know that this is fake basketball, I 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.160 use that's the phrase that I use. Uh, you know, 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:23.840 Pete called it that that he said that it's the 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:26.360 NBA is not a functional basketball league right now. We 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:31.559 all have different ways of describing it. It is unrealistic 0:11:31.640 --> 0:11:35.880 to judge anything. But what a great time to be experimental, 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:37.800 you know what I mean? Like, what what a great 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:40.719 time to to throw some stuff at the wall and 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:44.400 see what sticks. See some concepts, and with the concepts 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:48.440 we've seen by virtue of injuries, is like, oh, ship, 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:52.520 Labron can play center like you know, and ideally you 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:54.280 don't want to lean on that as much as we're 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:56.160 gonna have to. I know, our guy ven A has 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:59.079 been a big, you know, believer in you know, leaving 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:01.360 that for specific matchups, and to be clear, I a 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:04.440 thousand percent agree with him, but we we don't have 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:07.200 the luxury of that anymore because of our situation, you 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:10.560 know what I mean, and especially especially at the center position, 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:13.400 uh considering Dwight is really going to be our only 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.719 functional center when he comes back. So you know, this 0:12:16.800 --> 0:12:19.280 is a it's an interesting revelation to see that Lebron 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:21.720 can fly around and do what he does. Obviously we 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.720 have to tighten up some stuff defensive rebounding around that, 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:29.240 but I'm excited to see guys. You know, I'm bringing 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:31.240 some optimism. This is very glass half ald, this is 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:33.679 very silverwhelming, but like, hey, this is gonna be fun. 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:37.360 We're gonna get to watch some really interesting Lebron James 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:40.600 led basketball that we've really never seen before over the 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:42.480 next couple of weeks. And I'm curious to see what 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.800 it looks like. And you brought up Austin Reeves, and 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:48.439 I think he's already kind of shown. Like you look 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:50.960 at the Lebron at center lineups and I think Austin 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:53.400 Reeves kind of sticks out. That's where like the lineups 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:55.440 are really great and the numbers look good. He's another 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:57.640 guy that just plays hard and again plays his role, 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.679 just does role players stuff that I think you need 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:02.880 in those kind of lineups. I said, uh, Carmelo, and 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:04.560 I think he has played a lot while Lebron's at 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:06.400 the five, whereas he's at the four. And I think 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:08.600 that's where Trevor Reza comes in as well. Just can 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.160 do that dirty work. Can move Carmelo to kind of 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:15.280 the three, doesn't have to have power forward responsibilities Defensively, again, 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:17.840 maybe you can throw Jamary Jones, Jamario Jones in there. 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.120 Throw all these other guards in there that just play hard, 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:21.880 and I think that's what you need. Any guys who 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:23.800 come in and rebound, right. I think that's where it 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:27.200 gets taxing. They talked about as well on the LFR pod, right, 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.080 guys jumping over your back, Lebron having to box out. 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:32.360 I kind of pointed out that play where Lebron was 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:34.320 the only one boxing out. But we need guys that 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:36.440 go to the rebound, go to the boards, right, because 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:38.840 that's a weakness when you go small like that, especially 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:41.319 when you go with scoring guards. Uh. I believe leave 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:43.040 Monk will be a big part of those lineups as well. 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:46.000 Just you need defensive rebounding. You need guys who are 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.440 who aren't afraid to get hit in the paint, aren't 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.439 afraid to get elbowed and stuff like that, just to 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:52.800 do the dirty work a little bit too. Take that 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:54.520 pressure off Lebron to do it, because he's gonna have 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:55.800 to do a lot. He's gonna have to anchor it 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:58.160 being the right places, be the rim protector, also be 0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:00.439 able to switch like that's a lot to ask on him. 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:02.800 And then on the other end, I understand the offense 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:04.960 is gonna be better it's gonna have a better space, 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:07.160 You're gonna have more playmakers out there. But still, when 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:08.839 it matters, it's gonna be in Lebron's hand, So you 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:10.600 want to kind of put the pressure off him a 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:12.760 little bit still defensively, so it's gonna be interesting to 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:15.040 see if he can hold up. I don't know if 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:17.480 I want to play thirty minutes of Lebron as center though, 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:19.000 you know, for the next four to six weeks. I 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:21.280 think that's a lot. Like I still think you're gonna 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:23.440 have to have some kind of bigs in there, or 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:25.360 even twenty five minutes a game at center. I think 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:27.520 that's still a lot. But we'll see how he kind 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.160 of handles it going forward. Hopefully Dwight Howard is back 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:32.760 sooner than later, so you can at least spell some 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.280 of those because the DeAndre Jordan minutes look like, uh, 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:39.400 they're just losing points out there per minute. But yeah, 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.520 it's gonna be interesting, man. I think these signings, though, yeah, 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:44.440 you're right, signify a move towards small ball that we've 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:46.480 been kind of hoping for. We we were hoping forward 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:48.200 to this with a D. I think we always thought 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.680 Lebron could play center. We just always said that it 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:52.880 was too taxing, and we're going to kind of see 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.240 how that works out. But Lebron looks like he's enjoying it. 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:57.680 He likes it. He'd like like you talked about, he's 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.040 going after all these these block shots. You know, he 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.680 he's taking the matchups personally when bigs trying to go 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:04.960 at him. You saw like Bukovich try to go at 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:07.720 him in the post. He really takes those matches like personally, right, 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:11.120 He bodies up really nicely. He's they can't move him. 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:12.800 He did it on towns as well, I thought in 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.080 the second half where they would try to switch in 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:16.800 towns or try to go at him and he just 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:19.120 couldn't move them, and that stuff that Lebron can do. 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:22.120 Lebron obviously can do anything on the basketball part, but 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:24.440 especially at the center lineup. He has the body for it. 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:26.000 So we'll see how how it looks. Like, Yeah, these 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:28.840 all these signings kind of signify a move towards small. 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:32.000 What you're talking about in his ability to do that 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:34.680 stuff on the back line is exactly why I think 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:38.280 he's become weirdly underrated in this era. You know, one 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:39.920 of the big reasons why I think Lebron is a 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:42.560 better defensive player than Kawhi Leonard in a playoff series 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:46.760 is because I think what that specific ask is from 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.560 Lebron on the back line to fly around, protect the rim, 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:53.120 guard post, mismatches, all that kind of thing. I think, 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:57.080 especially in a playoff environment, that's so much more valuable 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:01.400 than isolation defense when if you know when I can, 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:04.880 I can use certain actions to get you to switch, 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.280 and most teams go to switching. And the defensive rebounding 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:10.160 part is really interesting because I wanted to get to 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:12.200 before we get out of here and thank you guys 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:13.560 so much for coming to hang out. We're we're not 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:15.840 gonna go super long tonight and probably only go another 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.880 five ten minutes. But the I asked for some questions, 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:21.800 and one of the questions that we got was from 0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:24.960 our friend George. He said, how does the team play 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.160 game plan on rebounding. Do they have set player that 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:28.960 will find a body to box out others grab the 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.320 ball or is it all communication on the floor. It's 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:36.920 it's it's all an order of operations. When the shot 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.560 first goes up, you absolutely have to find your man. 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:42.600 That's the first thing you do is you find your man. 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:45.600 After you find your man, you make a read on 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:48.200 the ball. If you see the ball come high off 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:50.560 the rim and your man is out of the play, 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.640 that's when you disengage and you sprint and you jump 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.160 to grab the rebound if you see it coming at you. 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:58.520 The last thing you want to do is jump if 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.240 you see it coming at you, to stay low and 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.600 you have to push your man further and further out 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:06.000 in your teammate to come get the ball. But that's 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:08.440 the biggest issue. If you watch on that pivotal possession 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.400 of the game last night, Lebron Brocks blocks to Marty Rose, 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:12.840 and then there's a kick out. I think it's Kobe 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:14.240 White or somebody I can't remember who it is. Someone 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:15.960 shoots at three on the opposite wing and they miss, 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:18.920 so they actually give up two offensive emails. On each 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.520 of the plays, different guys are boxing out, like a 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.679 Reason is boxing out on the first one, but you know, 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:26.679 Lebron's out of the play because he falls down to 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:29.040 block the shot. But like no one else bought, no 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:30.720 one else is boxing out. Then on the next play, 0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:33.120 like Lebron's boxing out, but like Trevor Reas is kind 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.080 of walking around, and so it's like it's one of 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:38.240 those things where on those for those sequences to work, 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:42.080 everybody has to do the job. It's it's it's a 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:45.320 team effort, defensive, rebounding, and and you know, I think 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:47.920 the group, the unit was heading in the right direction 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.040 in terms of getting that polished up. But now we 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.200 have all these new guys in and so it's hard 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:58.480 to just kinda, um, you know, have that continuity of 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:01.400 habit from someone who hasn't put on the Laker jersey, 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:03.840 either ever before or in a very long time, you know, 0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:08.040 to come in and do that our other questions, let's see. Yeah, 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.040 A couple of people asked, who do you think is 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:11.840 gonna get dropped? I think we Roger and I both 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:14.080 talked about earlier we expected to be Jay Huff just 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.680 because if there was any chance he was gonna play 0:18:16.920 --> 0:18:20.360 or he was gonna stay, he would have played. Last night. Um, 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:22.320 what do you think about trading DJ Nunn and bass 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:24.840 for anyone? Roger and I hit that last night. I'm 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:28.680 pro trading him for a center of rajs pro just 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:30.879 holding on and waiting to see what things look like 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:37.719 in January, which I actually agree with um. Let's see, well, 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:39.800 there was there was one question that I think it's 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.680 interesting because they said how to uh, I can't find 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:44.679 who asked it. If I find it out, how can 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:48.200 the Lakers cover for defense? Is that one? Yes? Yes? Yeah? Yeah, 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:50.159 that one? Yeah yeah yeah. I think that's really interesting 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.159 because because we're watching the game yesterday, I thought I 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:54.920 thought they did a nice job kind of trapping to 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.840 Marja Rosen, right, and they did it pretty strategically, like 0:18:57.840 --> 0:18:59.760 they waited for him to go on a spin move. 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:01.720 They wait until he like took two dribbles. I thought 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:03.840