Speaker 1: The volume Lakers Tonight with Jason timp is presented by
Speaker 1: fan Duel sports Book. There's no better place to make
Speaker 1: every moment more during the Super Bowl then with fan
Speaker 1: Duel and new users can bet five dollars to win,
Speaker 1: two d and eight in cash on either team to win.
Speaker 1: I love FanDuel because it's easy to use, safe and secure,
Speaker 1: and you can get winnings fast. Now. Winnings are delivered
Speaker 1: in as quick as two hours. It's fun to combine
Speaker 1: multiple bets from the same game into the same game parlay.
Speaker 1: If you're new, just download the FanDuel sports Book app
Speaker 1: to get started. Now sign up with FanDuel dot com
Speaker 1: slash Jason t so they know I sent you. Twenty
Speaker 1: one plus in president in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan,
Speaker 1: New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia or West Virginia. New
Speaker 1: users only ten dollars first deposit required, must wager in
Speaker 1: designated offer market max bonus two hundred and eighty dollars
Speaker 1: bonus for Tennessee users fulfilled in site credit within seventy
Speaker 1: two hours. Tennessee site credit expires fourteen days a to
Speaker 1: receipt restrictions apply. See full terms at sports book dot
Speaker 1: fan duel dot com. Gambling problem call one eight hundred
Speaker 1: next step or text next step to five three three
Speaker 1: four two in Arizona one eight eight eight seven eight
Speaker 1: nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org
Speaker 1: slash chat in Connecticut one eight hundred gambler or visit
Speaker 1: FanDuel dot com slash rg in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey,
Speaker 1: or Virginia one eight seven seven seven seven zero stop
Speaker 1: in Louisiana one eight hundred to seven zero seven one
Speaker 1: seven for confidential help in Michigan one eight seven seven
Speaker 1: eight hope n why or text hope and why to
Speaker 1: four six seven three six nine In New York, tennessee
Speaker 1: redline one eight hundred eight eight nine nine seven eight
Speaker 1: nine in Tennessee. Visit www dot one eight hundred gambler
Speaker 1: net in West Virginia. All right, Welcome to Lakers Tonight,
Speaker 1: presented by fan Duel. Here on the volume, I am
Speaker 1: Jason timp Happy Saturday, everybody. I hope you all had
Speaker 1: a great week and that you're having a good weekend
Speaker 1: so far. That was definitely a much more competitive basketball
Speaker 1: game than I think any of us really expected that. Said,
Speaker 1: there have been a few times this season, namely that
Speaker 1: early season game when Lebron was out when they beat
Speaker 1: the Miami Heat, or that Utah Jazz game from about
Speaker 1: a month ago, and then tonight, where when you would
Speaker 1: have expect acted this team, after everything that's happened to
Speaker 1: this point in the season, to fold or to fracture
Speaker 1: rather than to show a little bit of competitive spirit.
Speaker 1: And I don't think that that's a coincidence, because regardless
Speaker 1: of how you feel about the way this team has performed,
Speaker 1: and regardless of how you feel about the roster, there's
Speaker 1: still a gap there. Even though the roster is nowhere
Speaker 1: near what it needs to be in order to win
Speaker 1: a championship, which we're gonna talk more about later. Even
Speaker 1: though it's not to that level, it's certainly not as
Speaker 1: bad as it has looked often this season. And I
Speaker 1: think a lot of that has to do with the
Speaker 1: fact that there have been scapegoats for people to point
Speaker 1: that and to make excuses for and to take the
Speaker 1: responsibility off of themselves for one reason or another. Right,
Speaker 1: it's really easy to be like, it's Frank's fault, he
Speaker 1: doesn't run the right, deep sense of scheme with what
Speaker 1: we're doing. It's real easy to say it's Rob Polinka's
Speaker 1: fault he didn't give us good enough veteran minimum players.
Speaker 1: It's easy to say it's Genie Buss's fault she let
Speaker 1: Alex Caruso go. It's easy to blame the Russell Westbrook
Speaker 1: trade or to blame Russell Westbrook himself. But the fact
Speaker 1: of the matter is the talent that has actually been
Speaker 1: on the court for the Lakers for the most part
Speaker 1: this season has underachieved, even relative to what that standard
Speaker 1: should have been. And I think that that was a
Speaker 1: subtle message that Rob Polinka and Genie Buss tried to
Speaker 1: send to this team at the deadline. I don't think
Speaker 1: those two are blameless, so I'm certainly not lifting them
Speaker 1: up as some sort of you know, uh, you know
Speaker 1: lighthouse here that is the one leading the way, because
Speaker 1: they both have made absolutely inexcusable mistakes over the course
Speaker 1: of the last couple of years. So they are not
Speaker 1: off the hook by any stretch. But Rob Polincoln decided
Speaker 1: not to make any moves at this deadline, and he
Speaker 1: had a quote in the press conference this weird little
Speaker 1: proxy war that took place between Clutch and the front
Speaker 1: office immediately after the deadline, where Rob says, there's you
Speaker 1: know an understand He basically implied that Lebron and a
Speaker 1: D agreed with their decision to not move make any moves,
Speaker 1: used the word alignment, and then Robin a D, Lebron
Speaker 1: and a D immediately go through Dave McMenamin to the
Speaker 1: press to be like, heck, no, there wasn't. We did
Speaker 1: not agree with this. We wanted there to be moves.
Speaker 1: And I think that it's funny because Rob's quote that
Speaker 1: he had in that press conference, he says, when it
Speaker 1: comes to finding success when a team is not winning,
Speaker 1: I think the most important action is for everyone to
Speaker 1: look in the mirror and be better. That includes the
Speaker 1: front office, it includes the coaches, it includes the players.
Speaker 1: And I think one of the things that Bob did
Speaker 1: by not making a move is he took away the excuse.
Speaker 1: The dirty little secret is is even if the Lakers
Speaker 1: had made a trade, would it have improved them. Yes,
Speaker 1: if they would have brought in two NBA level starters
Speaker 1: to help slot players further down than they are right now,
Speaker 1: it absolutely would have helped the team. But the truth
Speaker 1: of the matter is it would not have fixed all
Speaker 1: their problems, because they have a boatload of problems with
Speaker 1: their basketball character, their willingness to buy into rolls, their
Speaker 1: willingness to do the dirty work, their willingness to take
Speaker 1: responsibility for the outcome rather than to blame other people,
Speaker 1: and Rob essentially at the deadline says, this is on you, guys.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to make a panic trade here to
Speaker 1: bring something in. This is on you, guys. That I
Speaker 1: disagree with that strategy. I think Rob should have made
Speaker 1: a move, or at least a move anything to mix
Speaker 1: things up. The reason being is that Lebron and a
Speaker 1: D are so good. You have to capitalize on these
Speaker 1: handful of years they have together, and punting one of
Speaker 1: those years is terrible management when you factor in the
Speaker 1: limited window that they have here. But that said, even
Speaker 1: though I disagree with that strategy, I understand the message
Speaker 1: that Rob Plinker was trying to send because this team
Speaker 1: that went into Golden State tonight and nearly one, they
Speaker 1: literally would have one if they got anything out of
Speaker 1: Lebron in that fourth quarter. Lebron had an absolute horrific
Speaker 1: fourth quarter, and if they get anything out of him,
Speaker 1: they probably win the game. But that team that went
Speaker 1: up to Golden State tonight and nearly beat Golden State,
Speaker 1: that team is not four games under five. That team
Speaker 1: is not a playing team. That's a team that's right
Speaker 1: up there with the Utah Jazz in the Memphis Cruizlies.
Speaker 1: Maybe they're not a bona fide contender, but they're a
Speaker 1: heck of a lot better than that where they are
Speaker 1: right now. But the bottom line is that team that
Speaker 1: we saw tonight has been an exception to the rule.
Speaker 1: It's been a rare occurrence. It hasn't been the consistent
Speaker 1: product that we've seen from this team. And I like,
Speaker 1: I do like that Rob took that blame game out
Speaker 1: of the picture and said, it's on you guys to
Speaker 1: figure this out. Like, here's the thing, Lebron. You can
Speaker 1: blame the role players all you want, and we're all
Speaker 1: gonna sympathize with you in the sense that we know
Speaker 1: that there's not enough talent on this team to win
Speaker 1: the title. But you have to be better. Your role
Speaker 1: players tonight played well enough to beat Golden State. Your
Speaker 1: role players tonight played well enough to give you a
Speaker 1: chance to win on the road against one of the
Speaker 1: top tier championship contenders in the league, and you fell
Speaker 1: apart in the fourth quarter. Sloppiness, sloppie passes, throwing the
Speaker 1: ball away, inability to finish around the rim with all
Speaker 1: the length, a couple of miss defensive assignments as well.
Speaker 1: You how to be better, man. That's on you. Now,
Speaker 1: We're gonna cut you some slack. You're not Russell Westbrook.
Speaker 1: This hasn't been what you've done for the most part
Speaker 1: this season. You've been very reliable all season. But I
Speaker 1: like that. I like that the accountability is being shifted
Speaker 1: back to the players. Lebron can't go up to the
Speaker 1: podium tonight and blame the role players. Lebron can't go
Speaker 1: to the podium tonight and blame Rob Polinka. It was
Speaker 1: him that didn't hold up his end of the bark.
Speaker 1: And the same thing with Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis was
Speaker 1: as had one of the most dominant defensive performances that
Speaker 1: I've ever seen from a player in the first half,
Speaker 1: but just did not bring enough offensively in this game.
Speaker 1: You are a player that has been compared to honest
Speaker 1: Antenna Coompo. You have to be able to score at
Speaker 1: will against the Golden State Warriors team that doesn't have
Speaker 1: dreamon Green. The accountability is on you guys as well.
Speaker 1: Does Rob have a responsibility? Yes, he has to in
Speaker 1: the next month hit two or three home runs in
Speaker 1: the buyout market. He has to. That's his job. Frank
Speaker 1: Vogel has to be better. He has to play Reeves
Speaker 1: more than Avery Bradley, which he did tonight but very
Speaker 1: much did not do in the UH in the game
Speaker 1: against the Blazers when he played Reeves fifteen minutes and
Speaker 1: Bradley thirty five minutes. So franc has to be better.
Speaker 1: Francast to find defensive schemes and offensive schemes that actually
Speaker 1: fit his personnel. He has a job. The role players
Speaker 1: have to be better, but Lebron and Anthony Davis also
Speaker 1: have to be better. They also have not been good
Speaker 1: enough on a day in and day out basis this
Speaker 1: season to propel this team to where they need to go.
Speaker 1: And so as much as I've had problems with Rob
Speaker 1: and what he's done this season, kudos to him for
Speaker 1: making everybody look in the mirror and be like, you
Speaker 1: guys are gonna have to figure this out. Our best
Speaker 1: chance to use this that he thinks their best chance
Speaker 1: to use the assets is in the off season, and
Speaker 1: I get that. I disagree, but I get that. But
Speaker 1: he's right in the sense that this team needed to
Speaker 1: look inward before they looked anywhere else. From the standpoint
Speaker 1: of Russ, I thought we saw an interesting dynamic tonight
Speaker 1: at play with Russ. That is interesting projecting forward for
Speaker 1: this team because once again after our trade deadline special
Speaker 1: Russ had a comment shortly after when the Lakers had
Speaker 1: practice where he took a pot shot at Frank Vogel, saying, Hey,
Speaker 1: the reason why my back is flaring up is I'm
Speaker 1: sitting down for too long, which is ridiculous, completely ridiculous,
Speaker 1: and an obvious shot at the head coach. And if
Speaker 1: you're going to actually make a run at this an
Speaker 1: attempt to win the championship via the plan, and I
Speaker 1: don't care whatever the route is. If you're gonna if
Speaker 1: you're gonna really make a run at it, you can't
Speaker 1: have him out content on the team. You can't have
Speaker 1: a player who is deliberately going out of his way
Speaker 1: to complain or to be a source of negative energy.
Speaker 1: Any of you guys out there who have ever played
Speaker 1: competitive sports at a serious level, you Guys under stand
Speaker 1: when I'm talking about You've been in locker rooms where
Speaker 1: everybody messages and has the same goal, and you've been
Speaker 1: in locker rooms where there's that one guy who doesn't
Speaker 1: like what his specific role is or what his specific
Speaker 1: circumstances is, and he starts to talk, and he starts
Speaker 1: to try to form a click in the locker room,
Speaker 1: he tries to find supporters, and it becomes an issue
Speaker 1: that can't happen with Russ. So the question becomes, do
Speaker 1: you send him home or do you keep him around
Speaker 1: and try to make it work. And I do think
Speaker 1: you send him home if he continues to be a malcontent.
Speaker 1: But Russ, at this point in his career is still
Speaker 1: capable of having a positive impact in basketball games. So
Speaker 1: you have to try to communicate with him and convince
Speaker 1: him to buy in. And I think that role is
Speaker 1: as a bench player. So tonight, as has been the
Speaker 1: case in throughout this entire season, when Russ is playing
Speaker 1: with the first unit alongside Lebron James and Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: and against the best defensive players on the other team,
Speaker 1: especially against the top tier teams, he's been ineffective, to
Speaker 1: say the least, that's me being nice, okay. But in
Speaker 1: specific settings, for instance, against limited defensive teams or specifically
Speaker 1: with bench groups when Lebron or Anthony Davis are off
Speaker 1: the floor and he's also going against the lesser defensive
Speaker 1: players that come off the bench for the other team,
Speaker 1: he can be impactful. And you saw that again tonight.
Speaker 1: His first shift was awful. He had to basically pick
Speaker 1: six turnovers. One was a turnover and the other one
Speaker 1: was a miss layout where he didn't get back either
Speaker 1: in they scored, and wasn't really offering anything on either
Speaker 1: end of the floor. But in the second quarter and
Speaker 1: in the third quarter, he had two short stints with
Speaker 1: each in each case with either Lebron or Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: off the floor and for the most part with step
Speaker 1: off the floor and going against the other teams lesser
Speaker 1: players that came off the bench, and he had some
Speaker 1: success getting to the rim, making things happen in transition,
Speaker 1: creating shots for his teammates, and just being a positive force.
Speaker 1: And that's not a surprise. We had this conversation last week,
Speaker 1: like Russ is not a Russ is not so bad
Speaker 1: that he doesn't belong in the n B A he's
Speaker 1: just going through the NBA's version of a midlife crisis.
Speaker 1: He's just struggling adapting to his waning physical skills. There's
Speaker 1: still in in in Russ's bag that he brings to
Speaker 1: the arena every night. There is enough to be a
Speaker 1: productive basketball player. He's your textbook off the bench point guard,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, who attacks the other teams lesser defenders.
Speaker 1: Almost every bench guard in the league is a bad
Speaker 1: defensive player. That's usually why they're bench cards. That's why
Speaker 1: Malik Monk comes off the bench for the Lakers. So
Speaker 1: let Russ feast against those guys. And then you established
Speaker 1: with Russ in a conversation that depending on how focused
Speaker 1: you are on those little details of the game, that
Speaker 1: we might not play you with the closers. And so
Speaker 1: the idea there is you have to sit down with
Speaker 1: us and be like, here's the situation. Man. We wanted
Speaker 1: to move you at the deadline and we couldn't. We
Speaker 1: are going to move you in July. That's going to happen.
Speaker 1: This was a bad fit. There's too much bad blood.
Speaker 1: This thing is over. This partnership that we have here
Speaker 1: is over in July. But we have this four or
Speaker 1: five months stretch here where we have two decisions. You
Speaker 1: can either buy in to this smaller role that we
Speaker 1: have for you as someone who primarily operates with bench
Speaker 1: lineups and closes when you're bought in, or you can
Speaker 1: go home, because if you're going to be a mount content,
Speaker 1: we can't have you around that kind of honesty upfront
Speaker 1: with Russ. At least you put the ball in his
Speaker 1: court to make that decision. I believe that as a competitor,
Speaker 1: Russ would rather play, and that Russ would rather try
Speaker 1: to make this work. So I expect him to respond
Speaker 1: well to something like that. But you have to have
Speaker 1: that conversation. And you know, I thought Austin Reeves, who
Speaker 1: played amazing tonight, showed so much and demonstrated what I've
Speaker 1: been talking about that we need from Russ. You know,
Speaker 1: there's been a lot of talk starting with the Utah
Speaker 1: Jazz game. Russ had about a ten game stretch where
Speaker 1: he put up decent numbers. He average about eighteen points
Speaker 1: and shot about from the field and somewhere right around
Speaker 1: like thirty six percent from three. He had an okay
Speaker 1: stretch of offensive basketball, but I didn't think he was
Speaker 1: very good in that stretch that he was okay, I
Speaker 1: thought he was less harmful than usual, but he wasn't
Speaker 1: very good in that stretch. And the reason why is
Speaker 1: because statistical output alongside Lebron and Anthony Davis doesn't carry
Speaker 1: the same value that statistical statistical output brings when he's
Speaker 1: the focal point. So, for instance, Austin reeves only at
Speaker 1: thirteen points tonight, only had three rebounds and only had
Speaker 1: to assists, But he was all over the place on
Speaker 1: both ends of the floor, did an amazing job moving
Speaker 1: his feet and competing on defense, had a handful of
Speaker 1: just outrageous defensive place how to chase down block on
Speaker 1: Clay Thompson. And then on offense, just a majestic performance
Speaker 1: attacking closeouts. Every time he caught the ball after attention
Speaker 1: was devoted to Lebron or devoted to Anthony Davis, he
Speaker 1: just made the right play every single time. It was
Speaker 1: a magnificent performance from him. Thirteen three and two, No one, No.
Speaker 1: If you were looking at the box score, it's the
Speaker 1: most indiscriminate performance that you'll see. But all of us
Speaker 1: who watched the game saw what Austin brought to the table,
Speaker 1: and that's what I'm talking about with Russ as the
Speaker 1: third guy, as the guy alongside Lebron and Anthony Davis.
Speaker 1: It's not about doing Russ stuff. It's about doing basketball
Speaker 1: stuff that the third, fourth, and fifth guy on the
Speaker 1: floor usually have to do alongside the best players in
Speaker 1: the world. That's what you're asking from that position. Induel
Speaker 1: sports Book is an official sports betting partner of Super
Speaker 1: Bowl fifty six. To celebrate new customers can bet five
Speaker 1: dollars to win two eight in cash on either team
Speaker 1: to win when you use promo code Jason T when registering.
Speaker 1: That's right, You'll get your winnings in cold hard cash,
Speaker 1: because we know cash is always better than free bets.
Speaker 1: I will be on the Rams. I think their defensive
Speaker 1: line is going to control the game, and that's usually
Speaker 1: what wins in the Super Bowl. Don't miss your chance
Speaker 1: to turn five dollars into two d and eight in cash.
Speaker 1: Download the FanDuel sports Book app and use promo code
Speaker 1: Jason T to make every moment more this Super Bowl again.
Speaker 1: Promo code json T exclusively on FanDuel sports Book twenty
Speaker 1: one plus in president in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan,
Speaker 1: New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia or West Virginia. New
Speaker 1: users only ten dollars first deposit required, must wager in
Speaker 1: designated offer market max bonus two h eighty dollars bonus
Speaker 1: for Tennessee users fulfilled in site credit within seventy two hours.
Speaker 1: Tennessee site credit expires fourteen days after receipt. Restrictions apply.
Speaker 1: See full terms at sports book dot FanDuel dot com.
Speaker 1: Gambling problem call one eight hundred, next step or text
Speaker 1: next step to five three three four two in Arizona
Speaker 1: one eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven
Speaker 1: seven or visit CCPG dot org slash chat in Connecticut
Speaker 1: one eight hundred gambler or visit FanDuel dot com slash
Speaker 1: RG in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, or Virginia one eight
Speaker 1: seven and seven seven seven zero stop in Louisiana one
Speaker 1: two seven zero seven seven for confidential help. In Michigan
Speaker 1: one eight seven seven eight hope and why or text
Speaker 1: hope and why two four six, seven, three six nine
Speaker 1: in New York, Tennessee redline one eight eight nine nine
Speaker 1: seven eight nine. In Tennessee, visit www dot hundred gambler
Speaker 1: dot Net in West Virginia. And so that's the conversation
Speaker 1: you have with Russ. Hey Man, you've been in out content.
Speaker 1: I'm willing to let it all slide. Let's let Frank
Speaker 1: have the conversation. I'm willing to let it all slide.
Speaker 1: I'll look forget about everything you said about me in
Speaker 1: the media. But let's make a run of this thing
Speaker 1: in this different role because either way, you're gone in July,
Speaker 1: so let's try to make it work. I think you
Speaker 1: have to have those that those types of conversations, especially
Speaker 1: now in light of everything that's been going on in
Speaker 1: recent weeks, because this team is close to fracturing, and
Speaker 1: the only way to avoid the fracturing is to have
Speaker 1: the tough conversations and to make sure that everybody in
Speaker 1: the locker room is bought it. Because you could have
Speaker 1: that same conversation with Lebron James and Anthony Davis, like,
Speaker 1: hey man, we don't think we have enough talent to
Speaker 1: win the championship this year. So are we gonna make
Speaker 1: a run at this thing, like really try for this
Speaker 1: or are we gonna b s through the end of
Speaker 1: the season, get the nine or ten seed and get
Speaker 1: blown out or swept by the Phoenix Suns like, because
Speaker 1: if we b s through the end of the season,
Speaker 1: that's what's gonna happen. So from that standpoint, it's like, Hey,
Speaker 1: if that's what's gonna happen, why even put the wear
Speaker 1: and tear on your knee, Lebron, your fluid filled knee,
Speaker 1: your thirty seven year old knee, your most mileage in
Speaker 1: NBA history knee. That's the conversation that you have to
Speaker 1: have on that run. Russ has to buy into the role.
Speaker 1: But Lebron and a d have to decide if they
Speaker 1: really want to go for this or not. Because if
Speaker 1: they don't want to go for it, what's the point.
Speaker 1: There's if there's if they don't want to go for it,
Speaker 1: packet it. If you think you can flip us with
Speaker 1: two first round picks for some good stuff this summer,
Speaker 1: and if you think you can flip th h t
Speaker 1: and Kendrick Nunne for some good stuff this summer, and
Speaker 1: you guys think you have no chance and you plan
Speaker 1: on mailing it in on a nightly basis through the
Speaker 1: end of the season, send Lebron and a Dye home too.
Speaker 1: That's my thing. Because I think all of those guys,
Speaker 1: I think russ Lebron and a D would respond to
Speaker 1: that conversation insulted. I think they would look you in
Speaker 1: the face and be like, hell, no, I'm not going home.
Speaker 1: Let's go get this thing. Appeal to their competitive nature,
Speaker 1: try to get that part of them to drive them
Speaker 1: across the finish line here. I think that needs to
Speaker 1: be the goal. The last thing I wanted to hit
Speaker 1: it on. The hit on the Lakers front was the
Speaker 1: this buyout situation. So one of the stories that came
Speaker 1: out today was from the Athletic having to do with
Speaker 1: this idea that Boston is likely to buy out Dennis
Speaker 1: Schroder and that the Lakers would want it now. As
Speaker 1: is always the case around this time year, you have
Speaker 1: conflicting reporting, because then David Benneman came out shortly after
Speaker 1: and was like, actually I heard that they're not going
Speaker 1: to buy at the Dennis Shroudder. So who knows what's
Speaker 1: gonna happen. But the names that have been thrown out
Speaker 1: most frequently have been at the point guard position, Dennis
Speaker 1: Schroder and then Gore and Drojic who Adrian Morganowski reported
Speaker 1: today that the Lakers are gonna make a significant attempt
Speaker 1: to get and then on the wing, you'r hair in
Speaker 1: names like DeAndre Bembry is like a six five to
Speaker 1: guard who does dirty work pretty well. And Gary Harris Jr.
Speaker 1: More or less the same player, better athlete, better shooter,
Speaker 1: but more or less the same type archetype of player.
Speaker 1: And what I would say is this, I like Dennis Schroder.
Speaker 1: He was fine, he competed while he was here. I
Speaker 1: thought he was a better defensive player than Russ. He
Speaker 1: was less volatile than Russ, didn't have the ups side
Speaker 1: that Russ had, wasn't as good as a switching defender
Speaker 1: rust as well when you get him on an island
Speaker 1: against bigger offensive players. But one of the biggest problems
Speaker 1: for the Lakers all season has been size and athleticism.
Speaker 1: So bringing in a six foot tall, very skinny Dennis
Speaker 1: Schroeder doesn't help you on that front. So my thing
Speaker 1: is like, look, if if Russ doesn't respond well to
Speaker 1: the conversation and he goes, get me out of here.
Speaker 1: I'd rather hang out with my wife and kids and
Speaker 1: not get lacerated by the Lakers Twitter fan base NonStop
Speaker 1: every day. Okay, fine, then you can look at somebody
Speaker 1: like Schroeder to fill into that role. But if you're
Speaker 1: looking for more off ball guys to play around lebron
Speaker 1: A d and Russ, they can't be small. That has
Speaker 1: to be completely off the table in terms of options.
Speaker 1: That's what's so hilarious about people saying, no, Kendrick Nunn
Speaker 1: can come back and bring a big boost. Kendrick Nunn
Speaker 1: is a good player. He's going to help them, but
Speaker 1: he doesn't solve their problems. He's too small. They need
Speaker 1: size and athleticism. So from that standpoint, that's where I
Speaker 1: would look at the guys like DeAndre Bembry or like
Speaker 1: Gary Harris Jr. You need to get athletic, talented, skilled
Speaker 1: guys between six five and six eight that can guard
Speaker 1: multiple positions, that can operate in Frank's switching scheme, and
Speaker 1: that can shoot and attack close outs. That's what those
Speaker 1: two guys can do. So those are the direction. That's
Speaker 1: the direction that the Lakers need to look. You need
Speaker 1: Trevor Ariza was awful tonight. He got caught on every screen.
Speaker 1: He's a big part of why Clay Thompson got going.
Speaker 1: He lost him a bunch of times he looked really,
Speaker 1: really as washed as I've seen him. Look, those are
Speaker 1: the types of swaps that you're looking to make get
Speaker 1: somebody like DeAndre Benbury playing Trevor reasas minutes. You know,
Speaker 1: find a way to make it so that Avery Bradley
Speaker 1: doesn't play twenty six minutes a night, but maybe he
Speaker 1: plays a shift in each half, so he's right around
Speaker 1: fifteen and you need to give those minutes to a
Speaker 1: better player. That's where the guy, guy like Gary Harris
Speaker 1: comes in. I was very intrigued by the Gore on
Speaker 1: dragage thing. You know, I think the only way that
Speaker 1: the Lakers could get him is by missing him a
Speaker 1: starting spot. But I I that that type of negotiation
Speaker 1: from the Lakers has not gone well in recent years.
Speaker 1: The there was reporting that the Javaial McGee was intent
Speaker 1: on starting per his contract in the championship season, and
Speaker 1: that ended up being an issue as Javail really struggled
Speaker 1: in the playoffs in particular, and the Lakers kept him
Speaker 1: in the starting line up pretty much until their back
Speaker 1: was against the wall. Like that. I don't like that.
Speaker 1: And then the same thing happened with Andre Drummond. Andre
Speaker 1: Drummond was clearly bogging things down for the Lakers because
Speaker 1: a D at the four just wasn't good for their spacing.
Speaker 1: Yet they repeatedly played Andre Drummond because there was some
Speaker 1: under the table promise of playing time to Andre Drummond.
Speaker 1: So I don't love that idea. But Gore on Dragic
Speaker 1: isn't actually actually actually fits the mold of a basketball
Speaker 1: player that Lebron would like playing with. I think he
Speaker 1: thought Russ was that kind of guy. I think Lebron
Speaker 1: thought Russ was more cerebral than he actually was, and
Speaker 1: I think that's been big part of why this hasn't worked.
Speaker 1: But Gore and Dragic is very much a cerebral basketball player.
Speaker 1: He's a guy who plays with pace, and I don't
Speaker 1: mean speed. I mean he can slow himself down. He
Speaker 1: can come off the screen and pin the defender on
Speaker 1: his back and wait for a play to develop and
Speaker 1: make a read rather than pulling a China shop down
Speaker 1: the lane, just throw it up there and hope for
Speaker 1: the best. And so I actually like that fit. And
Speaker 1: then if the team is going towards switching, which they've
Speaker 1: been doing most of the season, that's where Gore and
Speaker 1: drag it's being a little bit bigger, gives you just
Speaker 1: a better weapon on that front. But you know, the
Speaker 1: bottom line is that I think coming into this season,
Speaker 1: Laker fan, all of us massively underestimated how important the
Speaker 1: role players are. You know, I used to joke with
Speaker 1: Raj that in season, if the role players played okay,
Speaker 1: and Lebron and a D, we're out there being Lebron
Speaker 1: and n a D. You were gonna win. Would be ugly,
Speaker 1: but you were gonna win. And if they played good,
Speaker 1: then you were gonna blow the other team out. That
Speaker 1: was the anatomy of that team. And the reason why
Speaker 1: is because even when the role players struggled offensively, they
Speaker 1: all competed their ass off on the defensive end of
Speaker 1: the floor. That's what that group did. What you've seen
Speaker 1: with this group is that if they're not absolutely making
Speaker 1: everything on the offensive end of the floor, so if
Speaker 1: they're not playing great, the Lakers will lose because they're
Speaker 1: not giving you much on the defensive end of the
Speaker 1: floor in all of the hustle areas of the game.
Speaker 1: And so that that's where you know, Lebron after the
Speaker 1: Milwaukee Bucks game, he got asked, you know, do you
Speaker 1: think you can ever get to the level that the
Speaker 1: Milwaukee Bucks are at. And he said no, and I
Speaker 1: agree with him. I think all of us need to
Speaker 1: come to terms with the reality that this is not
Speaker 1: a championship team. However, that it's still worth going for
Speaker 1: if Rob Polinka hits an absolute home run in the
Speaker 1: buyo buyout market and finds three functional pieces that can
Speaker 1: send guys like Trevor Aresa out of the rotation, send
Speaker 1: guys like Avery Bradley to the bench, send Russell Westbrook
Speaker 1: to the bench. If you can do that, you change
Speaker 1: a lot of things with slotting, and you give this
Speaker 1: team a chance. But no matter what, Lebron and A
Speaker 1: d have to be absolute world beaters in order for
Speaker 1: this to work. And that's why I appreciated what Rob
Speaker 1: Polinka did in that press conference. Put there put the
Speaker 1: responsibility on Lebron and Anthony Davis. Alright, So the last
Speaker 1: thing I want to hit to night before we get
Speaker 1: out of here really quick, is just Lebron passing crying
Speaker 1: up Buil Jabbar on the all time scoring list for
Speaker 1: regular season in playoffs. Now, this is a debate that
Speaker 1: you have with everybody because do you count the playoffs
Speaker 1: with stuff like this, I think you should. I thought
Speaker 1: it was ridiculous when Barry Bonds was hit seven fifty five,
Speaker 1: how they completely discounted postseason home runs. I don't understand
Speaker 1: that dynamic and sports like the playoffs are the most
Speaker 1: important games. Why do we discount with those things what
Speaker 1: that all means. But I think Lebron is starting to
Speaker 1: build an unbelievable case for being the best basketball player
Speaker 1: that ever lived. He'll never be able to match Michael
Speaker 1: Jordan's dominance. When you're talking about Michael Jordan's case, it
Speaker 1: always centers around dominance. When you win six titles and
Speaker 1: eight tries in eight years, there's just there. It's just
Speaker 1: impossible and for for Lebron to ever have a stretch
Speaker 1: that can match that at this point in his career.
Speaker 1: But you start to work down the line and it's like, Okay,
Speaker 1: he scored more than anybody ever already, in addition to
Speaker 1: being one of the best playmakers to ever play the game,
Speaker 1: in addition to being one of the most versatile defensive
Speaker 1: players to ever play the game. Then you combine that
Speaker 1: with the versatility of his success, you have him getting
Speaker 1: all the way to the finals. With Larry Hughes and
Speaker 1: Drew Gooden inside Journe Sogaskis. Then you have him getting sixty,
Speaker 1: having sixty win seasons and making it to the Eastern
Speaker 1: Conference finals with Delante West and Moe Williams and Shaquille
Speaker 1: O'Neil right, And then you go into Miami and he
Speaker 1: wins two titles with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Then
Speaker 1: you go into Cleveland and he wins the title and
Speaker 1: makes four finals with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. He
Speaker 1: actually made it to the finals again without Kyrie Irving.
Speaker 1: Then he gets into uh To with the Lakers and
Speaker 1: he's playing with Brandon Ingram and a Lonzo Ball and
Speaker 1: Kyle Kuzma, and they're always hurt and they still won
Speaker 1: over half their games when he played. Then he wins
Speaker 1: a title playing with Anthony Davis. There's all of this
Speaker 1: variety to Lebron's success that has started to frame his career.
Speaker 1: As you know, when we're trying to talk about circumstances, right,
Speaker 1: the things that differentiate between these two guys. Circumstances are
Speaker 1: always you know, they're debatable, they're what ifs, they're hypotheticals.
Speaker 1: It's impossible to draw the line between those two, right,
Speaker 1: But Lebron has so much variety to his success that
Speaker 1: it's unassailable. I can't I can't doubt whether or not
Speaker 1: with Lebron would succeed in one era or one environment
Speaker 1: with one co star, with one coach, with one system.
Speaker 1: I can never debate that because he's done it in
Speaker 1: every situation. And and we're we haven't even gotten to
Speaker 1: a half dozen other things that are huge hallmarks of
Speaker 1: Lebron's MVP case or his goat case, like his longevity,
Speaker 1: for instance. We can get we can go on for
Speaker 1: days and days, but it's crazy because that that dominance
Speaker 1: piece he may never be able to touch. But everything else,
Speaker 1: I think he's got it. And that's where it becomes
Speaker 1: one of those things where it's it's it's all in
Speaker 1: the eye of the beholder. But Lebron is starting to
Speaker 1: give you a lot of stuff to look at, if
Speaker 1: that makes sense. All right, That's all I had for
Speaker 1: you guys tonight. Thank you guys so much for coming
Speaker 1: to hang out. We have no show tomorrow because of
Speaker 1: the super Bowl, but we will be back Monday, Tuesday,
Speaker 1: and Wednesday of next week. As always, I appreciate the
Speaker 1: support and I'll see you guys in a couple of days,
Speaker 1: and the volume