Speaker 1: Welcome to the State of the Lakers podcast. Happy Friday, everybody. Um,
Speaker 1: you've made it to the weekend, or at least one
Speaker 1: day from the weekend. We are very excited to talk
Speaker 1: about a bunch of Lakers topics today. And I was
Speaker 1: talking to Raj earlier. We've had a lot of people
Speaker 1: that have been just kind of in our mentions over
Speaker 1: the last couple of days, asking questions, and we haven't
Speaker 1: really been around to been able to get around to
Speaker 1: all of them. So we're gonna do a mail bag. Um.
Speaker 1: We have a bunch of questions in the tweet that
Speaker 1: I sent out earlier, but feel free to drop questions
Speaker 1: in the comments because we're gonna go till about today
Speaker 1: and we'll just keep hitting questions until we until we
Speaker 1: get to that time and then we need to stop.
Speaker 1: First of all, rog, how you doing on Friday morning?
Speaker 1: Doing great? Doing great? It's cool to see um a
Speaker 1: bunch of people kind of ask questions and stuff like that,
Speaker 1: so that that'll be fun. Um, we have doing well.
Speaker 1: Leaving a Vegas on Sunday, Um, so I'm gonna try
Speaker 1: to catch a few of the summer League games. It's
Speaker 1: supposed to be like Super hot again over there. So
Speaker 1: that's it's gonna be like a hundred degrees, I think again,
Speaker 1: but yeah, I'm excited for that. Yeah too. Fun is
Speaker 1: famously insanely hot over the summer, but the entire month
Speaker 1: of July and so far in August, we've just been
Speaker 1: completely blasted with rain and these like crazy intense storms
Speaker 1: that are like ripping trees out of the ground and
Speaker 1: stuff like pretty wild stuff. Um, but the last like
Speaker 1: three or four days has gone back to the way
Speaker 1: it usually is, which is just obscenely hot, like it
Speaker 1: was like one oh seven yesterday, but there's so much
Speaker 1: moisture in the air that it's humid as all held
Speaker 1: as well. But anyway, all right, So basically our game
Speaker 1: plan for today as we as we go through this
Speaker 1: is we're gonna quickly touch just on a handful of
Speaker 1: teams that are considered the Lakers uh their rivals, and
Speaker 1: just talk about their moves and whether or not we
Speaker 1: think it changes the way those teams match up. And
Speaker 1: then we're going to talk about some Lakers lineups, particularly
Speaker 1: the starters and the closers, as well as my favorite
Speaker 1: lineup and Rodger's favorite lineup that we're waiting to see,
Speaker 1: not counting starters and closers. Obviously, we're gonna really quickly
Speaker 1: touch on Frank Vogel's contract and uh, just whether or
Speaker 1: not the Lakers need to bring him back, how far
Speaker 1: they need to extend themselves, whether or not there's any
Speaker 1: chance that he goes in another direction. And then we're
Speaker 1: gonna go to the mail bag and just keep hitting
Speaker 1: questions until we get to UM. But all right, so
Speaker 1: you know, as far as you know, you and I
Speaker 1: have talked about doing a pod where we're gonna talk
Speaker 1: about all the different free agent moves around the league.
Speaker 1: But the truth of the matter is like it hasn't
Speaker 1: been that crazy of a free agency because there just
Speaker 1: haven't been any big names really involved. The Russell Westbrook
Speaker 1: trade is arguably the best player that's changed teams, depending
Speaker 1: on how you value Russell Westbrook. You know, we have
Speaker 1: Kyle Lowry to Miami, but I think we can all
Speaker 1: agree that doesn't really move things in the East. Same
Speaker 1: thing goes with Chicago loading up. What I'm most interested in,
Speaker 1: and this is what we'll start with, is Brooklyn, Milwaukee
Speaker 1: in Golden State, because those are going to be the
Speaker 1: three teams that I think pose the biggest threat to
Speaker 1: knock out the Lakers, mainly because Denver is still gonna
Speaker 1: be down Jamal Murray for at least half the season,
Speaker 1: if not longer. And I don't expect Kawhi Leonard to
Speaker 1: play this here at all, um, just because he's historically
Speaker 1: taken his sweet sweet time getting over these injuries. So
Speaker 1: I don't think we'll see much of the Clippers in
Speaker 1: terms of a top tier contender. So I guess my
Speaker 1: question for you is this, is there anything that you
Speaker 1: saw from Brooklyn, Milwaukee or Golden State that makes you
Speaker 1: think that they've improved considerably and are more of a
Speaker 1: threat now than they used to be. Um, not really,
Speaker 1: I guess like it doesn't feel like any of them
Speaker 1: did anything crazy. Brooklyn. I think it's going to be
Speaker 1: the monster it is. They still have the three superstars
Speaker 1: um locked in. I assume that they'll be healthy next year. Um.
Speaker 1: They got a couple of draft picks, I think in
Speaker 1: the first round or something like that. But yeah, Patty
Speaker 1: Males was a really nice pickup for them, Like, I
Speaker 1: think that's a high level pickup. I thought he was
Speaker 1: worth more than the contract he got for them. But
Speaker 1: I mean they pretty much stayed pretty much level. Um,
Speaker 1: Milwaukee as well lost p J. Tucker, but I think
Speaker 1: overall they're pretty much the same. Um, they got George Hill. Uh,
Speaker 1: I think they picked up George Hill, right, but George. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the Warriors one is the one the most interesting to me.
Speaker 1: I really didn't expect them to keep both their draft picks,
Speaker 1: so they pretty much stood expecting. Um, I think Clay
Speaker 1: is gonna be probably back in December January, but again
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a heavy Steph offense. They resigned iguodala
Speaker 1: Um today he chose the Warriors. He broke our hearts again,
Speaker 1: but but I think that was kind of predictable too.
Speaker 1: So yeah, they're the most interesting one to me because
Speaker 1: like they have the most variants, right, depending on what
Speaker 1: Clay is, Um, they can either be a top four
Speaker 1: seat or they can be a plane. Just on terms
Speaker 1: of him. They got two rookies there. Um, we'll see
Speaker 1: how they kind of contribute. But yeah, they're again they're
Speaker 1: telling the line of doing both, and we always say
Speaker 1: when you do both, you kind of do neither. So
Speaker 1: it's kind of interesting to me. They're the most interesting
Speaker 1: for me. How about you? From the like contending teams. Yeah, agree,
Speaker 1: which is why I added them to the list. I'm
Speaker 1: not necessarily worried about Brooklyn or Milwaukee because they're more
Speaker 1: or less the same to me. Like Milwaukee, I think
Speaker 1: got a little more thin on the wing because they
Speaker 1: lost p J. Tucker, But I wouldn't be surprised if
Speaker 1: Janice takes another, you know, considerable leap as a player
Speaker 1: next year, so I think they will be better. Not
Speaker 1: to mention, there's just something to be said about the
Speaker 1: freeness and confidence that a champion plays with coming off
Speaker 1: of a title. Brooklyn, the big one is they lost
Speaker 1: Jeff Kareen and added James Johnson, which is absolutely a downgrade. Uh.
Speaker 1: They kind of fulfill the same role, but he's a
Speaker 1: lesser version of that player. They were able to resign
Speaker 1: Blake Griffin there more. Patty Mills to me is an
Speaker 1: interesting case of diminishing returns because of the fact that
Speaker 1: you know, uh, Patty Mills is this guy that you
Speaker 1: can have flying off of screens. Isn't a great who's
Speaker 1: a great shooter. He's a gifted passer out of pick
Speaker 1: and roll things along those lines. But any game where
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Nets are healthy, and Kyrie Irving, James Harden,
Speaker 1: and Kevin Durant are on the floor. There's just only
Speaker 1: so much they're gonna ask Patty Mills to do. Like,
Speaker 1: Patty Mills is capable of doing all those things. But
Speaker 1: if I've got all those other guys on the floor,
Speaker 1: even two of those three guys on the floor, and
Speaker 1: I'm running, you know, double pin double pin downs for
Speaker 1: Patty Mills, or running pick and roll with Patty Mills,
Speaker 1: kind of feels like a waste of a possession to
Speaker 1: have Kyrie and James Harden or Kyrie and Kevin Durant
Speaker 1: spotting up. So to me, I love Patty Mills. I
Speaker 1: think he's a great player. I just think it's an
Speaker 1: example of diminishing returns. The reason why I brought a
Speaker 1: Golden State is it all starts and ends with how
Speaker 1: much I respect Steph Curry as one of the three
Speaker 1: best players of the world. Who's very capable, you know,
Speaker 1: depending on who you ask, being the best player in
Speaker 1: the world. Um, he was playing last year with low
Speaker 1: level NBA talent, and even with that, he was able
Speaker 1: to be significantly over five hundred when he played and
Speaker 1: had a puncher's chance really to beat anybody, and a
Speaker 1: couple of shots go differently here there. They could have
Speaker 1: been the seven seed or the eight seed, and and
Speaker 1: and could have potentially had a run in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: That's not to say they would have won the title,
Speaker 1: but the point is is that Golden State team accomplished
Speaker 1: a lot despite having significant roster limitations. Now Clay Thompson
Speaker 1: is coming back, a lot of people are worried about
Speaker 1: his health. Uh, They're like, Oh, he's not gonna be
Speaker 1: as good defensively as he was. You know, Clay Thompson
Speaker 1: was never a freak athlete defender. He was a positional
Speaker 1: defender with an extremely high i Q. He was really
Speaker 1: good at just anticipating moves and and playing good positional defense.
Speaker 1: I'm not worried about his athleticism as much impacting his
Speaker 1: ability to defend, and it certainly isn't gonna impact his
Speaker 1: ability to shoot the basketball. So I'm really optimistic that
Speaker 1: Klay Thompson is gonna be most of his former self.
Speaker 1: Then when you add that in with Otto Porter Jr.
Speaker 1: As long as you can get healthy. Now we're looking
Speaker 1: at the Warriors having six really good NBA players or
Speaker 1: five really good NBA players next to Steph and with
Speaker 1: as good of a defensive player as Draymond Green is,
Speaker 1: and with what Clay Thompson does to relieve pressure off
Speaker 1: of Steph. I have a great deal of respect for
Speaker 1: what that team is capable of accomplishing. Health is going
Speaker 1: to be an issue. Depth is going to be an issue.
Speaker 1: But any playoff series that that team is healthy and
Speaker 1: Steph Curry is healthy on the floor, they're capable of
Speaker 1: beating anybody. In my opinion, yeah, me too, just really
Speaker 1: quickly on Patty Mills, he butt like Joe Harris insurance right,
Speaker 1: because Joe Harris I think missed everything in the playoff
Speaker 1: shot from three, So I think that's where they think
Speaker 1: about him. But yeah, with the Warriors, Steff is hard
Speaker 1: to defend with. If it's like him and four people
Speaker 1: you pick off, you know this street Like, he's just
Speaker 1: that hard to defend. You can triple team and everything.
Speaker 1: It's sarah really hard to defend him. I'm with you
Speaker 1: on Clay. I think it's shooting will be there. Um,
Speaker 1: teams are still gonna guard him. I don't care what
Speaker 1: he looks like, like his gravity can miss his first
Speaker 1: five shots. Teams are still gonna stick on Clay Thompson,
Speaker 1: so um, and I think it puts Draymond back in
Speaker 1: that playmaking role. It's funny watching him on team say,
Speaker 1: people are getting mad he's not shooting him Like, he's
Speaker 1: not shooting on the seventy three and nine Warriors. Draymond
Speaker 1: is not gonna shoot on Temo say, like, it's just
Speaker 1: not how this's is not how it's gonna work. But yeah,
Speaker 1: I like this kind of Warriors team. Autoporter Junior I
Speaker 1: forgot about him as well. That's a crazy pickup at
Speaker 1: the minimum UM. I think that was for probably healthy
Speaker 1: he's Yeah, he's played like forty games in the last
Speaker 1: two years. That's why his health, that's why his value dipped.
Speaker 1: But when healthy, he's one of the best wings that
Speaker 1: was available. Yeah, he's probably got an overpaid contract, but
Speaker 1: and he's another one of those guys that like went
Speaker 1: from uh, what's undervalued to probably overvalued their um with
Speaker 1: his contract. But yeah, he's a knockdown for you present
Speaker 1: shooter when healthy, two way wing. I think as well.
Speaker 1: Auto Porter Junior on those Wizards team that he played on,
Speaker 1: he didn't play much in Chicago, so yeah, I think
Speaker 1: the Warriors, like if Clay, like you said, I think
Speaker 1: I'm hired on Clay being better, then then people think
Speaker 1: as well. But if he's even like eight percent of themselves,
Speaker 1: I mean Clay Stephan Draymond is still it's still a
Speaker 1: trio to kind of you have to fear in the
Speaker 1: in the Western Conference for sure. Well you look at
Speaker 1: it in terms of lineups, right, so like you know, uh,
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about this with the Lakers soon in
Speaker 1: the way that you know, just having you know, their
Speaker 1: depth and and versatility is part of it. But even
Speaker 1: having just one lineup that is dependable gives you a
Speaker 1: puncher's chance to beat anybody, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: Like the certain teams at the top, the reason why
Speaker 1: they're the favorites is they've got a bunch of these lineups.
Speaker 1: They've got a bunch of different directions they can go
Speaker 1: to beat people. Uh, the Warriors may not have that
Speaker 1: level of versatility, but they're always gonna have a puncher's
Speaker 1: chance because of that lineup. If I can go out
Speaker 1: there with Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins or Auto
Speaker 1: Porter or Andre Guadala, two of those three and Raymond
Speaker 1: at the center. That's a lineup that is capable of
Speaker 1: beating anybody. That's the bottom line. Can you bludgeon them
Speaker 1: over a series because they're lack of depth? Maybe, can
Speaker 1: you wear them down, get them to start missing shots
Speaker 1: because you're they're not as deep as you. Maybe, But
Speaker 1: if that five players or five of those six guys
Speaker 1: can stay healthy and if they're on the floor in
Speaker 1: a playoff series against anybody, they're capable of winning. And
Speaker 1: and and that that just in and of itself makes
Speaker 1: you a threat in my opinion, because like you watch
Speaker 1: those Suns series right the Son's Bucks series, it came
Speaker 1: down to it, and they just didn't have the top
Speaker 1: end talent. Booker and Paul just weren't capable of generating
Speaker 1: enough shots. Steph will be. You know, Steff is gonna
Speaker 1: be able to generate quality shots against a Milwaukee Bucks
Speaker 1: defense or a Lakers defense or anybody like that. And
Speaker 1: that's that's the level of respect that we need to
Speaker 1: pay to him and what he's capable of. Um, was
Speaker 1: there anything else you wanted to talk about with the
Speaker 1: other contenders around the league. I think a Miami I
Speaker 1: need didn't put Miami on this list. I just think
Speaker 1: it's interesting that they kind of went for it right,
Speaker 1: they kind of made the trade. Um. I thought a
Speaker 1: lot of teams are trying to get Lowry. Are you
Speaker 1: worried about Lowry being kind of thirties six in the scenario? Like,
Speaker 1: I feel like it's really interesting him getting the three
Speaker 1: year think ninety million or something like that from Miami.
Speaker 1: I think they're gonna be good. I think my I
Speaker 1: think Lowry, Butler and out of Bio is quite a
Speaker 1: trio still. Um in the So what do you think
Speaker 1: about them? Like, I think they're interesting, especially defensively. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of things they can do. Spoilster is probably
Speaker 1: one of the best coaches in the league. Um. I'm
Speaker 1: just interested to see how they kind of they work
Speaker 1: out there. Um, what do you think about Miami? So,
Speaker 1: you know, as far as the age goes with Kyle
Speaker 1: Lowry's Kyle Lowry's contract. You know, it's funny because this
Speaker 1: is a talking point that's been brought up with the
Speaker 1: with the Lakers a lot. And our friend Darius Oriano
Speaker 1: from l Far he wrote an article and it was
Speaker 1: titled like the Lakers are old or something, and everyone
Speaker 1: thought he was talking trash, but if you read his article,
Speaker 1: he was actually talking about all the advantages that come
Speaker 1: with that, and there are in terms of experience and
Speaker 1: savvy and and uh, you know, players in that tier
Speaker 1: at that stage of their career, they're never scared of
Speaker 1: anything but the other biggest thing, and this is something
Speaker 1: to keep in mind with Lowry is just in general,
Speaker 1: being in your mid thirties as a basketball player now
Speaker 1: doesn't mean what it used to mean. It doesn't mean
Speaker 1: you could because every surgery that everybody's getting is being
Speaker 1: done by surgeons with enough knowledge and understanding and technology
Speaker 1: with modern medicine that it doesn't have the same long
Speaker 1: term effects that it used to back in the you know,
Speaker 1: early two thousands or nineties. And then they just nutrition,
Speaker 1: and look at the way nutrition has completely turned around
Speaker 1: Chris Paul's career. He's talked a lot about the way
Speaker 1: that he ever since he pulled his hamstring with the rockets,
Speaker 1: he's transformed his body and look, he's he just signed
Speaker 1: another gigantic contract as a result of it. So you know,
Speaker 1: I'm not necessarily worried about that. With Miami, it's kind
Speaker 1: of the same problem that the Phoenix Suns had. I
Speaker 1: just think they're gonna end up in these kinds of
Speaker 1: intense playoff series with a Brooklyn with a Milwaukee where
Speaker 1: you're leaning on Jimmy Butler, Bamat to Bio and Kyle
Speaker 1: Lowry to create shots, and they're just nowhere near as
Speaker 1: good at it as the guys they're gonna be going against.
Speaker 1: And that's where it becomes a problem, Like, I'm not
Speaker 1: even sure Jimmy Butler can necessarily outdue Chris Middleton in
Speaker 1: a playoff series. He might, but that's and he has
Speaker 1: done so before obviously in the past. But you know,
Speaker 1: Chris just came off one of the best off seasons
Speaker 1: of his career and a seasons of his career and
Speaker 1: now he's a champion, So you know, I I tend
Speaker 1: to think that as good as Miami is, they are,
Speaker 1: they have a hard ceiling on what they can accomplish.
Speaker 1: They're gonna be that team that's gonna go down with
Speaker 1: the fight. They're gonna be hard to beat, but it's
Speaker 1: just hard to imagine them winning without getting quite a
Speaker 1: good deal of luck like the way the Phoenix Suns did. Yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure, And I'm higher on Jimmy Butler than most.
Speaker 1: I watched him asolutely Tara part are, like, I feel
Speaker 1: like that Lakers was a pretty incredible defense, and he
Speaker 1: toured them apart for a few games m where they
Speaker 1: had really no answer. He was too physical for our guards,
Speaker 1: would go to the chest with some players. So I
Speaker 1: think he's a high level playoff per former. I think
Speaker 1: in the regular season he's he's not the same as
Speaker 1: those other guys superstars, but I think of the playoffs, um,
Speaker 1: he really raises his level. Obviously, all old players aren't
Speaker 1: the same, right, every every thirty six year old player
Speaker 1: isn't the same. I only bring up Lowry because just
Speaker 1: the type of player of years. He's super physical guy,
Speaker 1: takes up a jillion charges, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: He's the annoying dude that's gonna take a charge when
Speaker 1: they're up twenty five, Like what are you doing? But
Speaker 1: that kind of guy. Um, he puts a lot of
Speaker 1: rigorous stuff on his body. He's super physical. Um when
Speaker 1: he gets to the rim. So that's what I'm wondering
Speaker 1: with them, Um, but they went for it. So credits
Speaker 1: to them for actually going and get getting that guy. Um,
Speaker 1: they didn't really give up too much for him either.
Speaker 1: They also brought back Duncan Robinson, um five years I think,
Speaker 1: a knockdown shooter. So yeah, I'm interested to see them.
Speaker 1: I have them third. By the way, for guys who's
Speaker 1: not a great defensive player, just goes to show you
Speaker 1: shooting man. Shooting is what these gms value at a premium,
Speaker 1: at a premium. So if you could shoot, and even
Speaker 1: if you could shoot him, be that tall. Like I know,
Speaker 1: he's not a great defender, but he at least is tall,
Speaker 1: you're gonna get paid in this league. And Duncan Robinson
Speaker 1: is an elite, elite shooter. He's not just a good shooter,
Speaker 1: one of the best shooters in the league. So I
Speaker 1: understand that deal. Um, so yeah, they I have them
Speaker 1: third in these but they're interesting to me. Jason Maples
Speaker 1: is talking trash about the way I'm holding my microphone
Speaker 1: in anyway. Um, So let's let's talk about the Lakers lineup,
Speaker 1: particularly the starters for a second. So you know, Brad
Speaker 1: Turner's with the l a times, if I'm correct on that,
Speaker 1: he has been strongly hinting at the fact that Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis wants to start at center which will be really
Speaker 1: interesting to see whether or not he actually did does that.
Speaker 1: So what I want to do is don't see it
Speaker 1: when I see it. I feel like I feel like
Speaker 1: Lakers Twitter is kind of divided evenly down the middle
Speaker 1: on this, whether or not they think he'll actually do it.
Speaker 1: Uh So, I think we can both agree that if
Speaker 1: because Marcus al seems to Marcus all looked really bad
Speaker 1: in these Olympic games, and just in general, I think
Speaker 1: he's reached a year. I think this is gonna be
Speaker 1: last year of his career, and I think he will
Speaker 1: occasionally play for the Lakers. I just don't expect him
Speaker 1: to have a significant role. If a D starts at
Speaker 1: the four, I believe it will be D. What So
Speaker 1: the real question becomes if a D s at the five,
Speaker 1: who play small forward? Because Lebron is gonna play the four,
Speaker 1: And regardless of lineup, if e D is at the
Speaker 1: four or five, who's going to start at the two guard?
Speaker 1: So my first question for you is who's gonna start
Speaker 1: at the two guard? And if a D plays at
Speaker 1: the five to start these games, who do you think
Speaker 1: is gonna start at small forward? I think it's about
Speaker 1: I think it's a training camp battle between a Reason
Speaker 1: and Baise Mare probably to fill those wing spots. UM,
Speaker 1: maybe a Reason at the four. Well, I mean if
Speaker 1: e d is at the five, I think Lebron moves
Speaker 1: to four, right, like most likely just the way the
Speaker 1: roster is built, Um, there's no really power forward um
Speaker 1: the the original sense of the word. These are all
Speaker 1: kind of wings that would play down play up position
Speaker 1: instead of played down. Um. So it would be some
Speaker 1: battle between a Reason base Mare and maybe even I
Speaker 1: know you don't think Ellendin is gonna play a lot,
Speaker 1: but I mean if he has an insane preseason just
Speaker 1: shoots the hell out of the ball, he could start
Speaker 1: at two for me. Um, it's a lot of interchangeable
Speaker 1: kind of players here, no one that you really would
Speaker 1: stick in. Um. I think Carmel is gonna come off
Speaker 1: the bench, So that's why I kind of don't put
Speaker 1: him in this. UM. But yeah, the way the rosters constructed,
Speaker 1: and they didn't they didn't really sign a nominal center, right,
Speaker 1: there's no like just fill in center in this lineup
Speaker 1: is Dwight Howard and Mark Soul and that's it, and
Speaker 1: then it's Anthony Davis. So UM, I still think Mark
Speaker 1: will start. That's just my opinion. I think they're gonna
Speaker 1: go with that. I think that's how it's gonna look.
Speaker 1: He started last year. Um, I think it's his spot
Speaker 1: to lose, if that makes sense. Like in preseason Game one,
Speaker 1: I think it's Mark who's gonna start next to a D,
Speaker 1: which again gives that like best of both worlds. I
Speaker 1: always say this, A D just doesn't want to play
Speaker 1: five on defense, like that's the main that's the main
Speaker 1: thing here. On offense, it doesn't matter. It doesn't want
Speaker 1: to be the five on defense. That's that's a clear thing. Um,
Speaker 1: and Mark kind of allows him to be, um the
Speaker 1: four on defense and five on offense. That makes sense.
Speaker 1: But but yeah, that that's kind of how I see it.
Speaker 1: That's super interesting to me. I'm gonna be really surprised
Speaker 1: if Mark starts. It just feels like willingly starting the
Speaker 1: game with less talent than you should. I know they
Speaker 1: like to bring Dwight Howard off the bench just in general,
Speaker 1: because every game everything just did that because yeah, well
Speaker 1: and it was it was about energy and uh and
Speaker 1: and I you know, uh, it was it was one
Speaker 1: of those things where just in general I felt like
Speaker 1: it was part of the strategy of keeping Dwight's ego
Speaker 1: in check, to like just making sure that he never
Speaker 1: felt like because he actually played like Dwight massively outperformed
Speaker 1: his contract in that season, and and keeping him off
Speaker 1: the bench just kind of prevented him from having that
Speaker 1: that type of attitude. I think he might have started
Speaker 1: at center in a couple of the games against the Nuggets,
Speaker 1: but outside of that, he did it. Um. I predict
Speaker 1: that Anthony Davis is going to start at center. I
Speaker 1: also think for about half of his minutes he's going
Speaker 1: to play with Dwight and Mark. I do think that
Speaker 1: his compromise here is to kind of give the impression
Speaker 1: that he's playing more five by starting at the five,
Speaker 1: but then to offload that in specific stints while he's
Speaker 1: on the floor. Uh. I think Area Aresa is the
Speaker 1: shoe in three at that point, mainly because the Lakers
Speaker 1: just don't have a better option. I thought, even even
Speaker 1: if they got Iguadala, I think they would have brought
Speaker 1: Agudala off the bench. You know. The one weird wrinkle
Speaker 1: in all of this is the is the Bays more info.
Speaker 1: So we were basically told that bays Moore turned down
Speaker 1: more money and more years from the Warriors because of
Speaker 1: the fact that he thought he was gonna have a
Speaker 1: bigger role with the Lakers and a better chance to contend.
Speaker 1: So in theory, we know that he would have lost
Speaker 1: his starting position to Clay Thompson, right, So that's a
Speaker 1: that's a that's a no brainer. But because that team
Speaker 1: like severely lacks depth, and both of the guys that
Speaker 1: they drafted were at different positions, bays More in theory,
Speaker 1: would have been like a sixth man for them, so
Speaker 1: he would have had a pretty significant role there. So
Speaker 1: I wonder if there was a promise to make bays
Speaker 1: Moore the starting to guard or even the three um
Speaker 1: our guy. Jason Maples in the comments said that he
Speaker 1: would have He thinks that Malik Monk's gonna start at
Speaker 1: the two guard. I I would agree that that's probably
Speaker 1: the best option. But I'm worried about that intel with
Speaker 1: bays Moore if they think because he's a little bit
Speaker 1: better defensively, a little bit more stout, a little bit
Speaker 1: more uh like veteran presence, and because of the fact
Speaker 1: that we have that intel that he was gonna have
Speaker 1: a bigger role. I wonder if he's going to be
Speaker 1: the guy who ends up starting at the two, that
Speaker 1: that would be my my prediction as far as the
Speaker 1: best lineup, I I agree with with Maples, though I
Speaker 1: would I would part. I would start Monk because I
Speaker 1: don't want him to be necessarily an on ball initiator,
Speaker 1: which he will not need to be with Lebron and Russ,
Speaker 1: and then bringing in Kendrick Nunn, who is a much
Speaker 1: better on ball initiator, and Monk to help run bench
Speaker 1: lineups as a secondary initiator, either alongside Lebron or alongside Russ.
Speaker 1: Do you do you remember last so like Jared Dudley,
Speaker 1: obviously he's not signed yet, but I mean you would
Speaker 1: agree that he's probably going to be resigned, right like
Speaker 1: you could just everything that that's going on, Jared Dudley
Speaker 1: is probably gonna be back on one of these Um,
Speaker 1: I think they have three spots left. Yeah, so so
Speaker 1: last year before this season, I think after the title. UM,
Speaker 1: I don't know if you remember this, but he went
Speaker 1: on like some podcasts and he said, don't be surprised
Speaker 1: if th HT is the starting point guard next year.
Speaker 1: And this is with the Lakers having Dennis Shredder on
Speaker 1: the team. I remember this because I was like, wait,
Speaker 1: Dennis Shooter. You know they just traded for him. Obviously
Speaker 1: that's long and gone now. So that's another guy that
Speaker 1: could start. T HD could be the starting uh point
Speaker 1: guard shooting guard, I'm shooting shooting guard. Sorry. Russ would
Speaker 1: be the starting point card. UM TC could be the
Speaker 1: starting to guard as well, So I wouldn't be surprised
Speaker 1: at that. There's a lot of dudes that who can
Speaker 1: go and get into that lineup. To me, I think
Speaker 1: none will be off the bench as well. I just
Speaker 1: think he's a on ball guy that needs he needs
Speaker 1: the ball in his hands. I like Monk. I would
Speaker 1: like Monk or Ellington kind of in that two guard spot.
Speaker 1: I would like to move a movement shooter, a guy
Speaker 1: who can come off screens and just who can fire
Speaker 1: right away. I would like to like that on the
Speaker 1: starting line up. But there's a lot of options. Man. Um,
Speaker 1: they're really high on th HT. I could really see
Speaker 1: him be the starter if he has a great preseason
Speaker 1: again as he did last year. UM, if he's shooting
Speaker 1: kind of holds up UM, he could be this. He
Speaker 1: could be the starting too, So there's a lot of
Speaker 1: a lot of ways to go with this. UM really
Speaker 1: versatile roster, a lot of dudes who kind of can
Speaker 1: feel in the same position. So I'm interested to see
Speaker 1: how they come out with that. Yeah, they're extremely versatile. UM.
Speaker 1: If you remember, we talked right after the Russell Westbrook
Speaker 1: trade and we talked extensively about how, you know, with
Speaker 1: Buddy Heal, things would have been kind of just an
Speaker 1: easy puzzle to put together, but that with Russ it
Speaker 1: was so much more important for them to build versatility
Speaker 1: and shooting around us, and they did an outstanding job
Speaker 1: of that. UM th h T is the one gigantic
Speaker 1: like h swing piece this year because if he takes
Speaker 1: a leap in terms of his defensive focus, and if
Speaker 1: he takes a leap as a jump shooter, then he
Speaker 1: absolutely is gonna start like he's at that point he
Speaker 1: becomes you know, like out out performing his contract type
Speaker 1: of you know, awesome to guard to have out there
Speaker 1: on the floor, because when on ball, th HD is
Speaker 1: just a gigantic pain in the ass. He's like little Kauai.
Speaker 1: Guys can't even dribble around him, and he's super strong
Speaker 1: and can hold his position. It was off ball defense
Speaker 1: and his inability to just kind of keep that like
Speaker 1: he he would be goodent of the time, but every
Speaker 1: other five percent of the time would be him leaving
Speaker 1: a wide open shooter or getting cut back doors, things
Speaker 1: along those lines that would that would hurt the team.
Speaker 1: If he can clean that stuff up, we're talking about
Speaker 1: not only the starter, but he'll be in that closing
Speaker 1: line up, because we're gonna talk about the closing line
Speaker 1: up here in a second. And you know it's gonna
Speaker 1: be lebron A, d Ariza and Russ. But who's that
Speaker 1: fifth guy. The fifth guy is gonna be all all
Speaker 1: about who either has it going that day or the
Speaker 1: guy that Frank trusts to not make mistakes, because that
Speaker 1: fifth guy more more has the potential to hurt you,
Speaker 1: uh than help you. That that's where if it's a
Speaker 1: bad option, it can murder your spacing or it can
Speaker 1: be somebody that gets picked on defensively. Well, if you
Speaker 1: have a reliable, you know, high floor, low ceiling type
Speaker 1: of guy there, then you then that whole lineup can
Speaker 1: work better. Well if th HT can get rid of
Speaker 1: his low floor, which has to do with his poor
Speaker 1: shooting from time to time and his poor defensive focus,
Speaker 1: all of a sudden he becomes the clear cut best
Speaker 1: option there. And and because he's so physically strong for
Speaker 1: his size, he doesn't give any you know, physicality away
Speaker 1: that can hurt the team. So yeah, t H T
Speaker 1: t H D is the big swing piece. But let's
Speaker 1: just say in general right now, they don't make another signing.
Speaker 1: Who do you think is that fifth guy in the
Speaker 1: closing lineup? So you see you you're locking, You're locking
Speaker 1: in a Reason in that closing line I think he's
Speaker 1: the veteran. He's a great defensive player, he doesn't give
Speaker 1: any sort of size away at the position, and I
Speaker 1: feel like when push comes to shove, he's going to
Speaker 1: be one of those guys that Frank can count on.
Speaker 1: I would be shocked if he's not in their closing
Speaker 1: line up unless he has a health problem. Yeah. To me,
Speaker 1: it's Russ ron a D and then everyone else to
Speaker 1: me is interchangeable. Like I mean, if a Reason kind
Speaker 1: of shows out and be still the shooter and defender
Speaker 1: he is, then sure, I just think it's gonna be him.
Speaker 1: It could be him, it could be bays More, it
Speaker 1: could be Ellington. It could be Monk, it could be none.
Speaker 1: Um like how the Lakers kind of they had Caruso
Speaker 1: as their final starter last year. But I mean it
Speaker 1: could have been any one of these guys Um th
Speaker 1: h T as well. Um Or if they want to
Speaker 1: bludgeon teams in the pain, it could be Dwight Howard,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean just a D and Dwight Um
Speaker 1: closing lineups, taking away the rim. I think you're right
Speaker 1: a reason is probably locked in probably the most. He'll
Speaker 1: probably close most games. Um. I worry about his age
Speaker 1: as well, But I don't know. I would like another
Speaker 1: shooter in there. I don't know about you, but I
Speaker 1: would just like to have Monk or Ellington, you know,
Speaker 1: whoever is hot that night, or base Mare, even if
Speaker 1: he's hitting his threes. He had a career year from
Speaker 1: last year. I just want one more shooter, just that
Speaker 1: team's gonna kill in the pain. You know, Russ, ron A,
Speaker 1: d all want to get right to the rim. They
Speaker 1: all want to dominate at the basket. Um. I just
Speaker 1: want one shooter that you can't leave open on the
Speaker 1: floor there. Would you kind of would you kind of
Speaker 1: go with that mindset as well? Just kind of keeping
Speaker 1: a shooter out there. I get where you're coming from there,
Speaker 1: and I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying that
Speaker 1: we know Frank, and Frank has always prioritized defense over
Speaker 1: shooting if he has to choose between the two. So
Speaker 1: for instance, like you know, I thought Ben mcklamore could
Speaker 1: have like really helped with her spacing in the long run,
Speaker 1: but he just never really got a chance to get
Speaker 1: his rhythm because he never got enough burned because Frank
Speaker 1: didn't trust him defensively. Um, you know, Ellington and Monk
Speaker 1: are going to fall into those same categories, and you know,
Speaker 1: on the nights when they're obscenely hot, he might be
Speaker 1: willing to go with them just because of the fact
Speaker 1: that they're the tradeoff kind of swings in their favor.
Speaker 1: But I I wouldn't be surprised if you see a
Speaker 1: lot of bays more, a lot of a reason, a
Speaker 1: lot of th h t you know, even none if
Speaker 1: he is defending well. Depending on how how well he
Speaker 1: defends this year, just in general, I expect uh Frank
Speaker 1: to favor defense in that position. I think the only
Speaker 1: guys that are off the hook there are Rustle Lebron
Speaker 1: and a D in the sense that, like, if they're
Speaker 1: having a rough night defensively, they might still play. Um.
Speaker 1: That's kind of where I'm at with it. Um. So
Speaker 1: what we wanted to do for this next part, not
Speaker 1: counting starters and closers, This can be any lineup. You
Speaker 1: can have Lebron and a D, can have Lebron, a
Speaker 1: D and Russ. You could call it whatever you wanna
Speaker 1: call it. What is the lineup that you're most excited
Speaker 1: to see this year? Just to see what it looks like.
Speaker 1: It could be one that they throw out there in
Speaker 1: a random second quarter in February and then never use again.
Speaker 1: But what is the lineup that you're most excited I
Speaker 1: did to see this year. I want to see the
Speaker 1: like young high like flyers with brawn and a D.
Speaker 1: Like I'm really interested in that. I want to see
Speaker 1: three dudes just running the courts. So so I wrote
Speaker 1: down th h T none, monk Ron and a D.
Speaker 1: And I think that's just a super fast lineup. A
Speaker 1: lot of still, a lot of ball handling, a lot
Speaker 1: of like guys who can shoot off the dribble kind
Speaker 1: of stuff, guys who can come off screens. I'm just
Speaker 1: really fascinated with that. Again, th HD is the most
Speaker 1: variant dude, Like he's the most like he could be,
Speaker 1: he could be a starter, or it can like not
Speaker 1: be in the rotation. It's just really interesting. And year three,
Speaker 1: right is where guys usually make that drump Like I
Speaker 1: remember watching Brandon Ingram year three UM, not to compare,
Speaker 1: but like D'Angel Russell as well, your three really got
Speaker 1: comfortable UM in the league. So I'm really interested to
Speaker 1: see where it got. Year three is usually when guys
Speaker 1: kind of really understand how they get their baskets, how
Speaker 1: they you know, the game kind of really slows down
Speaker 1: for them. So yeah, I would like to see that
Speaker 1: kind of young kind of line up mixed with our
Speaker 1: two with the with brawn and a D and maybe
Speaker 1: you can even throw Russ in there for Kendrick Nunn.
Speaker 1: So like a th HT, Russ, Monk Brown and a
Speaker 1: D just a youth with the with the stars, how
Speaker 1: about you. Yeah, I like that. I like any combination
Speaker 1: of guys that uh in a lineup like that that
Speaker 1: are all really good at. This is something that we
Speaker 1: talked about in the last part. Taking advantage and capitalizing
Speaker 1: on attention that's thrown towards Lebron and a d Um.
Speaker 1: You know that this is something that I loved from
Speaker 1: talent Horton Tucker before the Lebron and a d injuries
Speaker 1: last year. Everybody remembers talent Horton Tucker as this high
Speaker 1: volume on ball guy that we were forced to use
Speaker 1: extensively because of the injuries. But there was this whole
Speaker 1: you know, eight games stretched there at the beginning of
Speaker 1: the season when Lebron and na d were healthy, where
Speaker 1: he was a spot up guy who was attacking closeouts.
Speaker 1: He would occasionally get his isolation opportunities, but he was
Speaker 1: just really good at at at picking angles and getting
Speaker 1: the closing out defender on his side and just getting
Speaker 1: all the way to the writ or countering to you know,
Speaker 1: some sort of spinning hook or whatever. It was like,
Speaker 1: he just was really really good at that. And uh,
Speaker 1: I feel the same way about None in Monk and
Speaker 1: getting the three of them together to capitalize off that
Speaker 1: attention is something that could be really exciting. Um. The
Speaker 1: lineup that I chose as uh as something that I
Speaker 1: don't think we'll see often, but I think will be
Speaker 1: something that the Lakers will go to when the offense
Speaker 1: gets clunky just in general. Um is what I would
Speaker 1: call like the vintage Lakers. I'm gonna pulverize you line up.
Speaker 1: So it's gonna be Dwight Howard at the center, Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis at the power forward, Lebron James at the three,
Speaker 1: camp Baysmore at the two, and Russell Westbrook at the one.
Speaker 1: Every one of those guys is big, athletic and strong.
Speaker 1: Baysmore is probably the thinnest one in there, but he's
Speaker 1: a veteran player who understands how to play in physicality.
Speaker 1: But that is a line up where it's like the
Speaker 1: refs are not calling anything. No one really has it
Speaker 1: going offensively, but we're just gonna lock in defensively and
Speaker 1: we're gonna pulverize you on the offensive glass. We're gonna
Speaker 1: is at the rim and we're just gonna beat you
Speaker 1: to death with our physicality. Uh. One of my favorite
Speaker 1: things about this new roster is it takes on this
Speaker 1: whole new persona as this like skilled shot making lineup,
Speaker 1: especially in the back court. UH, and then older and
Speaker 1: more veteran presences in the front court instead of the
Speaker 1: younger movement that they had last year. With guys that
Speaker 1: were a little bit lower i Q like Andre Drummond
Speaker 1: and Kyle Kuzma. Now we've upgraded that all all veteran
Speaker 1: guys in the front court. Well, they can still audible
Speaker 1: back to these huge, bruising lineups, and that to me
Speaker 1: gives you that, like that versatility to be able to
Speaker 1: to to audible at the last second if something's not working,
Speaker 1: and take on a completely different approach to the game.
Speaker 1: So that's a lineup that I'm most excited for. I
Speaker 1: like that that that Lantum also takes away the rim too, right,
Speaker 1: So it's basically they're just daring you to come in
Speaker 1: and attack Dwight Howard Anthony Davis whoever's at the room
Speaker 1: at the time. D can kind of roam as well.
Speaker 1: They're probably put him on a corner shooter or something
Speaker 1: like him Rome and kind of get back to that.
Speaker 1: So I like that really physical um rust Dwhite and
Speaker 1: a d just by themselves are just super physical dudes
Speaker 1: when they're right, right, Like, that's a really tough lineup
Speaker 1: to got to go against, probably be really really annoying.
Speaker 1: Just touch on your THHD point. He took West Matthews
Speaker 1: minutes in the earlier the year, right, just because like
Speaker 1: and on the team that was winning, on the team
Speaker 1: that was like the I think they were the one
Speaker 1: seed or or close to the one seed at the time.
Speaker 1: I think Utah had the one, but they were like
Speaker 1: right there with him. So so you're right, he was
Speaker 1: an off ball player and he wouldn't have played if
Speaker 1: he couldn't defend. Right, you get to be at least
Speaker 1: be able to defend his position at some at some part.
Speaker 1: So I think there's skill there. But yeah, I like
Speaker 1: that lineup, really physical, really dominant. Probably a lot of
Speaker 1: technical fowls and that a lot of a lot of uh,
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of a lot of a lot
Speaker 1: of cheap vowels and stuff like that that you know,
Speaker 1: these vets kind of know what they can kind of
Speaker 1: get away with. I always think of that Denver series. Um,
Speaker 1: I thought, why really kind of annoyed annoyed them because
Speaker 1: he knew what he could get away with. He saw
Speaker 1: what kind of physicality they were allowing. And we saw
Speaker 1: on the playoffs, um, the amount of we saw through
Speaker 1: Holiday be able to just you know, absolutely stick on
Speaker 1: Chris Paul and be as physical as he wants because
Speaker 1: that's what they allow in the finals. So so I
Speaker 1: like that team that's super physical and they'll know what
Speaker 1: they can get away with. So we want to get
Speaker 1: to the mail back. So I'm gonna go really quickly
Speaker 1: on this Frank Vogel thing because I think you and
Speaker 1: I are probably on the same page. Um, do you
Speaker 1: think the Lakers are gonna have any issues retaining Frank Vogel?
Speaker 1: I'm not even talking about, uh, you know, whether or
Speaker 1: not he would want to stay, because I know he would.
Speaker 1: Do you think that the Lakers are even considering the
Speaker 1: idea that they might ditch Frank after this year? Or
Speaker 1: do you think the extension is going to be worked out?
Speaker 1: This is all a formality. Yeah, I think the extension
Speaker 1: will be worked out. I think when you win a
Speaker 1: championship in your first year, you actually you earn an extension.
Speaker 1: Whether or not you finish out that contracts a different story. Um.
Speaker 1: Lakers have been known to let go multiple coaches. You
Speaker 1: know that they I think they were paying like three
Speaker 1: coaches at the same time. Um, Mike Bround, Mike D'Antoni,
Speaker 1: one more, I forget who. Um, So it's even if
Speaker 1: he doesn't stay. How I think he has earned an
Speaker 1: extension when you win your title in the first year,
Speaker 1: kept that team as the number one defense last year. UM,
Speaker 1: I think that's a that's something that he should put
Speaker 1: on his like resume. I think that's a big deal
Speaker 1: to me with all the all the entertaine real parts
Speaker 1: that happened last year. So so with all that, um,
Speaker 1: even with even though even what happened last year, I
Speaker 1: think he's kind of earned next his his next contracy.
Speaker 1: I don't think he should go into the year, um
Speaker 1: not knowing what should happen next year. Like, I think
Speaker 1: that should be worked out before we get started here.
Speaker 1: YEA for starters, he deserves it. Um. You know, after
Speaker 1: the first season, you and I talked extensively in the
Speaker 1: off season about how the players in particular were so
Speaker 1: incredibly impressed by Frank scouting reports. There was even that
Speaker 1: famous story where Lebron stood up and giving him a
Speaker 1: stounding standing ovation after a scouting session. So uh, that
Speaker 1: was that was how his first season went, and he
Speaker 1: was a champion. Uh. Then his second season, let's just
Speaker 1: call it what it is, they were really good, their
Speaker 1: stars got hurt, he somehow managed to float the team. Um.
Speaker 1: Uh in that time by getting them to continue to defend.
Speaker 1: And yes, they lost in the first round, but Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis got hurt. And quite frankly, it's not like there
Speaker 1: was some audible to go to in terms of lineups,
Speaker 1: because even the Lakers best shooters like KCP and Alex
Speaker 1: Cruso during the regular season both couldn't make a shot
Speaker 1: against the Sun. So like, at a certain point that
Speaker 1: was that was beyond a coaching issue. That was just
Speaker 1: a like, if anything, if there was one mistake that
Speaker 1: I would point to in the Phoenix Sun series, it
Speaker 1: was even trying to play. Uh, Anthony Davis had all
Speaker 1: in Game six, I would have sat him because I
Speaker 1: felt like part of the reason why the Sun's blitz
Speaker 1: them in the first quarter was everyone was depressed again
Speaker 1: because Anthony Davis got hurt. If there was a chance
Speaker 1: to win that series, it was don't play a d
Speaker 1: ride your home crowd in game six, try to steal
Speaker 1: the game bringing back for Game seven, or try to
Speaker 1: steal Game seven on the road. But anyway, I'm with you,
Speaker 1: like he flat out deserves the extension. Yes, if this
Speaker 1: year is just a total ship show and everything goes south,
Speaker 1: maybe that doesn't work out, But I'm with you. I
Speaker 1: have a feeling the extension is gonna be worked out
Speaker 1: for training camp and this will just be a moot
Speaker 1: point to begin with. Yep, I agree with that he shouldn't.
Speaker 1: He should go. He should go into the year knowing, Um,
Speaker 1: he's got extended, Like, there's no reason to go in. Uh.
Speaker 1: It's always said that coaches don't really like to go
Speaker 1: into a last year right without knowing. It's kind of
Speaker 1: really rough thing to kind of coach as without that
Speaker 1: kind of security. So yeah, he should definitely get his
Speaker 1: deal done. So our first mail bad question from earlier
Speaker 1: this morning, um, this is from Sean Um. He says,
Speaker 1: I I feel like Russ on D is the biggest
Speaker 1: question mark. Everything else seems set on Lebron and a
Speaker 1: D doing their thing, Wayne and Monk shooting threes. Everyone
Speaker 1: else in the role also think Russ making them compete
Speaker 1: every night will be huge. So if he can just
Speaker 1: be solid on defense, they won't have many holes. Do
Speaker 1: you guys agree? Yeah? I mean I think that is
Speaker 1: the biggest question. I would agree with him. Um, Russ
Speaker 1: hasn't been good on defense for a little while now,
Speaker 1: Like that's no secret. Um. But I think that's also
Speaker 1: with the offensive burden that he's had to carry. So
Speaker 1: I think there's like a double double edged sword there. Um.
Speaker 1: But yeah, he's gonna have to be better. Like that's
Speaker 1: just what it is. He has all the tools. It's
Speaker 1: not like it's not like he can't defend. He has
Speaker 1: the size, he has the athleticism, speed, um. And I
Speaker 1: think that the scheme vocal scheme will kind of push
Speaker 1: him in the right direction. So I'll see people are
Speaker 1: saying if he can switch, What'll kind of see with that.
Speaker 1: We'll see how that kind of works. Um. I don't
Speaker 1: think he's the point of attack defender that we've had
Speaker 1: in the least a few years. Right, He's not gonna
Speaker 1: be picking up full court and and doing all those
Speaker 1: kind of little things there. But um, I think he
Speaker 1: can still be. He can be a solid defender, and
Speaker 1: that's what you have to be when you have Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis behind you, you just had to be a kind
Speaker 1: of a solid defender. Um. Kind of funnel things to him,
Speaker 1: and I think he's more than cable of doing that. Um.
Speaker 1: What do you think? Yeah, I agree, and I'm less
Speaker 1: worried about him at the point of attack. There's a
Speaker 1: lot of data out there that that's one of his
Speaker 1: biggest strengths. My biggest worry with Russ is off ball,
Speaker 1: just paying attention. He's a he's kind of like Region
Speaker 1: Rondo in the sense that he's constantly just trying make
Speaker 1: that home run play defensively, and so, yeah, you're gonna
Speaker 1: have nights with Rondo where like against the Nuggets and
Speaker 1: Game three of that series and the Bubble where he
Speaker 1: rips Jamal Murray like three straight times a half court
Speaker 1: and goes for layups and you're like, oh, my goodness, Like,
Speaker 1: Rondo's just wrecking this game defensively. But then the next
Speaker 1: you know, then the next possession he will reach in
Speaker 1: and the and and be way out of position and
Speaker 1: end up hurting himself or hurting the team. That's kind
Speaker 1: of the same effect to the Russell Westbrook thing. It's
Speaker 1: not about when he's engaged, because when he's engaged he's great.
Speaker 1: It's just it's him being overly aggressive and a little
Speaker 1: bit too you know, a risky in that sense in
Speaker 1: that sense defensively as far as like just uh in general,
Speaker 1: with his ability on the ball, there's a lot of
Speaker 1: drew holiday potential with him and because he is big
Speaker 1: and strong and athletic to where as he gets into
Speaker 1: these deeper round playoff series, which we haven't seen really
Speaker 1: since Oklahoma City. He's actually a really deeply in actful
Speaker 1: defensive player. He did a really good job on Dwyane
Speaker 1: Wade in the UH in the two thousand and twelve
Speaker 1: finals because of the fact that he's so strong and
Speaker 1: athletic and is in the physicality that's allowed in those moments. Now,
Speaker 1: obviously he's older now and less athletic, but he's still
Speaker 1: more athletic than the vast majority of the guards that
Speaker 1: he's going to encounter. It's kind of the same Lebron effect.
Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, he's deteriorated a little bit, but really
Speaker 1: is are you worried about that? With his matchups? You know? Um?
Speaker 1: And the other thing too, is like I watched him
Speaker 1: two years ago against Damian Lillard, and everyone remembers Damian
Speaker 1: Lillard just resoundingly defeating him and talking mountains of trash
Speaker 1: and the result, and there's there's no there's no denying
Speaker 1: what actually happened in that environment. However, the reality of
Speaker 1: what happened in that series was Russ in his offensive
Speaker 1: limitations or the reason why they couldn't win. He actually
Speaker 1: defended Dame extremely well, and there were possessions where he
Speaker 1: almost swallowed him up. It just so happened that Dame,
Speaker 1: with his ball control, pace control and his i Q
Speaker 1: was able to out execute us. But that's not going
Speaker 1: to be a problem for us in this setting. In
Speaker 1: this setting, the offensive load and the i Q load
Speaker 1: and the decision making will hopefully be under Lebron, and
Speaker 1: so in that regard, I do actually like having him
Speaker 1: for those matchups because that's never been the problem. His
Speaker 1: ability to make Dame work extremely hard and be less
Speaker 1: efficient than usual, that's not a problem for us. He's
Speaker 1: gonna be able to force those guys into tough shots
Speaker 1: that I I'm less worried about defense with Russ than
Speaker 1: I am about off ball attention and just on offense,
Speaker 1: whether or not he defers to Lebron when he's supposed to. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and last thing on that, like people talk about his
Speaker 1: statpanning or whatever like that, but the final part of
Speaker 1: the defensive possession is getting the defensive rebound, right, Like,
Speaker 1: that's the kind of part And he's an amazing rebounder
Speaker 1: on both ends, on offense and defensive, so that's a
Speaker 1: big part of it as well. I think he'll really
Speaker 1: help with that. Um. Yeah, he's a great defensive rebound
Speaker 1: WHI should be part of the conversation as well. So, um,
Speaker 1: that part is definitely going to be there as a
Speaker 1: as a defender. I'm not sure how much you'll be again, like,
Speaker 1: I think this is all. I think you talked about
Speaker 1: the off ball stuff. That's all to me effort and
Speaker 1: that's all like awareness and and focus and all that
Speaker 1: kind of stuff, which I think you'll have um this
Speaker 1: year for sure. So so yeah, I think he'll be
Speaker 1: fine on defense. I think like the switching off fall
Speaker 1: stuff is definitely the biggest question. But I think, um,
Speaker 1: he'll be find in this in this scheme. Yeah, agree,
Speaker 1: and and really quickly before we go to the next question.
Speaker 1: You know what's interesting with Ross is uh, you know,
Speaker 1: he raises your rebounding presence and your athleticism presence continue
Speaker 1: or considerably because of the fact that it's a five
Speaker 1: person job. You know, this is something we you like.
Speaker 1: DeAndre Ayton was the second most physically impressed person in
Speaker 1: the NBA Finals, behind Janice right, and the Sun's just
Speaker 1: got physically bludgeoned because the other four guys on the
Speaker 1: floor were all thin and overmatched physically. So that kind
Speaker 1: of goes to show you that just having one of
Speaker 1: those guys isn't enough. You know, if you run out
Speaker 1: lineups this year of of Ellington and Monk and Aresa
Speaker 1: Mellow and and Anthony Davis, they're probably gonna get physically
Speaker 1: manhandled because they're just too thin down the line. Well,
Speaker 1: Russ gives you. Russ again adds to that, It's what
Speaker 1: made the Bucks physically imposing is that it was Drew
Speaker 1: Holiday with the honest. It was you know, Brook Lopez
Speaker 1: with youann as it was Chris Middleton with the honest,
Speaker 1: and so Russ just kind of significantly raises the physical
Speaker 1: presence of the Lakers. All right, next question, we can
Speaker 1: hit this one really quick. Is this current roster when
Speaker 1: healthy good enough to be a healthy NETS team? This
Speaker 1: is from Veno. I mean I think it is. I
Speaker 1: think the I think the next problem. Nets probably have
Speaker 1: a little more like top end talent. Just if you
Speaker 1: compare the top end talent just by a bit um,
Speaker 1: depending how you think of Westbrook and Kyrie or however
Speaker 1: you think of them or hardened. But uh, yeah, I
Speaker 1: think they can. I mean, I feel like it will
Speaker 1: be a pretty nice matchup going on those three going
Speaker 1: that once you get to the finals, I mean, all
Speaker 1: all bets are off, So I mean I I feel
Speaker 1: like those teams will be will be ready to go
Speaker 1: against each other. Obviously, stopping Katie and all that is
Speaker 1: a it's a different question, but I feel like they can.
Speaker 1: It's a it's a it's a toss up series. To me,
Speaker 1: Brooklyn Lakers Lakers series is a toss up series. They're
Speaker 1: pretty evenly matched in my opinion, just going down the roster,
Speaker 1: how about you, Yeah, I actually would pick the Lakers
Speaker 1: to beat the Nets. I probably would not have last year. Uh,
Speaker 1: last year, the Lakers were not a good offensive team. Uh.
Speaker 1: In A big part of that was just roster construction
Speaker 1: and spacing and A D didn't play the five all season.
Speaker 1: So even when he went to the five in the postseason,
Speaker 1: he just wasn't good at because he didn't practice it
Speaker 1: all year. Um, this team is going to be more
Speaker 1: equipped for that challenge, you know. Uh, the offensive gap
Speaker 1: isn't going to be as big as the gap that
Speaker 1: the Lakers are going to be able to create with
Speaker 1: their defense. On the other end, One of the things
Speaker 1: that really excites me about a Lakers Nets matchup is
Speaker 1: the fact that Lebron in a D can be roamers
Speaker 1: defensively in theory. Okay, so they'll be able to take
Speaker 1: matchups if they need to, but in theory, they'll be
Speaker 1: able to be roamers defensively. Being able to put Russ
Speaker 1: on Kyrie, someone like a bays More or a Nun
Speaker 1: on Harden, and then put a Trevor Ariza and Kevin Durant,
Speaker 1: and then allowing Lebron in a D to just be
Speaker 1: your back line defensively makes all those other three guys.
Speaker 1: It puts them in a much better position to succeed.
Speaker 1: And I actually like the ability of a Russ athletically
Speaker 1: to wear Kyrie down over the course of the series.
Speaker 1: Bays More on Harden is probably your weakest matchup there,
Speaker 1: but again, having Lebron in a D on the back
Speaker 1: line is such a huge advantage there. And a reason
Speaker 1: is actually one of the better Kevin Durant defenders I've
Speaker 1: ever seen. He's really good at kind of getting a
Speaker 1: read on his rhythm, he picks him up after he
Speaker 1: crosses half court. He's he just he has a lot
Speaker 1: of reps in that role and has a track record
Speaker 1: of making him struggle a little bit. So I actually
Speaker 1: feel a lot better about that matchup. It's close, It's
Speaker 1: very close. Um, I think the Nets are a little
Speaker 1: bit better offensively, but I think the Lakers overall would
Speaker 1: have a good chance to win that series. Yeah, the
Speaker 1: last class Bok thing on that, it's a it's a
Speaker 1: clash of styles, right, Like, it's a really clash of
Speaker 1: styles like that are really jump shooting, kind of silky smooth,
Speaker 1: kind of skilled team. The Lakers are just like, we're
Speaker 1: gonna bludge in you in the paint. We're just gonna
Speaker 1: We're just gonna force you to kind of defend out
Speaker 1: the rim a D even a D like who are
Speaker 1: they putting on a D? Like? Who are they putting
Speaker 1: on Lebron I guess it's my my question with that.
Speaker 1: And then Russ as well. It's just super physical at
Speaker 1: the rim. Gonna make at least one of James, Harden
Speaker 1: and Kyrie worked right, at least one of them are
Speaker 1: going to have to work on the other end. Um,
Speaker 1: just a fun class A style, just a super super
Speaker 1: fun clash of differences in a team kind of building
Speaker 1: and all that. So I think it would be a
Speaker 1: really fun matchup where the Lakers would like kind of
Speaker 1: dominate the paint, well, the Nets kind of win the
Speaker 1: math battle with the threes and all and all that
Speaker 1: and the jump shooting. So yeah, it would be a
Speaker 1: fun matchup for sure. Russ. Russ killed the Nets this year,
Speaker 1: and quite frankly, yeah, and their their backcourt is just
Speaker 1: completely unequipped to stop him from getting to the rim.
Speaker 1: Russ is in a weird way. Um uh, you know.
Speaker 1: And if I had to guess why Lebron wanted Russ,
Speaker 1: it was for this specific matchup, you know. Uh, Like
Speaker 1: you said, it's it's about the need to make those
Speaker 1: guys work because the Nets switch everything, and because James
Speaker 1: Harden is a good post up defender and teams have
Speaker 1: some weird obsession with trying to post him up. Teams
Speaker 1: for the most part failed to take advantage of what
Speaker 1: the weaknesses the Nets had in their backcourt defensively. Well,
Speaker 1: Russ directly addresses that, you know, that is a he
Speaker 1: is going to be downhill on Kyrie all game. Long
Speaker 1: and if you don't switch that or put someone else
Speaker 1: on him, he's going to cause you some massive problems.
Speaker 1: That Ross is he's a unique weapon to have for
Speaker 1: that matchup, and and that should be really exciting. All right,
Speaker 1: let's see here. So this is an interesting question for
Speaker 1: us just to address non Lebron minutes. But it says, uh, Um,
Speaker 1: if Lebron goes down, slash load manages, how do you
Speaker 1: think the team will manage without him? Given that we
Speaker 1: have many playmakers? And I guess we can simplify this
Speaker 1: question to this, how do you feel about non Lebron
Speaker 1: minutes this year? I feel a lot better about him
Speaker 1: this year than last year. Um. We have an absolute
Speaker 1: elite playmaker playmaker now with Russell Westbrook. UM. So basically
Speaker 1: when you ask this question, when when he asked his question, UM,
Speaker 1: what happens if Lebron goes down, you're really you're basically
Speaker 1: asking what does the russ A D lead team look like? Right? Like,
Speaker 1: That's basically what the question is. It will be russ
Speaker 1: A D kind of manning most of the minutes of
Speaker 1: Lebron has the load manager or whatever. Um, and I
Speaker 1: think they're more equipped, especially in a regular season. I
Speaker 1: think a Russ a D kind of one five attack
Speaker 1: isn't win. Is more than enough offense to kind of
Speaker 1: carry you with the kind of wings and shooting they have,
Speaker 1: and then defensively as well. Um, I think they can
Speaker 1: kind of carry a lot better than they did last year.
Speaker 1: Last year is pretty much Lebron and then Dennis shrewder
Speaker 1: like I think like and that was it, Like that
Speaker 1: was your that was your playmaking last year. A D
Speaker 1: obviously isn't a guy you just throw the ball too
Speaker 1: and kind of have him kind of creating playmak for others.
Speaker 1: So I think having another top tier elite playmaker or
Speaker 1: whatever you think of Russ, his passing is still top
Speaker 1: top with any other player. Um really knows, really knows
Speaker 1: how to read the floor, knows where to find guys
Speaker 1: in the corners, knows how to find those dump off
Speaker 1: passes two big, So I think I think they would
Speaker 1: fare a lot better. They wouldn't win obviously as much
Speaker 1: with Lebron, but I think a lot better than last year. UM.
Speaker 1: Just having another guy that can create shots and that's
Speaker 1: the main thing to me. And I think he'll get
Speaker 1: a D better looks as well. UM from from his playmaking,
Speaker 1: so that I think they would fare a lot better.
Speaker 1: What do you think? Yeah? Agree? So for starters, if
Speaker 1: you look at the last two years and they're on
Speaker 1: off numbers when Lebron was on him and Lebron was off,
Speaker 1: you know the uh they slipped on both ends, their
Speaker 1: defense gets a little bit worse, but their offense gets
Speaker 1: a lot worse. They don't have the numbers in front
Speaker 1: of me, but generally speaking, their offense with Lebron and
Speaker 1: the floor is around a hundred and fifteen points per
Speaker 1: hunter possessions and it drops to like a hundred when
Speaker 1: Lebron's off the floor, and then their defense gets slightly worse. Now,
Speaker 1: the reason for that is because Dennis Shudder, even though
Speaker 1: he is a starting level point guard, and even though
Speaker 1: he deserves to make somewhere between ten fifteen million a year,
Speaker 1: as as we talked about in the last pot, he
Speaker 1: technically isn't a top tier point guard. He usually is
Speaker 1: going to be a uh an inferior perimeter initiator to
Speaker 1: whatever he's going against on the other team, which is
Speaker 1: going to cause problems. And the same the same problem
Speaker 1: was with Rondo UH And then as we know Anthony
Speaker 1: Day of Us. As good as he is, he's kind
Speaker 1: of a tip of a spear. He's the guy that
Speaker 1: you know if you put him in the right setting,
Speaker 1: he raises your ceiling convincingly. But the problem is is
Speaker 1: that he can't really initiate his own offense, at least
Speaker 1: not at the same level as a perimeter initiator. So
Speaker 1: that's why the Lebron off minutes have been a problem
Speaker 1: over the last couple of years. Russ completely solves that problem.
Speaker 1: If you can defend at a baseline level, Russ is
Speaker 1: going to score enough points or generate enough quality shots
Speaker 1: for you to win those minutes and and again. And
Speaker 1: turning the Lebron Off minutes, which have been negative every
Speaker 1: single both of the last two regular seasons and both
Speaker 1: the last two playoffs, if you can turn that into
Speaker 1: a positive, that is a gigantic boost to this team
Speaker 1: because they've always been good with Lebron on the floor
Speaker 1: over the last two years, and that could be that
Speaker 1: kind of thing can manifest in regular season standing as
Speaker 1: like a five or six game improvement. That could be
Speaker 1: the difference between them being a fifty two win team
Speaker 1: and being a fifty eight win team. It's like that
Speaker 1: that kind of boost when you're not losing every single
Speaker 1: time your best player goes on the bench, So I think,
Speaker 1: and then we haven't even gotten to all the things
Speaker 1: that None and Monk can do to boost those offensive
Speaker 1: lineups when Lebron is off the floor, But just Russ
Speaker 1: and a d if you can, because staggering is gonna
Speaker 1: be you know, there are all these different things that
Speaker 1: they need to do to maximize Russ, right, Like he
Speaker 1: needs to defend, and then when he's off ball and
Speaker 1: crunch time lineups, he needs to crash the offensive glass.
Speaker 1: He needs to uh be able to at least cut
Speaker 1: occasionally or make enough spot up three's that the team
Speaker 1: doesn't just completely ignore him entirely. But one of the
Speaker 1: biggest things that they can do to help this is
Speaker 1: just stagger the hell out of it. So every single
Speaker 1: minute that Lebron is off the flour if he's playing
Speaker 1: thirty thirty four minutes a night, that means Russ needs
Speaker 1: to be playing fourteen sixteen minutes without Lebron on the
Speaker 1: floor those other fourteen sixteen minutes. And I believe that
Speaker 1: with Russ at the helm, as long as he has
Speaker 1: enough shooting or I would even just play Anthony Davis. Like,
Speaker 1: if you look at last year, Shrewder A d minutes
Speaker 1: were negative, Uh, Lebron a D minutes, Lebron, Shrewder minutes,
Speaker 1: Lebron by himself minutes, We're all positive. Even when Lebron
Speaker 1: was playing with Shrewder and a d off they were positive.
Speaker 1: So I'd almost ride Lebron by himself if you need
Speaker 1: to Russ to arrest two of them and then play
Speaker 1: Russ and a d together, because that's going to give
Speaker 1: you a better chance of staying positive throughout the game.
Speaker 1: At least that's the strategy that I would take. What's
Speaker 1: funny about the stats. I remember that first year, I
Speaker 1: think the Rondo and Lebron were the only negative pairing
Speaker 1: With Lebron, It's like, you know how hard that is
Speaker 1: to do. Um. But but another guy like we haven't
Speaker 1: even talked about his Carmelo. I know, like he's not
Speaker 1: gonna be a huge part. I think just if Lebron's
Speaker 1: kind of out, he's a guy that can just sustain
Speaker 1: the offense, right, maybe he gives back as much on defense,
Speaker 1: but just to con sustain the flow and keep this
Speaker 1: from the possessions going only times did we watch the
Speaker 1: bench come in and just can't score, Like the lead
Speaker 1: would be fifteen and they just cannot score, and and
Speaker 1: and teams wild cut it down to like four five
Speaker 1: when Lebron comes back in. So I think just having
Speaker 1: another guy as well that can just get a basket
Speaker 1: whenever you can just give the ball to Carmelo and
Speaker 1: he'll get a good shot to get fouled, you know.
Speaker 1: I mean he'll go to his he'll get to his shot,
Speaker 1: get to a spot. I think that's important, having guys
Speaker 1: that just know how to get to get their shot off.
Speaker 1: And I think that's a big deal. Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1: Are you still looking at I can do? That's fine, Okay,
Speaker 1: we'll do nothing. So we'll do two more questions. Alright,
Speaker 1: So the this next one I think is interesting. H
Speaker 1: you we kind of hinted at this earlier, but I
Speaker 1: want to talk a little bit more about it. Do
Speaker 1: you think the age of the Lakers roster will be
Speaker 1: beneficial or detrimental for a long playoff run, which is
Speaker 1: what we expect. I think in the playoffs, like experience
Speaker 1: is more important. Like I think the age will I
Speaker 1: think there are obviously detriments to being older. Obviously it's
Speaker 1: not all positive. I think the positives kind of outweigh
Speaker 1: the negatives here. You don't really see these super young
Speaker 1: teams win championships, right, It's mostly these older, kind of
Speaker 1: older kind of squaws that kind of get it done.
Speaker 1: So I think it will be help. They'll be more experience. Um,
Speaker 1: the super old guys are really like what Ariza and
Speaker 1: uh Dwight, you know those kind of guys. But I mean,
Speaker 1: e d is twenty eight. Lebron also obviously is up there,
Speaker 1: but he's kind of he's kind of an alien in
Speaker 1: that way. But Russell Westbrook's thirty two. Um, so I
Speaker 1: think the super old guys are kind of the wing
Speaker 1: kind of players are kind of more um interchange there
Speaker 1: aside from Lebron. Um, when when you talk about how
Speaker 1: old this roster is Basemore as well, I think it's
Speaker 1: like thirty two and they have a bunch of young,
Speaker 1: kind of energy, energetic guards. I think they can really
Speaker 1: uplift them during the regular season and through the playoffs.
Speaker 1: So I think the old thing is kind of been
Speaker 1: stretched out. Um. They have this thing where like, um,
Speaker 1: no team has ever signed thirty five, four or five
Speaker 1: thirty five year olds in the same offseason or something
Speaker 1: like that. Um. But a lot of them, most of
Speaker 1: them are going to be spot minutes um. Other than
Speaker 1: Lebron for sure. Yeah. So I really look at it
Speaker 1: as this simple. You it's really about how many good
Speaker 1: basketball players you have. And if you have enough, then
Speaker 1: you'll be fine and and and age won't matter. But
Speaker 1: if you're older, you probably need more in terms of
Speaker 1: your death right because it's about wear and tear. This
Speaker 1: is what happened with the two thou fourteen heat. It
Speaker 1: wasn't the problem wasn't their amount of good players. They
Speaker 1: had enough good players that the issue was is because
Speaker 1: they were a bit older. They ended up kind of
Speaker 1: looking exhausted at times in the playoffs because they didn't
Speaker 1: have the depth relative to their age. You know, this
Speaker 1: is one of the big reasons why Lebron was upset
Speaker 1: that they let Mike Miller go to avoid the luxury tax.
Speaker 1: They were upset because he thought, you know, even just
Speaker 1: fifteen minutes from Mike Miller makes Shane Battier's job easier,
Speaker 1: makes Richard Lewis's job easier. It just it lowers everybody's
Speaker 1: it's it's like, uh, we talk all the time about like, oh,
Speaker 1: this guy can be a better defensive player if he
Speaker 1: has less offensive responsibility. You have a finite amount of
Speaker 1: energy that you can go to or tap into in
Speaker 1: a game. I'm I'm less worried about the Lakers age
Speaker 1: this year because of their depth. You know, yeah, a
Speaker 1: reasons old. Lebron's old allows old Dwights, old marks old.
Speaker 1: But in that front court, uh, you know, especially considering
Speaker 1: a lot of times the Lakers will play three guard lineups.
Speaker 1: In that front court, there's only so many minutes available,
Speaker 1: and so you know what, I like to see them
Speaker 1: add one more forward. Yeah, but I think they will.
Speaker 1: I think they're gonna probably end up atting. Wes Matthews
Speaker 1: and even Jared Dudley is gonna be there for for
Speaker 1: certain environments. But let's say everyone's healthy, You're in a
Speaker 1: playoff series. At the end of the day, I'm only
Speaker 1: asking Carmelo Anthony to do what he's doing for like
Speaker 1: fifteen minutes in a playoff game. I'm only you know
Speaker 1: a reason, Lebron. They might have bigger workloads, But if
Speaker 1: a reason looks like he's getting worn down and and
Speaker 1: he's starting to struggle. It's like, Okay, we can put
Speaker 1: a little bit more on mellows plate here and ask
Speaker 1: him to do more. Like age becomes an issue when
Speaker 1: you're when you're seven men deep and everyone's old and
Speaker 1: now we're talking like the two thousand eleven, two thousand
Speaker 1: twelve Celtics, now we're talking about like the two thousand
Speaker 1: fourteen Brooklyn Nets. Like when you lack depth and you're
Speaker 1: old and your and your old guys are being or down,
Speaker 1: that's where it can become a problem. But I'm not
Speaker 1: really all that worried about it, but I there I
Speaker 1: think it's important when you're having this conversation to talk
Speaker 1: about the positive sides of it. Okay, And this is
Speaker 1: something again you need to read that article that that
Speaker 1: Darius Soriano wrote the other day about this. You know,
Speaker 1: there's a reason why young teams don't win in the
Speaker 1: NBA in general, and it all has to do with
Speaker 1: veteran savvy. It's there's something that I pound this point
Speaker 1: home all the time on this podcast. Scar tissue builds
Speaker 1: up when when you lose, and that happens at every
Speaker 1: level of basketball, from the pros all the way down
Speaker 1: to you playing in your men's league in San Francisco
Speaker 1: or wherever it is that you live. Every time you
Speaker 1: lose a basketball game, a little bit of scar tissue forms,
Speaker 1: and you remember why you lost. Whether it was taking
Speaker 1: a bad shot, whether it was missing a box out,
Speaker 1: quitting on a rotation, uh not, sitting down in a
Speaker 1: defensive stance on a particular guy. I don't I don't
Speaker 1: care what it is. It builds up scar tissue. Every
Speaker 1: older basketball player you see is just completely covered in
Speaker 1: scar tissue from these losses. And so they are willing
Speaker 1: and able and wise enough to do all the things
Speaker 1: that they need to do to win these games. And
Speaker 1: the Lakers age in that regard is an asset, provided
Speaker 1: they don't wear down physically, which we just talked about.
Speaker 1: I don't think will be an issue in these big
Speaker 1: games at the end, when I've got Russ out there
Speaker 1: with someone like kemp Ay's Moore, with someone like Trevor Reza,
Speaker 1: or whether it's Wesley Matthews instead of Baysmore. But I've
Speaker 1: got Lebron and a d in the front court. All
Speaker 1: those guys know how how they need to win a game,
Speaker 1: and they're willing to do the things that other teams don't.
Speaker 1: They could be in a matchup with the Sons again,
Speaker 1: and you know Michaal Bridges, Cam Johnson, DeAndre Ayton, Devin Booker,
Speaker 1: they don't have the scar tissue. Devin Bookers lost one
Speaker 1: playoff series and so from in that regard, I I
Speaker 1: like having the older guys for that type of matchup
Speaker 1: so that you can win though all of those little
Speaker 1: things on the margins that are the difference between you
Speaker 1: being a first round exit and being a championship team. Yeah,
Speaker 1: for sure. I mean de book it lost one playoff series,
Speaker 1: but he's got a lot of losing in you know,
Speaker 1: the regulars all that. I can't imagine this car tissue
Speaker 1: that Chris Paul has kind of uh Man has gotten now, Um,
Speaker 1: it must be tough. But yeah, I agree with the
Speaker 1: experience should be there. I don't know if you remember this,
Speaker 1: but like there was a pre the first preseason game
Speaker 1: of the Lakers. It was against the Warriors. Um, I
Speaker 1: don't know if you remember this. It was their first game,
Speaker 1: the first It was the first game? Is this more?
Speaker 1: They tweeted out that considered this a warning that one.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if that was that one, but it
Speaker 1: might have been, but there was like a seriousness. There
Speaker 1: was like a seriousness, there was like a tone. Um.
Speaker 1: You could tell Lebron was in this like yeah, you
Speaker 1: guys said a lot of things over the summer, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, Like there was tones, like there
Speaker 1: was like a tone to Anthony Davis as well, like
Speaker 1: I heard all this stuff, um. So like I expect
Speaker 1: that this year as well. It wasn't there last year,
Speaker 1: and that's expected, you know what I mean, That first
Speaker 1: preason preseason game didn't have close to the like we
Speaker 1: need to prove something at all. But I feel like
Speaker 1: this year, and I think Russ as well, we'll have that.
Speaker 1: And again when you get these older guys, Carmelo's first
Speaker 1: chance to win a title, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: I think those things kind of buying as well, that
Speaker 1: you just can't get with a young squad. You can't
Speaker 1: buy that kind of um, that kind of drive, that
Speaker 1: kind of you know, that motivation, And I think we'll
Speaker 1: see that in the first game this year's well, similar
Speaker 1: to how we saw in um in that first game
Speaker 1: as well, just as just a tone of seriousness um
Speaker 1: to the year that I think we didn't get this
Speaker 1: year due to the circumstances. I agree, they're gonna be
Speaker 1: coming in angry, you know, wounded, but you know, coming
Speaker 1: off of that wounding season, they're gonna just be There's
Speaker 1: gonna be a sense of urgency that didn't even exist
Speaker 1: last year. Um. I think Anthony Davis has taken an
Speaker 1: absolute beating in the media, as he should. He had
Speaker 1: a rough year. Um, you know, I think it's important
Speaker 1: to point out injuries in the role they played with
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, But like, I also don't think that's the
Speaker 1: only reason he had a rough year, and I think
Speaker 1: it's okay to point that out. Yeah, I think you
Speaker 1: could be a fan of Anthony Davis and be knowledgeable
Speaker 1: of his ceiling and aware of what he's capable of doing.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, like, this is something that
Speaker 1: I've been hammering NonStop over the last six months, Like
Speaker 1: an injury like that doesn't make it so that when
Speaker 1: someone throws a swing pass and you're at the elbow
Speaker 1: you just give up on the rotation, or that every
Speaker 1: time you set a screen, instead of rolling to the
Speaker 1: rim hard, you just pop to the eighteen feet to
Speaker 1: ft because you know it's easier on your legs. Like
Speaker 1: at a certain point. There was a lack of urgency
Speaker 1: from Anthony Davis last year, even when he was healthy
Speaker 1: for the most part. Um, So I think he's heard
Speaker 1: all that, and I think he's aware of what he
Speaker 1: needs to do this year to change the uh the
Speaker 1: impression that he left. And I expect him to be
Speaker 1: to be really really good. I'm I'm with you. I
Speaker 1: expect I I expect this to be a a complete
Speaker 1: and utter like revenge season from the Lakers, just in
Speaker 1: their overall attitude and approach. Now, still things need to
Speaker 1: break right, They need to stay healthy. In general. You
Speaker 1: need a hope that some crazy buyout guy doesn't go
Speaker 1: to Brooklyn and swing the talent level too much or
Speaker 1: whatever it is. I don't know, but I just expect
Speaker 1: them to have a really really good mode vaded season
Speaker 1: and to and to come out and play really well.
Speaker 1: Um it's nineties. There anything else you wanted to touch
Speaker 1: on today before we get out of here. Yeah? Um,
Speaker 1: I have one more like questioning that I saved. Um.
Speaker 1: I'll ask you this because I'm interested in in your
Speaker 1: answer as well. So, um, add ease up three e's
Speaker 1: and then z u p um, Yes, do you think
Speaker 1: it's most important to get this team UM jelling offensively
Speaker 1: by activating a D rather than figure out one, two
Speaker 1: and three for Lebron a D and russ um. Should
Speaker 1: it be the two ball handlers mission to get a
Speaker 1: D going above everything else. So do you think a
Speaker 1: D should be the number one kind of priority option? Uh?
Speaker 1: So you will um to get this team that hit
Speaker 1: its ceilings. I think that's the main thing of this question.
Speaker 1: So for starters, I don't think people realize just how
Speaker 1: much a D at the five is going to help
Speaker 1: him offensively in general, in terms of the spacing. The
Speaker 1: example I'll give you is this, like, look at how
Speaker 1: many points guys like Christian would score as a center,
Speaker 1: or you know, Clint Capella as a center, or any
Speaker 1: anybody who plays in a five or four out one
Speaker 1: in system where they have a decently athletic, somewhat coordinated
Speaker 1: center who's rolling to the rim all the time, like
Speaker 1: they all those guys get like twenty and ten just
Speaker 1: by being out there. I think I think in general,
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis is poised to have a breakout season just
Speaker 1: by virtue of him playing in a four out one
Speaker 1: in system. As far as like forced feeding him. It
Speaker 1: makes a lot more sense to do it now in
Speaker 1: this spacing than it did last year. There's a lot
Speaker 1: of this where it's like, oh, we gotta get a
Speaker 1: D going, we gotta get a d D go and
Speaker 1: throw it down to him on the block, and then
Speaker 1: you throw it down to him on the block and
Speaker 1: there'll be no space for him to operate and he'd
Speaker 1: take another crazy fade away and it just was like
Speaker 1: one of those things where it's like I talked about
Speaker 1: with Kuzma all the time, it's hard to get a
Speaker 1: rhythm when you're taking tough shots. You need to attack
Speaker 1: your rhythm problem by getting higher quality shots. And I
Speaker 1: think I think a D is gonna get twenty and
Speaker 1: ten easy breezy just by being out there with Russe
Speaker 1: and Lebron, And then if you force feed him at all,
Speaker 1: he could be poised for an m v P type
Speaker 1: of season. You know, everyone thought last year that was
Speaker 1: what was going to happen. Lebron would take his foot
Speaker 1: off the gas, a D would step up, and it
Speaker 1: didn't happen. This is the year that makes the most
Speaker 1: sense because of russ in the playmaking role, Lebron actually
Speaker 1: can take a step back. I really do think part
Speaker 1: of the reason why Lebron was an MVP candidate last
Speaker 1: year was out of necessity. I think he showed up
Speaker 1: to camp and I think he started playing and he
Speaker 1: saw Anthony Davis wasn't in it, and I think I
Speaker 1: think he saw like, oh, they need me to do
Speaker 1: everything again, you know what I mean? And so uh,
Speaker 1: and I think that that's what he did. But well,
Speaker 1: I I actually think as he gets into the season,
Speaker 1: he's going to be able to coast in a way
Speaker 1: that he hasn't been able to in a really long time.
Speaker 1: And I if there was a year he may never
Speaker 1: do this, But if there was a year for Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis to stamp himself as one of those top tier guys,
Speaker 1: it's this one. This is the year where he can
Speaker 1: be the defensive player of the year as a five
Speaker 1: man and a guy who averages thirty three and sixteen
Speaker 1: like MBID tried to last year. Uh, this this is
Speaker 1: the year to do that. And I'm really excited to
Speaker 1: see what he's got. Yeah. And again, like basketball is
Speaker 1: not like a here, let's do option one ten times
Speaker 1: and let's do option to ten times, right, Like it's
Speaker 1: a flow free flalling game, free flowing game. Um what
Speaker 1: I would like to see more. You don't have to
Speaker 1: like four speed E D because I think the Lakers
Speaker 1: offense this last few years has been a lot of
Speaker 1: like what mispatch do we want to attack and then
Speaker 1: let's throw it into a D. In the post. People
Speaker 1: are begging for Lebron and a D pick and rolls,
Speaker 1: and the problem with that is, like usually the guy
Speaker 1: guarding Lebron usually kind of is good enough sized, respectfully
Speaker 1: to guard a D, so they'll just switch it. I
Speaker 1: would like to see a lot more like screen and
Speaker 1: roll like Russ. I think Russ is a perfect kind
Speaker 1: I thought it would be with Dennis Shouter. Dennis Shooter
Speaker 1: just could not score enough to like make that an
Speaker 1: a D. Obviously it wasn't him. He doesn't pass well
Speaker 1: enough either. Just see that staff that he threw one
Speaker 1: lab to a D last year in total in the
Speaker 1: entire season. No wait one, there was one lb from
Speaker 1: Dennis Shooter to to Anthony Davis in the entire season.
Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook had something crazy, was like he played like
Speaker 1: twelve games with Daniel Gafford at the end of the
Speaker 1: year and had like eight or something I can't remember
Speaker 1: the exact but Russ is an infinitely better passer than Dennis. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and Arruss is one of the best law passers in
Speaker 1: the game. To me, Like one of the things like
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to, was like a Russ a D
Speaker 1: pick and roll with Lebron cutting from the corner, Like
Speaker 1: I think you're gonna get a lot of lops from that.
Speaker 1: Russ used to do that to Jeremy Grant a bunch,
Speaker 1: Like Jeremy gran would cut from the corner on a
Speaker 1: Steven Adams picking and roll and get a bunch of lobs. Um.
Speaker 1: But yeah, like I would like to see a lot
Speaker 1: more screen and roll offense put into this, put in
Speaker 1: into our game. I think Russ can really kill with that,
Speaker 1: um having a screener like getting a D rolling he
Speaker 1: took he did a lot of Like he would set
Speaker 1: the screen and just stand at the free throw line
Speaker 1: or free throw line extended and take that little mid
Speaker 1: range jumper. And he's good at those at like a
Speaker 1: respectable rate. But he's like a generational role man, like
Speaker 1: a guy who can get to the basket. But that's
Speaker 1: what I want to see. You don't have to make
Speaker 1: this like a Who's option one, Who's option two? But
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously Lebron is gonna be option you know,
Speaker 1: A A one, A two most of the nights. But like,
Speaker 1: I just want to see a D kind of get
Speaker 1: more screen roll game because I think they can do
Speaker 1: that now, especially if he starts to five like you're
Speaker 1: predicting um, or even if Mark the Soul Stars. I
Speaker 1: think Mark is enough of a gravity kind of spacer
Speaker 1: to where you can make it, make it work a
Speaker 1: little more. But he has to be himself. He has
Speaker 1: to be Anthony Freak and Davis. He can't be you know,
Speaker 1: um flowing in and out of games, you know kind
Speaker 1: of And I don't think he will this year. I'm
Speaker 1: just saying, like that can't be it. Rust will let him.
Speaker 1: Russe will help with that too. By the way, that's
Speaker 1: very true. Yeah, Rust is a very much every night
Speaker 1: kind of guy. Russ does not take you know, games
Speaker 1: like any game lightly so. But yeah, that's why I
Speaker 1: want to see him. The whose options one, Option two,
Speaker 1: option three I think are kind of side things to it,
Speaker 1: But I just want to see more a D screen
Speaker 1: and roll and I think they can do that this year.
Speaker 1: You you and well, I'll just hit this really quick
Speaker 1: and then we'll get out of here. You bringing that
Speaker 1: up about the different positions in the way that it
Speaker 1: changes the way that the defense can even attack a
Speaker 1: pick and roll, that was really interesting and I'm glad
Speaker 1: you brought that up because you know you're going against
Speaker 1: their two biggest for defenders when you're playing Lebron and
Speaker 1: a D in his screen and roll, and you're right,
Speaker 1: they do usually switch it. It is extremely difficult to
Speaker 1: switch a Russ A D pick and roll because you're
Speaker 1: getting to really different defenders involved. Um. Also, Lebron and Ndy,
Speaker 1: we're running a lot of pick and roll with the
Speaker 1: center on the floor, so you're basically playing two on three.
Speaker 1: Especially considering the centers they had last year, we're not
Speaker 1: great vertical threats. Um that that brought any spacing in
Speaker 1: that regard. So I thought that was a really good
Speaker 1: point from you. And UH and yeah, I someone in
Speaker 1: our mentions here said, man, I just want the season
Speaker 1: to start, and I agree, and I'm very very excited.
Speaker 1: If there's one silver lining here, let's see, it is
Speaker 1: August six, the Lakers first preseason games, less than two
Speaker 1: months away, and UH training camp actually starts in the
Speaker 1: last few days of September, so we are very very close.
Speaker 1: And NBA season starting also means that Tucson gets less
Speaker 1: absurdly hot, so I'm very excited for that myself. But Roger,
Speaker 1: I really appreciate you taking the time and going a
Speaker 1: little bit longer for us today. We will do over
Speaker 1: the summer at some point a full mail bag pod
Speaker 1: so we can get to more of these questions. Um.
Speaker 1: But as always, guys, we really appreciate your support. I'll
Speaker 1: be tweeting out the full length podcast for those of
Speaker 1: you who missed it here in just a little bit.
Speaker 1: I hope you have a great weekend and we will
Speaker 1: see you next week. Thanks everyone,