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Speaker 2: All right, welcome to hoops tonight. You're at the volume.

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Speaker 2: Happy Monday, Everyboday. I hope all of you guys had

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Speaker 2: an incredible weekend. We got a very special guest, mister

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Speaker 2: Jovann Buja, returning to the show Laker fans. He's going

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Speaker 2: to be joining us at least for the next month

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Speaker 2: or so, about once a week to break down all

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Speaker 2: of the storylines surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers. For those

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Speaker 2: of you guys who are not Laker fans, we still

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Speaker 2: have another show coming out later today. We're gonna be

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Speaker 2: doing a power ranking video where we hit the top

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Speaker 2: ten teams in the league at this point, and then

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Speaker 2: we're also going to do a deep dive on the

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Speaker 2: Los Angeles Clippers, who are a royal ing shit show

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Speaker 2: right now, which will be fun to get into. But

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Speaker 2: we're gonna talk Lakers for a little bit right now.

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Speaker 2: Mister yovonn Bouja, It's very good to see you again.

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Speaker 2: A lot to get into today. Let's start with a

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Speaker 2: tweet that you sent out earlier today referring to Jared

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Speaker 2: Vanderbilt's impending return. You said that he's been cleared by

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Speaker 2: the medical staff to start ramping up. What else have

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Speaker 2: you heard surrounding that? And if you had to guess

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Speaker 2: a timeline on Vando's return, what would you put right now?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I'd be on the conservative side with Vanda looking

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Speaker 1: at one to two weeks right now. If I had

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Speaker 1: to target a return date, I'm looking at either the

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Speaker 1: twenty second or the twenty fifth, so around Thanksgiving. Because

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Speaker 1: you got to remember, he got injured during the first

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Speaker 1: preseason game, so he missed the entirety of the preseason.

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Speaker 1: He's missed the first ten games, is gonna miss again

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Speaker 1: at least I think a few more games, so that

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Speaker 1: ramp up process it's a pretty vague term. I think

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Speaker 1: the optimism there is that he's been cleared to start

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Speaker 1: to ramp up. But a ramp up can be a

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Speaker 1: few days, it can be a couple of weeks. So

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Speaker 1: I think with the injury luck that the Lakers have

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Speaker 1: had in recent seasons and the way that some of

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Speaker 1: these things have gone, I tend to be more on

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Speaker 1: the conservative end, So I'm looking at probably closer to

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Speaker 1: week and a half to two weeks before Van do

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Speaker 1: is back.

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Speaker 2: And they're gonna need him. It's funny because he was

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Speaker 2: probably their very best point of attack defender last year.

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Speaker 2: Andy average seven rebounds of the game last year, two

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Speaker 2: very specific issues that the Lakers were having trouble with,

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Speaker 2: and him coming back kind of solves a lot of

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Speaker 2: their regular season problems. It's funny. I always you got

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Speaker 2: to differentiate between regular season problems and playoff problems, and

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Speaker 2: does Van doos solve a lot of the big picture

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Speaker 2: problems with whatever the potential playoff ceiling is with the Lakers,

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Speaker 2: that's up for debate, but certainly, within the context of

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Speaker 2: the regular season, that dude fixes so many of their

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Speaker 2: problems it's not even funny. And I'm sure they'd like

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Speaker 2: to have him back. But that's not the only injured

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Speaker 2: Laker right now. Lebron James missed last night's game against

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Speaker 2: the Blazers with essentially what was referred to as like

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Speaker 2: kind of lingering issues with his shin injury that he

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Speaker 2: got with Kevin Durant. Do you think last night's rest

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Speaker 2: for Lebron was more a proactive like kind of like

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Speaker 2: just trying to find days off for him, or do

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Speaker 2: you think he's actually dealing with some sort of issue

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Speaker 2: in that shin.

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Speaker 1: From my understanding, it is a proactive situation where the

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Speaker 1: Lakers are just trying to be precautionary Lebron. I mean,

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Speaker 1: remember we got to go back to Opening night where

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Speaker 1: Lebron plays twenty nine minutes against the Nuggets. Everybody's freaking out,

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Speaker 1: why did he play so a few minutes? And Darvin Ham,

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Speaker 1: you know, mentions this minutes restriction that they're gonna try

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Speaker 1: and keep him playing twenty eight to thirty minutes a night,

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Speaker 1: but since then that has gone out the window. Lebron

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Speaker 1: has played thirty two or more minutes in every game

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Speaker 1: except for the Houston game, which was a thirty four

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Speaker 1: point blowout loss. He played twenty seven minutes in that game.

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Speaker 1: So if you look at the workload, the Lakers have

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Speaker 1: had to rely on Lebron a lot more than I

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Speaker 1: think they initially anticipated, in part due to injuries, due

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Speaker 1: to several players underperforming offensively, and really just the offense

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Speaker 1: cratering when he's not on the floor. So I think

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Speaker 1: they viewed this opportunity against Portland and you know, already

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Speaker 1: a lot team that looks like a lottery team, but

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Speaker 1: then you add in Scoot Henderson's out, Anthony Simons is out,

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Speaker 1: Robert Williams is out. So that was a game that

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Speaker 1: the Lakers identified as we should still be able to

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Speaker 1: beat this team even if Lebron isn't playing, and it

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Speaker 1: was pretty close that they almost didn't escape with the win,

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Speaker 1: but they ended up winning the game. Lebron got some

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Speaker 1: rest and now he's got a couple of days off

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Speaker 1: until they have a tough back to back against Memphis

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Speaker 1: and Sacramento.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's interesting because if he was dealing with some

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Speaker 2: sort of lingering thing from the shin, I don't think

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Speaker 2: he would have looked as good as he did down

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Speaker 2: the stretch against the Suns, Like he more or less

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Speaker 2: looked like Lebron in the second half of that game.

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Speaker 2: So I'm not really concerned about it in the big picture.

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Speaker 2: The reality is that in the modern NBA, there's just

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Speaker 2: not a lot of nights that you circle as like, hey,

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Speaker 2: maybe we can get this one without Lebron, and like

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Speaker 2: that was literally the perfect one if you really, like,

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Speaker 2: kind of after a game where he's particularly a sore

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Speaker 2: and before an important n Sason tournament game and a

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Speaker 2: back to back, like it just kind of seemed like

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Speaker 2: the perfect circumstances. I wasn't even the slightest bit worried

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Speaker 2: about it when I saw that news. The biggest story

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Speaker 2: surrounding the Lakers this past week was Austin Reeves being

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Speaker 2: moved to the bench, a move that I thought, you know, was,

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Speaker 2: at least the motivation behind it made sense in the

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Speaker 2: sense that like the Lakers starting lineup was struggling consistently,

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Speaker 2: and the backcourt in particular, was a driving force behind

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Speaker 2: those struggles.

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Speaker 3: But the.

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Speaker 2: Team is kind of pitching it as like he's our

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Speaker 2: Manu Genoa. Believe shout out to Logan Swayin had of

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Speaker 2: content here at the volume you basically coined that term,

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Speaker 2: but like it's being portrayed as essentially this big picture

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Speaker 2: san Antonio spurs, We're gonna empower him the way we

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Speaker 2: did Manu kind of thing. But what have you heard

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Speaker 2: behind the scenes behind like the reasoning behind moving Austin,

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Speaker 2: whether or not it's a permanent thing or a temporary thing,

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Speaker 2: and just how he and some other people in the

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Speaker 2: locker might have reacted to that change.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I was very surprised by it, and in

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Speaker 1: speaking with people around the team, a lot of.

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Speaker 3: People were surprised by it.

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Speaker 1: It seems like it was a decision that Darvin Ham

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Speaker 1: kind of kept close to the vest and really tight

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Speaker 1: within his coaching staff, and he made the decision after

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Speaker 1: the Houston game, you know, as they were heading over

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Speaker 1: to Phoenix, you met with Chris gent, one of his

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Speaker 1: lead assistants, and they kind of talked it through, came

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Speaker 1: to that decision, and then he and Austin met up

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Speaker 1: in Phoenix at the hotel, had about a thirty minute

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Speaker 1: conversation and kind of talk through it, and I think

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Speaker 1: the Lakers, if you look at it now, like the

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Speaker 1: Lakers are kind of doing a half measure where they

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Speaker 1: clearly had to split up D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reeves.

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Speaker 1: That back court just was not working if you look

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Speaker 1: at all the lineup data and just the eye tests,

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Speaker 1: like those two guys have such similar strengths and weaknesses,

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Speaker 1: and you know, I think a lot of the problems

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Speaker 1: that they were having defensively and on the defensive glass

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Speaker 1: in particular, kind of stemmed from just having Austin and

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Speaker 1: Delo out there and those guys not really being able to,

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Speaker 1: you know, hit guys in the paint or rotate the

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Speaker 1: proper rotate properly or whatnot.

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Speaker 3: So I think they had to split that back court up.

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Speaker 1: But it's kind of a half measure in my opinion,

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Speaker 1: just because if you look at it, Delo has been

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Speaker 1: starting games, but Austin's been closing, And to me, it's

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Speaker 1: like you're trying to keep both sides happy, where you're like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: Delo has been a starter his entire career. We're going

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Speaker 1: to keep him in the starting group. Austin, you're gonna

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Speaker 1: come off the bench, but now you're going to close games.

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Speaker 1: So in the Phoenix game, Austin played the entirety of

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Speaker 1: the fourth quarter, Delo didn't play. Then in the Portland game,

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Speaker 1: Austin checked in at the five minute mark for del

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Speaker 1: Delo sat the rest of that. So on the one hand,

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Speaker 1: you're still seeing that, you know, actions speak louder than words,

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Speaker 1: and the Lakers are saying we trust Austin running the

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Speaker 1: offense and crunch time more than we trust Delo, and

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Speaker 1: that kind of shows their commitment and confidence to Austin.

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Speaker 1: But to me, it's it's still like, if you had

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Speaker 1: to split them up, I would go with the guy

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Speaker 1: who's better, who's your third best player, who's been better

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Speaker 1: over the entirety of kind of this tandem together, who

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Speaker 1: is better in the playoffs, who Darvin Ham said as

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Speaker 1: a future All Star, Like, I just don't really see

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Speaker 1: trying to split it up this way where you're trying

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Speaker 1: to keep Delo happy by keeping him the starter, But

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Speaker 1: it's almost kind of this token starter position where when

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Speaker 1: it comes down to crunch time, you're gonna still split

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Speaker 1: them up.

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Speaker 3: And you're going to lean towards Austin.

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Speaker 1: So I think, you know, also from talking to people,

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Speaker 1: there was a sense that Austin would take a benching

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Speaker 1: better than Delo would and that, you know, this was

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Speaker 1: a concern the Lakers had in the Western Conference Finals

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Speaker 1: against Denver, where Delo was kind of unplayable on both

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Speaker 1: sides of the ball, and it took till game four

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Speaker 1: for them to really feel comfortable benching him and just saying, hey,

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Speaker 1: like this is our last resort. If he doesn't take it, well,

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Speaker 1: we're about to get swept anyway. So I think that

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Speaker 1: was another sense too, was that Austin's a good soldier.

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Speaker 1: You know, he stayed professional throughout discussing the demotion. I

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Speaker 1: know they're calling it a realignment, calling it a demotion,

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Speaker 1: and you know, so I think that was another sense too,

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Speaker 1: was Dilo has been playing slightly better.

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Speaker 3: I think that gap is shrinking. But it was also kind.

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Speaker 1: Of politically trying to figure out how can we keep

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Speaker 1: both sides happy, and so far it's been Delo starting

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Speaker 1: and Austin closing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that that's what's so funny about the

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Speaker 2: manor Genobili thing is like the important context to why

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Speaker 2: Manor Genobli came off the bench was Tony Parker was

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Speaker 2: a better player than him, Like that, Tony Parker was

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Speaker 2: second team All NBA. Tony Parker was a guy that was,

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Speaker 2: you know, essentially just a better option in the starting

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Speaker 2: lineup than Austin Reeves was. Now, I think there's there's

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Speaker 2: it's it's it's important to acknowledge that that's probably the

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Speaker 2: reason that Austin's younger doesn't have his you know, obviously

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Speaker 2: doesn't have the pedigree that D'Angelo Russell did coming out

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Speaker 2: of college. Obviously it was this you know, big time

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Speaker 2: score out of Ohio State. It was a lottery pick.

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Speaker 2: It's a totally different vibe in terms of their kind

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Speaker 2: of like ego that they're bringing into the situation, right,

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Speaker 2: and I think that that obviously is going to natural

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Speaker 2: make Austin kind of an easier target there for lack

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Speaker 2: of a better term. Now, I do think that there's

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Speaker 2: it's important to acknowledge why this isn't working because more

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Speaker 2: or less, these two guys were the back court last

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Speaker 2: year and it didn't seem like a problem until they

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Speaker 2: ran into that Denver matchup, and you know, you and

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Speaker 2: I talked about this after Media Day, and I think

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Speaker 2: it's it's safe to say that the Del Austin backcourt

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Speaker 2: was destined to be broken up at the deadline because

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Speaker 2: of that Denver series and the realities of the limitations

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Speaker 2: of those two as a top tier like playoff duo

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Speaker 2: in the back court. But they should have been fine

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Speaker 2: in the regular season, and so let's like there's a

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Speaker 2: reason why it hasn't been working out, And I think

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Speaker 2: I think a big part of it is, like Austin

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Speaker 2: hasn't been as good defensively as he was last year.

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Speaker 2: Now there's there's context there, like he's in general been

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Speaker 2: in a little bit of a funk to start the season.

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Speaker 2: He had a really long off season with a lot

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Speaker 2: of mileage on his legs, And maybe it's one of

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Speaker 2: those things where like as the season progresses, he'll get

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Speaker 2: back into better shape. But he hasn't been as good.

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Speaker 2: He hasn't been as good on the glass, he hasn't

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Speaker 2: been as good at the point of attack, he hasn't

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Speaker 2: been as good in his rotations. He just hasn't been

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Speaker 2: as good as he was last year. Now, I don't

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Speaker 2: think basketball players just magically get bad at basketball overnight

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Speaker 2: like that. I think he's just dealing with some stuff

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Speaker 2: and he will be fine, but that duo won't be

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Speaker 2: able to play together in the regular season until you know,

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Speaker 2: the two of them kind of start holding up better there.

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Speaker 2: I do think Vanderbilt coming back helps a lot in

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Speaker 2: the sense that he kind of takes on a lot

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Speaker 2: of the dirty work responsibilities that you expect from the

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Speaker 2: back court. He is a primary point of attack guy,

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Speaker 2: excellent defensive rebounder in a way that Torreon Prince is not.

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Speaker 2: So that's the next question here. When Vando comes back,

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Speaker 2: do you think Austin goes back into the starting lineup

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Speaker 2: at that point or do you think they slot Torrian

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Speaker 2: Prince at the two. What do you think is going

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Speaker 2: to be the look when Vando comes back.

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Speaker 3: My understanding is it's TBD right now.

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Speaker 1: I think the Lakers are still in evaluation period with

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Speaker 1: how they view Austin coming off the beat be first starting.

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Speaker 1: I do expect Vando to go back into the starting group.

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Speaker 1: I think he'll start over either Ham or Torrian, which

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Speaker 1: is kind of a crazy statement to make with the

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Speaker 1: way that Cam has come on these last two games

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Speaker 1: in particular, but I think it's been about three or

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Speaker 1: four games now that he started to play better, even

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Speaker 1: if his shot hasn't been reliable. But so right now,

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Speaker 1: I would Peggett as Delo, probably Torrian Vando lebron in

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Speaker 1: Ady as the projected starting lineup once Vando is back,

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Speaker 1: But a lot of things could change, Like I think

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Speaker 1: Torrion hasn't shot the ball well. He's shooting thirty one

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Speaker 1: point four percent on threes this season. That was a

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Speaker 1: guy that coming in what was a near forty percent

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Speaker 1: career three point shooter. So if he continues to struggle,

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Speaker 1: I think he probably has to move to the bench.

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Speaker 1: And then you know, who knows, maybe Vando is the

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Speaker 1: guy that you know. I was talking to someone this

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Speaker 1: morning and they were saying, maybe Vando is that the

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Speaker 1: kind of the bridge to making the Austin Delo back

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Speaker 1: court work again. Where he handles the top perimeter assignments.

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Speaker 1: He gives you that energy and athleticism and length in

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Speaker 1: the front court, you know, a good defensive rebounder and

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Speaker 1: just someone who I mean we saw at work in

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Speaker 1: the regular season where that five sume was really good

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Speaker 1: together and I think they were about plus ten or

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Speaker 1: or plus eleven points per one hundred possessions off the

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Speaker 1: top of my head, so I think Vando. I mean again,

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Speaker 1: we'll see when he returns, We'll see how guys are

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Speaker 1: playing up until that point. But I mean, so far,

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Speaker 1: the Lakers are two and zero with Austin coming off

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Speaker 1: the bench. I think he has played well in that role.

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Speaker 1: Cam has played well in the starting group. But I

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Speaker 1: think longer term and just big picture, as you were

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Speaker 1: hinting at, if D'Angelo Russell isn't here past the trade deadline,

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Speaker 1: then this is all kind of for not where now

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Speaker 1: you're gonna have to I mean, I assume if you're

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Speaker 1: trading Delo, you're probably moving Austin back into the starting lineup.

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Speaker 1: So it's like, I mean, Austin is the guy who's

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Speaker 1: signed for three more seasons.

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Speaker 3: He's gonna be.

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Speaker 1: Here past the trade deadline in LA. Like I just

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Speaker 1: I think it's a mistake benching him personally. I just

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Speaker 1: I understand the logic behind it, but I disagree with it,

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Speaker 1: and I know several people within the team disagree with it,

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Speaker 1: and I don't know.

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Speaker 3: I think they're an interesting spot with it.

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Speaker 1: But I think Bando is going to go back to starting,

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Speaker 1: and it comes down to probably Torrian or cam for

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Speaker 1: the fifth starter.

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Speaker 2: As of right now, I've kind of liked the big

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Speaker 2: looks in general when Torrian's been at the two or

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Speaker 2: Camrad has just been at the two. I think in

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Speaker 2: the big picture, that's kind of what the team looks

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Speaker 2: like is basically Torrian at the two plus whatever player

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Speaker 2: they get back for d Lo, or maybe Torrian at

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Speaker 2: the three with whatever player they get back from Delo

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Speaker 2: if it's a guard. But like that kind of to me.

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Speaker 2: I mentioned this to you in a text message the

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Speaker 2: other day, and I think it's the truth. But like

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Speaker 2: when you look at this Austin situation, when you look

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Speaker 2: at in general, just the way that the starting lineup

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Speaker 2: has looked when you go back to the Denver Nuggets series.

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Speaker 2: We kind of said this on media, but I feel

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Speaker 2: more certain about it now. I think D'Angelo Russell getting

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Speaker 2: traded is one of the safest bets in the NBA

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Speaker 2: this season. It's a simple question of like if you

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Speaker 2: can't play him alongside your third best player in the

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Speaker 2: back court and you have to bring him off the bench,

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Speaker 2: and if you look at the lineup data and it's

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Speaker 2: like whenever one of them's on but the others off

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Speaker 2: is literally when the team has been playing at their best,

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Speaker 2: like and that goes for both of them. Even the

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Speaker 2: d Lo led units without Austin have been really good,

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Speaker 2: so like, it's pretty clear that that's the direction that

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Speaker 2: they're going. So I guess my question for you is

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Speaker 2: it does have you heard anything coming from the Laker

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Speaker 2: front office that they are as aware of this issue

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Speaker 2: and that they also see that as the inevitable destination.

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Speaker 2: And if so, do you know what archetype of player

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Speaker 2: that they're looking at? Are they looking for like big fish?

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Speaker 2: And we saw that report come out the other day

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Speaker 2: that the Lakers might be looking at a star or

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Speaker 2: do you think they're looking at more a higher quality

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Speaker 2: role player upgrade for that to two or three spot.

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Speaker 1: It's been pretty quiet on the trade front, I think

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Speaker 1: since the beginning of camp. But when they re signed

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Speaker 1: d Lo and it came out that he had declined

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Speaker 1: his basically his no trade clause, you know, part of

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Speaker 1: a little CBA wrinkle. When you sign a one plus

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Speaker 1: one with a player option, you traditionally get a no

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Speaker 1: trade clause for you know, that first year and with

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Speaker 1: the new CBA. They tweaked it where you know, you

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Speaker 1: could decline that, and I think the Lakers and dal

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Speaker 1: kind of came to an agreement of we're going to

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Speaker 1: give you more than you could get on the open market,

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Speaker 1: because I don't think he had much of a market

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Speaker 1: this offseason, and had he left the Lakers, he probably

379
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Speaker 1: would have had to sign for the full mid level exception,

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Speaker 1: which would have been about twelve twelve and a half

381
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Speaker 1: million dollars starting out.

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Speaker 3: So Lakers decided, hey, we're going to give you some

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Speaker 3: more money.

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Speaker 1: We're going to give you seventeen and a half over

385
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Speaker 1: two years, or you know, seventeen and a half annually

386
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Speaker 1: over two years, and then you're going to waive this

387
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Speaker 1: so we can trade you at the trade deadline if

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Speaker 1: we find the right move. So I don't think they're

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Speaker 1: fully committed to trading Delo. I think there is a

390
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Speaker 1: scenario in which they figure this out, it works really well,

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Speaker 1: and they just decide to ride it. And like, I think,

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Speaker 1: really this was an opportunity for them to move him

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Speaker 1: to a bench role potentially where it could have just

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Speaker 1: been like Austin's the starting point guard, Delo is the

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Speaker 1: sixth man and I think that would kind of make

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Speaker 1: more sense in a playoff setting where if you're playing

397
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Speaker 1: Denver and you have Delo coming off the bench, like

398
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Speaker 1: he can play twelve to fifteen minutes if he's not

399
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Speaker 1: playing that well. But it's harder to do that if

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Speaker 1: he's the starter and Austin is.

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Speaker 3: Coming off the bench.

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Speaker 1: So I again, that's where I don't really I feel

403
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Speaker 1: like there's a bit of a cognitive dissonance there with

404
00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,919
Speaker 1: the benching of Austin when it feels like a temporary measure.

405
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Speaker 1: But in terms of guys that they're looking at, I

406
00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:55,240
Speaker 1: think the Kyrie rumor is going to pop up again

407
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:56,440
Speaker 1: come trade deadline.

408
00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:56,760
Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 1: Dallas is off to a great start. They're eight and two,

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Speaker 1: so I don't see why they would trade Kyrie. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you know, and that probably looks like something like Dilo

412
00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,919
Speaker 1: and Ruey and a pick for Kyrie. And I don't know, like,

413
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Speaker 1: I don't see why Dallas does that right now unless

414
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Speaker 1: they start struggling, and then I think there's gonna be

415
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Speaker 1: a Chicago fire sale.

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Speaker 3: So you know, Alex Cruso is obviously a Laker.

417
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Speaker 1: Favorite, but Zach Lavine, de Marta rose In those have

418
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Speaker 1: been two guys the Lakers have been interested, have been

419
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Speaker 1: interested in for several seasons, now you know Damar, even

420
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Speaker 1: going back to the Toronto days, but but also in

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Speaker 1: San Antonio. So I look at those maybe one of

422
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Speaker 1: those three as a target for LA come the trade

423
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Speaker 1: deadline or maybe sooner, depending on when Chicago decides to

424
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Speaker 1: blow it up. So I think Kyrie will come up again,

425
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Speaker 1: depending on what happens with Dallas. But I think if

426
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Speaker 1: Chicago has a fire sale, I think the Lakers are

427
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Speaker 1: going to be calling them and trying to get in

428
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Speaker 1: that mix.

429
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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a way different set of circumstances because last

430
00:20:57,880 --> 00:20:59,760
Speaker 2: year it was like they needed to make a trade

431
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Speaker 2: just to be competent in the regular season, and like

432
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Speaker 2: the Russell Westbrook situation was tenuous. There was bad body language,

433
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Speaker 2: there was you know, all of these like Zapruder film

434
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Speaker 2: type things where like people's like, oh, look, Russ gave

435
00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,159
Speaker 2: a weird look to Lebron across the arena or whatever,

436
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:16,000
Speaker 2: you know, like.

437
00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,200
Speaker 3: That sort of something with some of the dynamics to

438
00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:19,960
Speaker 3: each other exactly.

439
00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:21,720
Speaker 2: And so, and then there was that weird clip the

440
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,000
Speaker 2: other day where before the tip off of the Clippers game,

441
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,280
Speaker 2: he was kind of like avoiding the hello handshakes at

442
00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:27,840
Speaker 2: the at the start, and like that's the thing. Like

443
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,720
Speaker 2: it was just a totally different vibe. And that's the thing. Like,

444
00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,159
Speaker 2: the Lakers are not a bad team right now in

445
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,919
Speaker 2: the big picture of the of this of this regular season.

446
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:38,760
Speaker 2: So it's not like, oh, my gosh, they need to

447
00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:40,320
Speaker 2: make a trade. They need to make a trade. It's

448
00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:42,680
Speaker 2: just it's inevitable that they're going to. Like, there are

449
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,440
Speaker 2: three teams this year that I look at as really

450
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,640
Speaker 2: high probabilities to make a trade, even though they're already good,

451
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,480
Speaker 2: like the Lakers. I think the Milwaukee Bucks, same type

452
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:55,000
Speaker 2: of thing, need to upgrade that two spot in some

453
00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:59,359
Speaker 2: way shape or form into a rotation level like starting level, defensive,

454
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,000
Speaker 2: rebounding guard right. And then the Philadelphia seventy six ers.

455
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,160
Speaker 2: I think they know they're a good regular season team,

456
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,600
Speaker 2: but I think they know they probably need one upgrade

457
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,199
Speaker 2: if they're gonna have any chance of contending with the

458
00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:12,000
Speaker 2: with the Bucks and the Celtics and the big picture

459
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,359
Speaker 2: in the playoffs because of the inevitable playoff shortcomings that

460
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,520
Speaker 2: Joel Embiide has, right, So it's important to differentiate here.

461
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:19,639
Speaker 2: Jovan and I are not saying like the Lakers need

462
00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:21,760
Speaker 2: to make some big trade because it's like all hell

463
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:26,080
Speaker 2: is breaking loose. This is just big picture playoff ceiling stuff.

464
00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:30,280
Speaker 2: I think the Cruso Derozen package is one that I

465
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,600
Speaker 2: find interesting. You know, I really like Rui Hachimura, but

466
00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,120
Speaker 2: he kind of falls into a similar space with Dlo

467
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,640
Speaker 2: where like there's some issues with specific playoff matchups where

468
00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:43,359
Speaker 2: it's like, because Ruy basically plays the same position as Lebron,

469
00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:45,720
Speaker 2: there are certain matchups where you're like, oh man, we

470
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,560
Speaker 2: really need him Memphis and Denver, right, and then there's

471
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:50,639
Speaker 2: another matchup against Golden State where you're like, yeah, we

472
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,720
Speaker 2: can't really use him in this series, you know what

473
00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:56,120
Speaker 2: I mean. And that kind of inherently makes him somebody

474
00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:58,760
Speaker 2: that you start to look at. Is if the target

475
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,440
Speaker 2: package required more salary filler, you've probably consider him there,

476
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:04,320
Speaker 2: even though he's a great player. The other guy I

477
00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,000
Speaker 2: was looking at was Dorian Finney Smith with the Brooklyn Nets.

478
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:08,800
Speaker 2: I like him as an option that you could get

479
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,080
Speaker 2: without having to include Ruy Hotcha Mura that basically brings

480
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 2: in a good catch and shoot player that can guard

481
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,639
Speaker 2: at the point of attack, just basically like a better

482
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,520
Speaker 2: version of Torrian prints at the three that you can

483
00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,480
Speaker 2: go to in those specific situations. But I think I

484
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,600
Speaker 2: do think it's going to happen. It's just a question

485
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,679
Speaker 2: of what they intend to go after it, and I

486
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:32,960
Speaker 2: think going after a star would be a huge mistake.

487
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:37,040
Speaker 2: I think Lebron looks great. I think that the late

488
00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,679
Speaker 2: game offense has been excellent. I don't see the need

489
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,239
Speaker 2: for a star more than I see the need for

490
00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,120
Speaker 2: just upgrades at very specific position groups with the role players.

491
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:52,160
Speaker 2: So as we move on to kind of talking more

492
00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,320
Speaker 2: x's and o's, let's do a quick little rundown on

493
00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:56,600
Speaker 2: how the season started. Lakers five and five, seventh in

494
00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:00,520
Speaker 2: the Western Conference right now, twenty third in offense, second

495
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,679
Speaker 2: in defense, twenty fifth in rebounding. They're grabbing just forty

496
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:07,840
Speaker 2: seven point four percent of available rebounds. Once again last

497
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,080
Speaker 2: night in the in the Blazers games, just way too

498
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,920
Speaker 2: many long rebounds that in fifty to fifty balls that

499
00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,639
Speaker 2: are going to the other team. Another kind of concerning

500
00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,520
Speaker 2: stat in the standings, the Lakers are one in five

501
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,080
Speaker 2: against teams that are five hundred or better, but they

502
00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:24,199
Speaker 2: are four to h against below five hundred teams. So

503
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:25,960
Speaker 2: as we move into the second portion of the show,

504
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:27,960
Speaker 2: what we're gonna do is Jovanna and I are going

505
00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:30,679
Speaker 2: to go over the biggest flaws that we see with

506
00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,920
Speaker 2: this particular team so far through ten games. We're gonna

507
00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:35,240
Speaker 2: go one out of time, Yovan, So I want you

508
00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:37,320
Speaker 2: to give me the first item on your list of

509
00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:39,040
Speaker 2: the biggest flaws with this team. Will kind of break

510
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:39,760
Speaker 2: it down from there.

511
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:45,840
Speaker 3: Well. In flashing red bright lights, three point shooting.

512
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:50,280
Speaker 1: And it's funny because on paper, I think many people

513
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:54,080
Speaker 1: expected this to be the best three point shooting supporting

514
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,400
Speaker 1: cast that the Lakers have had in the Lebron eighty era.

515
00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,480
Speaker 1: And you add Christian Wood, you add Tori Prince, you

516
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:05,439
Speaker 1: had Gabe Vincent, but the Lakers. You might have to

517
00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:09,120
Speaker 1: cover your ears, folks, But twenty ninth in three point makes,

518
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,359
Speaker 1: thirtieth in three point attempts and twenty ninth in three

519
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,040
Speaker 1: point percentage. So they're a bottom two three point shooting team.

520
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,320
Speaker 1: And I don't care. You know, they can fix some

521
00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:22,960
Speaker 1: of these other issues that they have, but if they're

522
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,800
Speaker 1: a bottom two three point shooting team, they're not gonna

523
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:29,679
Speaker 1: win a championship, let alone. Potentially a playoff series with

524
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:31,880
Speaker 1: their current level of shooting, and of course we've seen

525
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,119
Speaker 1: the last couple of years they've gotten out to slow

526
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,040
Speaker 1: starts from a shooting perspective, So they're going to shoot better.

527
00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:41,560
Speaker 1: It's kind of inevitable. But you know what once that

528
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,680
Speaker 1: that I have constantly referenced over the last two years

529
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:48,879
Speaker 1: that I think matters in the modern MBA is that

530
00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,560
Speaker 1: since twenty eleven, which is an arbitrary delineation, but for me,

531
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,040
Speaker 1: is kind of when the shift started to small ball

532
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,840
Speaker 1: and you know, heavy three point shooting offenses. So starting

533
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:04,080
Speaker 1: with Dallas Mavericks group, every champion has ranked in the

534
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:07,679
Speaker 1: top ten in three point makes attempts or percentage at

535
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:11,199
Speaker 1: least one of those three, often two of those, and

536
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,520
Speaker 1: sometimes even three of those with some of those Warriors

537
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:17,520
Speaker 1: teams that the Cavs teams. So three point shooting, I mean,

538
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,440
Speaker 1: I'm not breaking news here, but like is a very

539
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,639
Speaker 1: important thing in the modern era. And I don't think

540
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,720
Speaker 1: it's good enough for the Lakers to be fifteenth or

541
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,639
Speaker 1: eighteenth in some of those categories, Like they got to

542
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,520
Speaker 1: be close to the top ten at least in one

543
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:35,640
Speaker 1: of them. And so you know, the one exception over

544
00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:38,680
Speaker 1: the last thirteen years has been the twenty twenty Lakers,

545
00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,120
Speaker 1: but that team had the best defense in the league

546
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,320
Speaker 1: and two top five, if not top three guys, So

547
00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:47,760
Speaker 1: the Lakers have kind of defied that. I guess they

548
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:49,959
Speaker 1: have a recent history of that. But to me, this

549
00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,320
Speaker 1: group has to shoot much better than they have and

550
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:56,720
Speaker 1: barring you know, them making a trade that really upgrades

551
00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:59,800
Speaker 1: the shooting, I think this is an issue that like, again,

552
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,359
Speaker 1: they're going to shoot better. Maybe they're in the top twenty,

553
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:04,080
Speaker 1: maybe are in the top eighteen in some of these

554
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,560
Speaker 1: you know categories, but for them to be top or

555
00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:11,160
Speaker 1: bottom two in percentage really attempts is the one where

556
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,240
Speaker 1: like you can control your attempts, you can't control your makes,

557
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:15,400
Speaker 1: you can't control your percentage.

558
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:17,719
Speaker 3: But like, they should be shooting more threes than they are.

559
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:20,080
Speaker 1: I know part of that is due to them not

560
00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,320
Speaker 1: shooting well, but I just look at it as like

561
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,240
Speaker 1: the process isn't correct either, where like you got to

562
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,760
Speaker 1: shoot more threes, and I think that's something that they

563
00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:31,240
Speaker 1: have to address first with Darvin's offense and just kind

564
00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:33,800
Speaker 1: of the style of play that they're playing, but potentially

565
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,440
Speaker 1: at the trade deadline, like, I think this group probably

566
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:37,199
Speaker 1: needs some more shooting.

567
00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:39,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, those two pieces at the end are are are

568
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,000
Speaker 2: going to be the interesting, you know, progression of the season,

569
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:44,439
Speaker 2: whether or not they make some sort of change in

570
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:46,280
Speaker 2: the offense and whether or not a trade ends up

571
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,840
Speaker 2: actually kind of beefing up their ability to generate quality

572
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,159
Speaker 2: threes because the real problem, in my opinion, is that

573
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:56,240
Speaker 2: they're not generating quality threes. The Lakers attempt just fourteen

574
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,360
Speaker 2: point one wide open threes per game, which is where

575
00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,160
Speaker 2: the defenders at least six feet away, and that ranks

576
00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:04,480
Speaker 2: twenty ninth in the NBA. And like when you when

577
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:07,399
Speaker 2: you look at the shooting percentages, like there are a

578
00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:10,520
Speaker 2: few guys that are shooting around their career norms like

579
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,719
Speaker 2: Christian Wood, Ruby Hatchamuri Lebron, James cam Reddish. Those are

580
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,640
Speaker 2: those guys are all shooting about what you'd expect. None

581
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:18,880
Speaker 2: of them are shooting better than you'd expect, but they're

582
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:21,200
Speaker 2: all shooting about what you'd expect. But then a lot

583
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,520
Speaker 2: of they're like like historically good shooters are shooting Portland,

584
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:27,120
Speaker 2: like Austin Reeves thirty two percent from three this year.

585
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,520
Speaker 2: He was forty percent last year. Forty four percent in

586
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,439
Speaker 2: the playoffs. Dangel Russell twenty nine percent. He was forty

587
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,240
Speaker 2: one percent last year. Torrian Prince, he's a career thirty

588
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,080
Speaker 2: seven percent, and he's shooting thirty one percent this year.

589
00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,880
Speaker 2: Max Christie's one for ten on the season. He was

590
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:44,800
Speaker 2: forty two percent last year. Gabe Vincent one for fourteen

591
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,640
Speaker 2: on the season. He was thirty eight percent last year.

592
00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,400
Speaker 2: So do I expect some guys to start making shots

593
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:51,960
Speaker 2: that they've been missing so far this season?

594
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:53,960
Speaker 3: Yeah, the process plays a role.

595
00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:55,240
Speaker 2: And so this is where I wanted to ask you

596
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,719
Speaker 2: about the offense because essentially one of the big one

597
00:28:57,720 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 2: of the big storylines kind of surrounding the team this

598
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:03,320
Speaker 2: they've gone away from their spread, pick and roll, spread

599
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:05,760
Speaker 2: post up type of offense, kind of a brute force

600
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,800
Speaker 2: type of offense that they ran last year, and they're

601
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,040
Speaker 2: running more of like a five out read and react

602
00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:13,360
Speaker 2: kind of like dribble handoff, like multiple players, multiple actions,

603
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:16,000
Speaker 2: lots of motion taking place on the floor, and it

604
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:20,400
Speaker 2: seems to have specifically disrupt disrupted their spacing and pick

605
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:22,200
Speaker 2: and roll like it just seems like guys are getting

606
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,120
Speaker 2: in each other's way and they're just a little Now

607
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:26,760
Speaker 2: it's gotten better over the course of the last few games.

608
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:28,960
Speaker 2: They have gone back to a little bit more of

609
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:30,800
Speaker 2: the spread, pick and roll stuff they did last year.

610
00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,560
Speaker 2: Have you heard, because I do think that that plays

611
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:37,040
Speaker 2: a role in the three point shooting. I think people

612
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,800
Speaker 2: get in trouble when they start to expect, like, oh,

613
00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:42,320
Speaker 2: we'll eventually start making shots. It's like, yeah, there's a

614
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,640
Speaker 2: luck element in shooting, but there's a huge process element

615
00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:48,480
Speaker 2: in shooting, in my opinion. So have you heard any

616
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:54,120
Speaker 2: buzz surrounding any sort of discontent within the locker room

617
00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:56,760
Speaker 2: surrounding the offensive approach to this point in the season.

618
00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:01,200
Speaker 1: No, but I think there's a healthy level of frustration

619
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:05,320
Speaker 1: with the results. I think naturally, you know, they don't

620
00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:09,280
Speaker 1: want to be twenty second in offense, and they don't

621
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:12,800
Speaker 1: want to be again twenty ninth in three point shooting percentage,

622
00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:15,600
Speaker 1: Like that's not what they came into. Like, if anything,

623
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:19,400
Speaker 1: on paper, this group looked better offensively than defensively, and

624
00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:21,960
Speaker 1: I think it's really been the opposite, where again, they've

625
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,640
Speaker 1: kind of been better defensively the games that they've won.

626
00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:28,400
Speaker 1: They've been able to, you know, lock down defensively, play

627
00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:32,240
Speaker 1: bigger lineups and kind of figure it out and muck

628
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,800
Speaker 1: it up and win games that way. So I think,

629
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,320
Speaker 1: as you pointed out, I think that there's a process

630
00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:42,440
Speaker 1: problem here. But also with a redn't react type offense

631
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,920
Speaker 1: and a five out offense like that takes reps, that

632
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:49,520
Speaker 1: takes continuity, and I think with having certain guys out,

633
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:51,760
Speaker 1: you know, several guys have been in and out of

634
00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:54,000
Speaker 1: the lineup, not really the principal guys for the most part.

635
00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:56,760
Speaker 1: You know, Lebron has missed one game now, Eighties missed

636
00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,440
Speaker 1: one game now. Austin and Dilo have been available for

637
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 1: all ten games games, but Vandos missed all ten games,

638
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:06,280
Speaker 1: Gabes miss six, Rui's miss four, Torrian's missed too. So

639
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,840
Speaker 1: you've had several prominent guys within the rotation in and

640
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:13,160
Speaker 1: out of the lineup or just out of it altogether.

641
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:15,680
Speaker 1: And I think it's kind of been a process of

642
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:19,280
Speaker 1: just figuring out, like you have to know how certain

643
00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,720
Speaker 1: guys like to play, how certain guys like to move,

644
00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:23,480
Speaker 1: what are they going to do off the ball?

645
00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,640
Speaker 3: What are they going to do? Like, how does you

646
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:27,840
Speaker 3: know does this guy like to reject the screen? How

647
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:28,960
Speaker 3: does this guy like to roll?

648
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,440
Speaker 1: Like all that stuff comes down to timing and continuity

649
00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:33,960
Speaker 1: and reps. They haven't had a lot of practice time.

650
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,800
Speaker 1: That's just kind of the nature of the modern MBA is,

651
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,320
Speaker 1: you know a lot of times you're figuring this stuff

652
00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:41,880
Speaker 1: out on the fly and games. The Lakers have had

653
00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:45,560
Speaker 1: several instances in which they've had, you know, walkthroughs and

654
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:47,640
Speaker 1: shoot around trying to implement some of this stuff, but

655
00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,760
Speaker 1: it's just it's hard to do on the fly compared

656
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,080
Speaker 1: to actually figuring it out. So I do I do

657
00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:55,640
Speaker 1: give them some grace and say, you know, I think

658
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,440
Speaker 1: there is an element of just everyone's kind of adjusting.

659
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,320
Speaker 1: I think some of this stuff is affected Austin and Dilo,

660
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,960
Speaker 1: and that's why that partnership hasn't necessarily worked the way

661
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:06,280
Speaker 1: that it did last season.

662
00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,120
Speaker 3: But I think for them, they want to give it.

663
00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,640
Speaker 1: Darvin has constantly said give it twenty games and then

664
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,720
Speaker 1: let's reevaluate it. So I think what we'll see what

665
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,120
Speaker 1: the next ten games look like, and if they continue

666
00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:20,560
Speaker 1: to struggle, I think they have to potentially look at

667
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,680
Speaker 1: going back to more of last seasons for out offense.

668
00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:27,640
Speaker 1: And I think that suits who it wasn't great last

669
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,440
Speaker 1: year obviously they still struggled offensively, but we at least

670
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:32,480
Speaker 1: saw the ceiling of that team can make a Western

671
00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:34,920
Speaker 1: Conference finals. Like right now, I think the offense has

672
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,960
Speaker 1: been so bad that if this continues for another five

673
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:40,560
Speaker 1: to ten games, like, you really do have to reevaluate

674
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:41,560
Speaker 1: it well.

675
00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:45,800
Speaker 2: And that specifically is the issue that I have with

676
00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:48,720
Speaker 2: it is when you look at the bigger picture, the

677
00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:51,640
Speaker 2: guys that it seems to be negatively impacting the most

678
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:53,800
Speaker 2: are guys that you're going to need in a big

679
00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:56,360
Speaker 2: way towards the tail end of the season. Like d'An

680
00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:00,160
Speaker 2: Angelo Russell has actually been a better player in the

681
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,320
Speaker 2: regular season so far this year than Austin, even though

682
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:05,040
Speaker 2: you and I both agree Austin is a better player,

683
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,960
Speaker 2: but in this specific offensive approach, d Lo just seems

684
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,880
Speaker 2: more comfortable. I think a big part of it is

685
00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,520
Speaker 2: his strength. He's stronger than Austin right now, so he

686
00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:15,640
Speaker 2: has a little bit better time getting to his spots

687
00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:17,640
Speaker 2: for his little, short, little mid range jump shots. And

688
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:21,840
Speaker 2: I think like Austin in particular is a guy that

689
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,320
Speaker 2: is like kind of an old school let him cook

690
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:26,040
Speaker 2: type of scorer in the sense that you kind of

691
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,440
Speaker 2: have to give him space and he needs he needs

692
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,200
Speaker 2: to be able to take seven or eight dribbles in

693
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:31,960
Speaker 2: a pick and roll to get to the spot that

694
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:34,400
Speaker 2: he wants to get to. Austin can also play excellent

695
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:36,520
Speaker 2: off the ball, but in his on ball reps that's

696
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:38,760
Speaker 2: kind of when he's at his best. And I haven't

697
00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,840
Speaker 2: really been pleased with how Anthony Davis has been involved

698
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,440
Speaker 2: in the offense, specifically in the five out looks, and

699
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:48,040
Speaker 2: so that that has been concerning that he's already completely

700
00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:53,760
Speaker 2: abandoned the jump shot after basically using it, you know, intentionally,

701
00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,360
Speaker 2: and talking about using it intentionally in the preseason. So

702
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,560
Speaker 2: I would say that, like when two of your best

703
00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:03,520
Speaker 2: three play players seem to be the opposite of empowered

704
00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:07,400
Speaker 2: within your offensive look, it's time to potentially consider altering it.

705
00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,960
Speaker 2: I have seen them at least within the the you know,

706
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,319
Speaker 2: in the context of when Austin's on the floor with

707
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:15,359
Speaker 2: his own unit and de Lo's off, they do start

708
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:18,120
Speaker 2: to run more of that kind of spread, pick and

709
00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:20,640
Speaker 2: roll stuff they did last year. So I do I think,

710
00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:22,360
Speaker 2: and in the big picture, I think it's important to

711
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,080
Speaker 2: have multiple looks and to be able to go to

712
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:28,560
Speaker 2: different offensive approaches depending on what the matchups dictating things

713
00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:30,960
Speaker 2: along those lines. But at the end of the day,

714
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:32,880
Speaker 2: this is my main concern with the five out offense.

715
00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:34,640
Speaker 2: If you look at the teams that do it well,

716
00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:38,279
Speaker 2: teams like Golden State Sacramento, for instance, they have in

717
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:43,120
Speaker 2: Sacramento incredible downhill pressure guys like Malik Munk and Darn

718
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:45,600
Speaker 2: Fox right, and then in Golden State they have like

719
00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:49,120
Speaker 2: guys that come flying off a screen shooting love doing

720
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:51,400
Speaker 2: so and hit those shots at a high rate. And

721
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,640
Speaker 2: the Lakers kind of don't have either of those, and

722
00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:58,440
Speaker 2: so to me, it doesn't it's not necessarily the best

723
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,160
Speaker 2: fit for this particular group of guys. They have methodical,

724
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:05,440
Speaker 2: unathletic guards that need space to get to go to work,

725
00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:08,440
Speaker 2: and then they have old school like power players that

726
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:11,080
Speaker 2: also need to operate with a cleared side for a

727
00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:13,080
Speaker 2: post up so that they can make easy reads and

728
00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:15,279
Speaker 2: things along those lines. So I am curious to see

729
00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:16,960
Speaker 2: in the big picture how long they stick with it.

730
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:18,759
Speaker 2: But I do agree with Darvin Ham's approach in the

731
00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,719
Speaker 2: sense like give it some time, like let's see if

732
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:23,200
Speaker 2: they can figure it out in the meantime, And I

733
00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:26,000
Speaker 2: would argue that they should still have been winning at

734
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:29,160
Speaker 2: a higher rate even with the offensive struggles, just through

735
00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:32,759
Speaker 2: better kind of effort and commitment in other areas. Now

736
00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:34,680
Speaker 2: that we're we're kind of we've hit the three point

737
00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:37,240
Speaker 2: shooting element of it. What's the next item on your list?

738
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,320
Speaker 2: As one of the biggest flaws we've seen in the

739
00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:40,480
Speaker 2: Lakers so far this year.

740
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:46,279
Speaker 1: Defense, And I think this in part will be not

741
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:50,839
Speaker 1: necessarily solved, but at least improved with Gabe Vincent and

742
00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:53,520
Speaker 1: Jared Vanderbilt coming back. I think those are probably their

743
00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:58,279
Speaker 1: two best perimeter defenders aside from obviously Anthony Davis. So

744
00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:01,600
Speaker 1: I think we haven't seen the best perimeter defense from

745
00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:04,840
Speaker 1: this group in terms of just their potential. But I

746
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 1: still look at it like I think a lot of

747
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,880
Speaker 1: their issues have even the Portland game last night, Like

748
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:16,160
Speaker 1: I think the Lakers again escaped with the win, and yeah,

749
00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:19,480
Speaker 1: I thought eighty and Bruie had had some nice defensive plays,

750
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:22,799
Speaker 1: and you know, I think Cam has done a really

751
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:26,080
Speaker 1: good job on the perimeter. But still like I feel

752
00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:28,959
Speaker 1: like guards can kind of get whatever shot they want

753
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:29,760
Speaker 1: against the Lakers.

754
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,560
Speaker 3: It feels like, and I.

755
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,120
Speaker 1: Just I don't know, I think there's something with the

756
00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,200
Speaker 1: point of attack defense hasn't been great, that the pick

757
00:36:38,239 --> 00:36:40,879
Speaker 1: and roll defense, in my opinion, hasn't been great, and

758
00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,920
Speaker 1: I just think, you know, I really would have liked

759
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,040
Speaker 1: to have seen how the Lakers would have fared against

760
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,600
Speaker 1: Phoenix had Devin Booker been available in either one of

761
00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:52,560
Speaker 1: those games. I think he would have probably torched them

762
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:54,760
Speaker 1: with the way that their their guard.

763
00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:55,239
Speaker 3: Defense has been.

764
00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:57,680
Speaker 1: So I just look at it as again, I think

765
00:36:57,719 --> 00:36:59,640
Speaker 1: that's part of the reason why they had to split

766
00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:02,080
Speaker 1: the d Low Austin pairing up was both of those

767
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,560
Speaker 1: guys have been minus defenders up to this point in

768
00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:07,719
Speaker 1: the season, And I just look at it as we

769
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:10,400
Speaker 1: had talked about it before the season, you know, early

770
00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:13,680
Speaker 1: in training camp of premier defense is arguably the biggest

771
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:17,120
Speaker 1: concern with this roster. And again, you plug in Vando,

772
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:20,439
Speaker 1: but that comes with its own offensive concerns of that's

773
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,319
Speaker 1: another non shooter that you're plugging in there. Teams are

774
00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:25,400
Speaker 1: gonna sag off of him, They're going to load up

775
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:29,279
Speaker 1: the paint. So I think there's no like Gabe is

776
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:30,920
Speaker 1: one guy that I look at is okay, he's a

777
00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,280
Speaker 1: plus shooter even with the one for fourteen three point shooting,

778
00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:37,160
Speaker 1: and I think you've seen some good things from him

779
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:39,280
Speaker 1: at the point of attack. Definitely a downgrade from Dennis,

780
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:41,919
Speaker 1: and I think they really missed Dennis. That's been clear

781
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,319
Speaker 1: through the first ten games. But I just I think

782
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:47,720
Speaker 1: the perimeter defense is some It has been pretty shaky

783
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:52,040
Speaker 1: at best, and I look at that as something where

784
00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:54,680
Speaker 1: you mentioned Dorian Finney Smith. I really like that name.

785
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:59,480
Speaker 1: Royce O'Neill also another guy in Brooklyn, Like those are

786
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:02,520
Speaker 1: a couple of guys that like three and d Ish

787
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,560
Speaker 1: basically three and d wings that could plug some of

788
00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:08,640
Speaker 1: those holes. But I think Cam's been solid. I think

789
00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:12,120
Speaker 1: Torrian's had some moments, although he fouls a lot and

790
00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:15,160
Speaker 1: is a little bit undersized in certain matchups. I think Chris,

791
00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:18,400
Speaker 1: I mean, Christian Wood held his own against KD for

792
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:21,719
Speaker 1: that fourth quarter, but like, I still don't think that's

793
00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:25,359
Speaker 1: a sustainable h you know, solve there. So I think

794
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:28,320
Speaker 1: it's it's a lot on ad shoulders and he's played,

795
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:30,680
Speaker 1: I mean, he's what top six or seven in minutes

796
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,640
Speaker 1: right now, basically has played every game, and they're just

797
00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:37,439
Speaker 1: asking they're putting a lot on his shoulders. I think

798
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:40,040
Speaker 1: that's unsustainable as well. So for me, it's it's the

799
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,000
Speaker 1: perimeter defense and just how they figure out the right

800
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:45,120
Speaker 1: lineups and combinations. But I do think it will get

801
00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:46,919
Speaker 1: better once gave in vandor back.

802
00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, if you actually list out the Lakers minutes total

803
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,080
Speaker 2: minutes played this year and you get past the first

804
00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:57,000
Speaker 2: four guys, which is Austin, Dilo, Lebron, and ad who

805
00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:00,640
Speaker 2: lead the Lakers in minutes, the next two are redicatory

806
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:03,400
Speaker 2: in prints, and I think that's a pretty strong indicator

807
00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:06,080
Speaker 2: of what Darvin Ham sees from the rest of the

808
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:09,160
Speaker 2: roster and their needs. You know, like you're not You're

809
00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:11,680
Speaker 2: not like I would argue those are not your fifth

810
00:39:11,719 --> 00:39:14,840
Speaker 2: and sixth best players, but they're the guys getting those minutes.

811
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,080
Speaker 2: And again, like I think, I so I kind of

812
00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:21,120
Speaker 2: tie these things together because I put perimeter defense on

813
00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,640
Speaker 2: on this list, but I reference it as perimeter athleticism

814
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:27,600
Speaker 2: and defense and just kind of everything associated with that.

815
00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:31,279
Speaker 2: Like the what what the Lakers do not have in

816
00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:35,000
Speaker 2: their current rotation because of the Van do injury is

817
00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:38,560
Speaker 2: a top tier NBA athlete who has a high motor

818
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,160
Speaker 2: and because they don't have that, and like this was crazy,

819
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:45,400
Speaker 2: like Cam Reddish is rebounding at the highest rate of

820
00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:49,279
Speaker 2: his career since his second season and getting steals at

821
00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:51,719
Speaker 2: the highest rate of his career. And it's a big

822
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,439
Speaker 2: part of that is like they're empowering this kid. It's

823
00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,760
Speaker 2: like you're one of like you're like the only dude

824
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:00,960
Speaker 2: we have right now who's available, who's a top tier

825
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,640
Speaker 2: athlete that can do this job, Like just so just

826
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:05,759
Speaker 2: go do it. They're basically pointing him and shooting him,

827
00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:08,239
Speaker 2: and he's doing a really great job within that role.

828
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:11,080
Speaker 2: I think I think Cam Reddish succeeding the way he

829
00:40:11,239 --> 00:40:13,600
Speaker 2: is is a testament to Cam, but it also is

830
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:17,120
Speaker 2: a testament to what this roster needs. And you're actually

831
00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:20,000
Speaker 2: seeing how like a player that is considered essentially like

832
00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:23,000
Speaker 2: a journeyman in the NBA at this point is playing

833
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:24,920
Speaker 2: some of the best basketball of his career because his

834
00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:28,160
Speaker 2: specific skill set fits what this roster does not have.

835
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,759
Speaker 2: And if you go back through NBA history, pretty much

836
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:37,400
Speaker 2: every single championship team has a high motor, top tier athlete.

837
00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:39,919
Speaker 2: You know, if you look at Bruce Brown last year,

838
00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:42,880
Speaker 2: Aaron Gordon last year, you go back to Andrew Wiggins

839
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,320
Speaker 2: and Gary Payton the second with the Golden State Warriors,

840
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:47,799
Speaker 2: and you go back to Giannisontenacoopo and Drew Holliday on

841
00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:51,520
Speaker 2: the twenty twenty one Bucks and obviously the Lakers. It's like,

842
00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:54,279
Speaker 2: at this phase in Lebron and Anthony Davis' career, you

843
00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:56,560
Speaker 2: have to have a high motor athlete around them, and

844
00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,080
Speaker 2: I think that kind of helps you in multiple ways.

845
00:40:59,080 --> 00:41:00,760
Speaker 2: It helps you in the point of it tag defense

846
00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:04,120
Speaker 2: assignment kind of like staggering and making sure guys are

847
00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:06,359
Speaker 2: kind of guarding matchups they can handle. But it's also

848
00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:08,759
Speaker 2: big on the rebounding piece. We mentioned the Lakers have

849
00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:10,920
Speaker 2: been a horrible rebounding team to start this year, and

850
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,080
Speaker 2: a big part of that is they lose every fifty

851
00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:15,600
Speaker 2: to fifty ball, every long rebound goes to a bigger,

852
00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:18,319
Speaker 2: better athlete. And so I think that to me is

853
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:21,320
Speaker 2: why like I look at that specific type of upgrade

854
00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:23,279
Speaker 2: is necessary and why I think going after a star

855
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:25,400
Speaker 2: is so foolish. We've seen this again with the Suns.

856
00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:28,920
Speaker 2: We've seen it again with the Clippers just recently. Like

857
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:33,239
Speaker 2: when you bring in a star when you already have stars,

858
00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:36,319
Speaker 2: there's a diminishing return on what you get on the

859
00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:39,239
Speaker 2: third star, and in a lot of cases, what you

860
00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:41,840
Speaker 2: really just need is dudes that can help make the

861
00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:46,520
Speaker 2: stars jobs easier by taking that workload off of their plate.

862
00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:48,640
Speaker 2: So I'm one hundred percent with you on that page.

863
00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:53,960
Speaker 2: I think I think obviously the deadline has some potential

864
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,560
Speaker 2: to fix that problem, and I think with the assets

865
00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,520
Speaker 2: that they have available, they will be able to make

866
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:01,640
Speaker 2: that upgrade. But I think it's gonna be really interesting

867
00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:03,600
Speaker 2: to see what they do before the deadline, because they

868
00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:06,560
Speaker 2: need to, Like again, Dangel Russell can't be traded until

869
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:09,439
Speaker 2: January fifteenth, and you know, shout out to d low

870
00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:11,920
Speaker 2: if he knows he's going to be traded, and that

871
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:14,040
Speaker 2: more or less has been communicated to him as like

872
00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,759
Speaker 2: a high degree of possibility. Right, He's been a professional,

873
00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:21,080
Speaker 2: he has been a great leader, he's been mentoring some

874
00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:23,520
Speaker 2: of the younger players on the roster. He is staying

875
00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:26,920
Speaker 2: mentally engaged, and he's playing hard. Like I like, I

876
00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:30,360
Speaker 2: actually have been so impressed by D'Angelo Russell this entire season,

877
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:32,359
Speaker 2: just with the way he's handled all that. But there

878
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:36,040
Speaker 2: is a degree of urgency within this like that until

879
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:38,680
Speaker 2: January fifteenth, that this group needs to find out how

880
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:40,880
Speaker 2: to do a better job. What, in your opinion, is

881
00:42:40,920 --> 00:42:43,360
Speaker 2: the best way for the Lakers to manage this weakness

882
00:42:43,719 --> 00:42:46,040
Speaker 2: in the short term.

883
00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:49,120
Speaker 1: Well, I think Van Doo coming back is gonna help,

884
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:51,360
Speaker 1: But I think you got to go with the bigger lineups.

885
00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:54,960
Speaker 1: And I recently actually you know that this morning, how

886
00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:57,839
Speaker 1: a piece go up state of the Lakers ten observations

887
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:00,959
Speaker 1: through ten games, And one of the things I looked

888
00:43:00,960 --> 00:43:03,879
Speaker 1: at was the front courts and all the different front

889
00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:07,640
Speaker 1: court pairings that had at least one of Lebron and

890
00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:09,920
Speaker 1: Ad in the lineup, because of course that's kind of

891
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:12,920
Speaker 1: gonna be your foundation. You can have some odd lineups

892
00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:15,880
Speaker 1: of Christian Wood, Jackson Hayes and like Torrian Prince, but

893
00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:17,799
Speaker 1: I don't think that's something you're going to see when

894
00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:21,360
Speaker 1: it actually matters. And it's clear that the bigger front

895
00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:23,760
Speaker 1: courts have just been better. And if you look at

896
00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:28,400
Speaker 1: the net differential on cleaning the glass, like the Lakers

897
00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:32,840
Speaker 1: play better when they have some combination of Anthony Davis

898
00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:36,480
Speaker 1: and Christian Wood, Anthony Davis and Jackson Hayes, Anthony Davis

899
00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:41,399
Speaker 1: and Ruey Hatchimora, like the bigger lineups. And I'll take

900
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:44,080
Speaker 1: egg on my face, like I was against the two

901
00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:48,040
Speaker 1: big lineups entering the season, I didn't think they made sense.

902
00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:51,320
Speaker 1: Like even to this day, I still think Anthony Davis

903
00:43:51,400 --> 00:43:53,399
Speaker 1: is a five, and he's kind of been the five

904
00:43:53,440 --> 00:43:55,440
Speaker 1: in those lineups more so than not.

905
00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:58,640
Speaker 3: But Christian Wood has exceeded expectations.

906
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:02,000
Speaker 1: I think he's held out reasonably defensively, like you don't

907
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,000
Speaker 1: want him as your primary rim protector. And Darvin has

908
00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:08,080
Speaker 1: tied his minutes largely to Ad and Jackson Hayes for

909
00:44:08,120 --> 00:44:12,040
Speaker 1: that reason. But I think he's added some length. He's

910
00:44:12,640 --> 00:44:16,480
Speaker 1: a good weak side shot blocker. When AD's contesting a shot,

911
00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:18,680
Speaker 1: you know Christian will come with the second level of

912
00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:22,600
Speaker 1: contesting or he'll just vacuum up defensive rebounds. That I

913
00:44:22,600 --> 00:44:24,919
Speaker 1: think in that Phoenix game in particular, that was why

914
00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:27,440
Speaker 1: the Lakers won that game, was Phoenix was killing them

915
00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:30,439
Speaker 1: on the offensive glass. Christian Wood comes in and he

916
00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:33,560
Speaker 1: helps hold down the fort. So I just look at

917
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,880
Speaker 1: Lakers have played better with size. I think they have

918
00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:39,360
Speaker 1: to go back to that being their full time identity.

919
00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:42,120
Speaker 1: And we haven't seen the three guard lineups because Gabe

920
00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:44,839
Speaker 1: Vincent's been out. I'm sure he was playing. We would

921
00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:48,400
Speaker 1: see some d Lo Gabe Austin just because as we

922
00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:53,320
Speaker 1: know Darvin tends to like those lineups, so, but I

923
00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:55,400
Speaker 1: think that's not going to work with this current group.

924
00:44:55,400 --> 00:44:57,880
Speaker 1: With the way that they've been giving up defensive rebounds,

925
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:02,520
Speaker 1: They've been susceptible to cuts and just kind of energy

926
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:05,520
Speaker 1: plays that you can't I mean, part of that has

927
00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:08,520
Speaker 1: to just be guys being locked in and focused and

928
00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:11,279
Speaker 1: giving maximum effort. I think the effort has been poor

929
00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:14,080
Speaker 1: at times, and that's been a little bit disappointing if

930
00:45:14,120 --> 00:45:16,280
Speaker 1: you're the Lakers. But part of it is just size.

931
00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:19,879
Speaker 1: And if you have Christian Wood, Lebron, James, and Ruey

932
00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:23,319
Speaker 1: Hachimora out there together, that's like three dudes six '

933
00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,719
Speaker 1: nine and above. With Lebron and Ruey you get a

934
00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:29,359
Speaker 1: level of force and athleticism. With Christian Wood, you get

935
00:45:29,360 --> 00:45:31,720
Speaker 1: a bunch of size and length, and like, it's harder

936
00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:34,040
Speaker 1: to grab off into rebounds when those guys are in

937
00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:38,279
Speaker 1: the paint compared to going eighty Torrian Prints and Cam

938
00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:41,040
Speaker 1: Reddish or you know, just one of those guys being

939
00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:43,360
Speaker 1: in there in a three guard lineup. So for me,

940
00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:46,640
Speaker 1: it's it's clear this group has played bigger, has played

941
00:45:46,680 --> 00:45:49,319
Speaker 1: better bigger, and that's something that they really need to

942
00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:51,880
Speaker 1: lean into more than I think they have up to

943
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:52,279
Speaker 1: this point.

944
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:56,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, again, like if you don't try to outplay people

945
00:45:56,520 --> 00:46:00,400
Speaker 2: in an area that you are undermanned, Like if you

946
00:46:00,440 --> 00:46:03,880
Speaker 2: can't beat guys to the basketball with straight line speed,

947
00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:07,279
Speaker 2: then you need to beat them up high, and so

948
00:46:07,520 --> 00:46:09,279
Speaker 2: like it's a great it's a great way to look

949
00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:11,040
Speaker 2: at it in the sense that like when they have

950
00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:14,920
Speaker 2: three dudes that are six nine in taller and excellent

951
00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:17,760
Speaker 2: defensive rebounds like Lebron James, Christian Wood and Anthony Davis

952
00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:19,520
Speaker 2: on the on the floor at the same time, they're

953
00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:21,920
Speaker 2: gonna win a lot that they may lose the occasional

954
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:25,000
Speaker 2: long rebound, but they are gonna get every damn rebound

955
00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:27,319
Speaker 2: that's around the rim just because of how how big

956
00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:27,719
Speaker 2: they are.

957
00:46:27,760 --> 00:46:29,160
Speaker 3: And I kind of I.

958
00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:32,359
Speaker 2: Agree with you, and and honestly, like it's gonna require

959
00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:35,480
Speaker 2: difficult things like doing more staggering of Austin and Dilo,

960
00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:38,799
Speaker 2: which they're already doing. But it's clear in terms of

961
00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:43,080
Speaker 2: the emergency stop gap until January fifteenth, they basically have

962
00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:47,720
Speaker 2: to slot in order to compete physically, someone like Reddish

963
00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:50,239
Speaker 2: Aratorium prints at the two, and I think I think

964
00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:53,959
Speaker 2: that's gonna be essentially their their formula until they get

965
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:57,080
Speaker 2: deeper down the line. Essentially like we can't compete with

966
00:46:57,160 --> 00:47:00,160
Speaker 2: teams in straight line speed, but we can compete with

967
00:47:00,239 --> 00:47:03,879
Speaker 2: teams with our overall size because of what Christian would

968
00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:07,879
Speaker 2: ended up being. And like again, Christian we said this

969
00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:12,440
Speaker 2: in our in our Media Day pod, but basically Christian

970
00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:15,359
Speaker 2: Wood is a zero risk proposition in the sense that,

971
00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:18,000
Speaker 2: like he was a veteran minimum contract, obviously there were

972
00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:20,680
Speaker 2: some potential downsides. Everyone's like, oh, he can't guarden pick

973
00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:22,040
Speaker 2: and roll, he can't guarden pick and roll, and that

974
00:47:22,480 --> 00:47:24,880
Speaker 2: is true. When he's been the primary rim protector guarding

975
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:27,480
Speaker 2: and pick and roll. He's been flambathed like that that

976
00:47:27,520 --> 00:47:30,439
Speaker 2: goes without saying, but he's actually been excellent help side

977
00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:34,360
Speaker 2: defense situations and he's had some interesting on ball reps

978
00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:38,239
Speaker 2: against switches and then like kind of little niche assignments

979
00:47:38,239 --> 00:47:40,520
Speaker 2: for three four possessions at a time, or he'll guard

980
00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:42,680
Speaker 2: like Kevin Durant or something like that, and he's proven

981
00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:46,560
Speaker 2: as that kind of backside guy, essentially the lowman behind

982
00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:50,319
Speaker 2: Anthony Davis or the lowman behind Jackson Hayes to be

983
00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:53,200
Speaker 2: a really helpful player. And when you combine that with

984
00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:58,040
Speaker 2: him basically allowing them offensively to operate in that true

985
00:47:58,120 --> 00:48:00,799
Speaker 2: kind of like you know, true four out one in

986
00:48:00,880 --> 00:48:04,560
Speaker 2: spacing or five out spacing with a second big on

987
00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:06,720
Speaker 2: the floor. He's been a home run in that regard.

988
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:09,080
Speaker 2: But the question becomes like, are you going to be

989
00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:11,840
Speaker 2: able to play Christian Wood next to Lebron James and

990
00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:15,040
Speaker 2: Anthony Davis for an entire postseason run? And it's probably not.

991
00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:17,000
Speaker 2: It's probably gonna be more of a matchup dependent kind

992
00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:19,920
Speaker 2: of thing, which keeps bringing us back to the original

993
00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:21,839
Speaker 2: crux of the issue, which is like you gotta have

994
00:48:22,560 --> 00:48:27,040
Speaker 2: another vert like like straight line top tier athlete at

995
00:48:27,040 --> 00:48:29,520
Speaker 2: the two or three that can compete in a lot

996
00:48:29,560 --> 00:48:32,560
Speaker 2: of these situations and help them win more of those battles.

997
00:48:32,600 --> 00:48:35,200
Speaker 2: Did you have anything else on your list of biggest flaws?

998
00:48:35,239 --> 00:48:37,000
Speaker 2: Those are really the only two that I put in.

999
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:40,040
Speaker 2: Obviously they're the three point shooting in the perimeter athleticism.

1000
00:48:40,040 --> 00:48:42,600
Speaker 2: Obviously they're both very complicated issues, but those are the

1001
00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:44,319
Speaker 2: only two I had. Did you put anything else down?

1002
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:47,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I think a subcategory of the premier

1003
00:48:47,320 --> 00:48:49,760
Speaker 1: athleticism is what we were just talking about. The defensive

1004
00:48:49,800 --> 00:48:53,560
Speaker 1: rebounding has been awful, but I think that like the

1005
00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:58,080
Speaker 1: perimeter defense and the defensive rebounding kind of are both

1006
00:48:58,200 --> 00:49:05,279
Speaker 1: subcategories of the lack of perimeter athleticism. Other than that, no,

1007
00:49:05,640 --> 00:49:10,319
Speaker 1: I think like those are the two biggest things. I mean,

1008
00:49:10,960 --> 00:49:14,040
Speaker 1: I think the jump shooting in general and that kind

1009
00:49:14,080 --> 00:49:16,640
Speaker 1: of starts to stem into some of the three point shooting,

1010
00:49:16,719 --> 00:49:20,000
Speaker 1: like has been an issue, and I think this team

1011
00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:23,160
Speaker 1: continues to just be at its best living in the paint.

1012
00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:28,560
Speaker 1: But I would say, I mean, maybe just the offense overall,

1013
00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:31,000
Speaker 1: that that would be kind of the third thing for

1014
00:49:31,040 --> 00:49:34,480
Speaker 1: me would just be the five out offense and how

1015
00:49:34,680 --> 00:49:38,400
Speaker 1: stagnant it has been and just kind of janky at times.

1016
00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:40,799
Speaker 1: But other than that, I think that the three point

1017
00:49:40,840 --> 00:49:44,319
Speaker 1: shooting and the perimeter defense and rebounding to me, have

1018
00:49:44,360 --> 00:49:47,239
Speaker 1: been kind of the two main themes that have translated

1019
00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:50,239
Speaker 1: into each game that have ultimately hurt this team and

1020
00:49:50,320 --> 00:49:52,399
Speaker 1: kind of caused them to play behind for the most part.

1021
00:49:53,120 --> 00:49:55,480
Speaker 2: Well, that perimeter athleticism piece, I think will help with

1022
00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:59,000
Speaker 2: the offense piece as well, because like again, everyone thinks

1023
00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:00,840
Speaker 2: of rim pressure something that has to come from the

1024
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:03,880
Speaker 2: ball handler. It's not necessarily the case, like you that

1025
00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:07,960
Speaker 2: straight line athlete just in random transition pushes can cause

1026
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,279
Speaker 2: havoc and bring multiple bodies into the paint. There's you know,

1027
00:50:11,360 --> 00:50:13,600
Speaker 2: the Mavericks have been using Derek Jones like this a lot,

1028
00:50:13,600 --> 00:50:15,600
Speaker 2: where they'll kind of position him on the weak side

1029
00:50:15,600 --> 00:50:18,000
Speaker 2: wing and he'll just catch and rip to the basket

1030
00:50:18,080 --> 00:50:20,879
Speaker 2: really hard instead of catching and shooting because he's such

1031
00:50:20,880 --> 00:50:22,840
Speaker 2: a freak athlete that just when he catches and rips,

1032
00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:27,360
Speaker 2: everyone kind of coalesces around the paint anyway. And so there,

1033
00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:31,160
Speaker 2: I think just having a really good straight line athlete

1034
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:34,960
Speaker 2: on the floor next to their core four guys would

1035
00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:37,760
Speaker 2: go a long way towards just generating higher quality shots.

1036
00:50:37,760 --> 00:50:40,200
Speaker 2: And that's kind of why I put perimeter athleticism is

1037
00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:42,239
Speaker 2: kind of a vague term because I think I think

1038
00:50:42,280 --> 00:50:45,320
Speaker 2: in general that helps in so many different ways, especially

1039
00:50:45,360 --> 00:50:47,439
Speaker 2: in the modern MBA with how things are spaced out.

1040
00:50:47,719 --> 00:50:50,080
Speaker 2: What do you think, obviously this has been a disappointing

1041
00:50:50,080 --> 00:50:55,200
Speaker 2: start right five and five? I think I till Logan

1042
00:50:55,239 --> 00:50:56,879
Speaker 2: asked me at the beginning of the season to make

1043
00:50:57,320 --> 00:50:59,400
Speaker 2: a guest based on their first twelve games since they

1044
00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:01,799
Speaker 2: went to and ten last year, and I said they'd

1045
00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:04,040
Speaker 2: go seven and five, And I think that's actually on

1046
00:51:04,080 --> 00:51:06,360
Speaker 2: the table as a possibility if they beat Memphis on

1047
00:51:06,400 --> 00:51:09,160
Speaker 2: Tuesday and then they win on Wednesday. But I still

1048
00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:13,080
Speaker 2: think through ten games that if I think if you

1049
00:51:13,160 --> 00:51:15,839
Speaker 2: gave truth serum to every Laker in that locker room

1050
00:51:15,840 --> 00:51:18,960
Speaker 2: and asked him and said, are you disappointed or you know,

1051
00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:20,680
Speaker 2: happy with how the start of the season went, I

1052
00:51:20,680 --> 00:51:22,600
Speaker 2: think most of them would say they're disappointed. So like,

1053
00:51:23,440 --> 00:51:25,880
Speaker 2: with that as kind of the context, what would you

1054
00:51:25,920 --> 00:51:28,279
Speaker 2: say is your biggest silver lining that you've picked away

1055
00:51:28,280 --> 00:51:29,360
Speaker 2: from this team at this point?

1056
00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:33,359
Speaker 1: Look, I'm feeling optimistic, so I will give you two

1057
00:51:33,440 --> 00:51:38,920
Speaker 1: silver linings. One, I think this team has played pretty

1058
00:51:39,080 --> 00:51:41,600
Speaker 1: terrible for the first ten games, and the fact that

1059
00:51:41,640 --> 00:51:44,319
Speaker 1: they're five and five to me is a win. Like

1060
00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:47,880
Speaker 1: I think they played at It was funny after the

1061
00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:51,480
Speaker 1: seventh game Darvin, he was answering a question and he

1062
00:51:51,560 --> 00:51:54,680
Speaker 1: was kind of like, you know, we're we could easily

1063
00:51:54,680 --> 00:51:57,120
Speaker 1: be six and one right now, and we're clearly not

1064
00:51:57,200 --> 00:51:59,640
Speaker 1: a one in six team, And like, I disagree with that.

1065
00:51:59,800 --> 00:52:02,080
Speaker 1: I think the way that they've played, like, to me,

1066
00:52:02,160 --> 00:52:04,439
Speaker 1: they've played more like a two and eight or three

1067
00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:07,680
Speaker 1: and seven team than a team that's like seven and

1068
00:52:07,760 --> 00:52:10,680
Speaker 1: three or eight and two like they've had, like they're

1069
00:52:10,719 --> 00:52:14,120
Speaker 1: five and two in games that have gone into crunch time,

1070
00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:17,000
Speaker 1: and that alone might be its own silver lining of

1071
00:52:17,040 --> 00:52:20,000
Speaker 1: like this team's resolved, Like four of their five wins

1072
00:52:20,400 --> 00:52:23,120
Speaker 1: have come after trailing by double digits in the first

1073
00:52:23,160 --> 00:52:26,600
Speaker 1: quarter and in some cases double digits in the second half.

1074
00:52:26,640 --> 00:52:30,920
Speaker 1: So like this team has showed a resolve and just

1075
00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:35,200
Speaker 1: a kind of a calmness within the chaos that even

1076
00:52:35,239 --> 00:52:37,680
Speaker 1: if they get down, they have a slow start, they

1077
00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:39,520
Speaker 1: can still come back and win a game. So I

1078
00:52:39,560 --> 00:52:43,000
Speaker 1: think the fact that they're five and five despite again

1079
00:52:43,239 --> 00:52:46,440
Speaker 1: you know bottom, I mean their bottom six in that rating,

1080
00:52:47,360 --> 00:52:49,319
Speaker 1: their bottom two and three point shooting, Like they've had

1081
00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:51,600
Speaker 1: a lot of things go against them, all the injuries,

1082
00:52:52,239 --> 00:52:55,200
Speaker 1: all the poor the poor starts. Like to be five

1083
00:52:55,239 --> 00:52:57,400
Speaker 1: and five to me is a win in and of itself.

1084
00:52:57,719 --> 00:53:01,760
Speaker 1: But the second thing for me is Lebron in my opinion,

1085
00:53:01,840 --> 00:53:04,600
Speaker 1: is back to his pre injury form before that foot

1086
00:53:04,600 --> 00:53:07,919
Speaker 1: injury that he had in February, where shooting a career

1087
00:53:07,960 --> 00:53:11,040
Speaker 1: high fifty six point seven percent and making a career

1088
00:53:11,120 --> 00:53:14,759
Speaker 1: best eighty three point four percent of his shots within

1089
00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:17,080
Speaker 1: three feet at the rim, and that's been like he

1090
00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:19,520
Speaker 1: might be one of the few exceptions in terms of

1091
00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:22,480
Speaker 1: guys benefiting from the five out system, like some of

1092
00:53:22,520 --> 00:53:25,200
Speaker 1: the driving lanes that Lebron has had, And of course

1093
00:53:25,239 --> 00:53:28,399
Speaker 1: part of that is just his burst his athleticism. It's

1094
00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:31,120
Speaker 1: back compared to where it was, let's just say in

1095
00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:35,080
Speaker 1: the playoffs. But Lebron's finishing at the rim has been incredible.

1096
00:53:35,640 --> 00:53:37,879
Speaker 1: I think his shot selection has been much better than

1097
00:53:37,920 --> 00:53:41,000
Speaker 1: the past couple of years, and just his efficiency so

1098
00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:44,640
Speaker 1: far offensively, Like the Lakers have been about twenty four

1099
00:53:44,680 --> 00:53:47,480
Speaker 1: points per one hundred possessions worse when Lebron has been

1100
00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:50,439
Speaker 1: off the floor, so they're as reliant on him as ever.

1101
00:53:50,840 --> 00:53:53,040
Speaker 1: And on the one hand, you'd like to see some

1102
00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:56,280
Speaker 1: of the d Lo or Austin led lineups be better

1103
00:53:56,480 --> 00:53:58,680
Speaker 1: and the Lakers not have to rely on him as much.

1104
00:53:58,880 --> 00:54:00,840
Speaker 1: But the fact that he's looked as good as and

1105
00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:03,200
Speaker 1: I know you've been on the clutch stuff, like so

1106
00:54:04,280 --> 00:54:08,200
Speaker 1: first in the league and clutch baskets, I think third

1107
00:54:08,280 --> 00:54:11,680
Speaker 1: in scoring and tied for fourteenth and plus minus in

1108
00:54:11,719 --> 00:54:14,600
Speaker 1: crunch time, so like that's all, Like he's been making

1109
00:54:14,640 --> 00:54:17,160
Speaker 1: shots and making plays that he wasn't making last season.

1110
00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:19,959
Speaker 1: So overall, I think the fact that Lebron has looked

1111
00:54:19,960 --> 00:54:22,839
Speaker 1: as good as he has in year twenty one at

1112
00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:25,759
Speaker 1: almost thirty nine, that in and of itself, to me,

1113
00:54:26,160 --> 00:54:29,640
Speaker 1: is a really positive sign for the Lakers eventual contention.

1114
00:54:30,280 --> 00:54:33,200
Speaker 1: If they can just get healthy and potentially make another move,

1115
00:54:33,600 --> 00:54:35,160
Speaker 1: you know, fill in some of these gaps that we're

1116
00:54:35,200 --> 00:54:38,120
Speaker 1: talking about, like Lebron, at that level, I think you

1117
00:54:38,160 --> 00:54:39,200
Speaker 1: can win a championship.

1118
00:54:40,239 --> 00:54:43,239
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Lebron stuff has been super interesting because you

1119
00:54:43,280 --> 00:54:46,000
Speaker 2: mentioned the five out stuff, and it's a really simple concept.

1120
00:54:46,080 --> 00:54:48,600
Speaker 2: With five out, if you can get past the first

1121
00:54:48,640 --> 00:54:52,240
Speaker 2: line of defense, the backside rotation is infinitely harder because

1122
00:54:52,239 --> 00:54:54,880
Speaker 2: you don't have a defender waiting in the dunker spot

1123
00:54:55,040 --> 00:54:58,719
Speaker 2: or basically like in an easy help situation. It's a

1124
00:54:58,800 --> 00:55:01,640
Speaker 2: much longer rotation. So Lebron's gonna have had a steam

1125
00:55:01,719 --> 00:55:04,719
Speaker 2: against probably a perimeter player that's in help, so he's

1126
00:55:04,719 --> 00:55:06,560
Speaker 2: gonna have a much better chance of finishing around the

1127
00:55:06,600 --> 00:55:10,560
Speaker 2: rim or easier kickout opportunities. But that initial line of defense,

1128
00:55:10,760 --> 00:55:14,040
Speaker 2: the guy that is digging down off of the defender

1129
00:55:14,120 --> 00:55:16,560
Speaker 2: on either side is closer than they would be in

1130
00:55:16,640 --> 00:55:18,719
Speaker 2: a spread pick and roll type of situation or a

1131
00:55:18,760 --> 00:55:21,160
Speaker 2: spread ISO or post up situation, and so Lebron with

1132
00:55:21,239 --> 00:55:25,200
Speaker 2: his incredible strength can just shoot through these tight gaps

1133
00:55:25,719 --> 00:55:27,600
Speaker 2: and get to the rim and have no problem. But

1134
00:55:27,680 --> 00:55:30,040
Speaker 2: it's the lesser athletes that are struggling with it. And

1135
00:55:30,040 --> 00:55:32,440
Speaker 2: to your point, like that's a great example of why

1136
00:55:32,640 --> 00:55:35,200
Speaker 2: you know it is worth sticking with in the long run.

1137
00:55:35,320 --> 00:55:38,000
Speaker 2: My thing with the five out is just like I

1138
00:55:38,000 --> 00:55:40,360
Speaker 2: think they should cater it towards each player in the

1139
00:55:40,360 --> 00:55:42,399
Speaker 2: sense that like, hey we have an Austin led group

1140
00:55:42,440 --> 00:55:44,759
Speaker 2: out there, let's run more spread pick and roll. Hey

1141
00:55:44,760 --> 00:55:46,319
Speaker 2: we got Lebron on the floor, maybe we run it

1142
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:48,439
Speaker 2: this way. Liked lo lineups have done a good job

1143
00:55:48,440 --> 00:55:49,959
Speaker 2: with the five and out of the five out stuff,

1144
00:55:50,000 --> 00:55:52,319
Speaker 2: So like, I think that's kind of the short term

1145
00:55:52,320 --> 00:55:54,319
Speaker 2: solution there is kind of just cater the offense more

1146
00:55:54,360 --> 00:55:58,120
Speaker 2: towards each individual group. But the stuff in the crunch

1147
00:55:58,160 --> 00:56:01,160
Speaker 2: time is really important because brom was a bad clutch

1148
00:56:01,160 --> 00:56:03,239
Speaker 2: player last year and a big part of that was

1149
00:56:03,239 --> 00:56:05,480
Speaker 2: his jump shot wasn't falling, and it kind of kind

1150
00:56:05,480 --> 00:56:08,719
Speaker 2: of spiraled into all of these other, you know, ancillary

1151
00:56:08,800 --> 00:56:11,480
Speaker 2: issues and it turned into this thing where he would

1152
00:56:11,480 --> 00:56:12,840
Speaker 2: get the big on the switch and he'd take that

1153
00:56:12,880 --> 00:56:15,279
Speaker 2: pullback three, and he just missed it every single time,

1154
00:56:15,360 --> 00:56:17,319
Speaker 2: and it was a huge part of how games kind

1155
00:56:17,320 --> 00:56:19,880
Speaker 2: of ended up being close light that they probably shouldn't

1156
00:56:19,880 --> 00:56:22,759
Speaker 2: have been. This year, he's just been so much more decisive.

1157
00:56:23,280 --> 00:56:26,520
Speaker 2: He's knocked down a bunch of clutch jump shots this year.

1158
00:56:26,880 --> 00:56:30,360
Speaker 2: He has specifically dominated the game as a matchup attacker

1159
00:56:30,400 --> 00:56:32,920
Speaker 2: at the end of games, generating high quality shots against

1160
00:56:32,920 --> 00:56:36,520
Speaker 2: the weaker defense of you know, kind of areas of

1161
00:56:36,560 --> 00:56:39,600
Speaker 2: their opponents. And so I think that's a huge silver lining.

1162
00:56:40,800 --> 00:56:43,279
Speaker 2: I put two others on my list. One Christian Wood,

1163
00:56:43,280 --> 00:56:46,440
Speaker 2: which we already talked about just him hitting as a

1164
00:56:46,520 --> 00:56:49,960
Speaker 2: veteran minimum signing in unlocking real big lineups for this

1165
00:56:50,040 --> 00:56:52,200
Speaker 2: Laker team. I think what is a huge home run.

1166
00:56:52,760 --> 00:56:57,120
Speaker 2: And then secondly, just like Lebron's overall level of play

1167
00:56:57,200 --> 00:56:59,839
Speaker 2: and just where he looks in general. We talked about

1168
00:56:59,840 --> 00:57:01,920
Speaker 2: this before the year as like one of the major

1169
00:57:02,440 --> 00:57:04,720
Speaker 2: you know, kind of like swing factors for this team.

1170
00:57:04,800 --> 00:57:09,759
Speaker 2: Are they going to be able to go toe to

1171
00:57:09,800 --> 00:57:13,560
Speaker 2: toe with the best stars in the league. And Anthony Davis,

1172
00:57:13,680 --> 00:57:15,040
Speaker 2: it's been a little bit of a mixed bag. He's

1173
00:57:15,040 --> 00:57:17,200
Speaker 2: had some bad games, he's had some good games, but

1174
00:57:17,280 --> 00:57:19,200
Speaker 2: I think more overall, he's kind of looked more or

1175
00:57:19,240 --> 00:57:21,400
Speaker 2: less like he did last year. Lebron James looks like

1176
00:57:21,440 --> 00:57:23,280
Speaker 2: he's better than he was last year, and I think

1177
00:57:23,360 --> 00:57:27,720
Speaker 2: that's super encouraging. And then lastly, five and two in

1178
00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:30,600
Speaker 2: clutch games, that's the fifth best record in the league

1179
00:57:30,640 --> 00:57:33,920
Speaker 2: by winning percentage in clutch situations, the fourth best clutch

1180
00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:36,800
Speaker 2: net rating. The Lakers have been elite on both ends

1181
00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:39,560
Speaker 2: of the floor and have grabbed fifty five percent of

1182
00:57:39,560 --> 00:57:43,640
Speaker 2: available rebounds, so when push comes to shove, they can

1183
00:57:43,720 --> 00:57:45,680
Speaker 2: lock in and they've played really good basketball at the

1184
00:57:45,760 --> 00:57:48,200
Speaker 2: end of games. It's just been funny because, like in

1185
00:57:48,240 --> 00:57:51,120
Speaker 2: four of their five wins, they've been such shit for

1186
00:57:51,200 --> 00:57:53,520
Speaker 2: like three quarters and then they lock in and they

1187
00:57:53,520 --> 00:57:55,560
Speaker 2: play good basketball. I think that's kind of colored the

1188
00:57:55,720 --> 00:57:58,880
Speaker 2: entire season as disappointing in a way that maybe the

1189
00:57:58,920 --> 00:58:02,120
Speaker 2: record wouldn't suggest. But let's let's let's do one last

1190
00:58:02,120 --> 00:58:06,840
Speaker 2: thing before before we get out of here. Did They're

1191
00:58:06,840 --> 00:58:09,360
Speaker 2: going on on East Coast road trip soon, where they're

1192
00:58:09,400 --> 00:58:11,440
Speaker 2: going to play Cleveland and Philly back to back on

1193
00:58:11,480 --> 00:58:11,800
Speaker 2: the road.

1194
00:58:11,840 --> 00:58:12,080
Speaker 3: That's it.

1195
00:58:12,160 --> 00:58:14,320
Speaker 2: That's gonna be a tough one, but the schedules a

1196
00:58:14,360 --> 00:58:17,760
Speaker 2: little easier up until then. Really, the tough games are

1197
00:58:17,800 --> 00:58:19,920
Speaker 2: a home game against the Kings and then a home

1198
00:58:19,960 --> 00:58:21,960
Speaker 2: game against the Dallas Mavericks, two games which the Lakers

1199
00:58:21,960 --> 00:58:24,640
Speaker 2: will be favored in. H Do you think there's any

1200
00:58:24,720 --> 00:58:26,360
Speaker 2: chance that the Lakers hit the road at eleven and

1201
00:58:26,480 --> 00:58:28,040
Speaker 2: five on an eight game winning streak?

1202
00:58:29,960 --> 00:58:30,640
Speaker 3: Any chance?

1203
00:58:31,080 --> 00:58:35,600
Speaker 1: Yes, But I think again, we'd have to see some

1204
00:58:35,720 --> 00:58:39,440
Speaker 1: better overall play from this group. I think you just

1205
00:58:39,520 --> 00:58:42,400
Speaker 1: hit on it where you know, I think in crunch

1206
00:58:42,480 --> 00:58:44,720
Speaker 1: time they've been great, but I would just like to

1207
00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:49,360
Speaker 1: see sustained periods like I was like looking for that

1208
00:58:49,520 --> 00:58:52,680
Speaker 1: last night against Portland, where even with Lebron out like

1209
00:58:52,720 --> 00:58:55,560
Speaker 1: that could have been a situation where they just had

1210
00:58:55,560 --> 00:58:58,600
Speaker 1: a wire to wire Victory won that by fifteen to

1211
00:58:58,640 --> 00:59:03,680
Speaker 1: twenty points, and as as subjective as it sounds, I

1212
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:07,320
Speaker 1: would have felt a lot better about them currently. But

1213
00:59:07,400 --> 00:59:09,680
Speaker 1: the fact that they were kind of messing around with

1214
00:59:09,720 --> 00:59:12,800
Speaker 1: that game. You know, Portland was up, you know for

1215
00:59:13,360 --> 00:59:16,920
Speaker 1: stretches of the first quarter. You know, they got back

1216
00:59:16,960 --> 00:59:18,880
Speaker 1: into the game in the fourth quarter, and there was

1217
00:59:19,480 --> 00:59:21,160
Speaker 1: a couple of minutes there, I thought they were potentially

1218
00:59:21,200 --> 00:59:23,960
Speaker 1: going to win that game. Like to me, just they've

1219
00:59:24,040 --> 00:59:26,000
Speaker 1: kind of been playing with their food, so to speak

1220
00:59:26,160 --> 00:59:28,760
Speaker 1: a little bit too much, and I would like to

1221
00:59:28,800 --> 00:59:31,400
Speaker 1: just see a little bit more killer instinct from them

1222
00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:34,200
Speaker 1: of just come out and look. They'll they'll play Portland

1223
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:36,640
Speaker 1: at the end of the week. They've got some winnable games.

1224
00:59:36,720 --> 00:59:41,960
Speaker 1: But Memphis just came into the Clippers arena and beat them. Sacramento,

1225
00:59:42,080 --> 00:59:43,960
Speaker 1: as we know, has been a tough matchup for the

1226
00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:47,600
Speaker 1: Lakers over the past year, just with their their speed

1227
00:59:47,680 --> 00:59:51,880
Speaker 1: and their five out offense and their perimeter shooting. So

1228
00:59:52,080 --> 00:59:54,520
Speaker 1: I think that's a tough one. Looking at Houston again,

1229
00:59:55,440 --> 00:59:57,800
Speaker 1: you know, they just beat the Lakers by thirty four points.

1230
00:59:58,200 --> 01:00:02,320
Speaker 1: Iverything beat the Nuggets. They're on what five game win

1231
01:00:02,360 --> 01:00:06,600
Speaker 1: streaks five or six. And then you got Dallas, who's

1232
01:00:06,800 --> 01:00:08,800
Speaker 1: been the second best team in the West in my

1233
01:00:08,880 --> 01:00:11,880
Speaker 1: opinion up through this point. Also Utah, who who's kind

1234
01:00:11,920 --> 01:00:14,080
Speaker 1: of sneakily been a bit of a tough matchup for

1235
01:00:14,120 --> 01:00:17,400
Speaker 1: the Lakers also with their five out offense and uh,

1236
01:00:17,440 --> 01:00:21,040
Speaker 1: some of their spacing and shooting. So I'm gonna say no,

1237
01:00:21,760 --> 01:00:24,280
Speaker 1: I don't think it happens. I think it could happen,

1238
01:00:24,560 --> 01:00:27,120
Speaker 1: and that you know, they're home for five of the

1239
01:00:27,120 --> 01:00:29,920
Speaker 1: next six games. Looking at it right now with the

1240
01:00:30,080 --> 01:00:32,960
Speaker 1: one road game being Portland, but I suspect they go

1241
01:00:33,040 --> 01:00:35,880
Speaker 1: four and too over the next six games, and that

1242
01:00:35,920 --> 01:00:39,080
Speaker 1: would put them at nine and seven, which again I think,

1243
01:00:39,080 --> 01:00:43,680
Speaker 1: with their current level of play, is a win compared

1244
01:00:43,680 --> 01:00:44,560
Speaker 1: to where they could be.

1245
01:00:45,280 --> 01:00:47,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think they're gonna go eleven and five.

1246
01:00:49,360 --> 01:00:52,400
Speaker 2: It's funny in general, I think I think like I think,

1247
01:00:53,080 --> 01:00:54,919
Speaker 2: I think you remember the high motor athlete thing we're

1248
01:00:54,920 --> 01:00:57,040
Speaker 2: talking about. I don't think it's really possible to go

1249
01:00:57,080 --> 01:01:01,680
Speaker 2: on like long win streaks and to blowout teams unless

1250
01:01:01,720 --> 01:01:05,040
Speaker 2: you have high motor athletes because of the fact that inevitably,

1251
01:01:05,040 --> 01:01:07,800
Speaker 2: when a team is down, they start playing hard. And

1252
01:01:07,880 --> 01:01:10,120
Speaker 2: it's kind of like that early fourth quarter run last night.

1253
01:01:10,120 --> 01:01:13,840
Speaker 2: It's like the Lakers are so unathletic that when they

1254
01:01:13,920 --> 01:01:17,120
Speaker 2: start not giving a shit, they just the bottom falls out,

1255
01:01:17,200 --> 01:01:19,720
Speaker 2: and so like they're so prone to those ugly stretches,

1256
01:01:19,720 --> 01:01:21,720
Speaker 2: it's like inevitable that they'll drop. I feel the same

1257
01:01:21,760 --> 01:01:24,800
Speaker 2: way around nine to seven, ten and six, before we

1258
01:01:24,800 --> 01:01:27,480
Speaker 2: get you out of here, how's your achilles, how's the surgery?

1259
01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:30,160
Speaker 2: How are you holding up mentally? I feel like if

1260
01:01:30,160 --> 01:01:32,600
Speaker 2: I was in your position, I'd be spiraling into depression,

1261
01:01:32,680 --> 01:01:34,560
Speaker 2: So I'm curious to hear how you're doing on that front.

1262
01:01:35,480 --> 01:01:38,600
Speaker 1: Well, I appreciate it. Man, It's been tough. I'm not

1263
01:01:38,640 --> 01:01:43,720
Speaker 1: gonna lie. This has definitely been the toughest physical situation

1264
01:01:44,200 --> 01:01:48,920
Speaker 1: I've ever dealt with. I think, so I've been fortunate

1265
01:01:48,960 --> 01:01:52,080
Speaker 1: to speak with multiple people who've dealt with it. Actually

1266
01:01:52,120 --> 01:01:54,720
Speaker 1: had a conversation with Kevin Durant when the Suns were

1267
01:01:54,760 --> 01:01:57,400
Speaker 1: in town and we talked a little bit about it,

1268
01:01:58,360 --> 01:02:00,680
Speaker 1: and you know, hadn't met him before, just went up

1269
01:02:00,680 --> 01:02:03,640
Speaker 1: to him, introduced myself and asked him for his advice

1270
01:02:03,680 --> 01:02:06,439
Speaker 1: on it. And everyone that has dealt with it has

1271
01:02:06,600 --> 01:02:10,280
Speaker 1: unanimously said, like, the mental part is the toughest part. Like,

1272
01:02:10,320 --> 01:02:13,880
Speaker 1: physically I'm okay now. I had surgery almost two weeks ago,

1273
01:02:14,400 --> 01:02:16,000
Speaker 1: so first few days of surgery.

1274
01:02:15,680 --> 01:02:16,360
Speaker 3: Were really rough.

1275
01:02:16,560 --> 01:02:18,760
Speaker 1: I had to be on pain medication, couldn't get out

1276
01:02:18,800 --> 01:02:21,920
Speaker 1: of bed. You know that that was really rough to

1277
01:02:21,920 --> 01:02:24,360
Speaker 1: deal with, But since then, largely pain free. It's just

1278
01:02:24,440 --> 01:02:27,520
Speaker 1: kind of the mental grind of like you always have

1279
01:02:27,640 --> 01:02:30,320
Speaker 1: to be like, you know, you got to go to

1280
01:02:30,320 --> 01:02:33,920
Speaker 1: the bathroom. Your instinct is stand up, walk to the bathroom,

1281
01:02:33,960 --> 01:02:35,920
Speaker 1: And like there's been times I've had to stop myself

1282
01:02:35,960 --> 01:02:37,600
Speaker 1: and be like, Okay, gotta get my scooter.

1283
01:02:38,600 --> 01:02:38,919
Speaker 3: I got.

1284
01:02:38,960 --> 01:02:41,760
Speaker 1: I got this eyewalk thing which is almost like it's

1285
01:02:41,760 --> 01:02:44,120
Speaker 1: almost like a peg leg kind of where you you

1286
01:02:44,320 --> 01:02:46,600
Speaker 1: put your knee in it and then it's like a

1287
01:02:46,600 --> 01:02:48,160
Speaker 1: crutch below the knee.

1288
01:02:48,600 --> 01:02:50,360
Speaker 3: So been walking around with that a little bit.

1289
01:02:50,920 --> 01:02:53,400
Speaker 1: But the biggest thing for me has been, like I

1290
01:02:53,480 --> 01:02:57,080
Speaker 1: was really looking forward to, you know, the season and

1291
01:02:57,400 --> 01:02:59,400
Speaker 1: traveling and like the beginning of the season is always

1292
01:02:59,440 --> 01:03:02,240
Speaker 1: really fun, getting to know some of the players, getting

1293
01:03:02,280 --> 01:03:05,520
Speaker 1: to go get drinks of people, get dinner. So I

1294
01:03:05,560 --> 01:03:07,960
Speaker 1: wasn't on this pass road trip hoping to be back

1295
01:03:07,960 --> 01:03:10,360
Speaker 1: on the road by the end of the month, hoping

1296
01:03:10,360 --> 01:03:12,000
Speaker 1: to be walking a little bit by the end of

1297
01:03:12,040 --> 01:03:14,760
Speaker 1: the month. So I'm trying to approach this recovery like

1298
01:03:14,800 --> 01:03:20,360
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers and exceed expectations. So it's been tough. It

1299
01:03:20,400 --> 01:03:22,920
Speaker 1: has been mentally draining, but I'm trying to keep a

1300
01:03:22,920 --> 01:03:23,640
Speaker 1: good spirit with it.

1301
01:03:24,160 --> 01:03:25,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, and most importantly, you got a lot of good

1302
01:03:25,800 --> 01:03:27,560
Speaker 2: basketball left in you got to get back out of

1303
01:03:27,560 --> 01:03:29,960
Speaker 2: the basketball court one day. Yeah, I've been dealing with

1304
01:03:30,000 --> 01:03:34,439
Speaker 2: achille soreness, bad soreness, so bad that I've shut myself down.

1305
01:03:34,520 --> 01:03:37,880
Speaker 2: Now this is the third time, because I tried to

1306
01:03:37,920 --> 01:03:41,560
Speaker 2: come back to quick twice and like just last Sunday,

1307
01:03:42,160 --> 01:03:45,080
Speaker 2: a week ago, yesterday, I played in a mensley game

1308
01:03:45,080 --> 01:03:47,920
Speaker 2: and I was like, it's worse than it's ever been.

1309
01:03:48,000 --> 01:03:49,880
Speaker 2: I'm like, I gotta shut it down. So I'm shutting

1310
01:03:49,880 --> 01:03:52,840
Speaker 2: down for the next month probably and just being away

1311
01:03:52,840 --> 01:03:54,400
Speaker 2: from the game as long as I've been over the

1312
01:03:54,480 --> 01:03:56,480
Speaker 2: last couple of weeks months, I should say, has been

1313
01:03:56,520 --> 01:03:58,520
Speaker 2: kind of like torture for me. So I can't even

1314
01:03:58,520 --> 01:04:00,760
Speaker 2: imagine what it's going to be like going without it

1315
01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:03,760
Speaker 2: for a year, because like it's almost even it's even

1316
01:04:03,800 --> 01:04:05,520
Speaker 2: above and beyond the love of the game. It's like

1317
01:04:05,600 --> 01:04:08,160
Speaker 2: just really easy way to get good cardio. It's like

1318
01:04:08,200 --> 01:04:09,720
Speaker 2: it just in terms of like just your day to

1319
01:04:09,760 --> 01:04:11,520
Speaker 2: day health, Like it just helps to be able to

1320
01:04:11,800 --> 01:04:14,400
Speaker 2: strap on a pair of shoes, go to the gym,

1321
01:04:14,520 --> 01:04:16,000
Speaker 2: play for an hour and a half and burn a

1322
01:04:16,040 --> 01:04:17,720
Speaker 2: thousand calories, you know, like you don't get to do

1323
01:04:17,760 --> 01:04:20,040
Speaker 2: that anymore, and it's really unfortunate, and I'm really curious.

1324
01:04:20,040 --> 01:04:22,560
Speaker 2: I'm gonna be picking your brain throughout the process because,

1325
01:04:22,600 --> 01:04:26,000
Speaker 2: like I'm really curious as to what that whole mental

1326
01:04:26,080 --> 01:04:29,680
Speaker 2: challenge is like. Along the way, yo Van, thank you

1327
01:04:29,720 --> 01:04:31,560
Speaker 2: so much for taking the time to join us today,

1328
01:04:31,640 --> 01:04:33,120
Speaker 2: Laker fans. Like I said, this is going to be

1329
01:04:33,160 --> 01:04:35,080
Speaker 2: a thing at least for the next month, hopefully longer.

1330
01:04:36,080 --> 01:04:38,680
Speaker 2: We appreciate giving us the time. We appreciate everybody for

1331
01:04:38,680 --> 01:04:41,040
Speaker 2: supporting the show. We will see you guys later today

1332
01:04:41,080 --> 01:04:43,880
Speaker 2: for our Power rankings and Clippers evisceration.

1333
01:05:12,560 --> 01:05:13,200
Speaker 1: The volume