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Speaker 2: All right, welcome to hoops tonight.

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Speaker 3: You're at the volume.

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Speaker 2: Happy Tuesday, everybody helpe. All of you guys are having

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Speaker 2: a great start to your week. We have a very

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Speaker 2: special guest coming on today, mister Jobaan Booja, the lead

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Speaker 2: Lakers reporter for the athletic is gonna come in and

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Speaker 2: we're gonna talk about this bizarre starting lineup that the

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Speaker 2: Lakers have been used in the last couple of games.

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Speaker 2: We're also going to talk a little bit about some

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Speaker 2: roles changing within the locker room. We're both going to

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Speaker 2: give our personal opinion on what the starting lineup should

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Speaker 2: look like, and then we're going to talk about what

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Speaker 2: needs the Lakers have at the deadline in light of

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Speaker 2: their recent slides. So, without any further ado mister Jovann

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Speaker 2: Bouja is going to join the show. Jovan I was

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Speaker 2: reading an article from you this morning, drinking a.

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Speaker 3: Nice cup of coffee.

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Speaker 2: It's kind of cathartic listening to you just eviscerate the

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Speaker 2: complete absurdity of the way this lineup was put together,

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Speaker 2: as you absolutely put in your article. Eighteen minutes so

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Speaker 2: far of this Jared Vanderbilt, cam Reddistorian, Prince Lebron James

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Speaker 2: Anthony Davis lineup, they're giving up one hundred and twenty

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Speaker 2: five points per one hundred possessions on defense, so leaning

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Speaker 2: into defense is not getting stops. They are scoring just

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Speaker 2: one hundred and five points per one hundred possessions and

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Speaker 2: they've been outscored by twenty points per one hundred posessions

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Speaker 2: over that span. But hey, they're rebounding really well for

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Speaker 2: whatever that's worth. So I'm curious. We've seen behind the scenes,

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Speaker 2: We've seen the references to leaning into their identity and

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Speaker 2: weird comments about Austin Reeves minute load, even though that

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Speaker 2: doesn't seem to apply to other players on the roster.

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Speaker 2: Have you heard anything internally in terms of it. Turmoil

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Speaker 2: is the wrong word, but is anybody like raising their

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Speaker 2: hand and going like, hey, this is not a good idea.

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Speaker 3: What are we doing?

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Speaker 1: Yes that there have been some eyebrows raised over the

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Speaker 1: past seventy two hours or so when the Lakers made

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Speaker 1: this starting lineup change I heard. I started hearing about

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Speaker 1: it Friday afternoon and talking with some people, and.

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Speaker 4: At first I just didn't believe it.

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Speaker 1: I was just like, there's no way, Like maybe they're

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Speaker 1: putting Vando in, because ever since training camp, Darvin has

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Speaker 1: basically said Vando was going to win the starting spot

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Speaker 1: over Torny and Prince. He was going to be the

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Speaker 1: fifth starter again, and that was the way.

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Speaker 4: LA was playing on going into the season.

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Speaker 1: But he suffers that heel injury, he misses a bunch

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Speaker 1: of time, and you know, ultimately comes off the bench.

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Speaker 1: But so I felt at some point, once he got

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Speaker 1: his legs back under him, even though really the game

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Speaker 1: before he had just said he's not one hundred percent

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Speaker 1: and still kind of figuring things out, that he would

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Speaker 1: eventually go back to the starting lineup. So that wasn't

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Speaker 1: a surprise to me. And I think with D'Angel Russell

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Speaker 1: essentially being on the trade block since the summer, with

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Speaker 1: the way that the Lakers structured that contract that he

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Speaker 1: eventually would either move to the bench or just get

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Speaker 1: moved in general.

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Speaker 4: So those two moves in a vacuum.

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Speaker 1: Didn't necessarily surprise me, but those two moves happening, you know, together,

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Speaker 1: did surprise me. Of just looking at the lineup, there

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Speaker 1: is not a second ball handler, There is not a

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Speaker 1: secondary shot creator on the perimeter, and you just can't

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Speaker 1: play that way in twenty twenty three, especially if you

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Speaker 1: are holding yourself to a championship level standard. And I

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Speaker 1: think you saw that in the OKC game. There were

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Speaker 1: plus one in ten minutes, basically treading water against the

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Speaker 1: OKC group that didn't have Josh Giddy, and frankly, it's

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Speaker 1: not a great matchup for OKAC. I know you've covered

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Speaker 1: that they're just too small for the Lakers. So the

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Speaker 1: Lakers were able to overwhelm them with their size and physicality.

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Speaker 1: But then you see it against Boston arguably the best

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Speaker 1: team in the league, certainly in my opinion, the best

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Speaker 1: five man unit in the league right now, and they

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Speaker 1: just evistrated them. It was a twelve zero run in

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Speaker 1: two and a half minutes. Lakers could not, I mean,

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Speaker 1: you freeze any possession that's inside the three point line,

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Speaker 1: and there's four Celtics minimum in the paint, if not five,

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Speaker 1: and they're cheating off of Lebron and Towrnian Prince. And

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Speaker 1: that's kind of another thing here, where like Lebron and

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Speaker 1: Tornian Princes have both shot the ball well, but I

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Speaker 1: don't think they still get the respect that maybe they're

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Speaker 1: shooting percentages would indicate.

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Speaker 4: So really, you had the Celtics happy to.

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Speaker 1: Ignore or all five Lakers at certain points offensively, to

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Speaker 1: say nothing of the way that they were defending Cam

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Speaker 1: and Vandos. So just looking at that lineup, it never

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Speaker 1: made sense in theory. In practice, it has been a disaster,

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Speaker 1: and I think the Lakers are gonna continue sticking with

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Speaker 1: it for now just because Darvin Ham believes in it,

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Speaker 1: and he said as much basically postgame. But I think

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Speaker 1: it's a mistake, and I think at some point in

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Speaker 1: the near future, within the next few games, they're most

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Speaker 1: likely going to have to go to a different starting lineup.

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Speaker 2: To me, it's such as to me, it's a representation

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Speaker 2: of a basic lack of understanding of the way basketball

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Speaker 2: teams operate. And this is crazy to me because you

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Speaker 2: know me and Jovonne, I never ever complained about the coach.

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Speaker 2: I think that often it's just an easy target, especially

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Speaker 2: for fans when they can't really target anything else during

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Speaker 2: the season. And to me, like, if there's one thing

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Speaker 2: that a basketball lineup needs to do, it's to check

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Speaker 2: all these specific responsibilities right.

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Speaker 3: And it's no.

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Speaker 2: Different than like if you were to run out a

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Speaker 2: big goal line package at midfield and you had seven

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Speaker 2: offensive linemen on the field, you might be able to

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Speaker 2: better protect your quarterback, but who the hell is gonna

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Speaker 2: get open? Like who are you throwing to? You know

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Speaker 2: what I mean? And it's just a basic like you

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Speaker 2: almost are diminishing your returns, even on the defensive end

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Speaker 2: because a couple of things. First of all, when you

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Speaker 2: have guys that are on the ball taking heavier duty responsibilities,

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Speaker 2: the off ball jobs are easier, especially for smarter players,

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Speaker 2: and so you can get better defensive production out of

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Speaker 2: lesser defensive players in an off ball role, especially if

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Speaker 2: they're a smart, high IQ player like Austin for instance.

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Speaker 3: Right.

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Speaker 2: And then on the other end of the floor. I

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Speaker 2: know it sounds crazy, and we said, we talk about

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Speaker 2: this all the time. The idea of setting your defense,

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Speaker 2: but scoring the basketball makes getting stops easier. It just does,

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Speaker 2: even above and beyond the geometry of the floor when

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Speaker 2: they have to take the ball out of the basket.

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Speaker 2: It's also about it's a motivation and passion and just

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Speaker 2: when you're getting buckets, you want to sit better in

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Speaker 2: a stance and to fight harder over that screen. And

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Speaker 2: it's about believing in what your unit is capable of

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Speaker 2: doing on both ends of the floor. And like above

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Speaker 2: and beyond anything else, there was no legitimate like earning

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Speaker 2: of the rotation spot. And what I mean by that

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Speaker 2: is it's not like Cam's playing so well you have

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Speaker 2: to start him. It's not like Jared Vanderbilt is playing

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Speaker 2: so well you have to start him. Torny and Prince

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Speaker 2: is the one guy in that group where it's like

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Speaker 2: he's taken like eight nine threes a game and he's

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Speaker 2: making forty percent of him over the last month or whatever.

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Speaker 2: Like Torrian, at least you can make the case he's

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Speaker 2: shooting the shit out of the basketball. You gotta have

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Speaker 2: him on the floor, right, But those other two spots,

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Speaker 2: how is it that by default they're going to lesser players.

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Speaker 2: That's the part I don't understand, like, like Austin Reeves

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Speaker 2: has had some defensive limitations this year. There's no doubt

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Speaker 2: he hasn't been as good this year. Teams are being

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Speaker 2: more deliberate about attacking him. But beyond any shadow of

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Speaker 2: a doubt, the total two way impact of Austin has

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Speaker 2: far superseded anything that Cam Reddis and Jared Vanderbilt had

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Speaker 2: brought to the table. So there is legitimately no logical

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Speaker 2: case for putting this line up out there to start games.

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Speaker 2: And it's frustrating for me because I hear you say

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Speaker 2: things like what you just said a minute ago, you

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Speaker 2: were like, and I think they're going to stick with

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Speaker 2: it for the time being. Okay, can you elaborate on

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Speaker 2: that for me? First of all, like how long do

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Speaker 2: you mean? And also like, is he just under the

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Speaker 2: impression that this is going to start working at some point?

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Speaker 1: Well, I think inherently coaches you know when they make

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Speaker 1: a decision. Because the funny thing to me with this

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Speaker 1: whole thing was we had been asking about a potential

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Speaker 1: starting lineup change during the skid a couple of games prior,

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Speaker 1: and Darvin was in you're referencing. I think it was

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Speaker 1: after they lost the third consecutive game after the Bulls game,

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Speaker 1: and you know, Darvin, we referenced when the Lakers won

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Speaker 1: lost their three consecutive games earlier in the season. That's

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Speaker 1: when you saw Austin Reeves go to the bench and

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Speaker 1: he inserted Cam Reddish, and that was the big change

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Speaker 1: was you know, this starting lineup isn't working. We don't

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Speaker 1: believe in you know, Austin and Dilo can play together,

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Speaker 1: and we want to try Cam out there. So they

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Speaker 1: make that change. And you know, so now they're on

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Speaker 1: a three game losing streak. We ask about it and

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Speaker 1: he's like, well, you know, that's a big deal to

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Speaker 1: change the starting lineup at this point in the season,

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Speaker 1: and you know, it's it's not something that we, you know,

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Speaker 1: are going to do lightly. So then they lose the

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Speaker 1: fourth game in a row, and then all of a

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Speaker 1: sudden they make this starting lineup change, and I just so,

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Speaker 1: I think inherently there's a level of stubbornness that comes

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Speaker 1: with being a head coach where when you make a

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Speaker 1: change like that, you don't want to give up on it.

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Speaker 1: I asked last night, you know, I said, with the

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Speaker 1: way that defenses are guarding Cam and Vando right now

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Speaker 1: and just packing the paint and completely ignore them. Do

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Speaker 1: you think a Cam vandoh Wing tandem is viable, you know,

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Speaker 1: as a starting tandem And if so, how are you

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Speaker 1: gonna make that work? And then he basically went on

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Speaker 1: to say, it's all about pacing and they have to

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Speaker 1: attack the way that defenses are playing them and use

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Speaker 1: the space against them. But like, those guys aren't Draymond

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Speaker 1: Green as passers and decision makers, and the Lakers don't

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Speaker 1: have Steph Curry or Klay Thompson on this lineup. So

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Speaker 1: it's one thing to use the Golden State model of

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Speaker 1: we're gonna use Vando as like a dribble handoff guy

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Speaker 1: and like this and that. But like if you saw

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Speaker 1: the way that Boston offended them in those actually like

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Speaker 1: they tried some of that stuff.

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Speaker 4: They've been playing more for out.

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Speaker 1: They've been having Vando more in the dunker spot, and

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Speaker 1: that's another thing, like they've started to abandon their five

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Speaker 1: out principles because of this starting lineup change trying to

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Speaker 1: make it work.

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Speaker 4: And then on the other end, I.

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Speaker 1: Thought Anthony Davis had a comment that kind of went

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Speaker 1: under the radar where he was like we've been He

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Speaker 1: didn't say we've been a drop in hedge team, but

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Speaker 1: basically like, we have not been a switch team. Now

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Speaker 1: we are switching a lot, and we're batching a lot

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Speaker 1: of the communication and a lot of the coverages, and

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Speaker 1: I think you've seen that where there's been miscommunication and

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Speaker 1: transition defense. They were cross matched with Boston because Christaps

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Speaker 1: Porzingis was on Jared Vanderbilt, so that kind of messed

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Speaker 1: up some of the matchups, and you saw in transition

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Speaker 1: they didn't know who their man was, and then within

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Speaker 1: the half court sets there was miscommunication on you know,

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Speaker 1: when are we switching these off ball actions, who's sticking

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Speaker 1: with the cutter, etc. So I think right now that

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Speaker 1: they're kind of in a period of still trying to

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Speaker 1: figure some of that stuff out.

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Speaker 4: But to me, it just it doesn't make sense.

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Speaker 1: Again in theory, it has not made sense in practice,

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Speaker 1: and I think they should pull the plug now. And look,

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Speaker 1: they're gonna play Charlotte on Thursday. Team, they're gonna look great,

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Speaker 1: They're gonna win that game, and Darvin's gonna be able

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Speaker 1: to point to that. But you've got to measure yourself

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Speaker 1: against the Minnesota's the Oklahoma Cities and the Bostons, and

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Speaker 1: I just don't think that type of lineup is viable

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Speaker 1: against that calbur of opponent.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the Oklahoma City game was very much the Lakers

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Speaker 2: just dominated the possession battle. That was a big part

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Speaker 2: of how they did well in that game, and they

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Speaker 2: were just so much bigger at every single position. I

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Speaker 2: agree with you that stubbornness is the primary driver, because

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Speaker 2: it felt like it felt like the obvious change to

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Speaker 2: make was just swap d Lo and Austin in the

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Speaker 2: starting lineup, and if you wanted to get Jared Vanderbilt

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Speaker 2: in there, you get him in there for Cam. But

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Speaker 2: it almost felt like if Darvin put Austin in the

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Speaker 2: starting lineup, he would be basically publicly admitting he made

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Speaker 2: a mistake by benching him to begin with. And that,

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Speaker 2: to me is stupid because that's cutting off your nose

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Speaker 2: despite your face. You're not proving anybody right, You're just

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Speaker 2: you're blatantly shining a light on yourself that you are

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Speaker 2: being stubborn. In fact, I've always found it more admirable

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Speaker 2: when people are willing to admit when they've made mistakes,

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Speaker 2: and situations like that Austin, by the way, going into

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Speaker 2: the game where he got not like where he should

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Speaker 2: have been put back in the starting lineup, but they

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Speaker 2: went with Jared instead. He had like, over an eight

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Speaker 2: game span, been averaging twenty five and six on sixty

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Speaker 2: five percent trait, like literally playing his best stretch of

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Speaker 2: basketball the season, including just being an absolute monster in

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Speaker 2: these in season tournament games. So it was like the

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Speaker 2: most obvious decision that you could possibly imagine for a

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Speaker 2: situation like that.

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Speaker 3: Now I want to dive more.

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Speaker 2: Into this concept of switching versus being a drop in

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Speaker 2: hedge team, but I want to look at it through

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Speaker 2: the context of lineup constructions. So we're going to come

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Speaker 2: back to that in a minute. What I want to

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Speaker 2: start with is one of my biggest pet peeves is

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Speaker 2: when people are just like, hey, that's stupid, but then

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Speaker 2: they don't provide a counter solution. So what we're gonna

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Speaker 2: do today is we're going to have a little exercise

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Speaker 2: where we talk about what the Lakers starting lineup should

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Speaker 2: look like, the pros and cons of constructing them in

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Speaker 2: different ways, and talking about what schemes would have to

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Speaker 2: be used to work with those groups. So I want

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Speaker 2: you to go first. If you were the head coach

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Speaker 2: of the Los Angeles Lakers tonight or tomorrow night, I

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Speaker 2: should say, who would you put out as you're starting

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Speaker 2: five against the Charlotte Hornets.

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Speaker 1: So I would start, of course Lebron and eighty at

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Speaker 1: the four and the five. I would go with Austin

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Speaker 1: at the one, Torrian at the two, and Cam at

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Speaker 1: the three. I think, to me, the pivot point in

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Speaker 1: that lineup comes down to Cam versus vand Do. I

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Speaker 1: think you can make a case for either one of

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Speaker 1: those guys. Vando obviously bigger, better rebounder. Cam is shooting

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Speaker 1: the ball slightly better thirty percent overall, but twenty five

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Speaker 1: percent in the month of December, but at least he's

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Speaker 1: taking and making some van Do is zero for ten

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Speaker 1: on the season.

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Speaker 4: So like that that that's a problem to me. So

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Speaker 4: I would go with those three.

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Speaker 1: I think Torrian, I mean one, he's third on the

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Speaker 1: team in minutes, So like any lineup that is you're

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Speaker 1: pitching a starting lineup that doesn't have Torrian is just unrealistic.

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Speaker 1: At this point, he's gonna He's a starting lock at

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Speaker 1: this point and a closing lock. Frankly, so I think

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Speaker 1: Torrion shooting forty percent for the last month or so.

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Speaker 1: As you said on threes, I think he's a competent defender,

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Speaker 1: not necessarily a lockdown wing the way that Darvin uses

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Speaker 1: him at times, but I think, as like your secondary

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Speaker 1: perimeter guy, that's fine. Then I look at that Van

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Speaker 1: doh Cam spot as the point of attack, going to

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Speaker 1: defend the best one through three.

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Speaker 4: Guy and then Austin.

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Speaker 1: I think if Austin's your worst defender and you're kind

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Speaker 1: of hiding him on the secondary ball handler or the

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Speaker 1: secondary guard, I think that's totally fine, and you see

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Speaker 1: the Lakers close more often than not with that alignment.

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Speaker 1: So to me, I mean this is pretty clearly the

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Speaker 1: best lineup construct of you know, Austin's your third best player,

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Speaker 1: don't overthink it, start him, play him more than twenty

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Speaker 1: eight minutes a night. Torrian's out there as a floor spacer,

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Speaker 1: and then you have the Cam Vandos spot, which honestly

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Speaker 1: to me could even rotate depending on matchup. But if

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Speaker 1: you want to go with one, I think Cam has

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Speaker 1: in the aggregate.

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Speaker 4: Played slightly better.

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Speaker 1: He is the better shooter, and you just you got

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Speaker 1: to tell him don't put the ball on the floor

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Speaker 1: because that's kind of been an issue lately, is him

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Speaker 1: doing too much offensively. But that to me is just,

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Speaker 1: you know, pretty plainly the best potential starting five when

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Speaker 1: factoring in roles.

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Speaker 4: And the way that guys have been play lately. So

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Speaker 4: that's the group I would go with.

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Speaker 2: So I have two lineups that I consider, and one

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Speaker 2: of them is basically a switching lineup, and one of

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Speaker 2: them is more of like a hedge and drop lineup.

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Speaker 2: And the hedge and drop lineup is basically the same

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Speaker 2: lineup you put together. Again, don't overthink it. Austin's your

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Speaker 2: best player or best non lebron A D player, so

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Speaker 2: you go Austin lebron A D. Torrian's the one guy

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Speaker 2: out of all these wings that is doing one thing

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Speaker 2: at a super high level, which is shooting, so you

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Speaker 2: put him in that group. To me, it's it's Cam

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Speaker 2: is the better option right now. But the reason why

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Speaker 2: I start Jared is I do think eventually he's going

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Speaker 2: to get his legs underneath him and start defending like

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Speaker 2: he did towards the tail end of last year. So

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Speaker 2: I think inevitably in the long run, because Cam again

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Speaker 2: there have been these brief stretches where it's like, okay,

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Speaker 2: a two or three game stretch here where he only

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Speaker 2: takes corner threes and he's focused on the defensive end

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Speaker 2: and he's deeply impactful. But it's been a lot of

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Speaker 2: random bs around that, which has kind of limited some

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Speaker 2: of his effectiveness. And again, like it's not. One of

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Speaker 2: the things I appreciate about Jared Vanderbilt is he knows

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Speaker 2: he can't shoot, so you won't see him take a

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Speaker 2: pull up transition above the break three where you're like, dude, okay,

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Speaker 2: we can get a better shot than that. Like he's

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Speaker 2: gonna go get the ball to somebody that can make

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Speaker 2: a decision with it. So I would go Austin Vando,

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Speaker 2: Torrian lebron Ad in like a hedge and drop system

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Speaker 2: where we're trying to keep ad close to the rim.

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Speaker 3: This is the other lineup that i'd pitch.

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Speaker 2: And the basic concept here is you're putting your five

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Speaker 2: best players on the floor, okay, and it'd be Austin

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Speaker 2: Torrean Ruey lebron Ad. This would be a switch group. Now,

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Speaker 2: to Anthony Davis's point, switching has ups and downs. The

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Speaker 2: upsides are stagnate's an offense, you get in front of actions,

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Speaker 2: you shut down a ball screen game. There's a bunch

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Speaker 2: of things you can do with switching to stagnate an opponent.

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Speaker 2: Downsides there can be confusion in switches, and when you

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Speaker 2: botch a switch, people get wide open. That's a big problem.

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Speaker 2: Can be fixed, the repetition communication, just building really good habits.

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Speaker 2: That's that's something where part of part of the risk

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Speaker 2: of changing your defensive set up in the middle of

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Speaker 2: the season is you can go through a stretch where

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Speaker 2: you look like shit doing it because you guys don't

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Speaker 2: have your habits down right. But then the other side

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Speaker 2: of it is like, Okay, we can give up rebounding

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00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,399
Speaker 2: mismatches or we can give up post up mismatches. There

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Speaker 2: are downsides physically to switching, but you're huge in that group,

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Speaker 2: Like you're unbelievably big. You're Corey and Prince at six '

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Speaker 2: eight at the two, Ruyachimur at six ' nine at

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Speaker 2: the three and whatever.

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Speaker 3: He is two hundred and fifty.

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Speaker 2: Pounds, Lebron James six nine sixty two seventy at the four,

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Speaker 2: and Anthony Davis one of the biggest athletes in the

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Speaker 2: league at the five, and so you have the ability

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Speaker 2: to basically shrink the floor when teams try to attack

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00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:49,120
Speaker 2: matchups in terms of digging down and rotating in help.

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Speaker 2: And you're huge on the glass. And so one of

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Speaker 2: the reasons why I like that that that potential group

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00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,679
Speaker 2: is like you are trying to float things until you

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Speaker 2: get to a point where you could recon figure the roster.

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Speaker 2: And we're gonna talk about that in a minute, and

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Speaker 2: that could fundamentally change the entire direction that this team goes,

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Speaker 2: and you might have to kind of do what you

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Speaker 2: did last year where you're basically a new team post

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00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:11,960
Speaker 2: deadline anyway, but you gotta get to that point, and

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Speaker 2: in the Western Conference, you got to try to eat

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Speaker 2: up as many wins as possible. I think finding as

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Speaker 2: many opportunities as possible to have your best players together

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Speaker 2: can go a long way towards helping you there. D'Angel

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00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,359
Speaker 2: Russell is arguably your fifth best player, but with Torrean

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Speaker 2: shooting as well as he has and with the built

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00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:29,280
Speaker 2: of build of that lineup, let's just call him your

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Speaker 2: fifth best player there. And then again, you eat some

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Speaker 2: of the lumps of not of being as sharp with

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Speaker 2: your switches and hope that it hopes that over time

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00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:40,680
Speaker 2: you can kind of figure some of that stuff out.

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00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:45,080
Speaker 2: But like, again to Anthony Davis's point, like there's there's

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Speaker 2: you gotta find what it is that you want to

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00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,520
Speaker 2: be and lean into it. If you're gonna be a

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Speaker 2: switching team, then build lineups accordingly and lean into it.

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00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:55,920
Speaker 2: If you're gonna be a hedge and drop team, then

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00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,679
Speaker 2: build lineups accordingly and lean into it. But this idea

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00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,080
Speaker 2: where it's like, Okay, hey, we're gonna we're gonna run

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00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:06,960
Speaker 2: Cam and Torrian and and and Jared Vanderbilt, and we're

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Speaker 2: gonna be this athletic team. But we're just like putting

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Speaker 2: together all these other weird groups where Austin, We're like, okay,

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Speaker 2: here comes Ruey and Dill and they're just gonna come

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Speaker 2: down the floor and shoot every time. Because so we're

434
00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:20,280
Speaker 2: fundamentally changing the team. It's been it's been such a

435
00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:23,840
Speaker 2: bizarre experience watching in the last couple of days because

436
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:27,480
Speaker 2: all we're seeing is these really redundant groups that just

437
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,520
Speaker 2: have a bunch of the same type of talent on

438
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:31,840
Speaker 2: the floor and they're really really struggling and there's no

439
00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:33,120
Speaker 2: doubt that they're underachieving.

440
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,040
Speaker 3: Part of the issue here is you're.

441
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,400
Speaker 2: Talking about, Okay, well maybe it should be Cam, maybe

442
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,920
Speaker 2: it should be Jared. I'm talking about like, well, maybe

443
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:45,080
Speaker 2: it should be RUI, maybe it should be.

444
00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:45,560
Speaker 3: You know, Jared.

445
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,600
Speaker 2: We're talking about all these different configurations, and the issue

446
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,560
Speaker 2: there is none of these guys are are really what

447
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,959
Speaker 2: they need. As good as Ruey is, as good as

448
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,960
Speaker 2: Cam is, as good as Jared is, as good as

449
00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,520
Speaker 2: Torrian is, they all have a fundamental downside. Torrian, as

450
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:02,560
Speaker 2: good as he's shooting, is just not good enough to

451
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:04,520
Speaker 2: be a primary point of attack defender. He's just not

452
00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:07,240
Speaker 2: Jared Vanderbilt is good enough to do that, but he's

453
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:10,680
Speaker 2: such a huge offensive limitation saying I Cam, I would

454
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,760
Speaker 2: argue he's not good enough to do either, right, And

455
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,359
Speaker 2: then Ruey hatche Mura basically has to be in a

456
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:19,080
Speaker 2: switching scheme because he can't navigate screens, and so that

457
00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:23,800
Speaker 2: begs the question, like if this is all going in

458
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,879
Speaker 2: towards a direction where you need to consolidate these guys

459
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,200
Speaker 2: and you need to turn them into a specific type

460
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:35,879
Speaker 2: of player that works to me. Until Darvin basically accepts

461
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,280
Speaker 2: that Austin is the one, and that you need to

462
00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,440
Speaker 2: upgrade these two and three. It's hard to even get

463
00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,119
Speaker 2: to that point where we're moving in the right direction.

464
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,159
Speaker 2: So I guess this would be my question. Have you

465
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:52,520
Speaker 2: heard anything internally that has that leads you to believe

466
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,240
Speaker 2: that there's frustrating frustration building simply from the standpoint that

467
00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 2: they can't build functional lineups.

468
00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think even if you look at players comments postgame,

469
00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:06,720
Speaker 1: there's been and some of that stuff is natural during

470
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:09,320
Speaker 1: a losing streak, So I don't want to like overplay that,

471
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,399
Speaker 1: but you've seen several guys kind of be like, I

472
00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,800
Speaker 1: don't know my role essentially, or you know, like I

473
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:17,719
Speaker 1: think Rui has been one of the most vocal in

474
00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:20,960
Speaker 1: that sense of just like some nights Rui's playing sixteen

475
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,680
Speaker 1: minutes a night, some nights Ruey's playing thirty minutes a night.

476
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,119
Speaker 1: And it's really been just kind of this up and

477
00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,440
Speaker 1: down thing with so many guys, and like, I.

478
00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:31,240
Speaker 4: Mean, look at Delo.

479
00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:35,240
Speaker 1: Delo, you know, plays thirty eight minutes against the Timberwolves,

480
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,960
Speaker 1: starts that game two for twelve. Don't really understand why

481
00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:41,520
Speaker 1: he's playing so much in that game, especially when Austin

482
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:45,000
Speaker 1: has it going and then he gets benched and plays

483
00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,879
Speaker 1: eighteen minutes in each of the next couple of games.

484
00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:52,359
Speaker 1: So right now, the Lakers kind of continue to use

485
00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:56,639
Speaker 1: the injury bug as an excuse in my opinion of

486
00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,800
Speaker 1: you know, we're not Like Lebron was asked last night

487
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:03,359
Speaker 1: about how you compare against Boston, OKC, Minnesota. You guys

488
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:05,960
Speaker 1: just went one to two against those three teams, and

489
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,520
Speaker 1: he referenced the team's injuries. But last night, Gabe Vincent

490
00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:11,879
Speaker 1: was the only guy that was out, and I know

491
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,320
Speaker 1: Cam had a groin issue. Lebron obviously had that collision

492
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,639
Speaker 1: with Jalen Brown late in the second quarter. But the

493
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:23,320
Speaker 1: Lakers have been pretty healthy relatively over the last couple weeks,

494
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,400
Speaker 1: and we've still seen them struggle to beat a San

495
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:31,760
Speaker 1: Antonio team without Ad and just some of these losses,

496
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,960
Speaker 1: you know, losing to Chicago basically fully healthy, that was

497
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,479
Speaker 1: the game gave Vincent return. So, like, I think that

498
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:42,639
Speaker 1: excuse only holds water for so long, and at some

499
00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:44,639
Speaker 1: point it's got to be like, we have to figure

500
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,960
Speaker 1: this out in terms of our rotations and our lineups.

501
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,880
Speaker 1: And I think another thing that's kind of gone under

502
00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:54,320
Speaker 1: discussed with everything right now is like the Lakers wanted

503
00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 1: to have continuity. That was the theme of the offseason.

504
00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,399
Speaker 1: They said it in every press conference. It was the

505
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,720
Speaker 1: main reason why they brought the band back together. And

506
00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,000
Speaker 1: that continuity has basically gone out the window. Where you

507
00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:10,639
Speaker 1: won with a Jared Vanderbilt, Austin Reeves, D'Angelo Russell starting

508
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,800
Speaker 1: perimeter group that has barely played together this season, and

509
00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,280
Speaker 1: part of that, of course is Jared Vanderbilt's injury.

510
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,560
Speaker 4: But you know, originally it.

511
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,080
Speaker 1: Was, well, Austin and Dilo can't play together, so let's

512
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:23,760
Speaker 1: bring Austin off the bench. Now it's well, they're playing

513
00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:26,840
Speaker 1: well together, so let's bring them off the bench together,

514
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,520
Speaker 1: and you know, have their broad the second unit, and

515
00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,440
Speaker 1: it's just it's kind of mixed messaging. So I think,

516
00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,920
Speaker 1: you know, certainly there's some frustration internally in terms of,

517
00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,000
Speaker 1: you know, can we just stick with a lineup and

518
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,720
Speaker 1: a rotation for X amount of games, see what's working

519
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,600
Speaker 1: and what's not, and stop vacillating game to game the

520
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,399
Speaker 1: way that it has. And part of that, again is

521
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:52,800
Speaker 1: injuries and that they have had some bad luck, and

522
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,199
Speaker 1: that there have been reasons why certain lineups haven't been

523
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,520
Speaker 1: able to play as much as the Lakers would like.

524
00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,399
Speaker 1: But part of that's just been, you know, certain guys

525
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,800
Speaker 1: struggle and they get benched, and certain guys struggle and

526
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,320
Speaker 1: they continue to play. And I think we've kind of

527
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:08,360
Speaker 1: seen that, like Torrian and Cam have very long leashes

528
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:11,119
Speaker 1: in terms of you know, like Torrian had that stretch

529
00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:13,879
Speaker 1: where like eleven games he was shooting twenty eight percent

530
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,880
Speaker 1: on threes and he continued to play thirty plus minutes

531
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:21,560
Speaker 1: a night consistently. Cam has had some rough stretches, particularly shooting,

532
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:25,160
Speaker 1: and he's continued to play, whereas guys like Austin Dilo Rui,

533
00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:27,520
Speaker 1: like those guys are fluctuating more so, I think that

534
00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:30,960
Speaker 1: you know, you mentioned the consolidation with Delo and Rui.

535
00:26:31,119 --> 00:26:34,240
Speaker 1: I think that's a you the likely solution here. But

536
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:38,000
Speaker 1: it has been kind of wild that night tonight. It's

537
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,520
Speaker 1: really you don't know what you're getting in terms of

538
00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:44,080
Speaker 1: lineups and rotation, and like, part of that again is injuries,

539
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:45,520
Speaker 1: but part of that is just you got to stick

540
00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:50,080
Speaker 1: to something, and it shouldn't be this current scarring lineup.

541
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:55,240
Speaker 2: Well, and again like leaning into Cam and Torrian as

542
00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:58,719
Speaker 2: much as they have has diminished any sort of continuity,

543
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,080
Speaker 2: like you're, You're, You're mentioned, because those those guys are

544
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,679
Speaker 2: eating up the majority of the of the wing minutes.

545
00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,760
Speaker 2: And again, like like I like a long leash for

546
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:10,840
Speaker 2: especially a skill player guys like Austin, guys like d Lo,

547
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,520
Speaker 2: guys like Rui, because you want them to always be

548
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,800
Speaker 2: in rhythm, and so you disrupt rhythm by constantly taking

549
00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,439
Speaker 2: them out of games. There's no real upside to giving

550
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:24,159
Speaker 2: super long leashes to Torrian or Cam because Torrian is

551
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,560
Speaker 2: basically a high volume catch and shoot guy and more

552
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,480
Speaker 2: or less he's just shooting, catching and shoot threes. He's

553
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:32,480
Speaker 2: not a guy that's actually breaking the defense down, and Cam, like,

554
00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:34,160
Speaker 2: I'm not even sure you can point to a single

555
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,960
Speaker 2: thing that he does well offensively. So like like maybe

556
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:39,760
Speaker 2: putting the ball on the floor for a six eight guy,

557
00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:41,840
Speaker 2: he's got a little bit more pot there than some

558
00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,680
Speaker 2: guys based on his pedigree, but like, there's just not

559
00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:46,640
Speaker 2: a lot that you're getting there in terms of upside.

560
00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:49,199
Speaker 2: And so again, like I agree with you that the

561
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:52,480
Speaker 2: fluctuations are occurring in the wrong spot on the roster.

562
00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:54,800
Speaker 2: As far as Lebron and the excuses with injury. One

563
00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,240
Speaker 2: hundred percent agree as well, because the way I look

564
00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 2: at it's like you're not beating the Celtics as cur

565
00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,959
Speaker 2: constructed when Lebron plays like shit under any circumstances. Okay,

566
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,880
Speaker 2: you played really well against the Thunder, and again, they're

567
00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:08,960
Speaker 2: a bad matchup and they've struggled with big teams most

568
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:12,919
Speaker 2: of the year. The Minnesota game schedule, loss tail end

569
00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 2: of it, back to back, just just a rough game, right,

570
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:16,960
Speaker 2: But there's a lot of games in there that they

571
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:19,600
Speaker 2: had no business losing. You know, even if I give

572
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,119
Speaker 2: you the Chicago one, because Chicago has been playing some

573
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:25,240
Speaker 2: good basketball lately, it's like you lost to a Dallas

574
00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:28,520
Speaker 2: Mavericks team that was decimated by injuries, and I watched

575
00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:31,639
Speaker 2: you guys not play hard to start the game. You

576
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,680
Speaker 2: turned it on in the third quarter, like I watched

577
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,640
Speaker 2: you guys lose to San Antonio Spurs, san Antonio's first

578
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:41,080
Speaker 2: team that literally hadn't beat anybody in like a month

579
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:42,800
Speaker 2: and hasn't beat anybody since.

580
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:44,240
Speaker 3: Like that.

581
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,600
Speaker 2: That's that's there's no there's no oh, like Jared Vanderbilt's

582
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,520
Speaker 2: foot's bothering him. So we lost to the Spurs. You know,

583
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:52,959
Speaker 2: like there's that to me is not something that I

584
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,160
Speaker 2: that I buy into. Some of this is like when

585
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:58,680
Speaker 2: you are trying to float until there's a point in

586
00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,080
Speaker 2: the future where you reorder. Yet some things on the

587
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:05,880
Speaker 2: roster you can't afford to lose those games. And one

588
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:07,600
Speaker 2: of the things that they did well at the beginning

589
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:09,520
Speaker 2: of the year is they lost to the good teams,

590
00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:11,960
Speaker 2: but they took care of business against those teams, and

591
00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:14,160
Speaker 2: that hasn't been the case as of late, and I

592
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:16,680
Speaker 2: think it's it's done a disservice to them. But let's

593
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:21,280
Speaker 2: talk about this deadline for a minute here, because we've

594
00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:23,959
Speaker 2: seen d Angela Russell's role change. He's only taking ten

595
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,560
Speaker 2: shots a game over his last nine and forty percent

596
00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:30,720
Speaker 2: from the field, below thirty percent from three. He's weirdly

597
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:34,080
Speaker 2: important now because of Gabe Vincent's injury as essentially the

598
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:38,000
Speaker 2: backup point guard, although Austin's kind of in that spot too,

599
00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:40,760
Speaker 2: which is which again leads you to wonder why the

600
00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,360
Speaker 2: hell the rotation is constructed the way it is. But

601
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,360
Speaker 2: I saw a star trade get suggested today. That was

602
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,360
Speaker 2: the first one that I've actually liked for the Lakers.

603
00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:54,560
Speaker 2: I have not liked any mention of DeMar Derozen or

604
00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,960
Speaker 2: zach Lavine or any of these other names that have

605
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,320
Speaker 2: been thrown out there. But I'm Trannie reported today that

606
00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,160
Speaker 2: we should keep an eye out for de Jonte Murray

607
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:09,960
Speaker 2: to be on the Lakers radar. Now, I I want

608
00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:13,120
Speaker 2: you actually to go first here. Do you do you

609
00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:17,040
Speaker 2: actually view that as realistic? Because I'm wondering why in

610
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,040
Speaker 2: the heck the Hawks would want one first and Ruey Hatcha,

611
00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:23,320
Speaker 2: Mura and d Lo as a package there? Do you

612
00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:24,320
Speaker 2: view it as realistic?

613
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:24,720
Speaker 3: And two?

614
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,040
Speaker 2: If so, do you think it's a direction that would

615
00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,240
Speaker 2: help alleviate some of the Lakers issues Right now?

616
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,880
Speaker 1: I view it as realistic insofar as I think the

617
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:39,760
Speaker 1: Atlanta situation clearly isn't working and they likely have to

618
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:44,280
Speaker 1: split that up. I feel like Dejonte is more of

619
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:48,400
Speaker 1: the fall guy in this scenario, and I think the

620
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,280
Speaker 1: Lakers would have interest in him, and do you have

621
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,240
Speaker 1: interest in him? And there's also the clutch connection, so

622
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:58,280
Speaker 1: you can't you know, I guess you.

623
00:30:58,240 --> 00:30:59,000
Speaker 4: Know overlook that.

624
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,880
Speaker 1: But to your point, like, the Lakers don't have a

625
00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,760
Speaker 1: lot to give up, and I think when front offices

626
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:10,840
Speaker 1: admit a mistake, we were talking about it with coaches,

627
00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:13,040
Speaker 1: but with front offices to admit a mistake.

628
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,960
Speaker 4: I mean, when did they trade for him? But I

629
00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:18,120
Speaker 4: don't even remember how.

630
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:18,720
Speaker 3: Three years ago.

631
00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 1: I think it was two years ago, a couple of

632
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:24,239
Speaker 1: years ago, so it hasn't been that long. And you know,

633
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:27,320
Speaker 1: for them to admit a mistake, and given all that

634
00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,680
Speaker 1: they gave up to get him, to get a just

635
00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:33,400
Speaker 1: one first round pick back and you're not going to

636
00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:37,239
Speaker 1: get Austin Reeves. So I think Austin would you have

637
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:40,200
Speaker 1: to be like a bona fide high level All star

638
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:42,840
Speaker 1: for the Lakers to include Austin Reeves in a deal.

639
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:47,480
Speaker 1: So if you're looking at something like Delo Rui, one

640
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,480
Speaker 1: of the younger guys, you know, be at Max or

641
00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:53,600
Speaker 1: Jalen and throw in a pick. Lakers have upwards of

642
00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:56,200
Speaker 1: four pick swaps they could throw in, So maybe you're

643
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,760
Speaker 1: throwing a pick swapper too, just to appease Atlanta and

644
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,000
Speaker 1: get is done. Like is you know, is there a

645
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:04,880
Speaker 1: better package out there? And I think there probably is

646
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,200
Speaker 1: for de Jonte Murray. I look at a team like

647
00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:11,400
Speaker 1: Philly and what you know they could potentially offer in Philly,

648
00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:13,560
Speaker 1: and the Lakers are kind of in the same boat

649
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,000
Speaker 1: in looking for the same types of players, be it

650
00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:19,720
Speaker 1: an Alex Caruso or whatnot, or you know, more three

651
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:22,120
Speaker 1: and D wings. So like a team like Philly can

652
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,560
Speaker 1: come in and probably offer a better package and a

653
00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,440
Speaker 1: more aggressive package, as we know Threw Moorey likes to do,

654
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,120
Speaker 1: so I do look at it would probably have to

655
00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:33,520
Speaker 1: be a situation where just the market is dry for

656
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,040
Speaker 1: Dejonte and you know he wants to be in LA

657
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:39,160
Speaker 1: and you got the clutch situation, and the Lakers and Hawks,

658
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,000
Speaker 1: you know, figure out and again probably some pick swaps

659
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,480
Speaker 1: in there just to appease them. But that's where I

660
00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:47,600
Speaker 1: just the actual package itself I kind of struggle with.

661
00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:49,000
Speaker 1: I don't know if you expand it to a three

662
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,760
Speaker 1: team deal. Feels like a lot of these potential trades

663
00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:53,760
Speaker 1: for the Lakers probably have to be a three team

664
00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:58,520
Speaker 1: deal where Delo gets rerouted to a third team. That's

665
00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,400
Speaker 1: you know, kind of an O case Utah situation where

666
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:04,640
Speaker 1: they're just trying to absorb a contract and you know,

667
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,440
Speaker 1: get another asset out of it. Maybe that's where one

668
00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:10,840
Speaker 1: of the younger guys goes as well. But that's where

669
00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:13,880
Speaker 1: I hesitate to say it's realistic in terms of like

670
00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:16,640
Speaker 1: actually looking at the package, but I think the Lakers

671
00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:19,480
Speaker 1: Dejonte checks the box of you could imagine him in

672
00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:23,880
Speaker 1: that starting lineup with his size and athleticism defensively and

673
00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:26,040
Speaker 1: just what he's capable of. I think he could fit

674
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,680
Speaker 1: the type of defensive guard the Lakers could use. And

675
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,880
Speaker 1: then again, the clutch situation, I think kind of speaks

676
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,440
Speaker 1: for itself, So I think that there's some smoke there

677
00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:38,600
Speaker 1: for sure. I just I struggle seeing Atlanta pulling the

678
00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:43,200
Speaker 1: trigger and that ultimately being the best available package for him.

679
00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:48,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's funny because I'm super skeptical as well

680
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:51,240
Speaker 2: as to the realistic nature of this type of deal.

681
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:54,560
Speaker 2: But it again, as I said earlier, it's the first

682
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:56,960
Speaker 2: one I really like. And the main reason why is

683
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,800
Speaker 2: because it's a star. A star, but a star that

684
00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:03,760
Speaker 2: kind of compliments the specific issues that the Lakers are having.

685
00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,200
Speaker 2: We talked about the pros and cons of switching versus

686
00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:11,600
Speaker 2: dropping earlier, and I am a big believer that ideally,

687
00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:14,480
Speaker 2: if you have the personnel for it, I'd prefer to drop.

688
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,800
Speaker 2: And the main reason why is to me, Anthony Davis

689
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:21,120
Speaker 2: at the RIM is the is the best version of

690
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:25,120
Speaker 2: this Laker defense, and throughout the history of this team,

691
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:27,799
Speaker 2: the best versions of them have basically been teams that

692
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:32,080
Speaker 2: allow Anthony Davis to defend and pick and roll, and

693
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,840
Speaker 2: then the Lakers will switch at the end of games,

694
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,320
Speaker 2: They'll switch Anthony Davis in pick and roll onto the

695
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:40,839
Speaker 2: opposing star to get a couple of key stops at

696
00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:43,200
Speaker 2: the end. That to me is the is the direction

697
00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:46,319
Speaker 2: this team should should go in order to reach their

698
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,359
Speaker 2: own personal ceiling. But in order to do so, they

699
00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,000
Speaker 2: need a legitimate point of attack guard that can navigate

700
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,120
Speaker 2: over the top of screens and apply back pressure. I

701
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:56,440
Speaker 2: viewed de Jontey Murray as that type of guy. I

702
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,640
Speaker 2: think he's I think for starters, he came up with

703
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:01,600
Speaker 2: a defen pedigree and.

704
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:03,560
Speaker 3: Two.

705
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:06,279
Speaker 2: The dude was a huge Lebron fan early on and

706
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:08,640
Speaker 2: would probably be willing to take on a role like

707
00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:13,200
Speaker 2: that in hopes of potentially achieving a longer championship run

708
00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:15,880
Speaker 2: with Lebron James and Anthony Davis. I think he compliments

709
00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:19,640
Speaker 2: Austin Reeves really well in the backcourt. Dejonte was a

710
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,719
Speaker 2: really bad off ball player last year, having a much

711
00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:25,680
Speaker 2: much better off ball season this year. Fueled in large

712
00:35:25,719 --> 00:35:27,560
Speaker 2: part by just him shooting the ball better and catch

713
00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,840
Speaker 2: and shoot situations and being more aggressive in catch and

714
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:32,799
Speaker 2: shoot situations. This was a guy who looked to drive

715
00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:34,919
Speaker 2: close outs a lot in the past. Now he's taking

716
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:36,799
Speaker 2: a lot of those jumpers when he gets them. So

717
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:39,120
Speaker 2: I think it's like a would be an absolute slam

718
00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:43,120
Speaker 2: dunk as far as star trades go. That said, I

719
00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,440
Speaker 2: still come back to the same three things. Ideally, you

720
00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:47,560
Speaker 2: want an upgrade at the three, an upgrade at the two,

721
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:48,880
Speaker 2: and an upgrade.

722
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:50,480
Speaker 3: At the center position.

723
00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:55,880
Speaker 2: And so I still think the most realistic and best

724
00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,200
Speaker 2: case scenario for the Lakers is some sort of deal

725
00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:04,440
Speaker 2: with Chicago where they get Caruso and someone like Andre Drummond,

726
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,880
Speaker 2: and maybe that that's the deal that probably requires draft compensation.

727
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,120
Speaker 2: And then I look at a team like Brooklyn and

728
00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:15,319
Speaker 2: that's the team I'd be calling with RUI Because the

729
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:18,600
Speaker 2: other important part of this, too is what does Ruy

730
00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:21,440
Speaker 2: do for Atlanta? They have the same player basically in

731
00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:26,800
Speaker 2: DeAndre Hunter. DeAndre Hunter is very very similar to Ruy Hatchimura,

732
00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:29,759
Speaker 2: pull up mid range jump shooter guy, kind of an

733
00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:32,440
Speaker 2: on an Island score that seems to kind of struggle

734
00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:35,000
Speaker 2: in the flow of offense, and so I again to

735
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:37,920
Speaker 2: your point, they'd need a third team to even facilitate

736
00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:43,240
Speaker 2: a deal like that. But Brooklyn has like three big

737
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,440
Speaker 2: lanky wings that are kind of like more like twos

738
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:49,719
Speaker 2: and threes. And then Ben Simmons is therefore and he's

739
00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:52,960
Speaker 2: been injured basically right, so they don't have a big,

740
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:57,440
Speaker 2: strong forward. They don't have like an actual Ruey Hachimura archetype,

741
00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:00,400
Speaker 2: but they have a guy like Dorian Finney Smith to

742
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:04,399
Speaker 2: go alongside Cam Johnson, to go alongside Mikhale Bridges. I'd

743
00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:07,600
Speaker 2: be looking to potentially make a swap like that where

744
00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:09,560
Speaker 2: you're getting a guy like Dorian Finney Smith, which is

745
00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:13,279
Speaker 2: basically Torrian Prince with better perimeter defense, and that ends

746
00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:15,759
Speaker 2: up being an upgrade at that position. If they did

747
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:18,160
Speaker 2: something like that, now we're talking about a lineup that

748
00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:21,080
Speaker 2: could throw out Austin at the one, Alex Cruso at

749
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:23,399
Speaker 2: the two, a guy like Dorian Finney Smith at the three,

750
00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:27,759
Speaker 2: Lebron and ad all of those position positions make perfect sense.

751
00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,120
Speaker 2: It cleans up some of the rotation stuff, and then

752
00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:32,960
Speaker 2: you'd have a playoff, playable center in someone like Andre

753
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,799
Speaker 2: Drummond coming off of the bench, which I think we've

754
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:38,319
Speaker 2: seen a lot from Christian Wood and Jackson Hayes has

755
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:40,440
Speaker 2: left a lot to be desired in recent weeks. So

756
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:44,480
Speaker 2: I still lean like instead of targeting that bigger type

757
00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:50,239
Speaker 2: of target, little trades for upgrades at starting caliber positions.

758
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,600
Speaker 2: You have two starting caliber players in D'Angelo Russell and

759
00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,800
Speaker 2: Ruy Hachamura that don't start for you because you already

760
00:37:56,800 --> 00:37:59,120
Speaker 2: have guys in their positions. You have to find a

761
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:02,759
Speaker 2: way to turn that into starters that slot into those positions.

762
00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:04,279
Speaker 2: Do you agree with me or do you think that

763
00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:05,640
Speaker 2: they should go big fish hunting?

764
00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:07,160
Speaker 3: I agree with you.

765
00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,160
Speaker 1: I think it depends on the big fish. I think

766
00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,520
Speaker 1: the Jontey Murray is, as you were implying, going in

767
00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:16,839
Speaker 1: the right direction in comparison with the zach Lavine or

768
00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:21,680
Speaker 1: even DeMar DeRozan. I think I would prefer de Rosan

769
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:24,120
Speaker 1: over Levine if I'm the Lakers, and I know they

770
00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:28,120
Speaker 1: feel the same way. But even there, you know, with

771
00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:33,560
Speaker 1: his lack of three point shooting and his defense is passable,

772
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:36,600
Speaker 1: you know, depending on who he's guarding. But like, I

773
00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:38,520
Speaker 1: still think there's a bit of a fit issue there.

774
00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:42,680
Speaker 1: Both starting and closing games, whereas with the Jonte, I

775
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,360
Speaker 1: think he would slot in properly. You could close games

776
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,640
Speaker 1: with him in Austin, you could start games with him

777
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:49,440
Speaker 1: in Austin. Though I don't know if they would go

778
00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:53,360
Speaker 1: in that direction, but I think it just makes more sense.

779
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:55,680
Speaker 1: But I'm with you, and I know that this is

780
00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:58,080
Speaker 1: something that they've been weighing, and really it's been one

781
00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:00,440
Speaker 1: of the big questions for the Lakers as an organization

782
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:03,320
Speaker 1: over the last few years has been do we chase

783
00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:07,600
Speaker 1: the third star or do we go for the role

784
00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:11,120
Speaker 1: player upgrades? And I think we saw with the Russell

785
00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:15,400
Speaker 1: Westbrook situation that they chased the third star did not work. Now, granted,

786
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:18,880
Speaker 1: outside of Ben Simmons, that might have been the worst

787
00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:22,719
Speaker 1: third star to pair with Lebron n Ad in terms

788
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:27,200
Speaker 1: of fit, it probably was the worst. But you know, so,

789
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:29,120
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's like the best example of

790
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,520
Speaker 1: what a third star could look like next to Lebron

791
00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:33,080
Speaker 1: and Ad. Like I think when they were going after

792
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:35,600
Speaker 1: Damian Lillard briefly, like that would have been a perfect

793
00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:38,399
Speaker 1: fit in my opinion. You know, you could have Ad

794
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:41,680
Speaker 1: covering for him defensively and with his shooting and picking

795
00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:44,920
Speaker 1: roll ability, alleviating a lot of that burden off of Lebron,

796
00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:46,640
Speaker 1: And of course, you know he's been a top ten

797
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:49,719
Speaker 1: twelve player over the last few years, so I mean

798
00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:52,960
Speaker 1: that's the high level upgrade, of course, But like I think,

799
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:56,800
Speaker 1: there's degrees here where just just blatantly, you know, saying

800
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,800
Speaker 1: that a third star won't work or won't fit, I

801
00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:02,719
Speaker 1: think is a mistake. But they don't really have the

802
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:06,279
Speaker 1: assets to get the type of third star that would

803
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:08,640
Speaker 1: fit perfectly next to Lebron and ad In my opinion,

804
00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:12,160
Speaker 1: it would really have to be a terrible contract or

805
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,359
Speaker 1: you know, a situation where you know they can get

806
00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:19,279
Speaker 1: a third team involved and maybe that can help facilitate it.

807
00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,279
Speaker 1: But I just don't see it the Lakers, being straight up,

808
00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:24,279
Speaker 1: you're being able to find that type of third star

809
00:40:24,719 --> 00:40:27,120
Speaker 1: that really takes them to the level of a Denver

810
00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:27,920
Speaker 1: or a Boston.

811
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:29,759
Speaker 4: So to me, it is a smaller upgrade.

812
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:32,080
Speaker 1: I'm with you. I think three and D wing has

813
00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:35,759
Speaker 1: been the biggest issue for this team really since the championship.

814
00:40:36,360 --> 00:40:38,600
Speaker 1: You know, they haven't been able to replace I mean,

815
00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:40,920
Speaker 1: they still had KCP and KU's that second year, but

816
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:43,480
Speaker 1: injuries and whatnot but like they haven't been able to

817
00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:46,120
Speaker 1: replace that, you know, since the Russ trade with you know,

818
00:40:46,239 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 1: kcp Cou's Danny Green. Even Alex Caruso is more of

819
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:52,279
Speaker 1: a three and D guard, Like, they just haven't had

820
00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:55,520
Speaker 1: those types of guys consistently, so, you know, it's always

821
00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:58,800
Speaker 1: been one flawed like Jared Vanderbilt, really good perimeter defender,

822
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,440
Speaker 1: but can't shoot, and teams just play him off the

823
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:02,320
Speaker 1: floor in the playoffs.

824
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:05,719
Speaker 4: So I think finding at least one of those guys.

825
00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:08,080
Speaker 1: If not a couple, if possible, Like you know, maybe

826
00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:10,760
Speaker 1: you can't get Caruso and you go for Royce O'Neil

827
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,920
Speaker 1: and Dory Finney Smith, and you know, Royce O'Neil obviously

828
00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,640
Speaker 1: isn't the caliber of player that Alex Cruso is, but

829
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:18,960
Speaker 1: to me, it would still be an overall upgrade to

830
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,600
Speaker 1: the rotation if you could bring both of those guys in.

831
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:23,920
Speaker 1: Those are two guys the Lakers have had interest in

832
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:28,080
Speaker 1: dating back to last offseason and even last trade deadlines.

833
00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:30,319
Speaker 1: So I know that those are two guys that they

834
00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:33,400
Speaker 1: would have interest in bringing in. So I think, you know,

835
00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:35,760
Speaker 1: we're on the same page here in terms of if

836
00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:38,600
Speaker 1: you can find the perfect third star somehow and make

837
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:42,080
Speaker 1: that work and make a miracle, you know, pull it off. Like, sure,

838
00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:44,960
Speaker 1: go for that, but realistically, I think it's gonna have

839
00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:47,720
Speaker 1: to be a marginal upgrade in terms of the starting

840
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,319
Speaker 1: and closing lineup. But that's still very important for this

841
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,160
Speaker 1: group is obviously they have yet to figure out what's

842
00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:55,640
Speaker 1: our best five man lineup and we're over thirty games

843
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:56,320
Speaker 1: into the season.

844
00:41:57,200 --> 00:41:59,799
Speaker 2: That that's the key there is, like you have to

845
00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:03,200
Speaker 2: find a way to make Darvin's job easier because he's struggling.

846
00:42:03,719 --> 00:42:07,480
Speaker 2: He's struggling. I mean, like I said this, yes the

847
00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:09,960
Speaker 2: other day, and I truly believe it. Like, in all

848
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:13,960
Speaker 2: my time watching basketball, I can't ever remember a lineup

849
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:18,319
Speaker 2: decision that confused me as much as this starting lineup move.

850
00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:23,560
Speaker 2: And it's not born out of, you know, foolishness from Darvin.

851
00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:27,200
Speaker 2: It's born out of desperation. He's straight up trying to

852
00:42:27,200 --> 00:42:29,920
Speaker 2: find something that works. Now, I think he's grabbing at

853
00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:33,799
Speaker 2: the wrong stuff personally, but I do think that this

854
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:36,600
Speaker 2: is born out of desperation, out of situation, and like,

855
00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:38,759
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, you have to you

856
00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:41,040
Speaker 2: can no longer have it. You put it like this,

857
00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:44,200
Speaker 2: in your tweet the night that they announced the starting lineup,

858
00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,520
Speaker 2: and it really was this simple. The three three of

859
00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:50,880
Speaker 2: the top five highest players, the highest played role players

860
00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:53,080
Speaker 2: outside of Lebron James and Anthony Davis all came off

861
00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:57,680
Speaker 2: the bench. That's just a misallocation of resources, plain and simple.

862
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:02,560
Speaker 2: You're you're making your job harder and so finding ways

863
00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:05,960
Speaker 2: to to uh to make it so that it's pretty

864
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:08,720
Speaker 2: straightforward that your five best players are on the floor

865
00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:11,880
Speaker 2: to start and finish games. Is the Bill Simmons, you know,

866
00:43:12,239 --> 00:43:14,880
Speaker 2: always said this when I was growing up listening to him,

867
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:16,400
Speaker 2: and I thought it was smart. It's just like, who's

868
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:19,719
Speaker 2: your five, who's your five? Like who's the five you're

869
00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:23,000
Speaker 2: going down with? And the Lakers don't know, and that's

870
00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:26,600
Speaker 2: the problem. And they have a problem here because even

871
00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:30,400
Speaker 2: number three isn't viewed as number three by the head.

872
00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:32,560
Speaker 3: Coach, So so.

873
00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:35,319
Speaker 2: It becomes an issue there now. I actually, again, you

874
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:38,719
Speaker 2: have to you have to add realistic expectations here. I

875
00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:43,399
Speaker 2: agree with you, like Philly's gonna be aggressive, Miami's going

876
00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:46,399
Speaker 2: to be aggressive. I wouldn't be surprised if we see

877
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:49,600
Speaker 2: teams like Oklahoma City, Indiana and Sacramento get aggressive more

878
00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:52,120
Speaker 2: for a front court player, so like a Golden State's

879
00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:54,640
Speaker 2: gonna be aggressive there. I think this is going to

880
00:43:54,719 --> 00:43:57,000
Speaker 2: be an extremely active deadline, and I do think the

881
00:43:57,040 --> 00:43:59,320
Speaker 2: Lakers are gonna get outbid by some of the bigger

882
00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:01,760
Speaker 2: targets out there, or for some of the bigger targets,

883
00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:03,680
Speaker 2: and so I think it is going to be important

884
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:06,440
Speaker 2: to try to find, you know, guys that are where

885
00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:07,960
Speaker 2: you're getting more out of the sum.

886
00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:09,280
Speaker 3: Of the parts, if that makes sense.

887
00:44:09,920 --> 00:44:13,000
Speaker 2: And honestly, Royce O'Neil is an interesting kind of fallback

888
00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:15,480
Speaker 2: option for like a two guard. One of the things

889
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:17,720
Speaker 2: I like about Royce is he's not afraid to shoot

890
00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:20,520
Speaker 2: the basketball like that. That is something that I think

891
00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:23,480
Speaker 2: could go well with that group. And he is comfortable

892
00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:25,200
Speaker 2: a little bit behind the three point line as well.

893
00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:28,320
Speaker 2: I think I think you're you're hitting at all the

894
00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:31,799
Speaker 2: right stuff there. I think like realistic targets, upgrades at

895
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:34,160
Speaker 2: the role players, those are the directions to go. I've

896
00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:36,640
Speaker 2: seen a lot of people talking about Austin's defense. I

897
00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:39,160
Speaker 2: can think of a lot of ways the Lakers could

898
00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:41,719
Speaker 2: lose on their way to a title this year, and

899
00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:44,560
Speaker 2: none of them involve Austin becoming an issue.

900
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:45,440
Speaker 3: They just don't for me.

901
00:44:45,640 --> 00:44:48,920
Speaker 2: Like I obviously there are there are moments where he

902
00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:51,760
Speaker 2: can get exploited for his lack of size, but having

903
00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:54,080
Speaker 2: one guy on the floor like that is a problem

904
00:44:54,160 --> 00:44:59,240
Speaker 2: every single team has. I watched Denver literally get relentlessly

905
00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:02,680
Speaker 2: attacked in the post by Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Minga

906
00:45:02,719 --> 00:45:05,640
Speaker 2: on Jamal Murray. You know, I've seen a team's do

907
00:45:05,719 --> 00:45:08,320
Speaker 2: it to Boston's guards. I've seen teams do it to

908
00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:11,600
Speaker 2: Dame into Malik Beasley. That's that, to me, is just

909
00:45:11,640 --> 00:45:13,840
Speaker 2: a fundamental part of a good basketball team is you

910
00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:15,160
Speaker 2: got to have a point guard on the floor and

911
00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:17,359
Speaker 2: he's probably going to be smaller, and he's probably gonna

912
00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:18,920
Speaker 2: be a guy that can be attacked. That to me

913
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:21,720
Speaker 2: is something you have to learn to work around instead

914
00:45:21,719 --> 00:45:24,359
Speaker 2: of just bailing on entirely. And so to me, it's

915
00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:26,759
Speaker 2: about the two and the three. All right, before we

916
00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:29,280
Speaker 2: get out of here, is there anything that you wanted

917
00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:31,560
Speaker 2: to plug? I know you've been working really hard over

918
00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:32,120
Speaker 2: the holiday.

919
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:33,719
Speaker 3: Yeah, just.

920
00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:39,000
Speaker 1: My story today about the starting lineup, and I think

921
00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:42,480
Speaker 1: the headline literally was, you know, it doesn't make any sense,

922
00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:46,760
Speaker 1: And I mean I go into some of the reasons,

923
00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:49,120
Speaker 1: you know, look at some of the early possessions of

924
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:53,239
Speaker 1: just the way they're defending the Lakers, and why it's

925
00:45:53,239 --> 00:45:56,200
Speaker 1: a mistake to continue using this lineup, the trickle down

926
00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:59,080
Speaker 1: effect that I think you were talking about offense leading

927
00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,400
Speaker 1: to defense. Like the other thing here is if you're

928
00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:05,080
Speaker 1: not scoring, you're giving up you know, transition baskets, and

929
00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:07,120
Speaker 1: that's what I think. There was a play early in

930
00:46:07,160 --> 00:46:09,759
Speaker 1: the game. Ham runs a pick and roll because the

931
00:46:09,800 --> 00:46:12,799
Speaker 1: Lakers need another ball handler out there. He's running pick

932
00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:14,480
Speaker 1: and roll, he turns the ball over in the Celtics

933
00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:17,239
Speaker 1: score and transition. It's like, if you have Cam as

934
00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:20,160
Speaker 1: that fourth or fifth ball handler in the lineup, you're

935
00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:22,120
Speaker 1: not really running into that. But when you put him

936
00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:24,799
Speaker 1: as arguably the second ball handler in the lineup, now

937
00:46:25,120 --> 00:46:28,040
Speaker 1: that's where you have some of these issues. So to me,

938
00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:30,320
Speaker 1: you know, Lakers clearly have to go in a different

939
00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:33,520
Speaker 1: direction with that lineup in the way that it affects

940
00:46:33,560 --> 00:46:34,480
Speaker 1: the rest of the rotation.

941
00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:36,959
Speaker 4: But that would be the main thing.

942
00:46:37,719 --> 00:46:40,480
Speaker 1: I'll have some stuff coming up, you know, for the

943
00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,799
Speaker 1: new year in terms of state of the Lakers and

944
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:47,239
Speaker 1: sort of where things are at. But for now, just

945
00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:50,759
Speaker 1: enjoy a breakdown of why their new starting lineup doesn't

946
00:46:50,760 --> 00:46:51,160
Speaker 1: make sense.

947
00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:54,000
Speaker 2: One of the things I appreciated was that in that

948
00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:55,640
Speaker 2: second half, I don't know if you noticed, but they

949
00:46:55,680 --> 00:46:58,320
Speaker 2: just started posting up Lebron and eighty every single possession,

950
00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:01,040
Speaker 2: And like that, to me is the at least the

951
00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:03,600
Speaker 2: right counter to that none of our other guys.

952
00:47:03,320 --> 00:47:07,160
Speaker 3: Can dribble situation, which is which is something to look at.

953
00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:09,480
Speaker 2: But like I, Yovan and I have joked about this

954
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:12,040
Speaker 2: off the air, but like, in a weird way, this

955
00:47:12,080 --> 00:47:15,120
Speaker 2: has been kind of like the perfect Lakers season because

956
00:47:15,280 --> 00:47:17,759
Speaker 2: obviously everybody outside of the Laker fan base just thinks

957
00:47:17,800 --> 00:47:20,200
Speaker 2: they suck, and I tend to think that's wrong. I

958
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:22,120
Speaker 2: think this is I think the Lakers are the team

959
00:47:22,120 --> 00:47:24,200
Speaker 2: that have the largest gap between their night to night

960
00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:26,759
Speaker 2: effort and what they're capable of, which is going to

961
00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:29,000
Speaker 2: lead to some mixed results in the regular season that

962
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:30,880
Speaker 2: are gonna make them look lesser than they are. But

963
00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:34,080
Speaker 2: it's kind of perfect because they're, in my opinion, one

964
00:47:34,120 --> 00:47:36,880
Speaker 2: of the short list of teams that genuinely has a

965
00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 2: chance to win the title if they hit, if they

966
00:47:38,680 --> 00:47:42,320
Speaker 2: hit at the deadline. But tons of drama, tons of

967
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:45,800
Speaker 2: shitty basketball for us to complain about over the course

968
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:48,239
Speaker 2: of the eighty two Yovan did an amazing job. In

969
00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:51,160
Speaker 2: his article today broke down a bunch of specific video

970
00:47:51,239 --> 00:47:53,640
Speaker 2: examples of the way that the floor is shrunk on

971
00:47:53,719 --> 00:47:57,080
Speaker 2: the Laker starters, with the way that lineup was constructed.

972
00:47:57,080 --> 00:47:59,600
Speaker 2: I highly encourage you guys to check it out. As always,

973
00:47:59,680 --> 00:48:01,640
Speaker 2: we shit you guys for supporting the show. We'll have

974
00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:04,600
Speaker 2: a show tomorrow coming out with power rankings as well

975
00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:05,640
Speaker 2: as some game breakdowns.

976
00:48:05,719 --> 00:48:06,479
Speaker 3: I will see you guys.

977
00:48:06,480 --> 00:48:34,800
Speaker 1: Then the volume