The Lakers have a big game tonight in Oklahoma City against a Thunder squad that is throttling the NBA, even while All NBA forward Jaylen Williams hasn't played a single minute this year. Chet Holmgren has missed time, as has Lu Dort. Doesn't matter. 

The Thunder have been incredibly good defensively, for starters, and that doesn't change when the lineup shuffles around. (The offense does, but that's a different story.) So the Lakers have to figure out how to navigate an incredibly disruptive defense that can out-athlete them all over the floor. Of course, that was the situation last year, too, and the post-trade Lakers played Oklahoma City very competitively, to the point some wondered if they should have been trying to draw OKC in the playoffs. 

Can the Luka Dončić/Austin Reaves combo repeat last year's success, with LeBron on the sidelines? If so, that would add some serious legitimacy to this early season start for LA. 

Meanwhile in Dallas, the hammer finally dropped on Nico Harrison. The GM who traded Luka to LA is out of a job, after the Mavs struggled post-deadline last year, and have been awful to start this season. Fans have been chanting Fire Nico! at every home game, and the situation became untenable. But it also means the Mavs could be broken up, and if that happens, where those pieces land could play a huge role in the playoff race. 

 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: LA vs. OKC! 

 

SEGMENT 2: How the Lakers can pull an upset. 

 

SEGMENT 3: Thank you, Nico! 

 

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