Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Over an 82 game regular season, it's important not to become a prisoner of the moment, whether the short-term trends are positive or negative. This is particularly true for teams where the stakes,—and the expectations—are high. 

So big picture, the Lakers are still in a good position, even after dropping Monday's game in Orlando, 118-106. 

Small picture? 

There are definitely some red flags. The defensive numbers aren't great over the last two games, but perhaps more worrisome is the disappearance of any real offensive flow. Monday's game was a series of one-on-one possessions, starting with Luka Dončić, and then with LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Sometimes one of those guys made a shot, quite often one of them was fouled. (Luka and LeBron combined for 18 trips to the line.) But overall, it wasn't efficient, and more importantly, it took all the pop out of LA's offense. There was very little ball movement (19 assists ain't a good number) and even less player movement. 

The Magic are a very good defensive team, but broadly it seems that the league has started to adjust to the Lakers with Luka, particularly when LeBron is available. Orlando played the Lakers pretty straight, picking the lesser of two evils—basically, it's better to let those guys go iso and live with the results than it is to open the floor to guys who see it at the level of LA's star trio. This strategy has the added benefit of making Jaxson Hayes less effective, cutting out a couple free buckets a game for the purple and gold. 

So is it now a situation where the Lakers have to adjust to the adjustment? If so, a trio of Luka, LeBron and JJ Redick seems like a solid braintrust responsible for figuring it out. 

But they need to figure it out, and relatively quickly. The supporting cast, which was (save Dorian Finney-Smith) non-existent Monday night (LA's bench was outscored by Orlando's Anthony Black 17-14) depends on the high shot quality the Lakers can create with great ball and player movement. A good offense keeps the defense in rhythm, keeps players energized and gives the Lakers more margin for error. 

It's not going to get easier, but there's still enough time to get it straightened out. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Another clunker for the Lakers. 
 

SEGMENT 2: What happened to the offense? 

SEGMENT 3: The bench needs to be better. 

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After an extremely disappointing and disjointed 146-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls, JJ Redick confirmed his strong belief in the Lakers but said the team must immediately rediscover its connectivity from the last three months. How difficult will/won't be to hit the ground running after a hiccup? Plus, talk about Rui Hachimura's "70-80 percent" knee, Jordan Goodwin's two-way contract inevitably getting converted soon, and more. 

Hosts: Andy Kamenetzky and Brian Kamenetzky 

Segment 1: The upcoming roadie is huge, and so is the importance of quickly getting back on track. 

Segment 2: Rui's knee. 

Segment 3: More on reconnecting as a team, and Goodwin's impending full NBA contract. 

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The Lakers reached full health on Saturday, with LeBron James and Rui Hachimura each returning to the lineup after missing weeks of action. With a sub-.500 Chicago Bulls team visiting the Crypt, things looked good for a win heading into the road trip, which kicks off Monday in Orlando. 

Apparently the Lakers thought it was in the bag, too, because they came out with one of their worst efforts in the post-Luka trade era, and paid for it. Final score, 146-115. Defensively, the Lakers were a disaster more or less from the jump, failing to defend the 3-point line (which allowed Chicago, and especially Coby White, to find a serious groove), but also making it too easy to get to the basket. They were careless on the glass and with the ball (21 turnovers) which allowed Chicago to get out in the open floor and use their athleticism. Meanwhile, offensively the Lakers were stagnant. There wasn't much motion or ball movement, and even though Luka Dončić (34 points, 10/18 shooting) and Austin Reaves (25 points, 9/13 from the floor) were highly efficient, as a team the Lakers lacked any real energy on that half. 

21 assists at home—well below their season average—isn't much to write home about. Nor did the bench contribute all that much. There was, on balance, very little to like. And given how tightly packed the Western Conference currently is, these sorts of games could prove quite costly when it comes to seeding. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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Coby White, 36, Matas Buzelis added 31 points, and Josh Giddey had 15 points, 10 rebounds, 17 assists, and 8 steals as the Chicago Bulls blew out the hometown Lakers, 146-115. Luka Doncic led the full-strength Lakers with 34 points in the loss. Los Angeles will look to get back on the winning side of things Monday night when they visit the Orlando Magic.

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Following Wednesday's win over Denver at the Crypt, Luka Dončić was wrapped up in ice like a mummy. Austin Reaves looked ready to pass out from exhaustion. So with a hard stretch run ahead and the Lakers already down LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers made the smart choice and sat both of those dudes. And for good measure, kept Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt in street clothes. 

So that's a lot of manpower out of the lineup to face a motivated, basically healthy Milwaukee team. The results weren't a shock—Bucks win, 118-89.

The high point, and the only big talking point, was the play of Bronny James. Pressed into significant minutes against real, front-of-the-rotation NBA players, James had easily his best game as a pro. Low bar to clear, yes, but the level of progress since that late January disaster in Philadephia is clear. Bronny finished 7-10 from the floor, including a couple triples and an array of nice finishes at and around the basket. He had five assists, which could have been more had his teammates finished a few more shots. 

It'll be interesting to see how this performance is discussed among the national media, if it's even discussed at all. On the one hand, that would be a nice change of pace. It is not normally national news when a 55th pick has a solid game in a blowout loss. But obviously Bronny is no ordinary 55th pick. And if this game is, in fact, generally ignored, it could confirm some of the criticisms directed at the media, notably that Bronny is a proxy through which pundits can criticize LeBron, and that it's only his failures that are worth any proverbial ink. 

Were he anyone else, fans would look at this game and see nice progress. Nothing spectacular, nothing to get worked up over, but nice progress. It's easy to forget that Bronny is a 20-year old rookie who basically lost his only college season. There's no question he was drafted by the Lakers because LeBron wanted them to, nor that he has more security here than than he (or generic 55th pick) would typically have. But on the merits, level set against appropriate expectations (55th pick, developmental project) Bronny is having a good year. He is making progress. Obstacles remain—he still seems painfully undersized at times—but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. He has a chance to be an NBA player. 

He's four years away from being as old as Dalton Knecht. The point isn't that he'll end up as good as Dalton, just that there's a lot of youth there. No matter what, it's great to see him have some success, and quiet some of the critics who see him as a novelty act who can't compete. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers sit everyone, lose to Milwaukee. 

SEGMENT 2: Bronny has a career high 17. 

SEGMENT 3: Thinking big picture. 

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Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 23 points off the bench as the Milwaukee Bucks blew out the shorthanded Lakers 118-89. The Lakers, playing without Luka, LeBron, and Austin Reaves, were led by Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, who had 17 points apiece. The Lakers will look to get back on track Saturday night when they welcome the Chicago Bulls to town. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 23 points off the bench as the Milwaukee Bucks blew out the shorthanded Lakers 118-89. The Lakers, playing without Luka, LeBron, and Austin Reaves, were led by Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, who had 17 points apiece. The Lakers will look to get back on track Saturday night when they welcome the Chicago Bulls to town.

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The juice was taken out of Wednesday's tilt against the visiting Denver Nuggets when it was announced that Nuggets stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, both nursing injuries, wouldn't play. 

(The Lakers were without LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, but had Luka Dončić in the lineup.) 

So while that meant that the results wouldn't have a whole lot of head-to-head meaning—continuing the trend of last week's game in Denver, where the Lakers were without... basically everyone in their rotation—it turned the game into a prime opportunity for the Lakers to pick up a game in the standings, put themselves in position to win the season tiebreaker against the Nuggets (no small thing) and take some pressure off Thursday's game against Milwaukee at the Crypt. 

Man alive, did they take advantage. Led by Dončić, the Lakers had arguably their best opening quarter of the season, hitting nine 3-pointers en route to 46 points. Luka had 21 on his own. In the second, the Lakers turned up the defensive pressure and built the lead as high as 28. 

The rest wasn't uniformly good. The Lakers went to sleep at the end of the first half, letting Denver get back to within 14. But by the end of the third, the Lakers were back up big, and were able to cruise with Luka in cruise control—and then back on the bench early. The Lakers have now won nine straight at home, and despite key injuries have kept themselves squarely in the race for a top four finish and a chance to host a first round playoff series. It's a fantastic turn since a four game losing streak had everyone on edge, not so much wondering if the team would be good enough to compete when healthy, but how much damage would be done while the Lakers waited for that health to come. 

With LeBron and Rui getting closer to a return, there's no question a 2-seed is still in play, something that seemed like a long shot when James got hurt. One thing that's helped turn things around? Getting some players back, obviously, but also the trend of hot starts. It can't be overstated how much easier it is to play from ahead. Basically any NBA opponent, assuming they don't just decide to quit, will make a run or two during a game. Denver made a few. But it's a lot easier to absorb a 10-0 run when it starts while you're up by 10- or 20-plus points.

It's something to watch for down the stretch, but for a team that, for a time, seemed to struggle early in games, this is a welcome shift. If it continues? Just one more sign the Lakers are right and truly legitimate title contenders. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Luka and the Lakers use hot start to control the Nuggets. 

SEGMENT 2: LeBron and Rui day-to-day, but the team has adjusted well. 

SEGMENT 3: Finishing off the back-to-back? 

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• Offer valid from 9:00 AM PT through 11:59 PM PT after a 50 point performance in any game during the NBA season on orders placed at participating merchant locations. Valid only in the United States. Maximum value of discount is $10.00. Discount applies to subtotal only; does not apply to fees, taxes, and gratuity. Not valid for pickup. Limit one per person. Not valid for the purchase of alcohol. Fees, taxes, and gratuity still apply. Must have an active DashPass account. Use promo code NBA50 to redeem. See further terms and conditions at https://drd.sh/8ONpZP/.

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Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

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Luka Doncic scored 31 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and dished out 9 assists, and Austin Reaves added 22 points and 8 assists as the Lakers downed the visiting Denver Nuggets 120-108. The Nuggets, who were playing without Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, were led in the loss by Aaron Gordon’s 26. The Lakers will look to extend their three-game winning streak Thursday night when they welcome the Milwaukee Bucks to town.

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There are a lot of ways to break down a roster, trying to figure out if it's "championship worthy." 

Obviously, the stars are key. Winning without one elite player, and sometimes more than one, is a challenge. But the rest of the guys matter, too. And while the "three star" era can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people—starting with how "star" gets defined—there's no question that the quality of that third guy rightly gets a lot of attention. 

In related news, Austin Reaves has been on quite a heater of late, averaging over 30 points a game in his last four. It's reignited the conversation about where exactly Reaves fits in the leaguewide pantheon of "third options," and whether that's good enough for the Lakers as they get into the postseason. There are a lot of ways to look at it. Often, people ask if the third man is an All-Star. Well, Reaves isn't, and who knows when that might change. Making All-Star teams is incredibly difficult. But is he playing All-Star caliber ball? Yeah. Not just lately, but over the course of the season his numbers 19.6/4.5/6.0 are in the ballpark. His March stats (23.4/6.3/5.7, 39% 3-point shooting) even more so. 

So just on raw production, Reaves is pushing into higher levels among his peers. And on a post-Luka Dončić Lakers roster, Reaves gets even more of a boost. Now bumped down to the team's third ballhandler behind Luka and LeBron James, Reaves is free to attack more and play with greater defensive intensity. Meanwhile, he's smart enough to leverage the space those guys create to give himself better matchups and more opportunity. "How good is good enough?" becomes a different question when the third guy is playing with arguably two of the top 7 players in the league. (Luka is almost universally dropped in the top 5 when healthy, and LeBron almost always in the top 10. Still.) 

And Reaves has shown he's able to carry a team when he's needed, as well. It's in him. Can he do it like a top line star? No, but he likely won't be asked to in the playoffs more than maybe once a series. The rest of the time, it's about producing at the expected level. 

The bottom line is that Reaves just keeps getting better, and like all not-quite-star-stars, working in the orbit of truly elite players makes him more effective. Would Reaves be a leg on a "big three" for a different team? Maybe, maybe not. But that doesn't matter. 

He only needs to do it for the Lakers, and with all that in mind, there's little question he's good enough to be a third-best player on a championship team, if this is the team in question. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are playing Denver tonight, and it feels different. 

SEGMENT 2: Why the matchup isn't what it was, in a good way for LA. 

SEGMENT 3: Is AR a true third star? 

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On today’s show, the Locked On panel analyze the Dallas Mavericks' decision to bring back Anthony Davis, questioning the strategy behind this move. The conversation shifts to the Los Angeles Clippers, exploring their current form and playoff prospects. The hosts debate the Phoenix Suns' struggles and their chances of making the playoffs. The discussion then turns to broader NBA topics, including the grueling March schedule and its impact on teams. The hosts also evaluate the effectiveness of the play-in tournament and propose potential changes to the NBA season structure. Throughout the podcast, the hosts offer insightful analysis and engaging banter on the state of the Western Conference.

0:00 Intro: What are teams in the West doing?

5:56 Analyzing the Mavericks' recent moves

10:41 Clippers' current status and playoff prospects

15:58 Suns struggling to take 10th seed from Mavs

20:37 Are the Suns really dead in the water?

24:31 Is the NBA season too long in March?

29:46 Debating the merits of the play-in tournament

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