The Late Night Happy Hour with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

Andy and Brian welcome Jason Jones, who covers the Sacramento Kings and the NBA for The Athletic.

We start by noting his LA roots, including going to Long Beach Poly with Snoop's younger brother, and how his old paper (the Sacramento Bee) let all the Kings fans know he was a Lakers fan... and then gave him the Kings beat. Nothing awkward there.

We talk about this year's Lakers, what has made LeBron James and Frank Vogel so successful, and why the team has totally lacked in drama. From there, it's a Finals preview. Can the Heat find ways to counter L.A.'s elite talent? Can Erik Spoelstra give the Heat an edge the roster might not be able to?

Plus, a game of trivia about kings (not the Kings), and a check on our old friend Luke Walton, who just finished his first season in Sacramento.

He's a giant among NFL writers, and Mike Sando (SandoNFL) joins Andy and Brian for a great hour of football talk, starting with the Rams. Is the 2-0 start a sign of things to come? Have they cleaned up some financial messes made over the last couple seasons? How good is Jared Goff, and really, how do you determine how good a quarterback is, generally?

The guy who does the yearly QB Tiers Survey helps explain.

What about the Raiders? Also 2-0, is this the year John Gruden makes real progress with the silver and black?

It's a tale of two shows, as the Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets in a spectacularly entertaining Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals behind another big game from Anthony Davis. The Kamenetzky Brothers break down the win - incredible shot-making from both teams, Dwight Howard in the starting lineup, chances of a Denver comeback and more.

Dragonfly, after solving a computer update issue... runs into a mic problem. So we go to the ol' standby... joining by speakerphone! Talking Clippers slander, Paul George and his potentially outsized impact on NBA history, LAL's title odds, and why Dragonfly isn't exactly a Lakers fan...

The Los Angeles Clippers flamed out in spectacular fashion this season, losing a 3-1 lead (including three straight games with double digit leads) to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. What went wrong? How can they fix it heading into next year? Does it mean big changes, sacrificing even their 6th Man of the Year bench players (Lou Williams and/or Montrezl Harrell)?

From there, how much concern should the Lakers have, considering the Nuggets have outplayed them for nearly a game and a half now?

What does the Western Conference look like next year?

Finally, a trivia game revealing just how sad the Clippers have been as a franchise, historically.

The Denver Nuggets took Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. One guy who predicted it? Matt Moore of The Action Network and co-host of the Locked on Nuggets podcast. He breaks down what Denver did right in Game 3, where the series might be going, and much, much more.

That includes some advice on switching things up on Nikola Jokic, who is very smart, and very adaptable, even to the strange, unsettling energy Dwight Howard was putting out in Game 3.

From there, it's a look at the Eastern Conference, and Miami vs. Boston. If the C's make it out, are they the tougher matchup for the Lakers?

Also, Gregg Popovich's wine.

With no games to play on Monday, the NBA world was still buzzing about Sunday's game winner from Anthony Davis, propelling the LA Lakers to a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets. What does this represent for the Lakers? For the hierarchy and dynamics of the squad? How does LeBron's leadership fit into all this, and why hasn't this season produced any locker room drama?

We segue briefly into LaVar and Lonzo Ball, ask whether Jaws is a fishing movie, and finish things off with a game about puns...

The Lakers stomped the Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Here to talk about it are NBCLA's Shahan Ahmed and Sabreena Merchant, who covers the Lakers for SilverScreenandRoll.com.

We look at a dominant defensive performance from the Lakers who put the Nuggets in early foul trouble and used big second and third quarter runs to pull away. Is this how it's gonna be?

Plus, what makes Anthony Davis and LeBron James such a good combination? Does LeBron have a point about the MVP voting?

She's fresh from The Bubble in Orlando, with stories to tell. Tania Ganguli of the LA Times, who covers the Lakers and the NBA, takes Andy and Brian inside the bubble, literally. Like, with her NBA bubble apps displaying everything from the campus layout to lunch menus.

In the process, she breaks down why bubble life is so hard for people inside it, whether players or media. From there, it's Lakers talk, looking at Anthony Davis's playoff growth, LeBron's season long leadership and a total lack of drama around the team. What people are seeing inside the bubble is an extension of those things.

Finally, we wrap it up with a game of bubble trivia, joined in the live chat by ESPN's Dave McMenamin, who decides to play along.

Jeff Pearlman has written nine books, including one about the Showtime Lakers. He's got a new one coming on September 22nd (available for preorder on Amazon, or through your local bookseller -- and try to support local booksellers, people) on the Shaq/Kobe/Phil Threepeat Era. "Three Ring Circus" is a great read for NBA fans, and a must-read for Lakers fans.

Jeff joined the show Wednesday, talking about what goes into the construction of a book like this. How to find fresh content in places to tell a story many feel like they know. Lots of talk of Kobe Bryant, and what made the young #8 such a challenge for teammates and coaches alike. He shares a great story on how he got J.R. Rider to speak with him. (Hint: It was a legit moment of boundary crossing.)

All that, and much more over a great hour and ten minutes.

There were some technical glitches (mercifully excised from the podcast version of the show) but it was a great hour with Keith Knight, cartoonist and creator of "Woke" on Hulu, which debuted on September 9th with a 10 episode Season 1.

We talk to Keith about his unusual background, both as a Black cartoonist but moving through a diverse crowd of people thanks to working at a San Francisco youth hostel.

On the development of his strips, taking subjects that aren't always funny and creating humor from them, and what it meant to turn his life (or at least a broad representation of it) into a television show.

It's a funny, entertaining series tackling serious issues that are particularly timely now. Well worth a watch.