Sabreena Merchant  (@sabreenajm) joined the Women’s Hoops And Talks podcast to talk all things Los Angeles. Merchant covers both the Clippers and the Lakers for SB Nation sites clipsnation.com and silverscreenandroll.com and had plenty of insight into how fans are reacting to a variety of Hollywood-sided moves this off season. We talk coaching changes, surprise roster additions and potential opening and closing lineups. We check in on expectations for Maurice Harkless and what his role on the Clippers might be.

From Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to Alex Caruso and JaVale McGee, its shaping up to be a fascinating season down south. The teams share a building and there are eerie similarities between them, but at the same time they are worlds apart. Tune in to the LA Spectacular! Spectacular! to get caught up on all the drama that unfolded this summer.

1:00 What is your favorite thing to do in LA (or would like to do)?4:00 What is the difference between the Laker fan base and the Clipper fan base? Is there a rivalry between the two teams and has it changed significantly? 9:30 What does Ty Lue bring to the Clippers? What did Lue bring that Rivers needed?12:00 What do you think their lineup is going to be? Patrick Beverly, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, JaMychal Green, and Ivica Zubac13:30 After Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who do you think will be the 3rd and 4th most important players? Do the Clippers have a critical mass of a fan base to have fan favorites? Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell15:00 What are the expectations around Moe Harkless? It is hard to say, since what he was known for, being a wing defender, is not something that the Clippers really need. 18:45 Is there anything else you are interested in to see how it develops? How hurt is Paul George? What will he be like coming back from multiple shoulder surgeries. 20:15 Are people concerned about Leonard’s health? The Clippers will probably be pretty conservative with him. 22:30 What are people saying about new head coach Frank Vogel? Why would he take that job?24:30 What is Jason Kidd supposed to bring to the coaching team? He’s supposed to be good at young player development. But they don’t really have any young players. 27:00 What was the reaction from the fans when they brought in Dwight Howard?It was shocking because of how devoted the organization is to Kobe Bryant and there was a lot of animosity between them. 30:00 Who plays more, JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard?33:00 Is LeBron Really going to be the point guard? Do they mean that literally? 34:00 After LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who will be the 3rd and 4th most important players? Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma will be important if he comes off the bench and runs that unit. 35:00 Anything else with this team that you are interested in watching how it develops? The back end of the rotation will be interesting to watch. And what will Avery Bradley and Rajo Rondo be like? 37:30 A shorter rotation could work well for this team. If they can make it through the regular season without wearing out James, he and Davis could have a really good playoff run. 40:00 What does she think of the Blazers’ off season moves? There are a lot of eggs in the Anfernee Simons basket and in the Rodney Hood basket too. It’s going to be weird to see Hassan in the lineup.46:00 Wrap up

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Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest:  @sabreenajm

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Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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