Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Another Triple-Double for Luka Dončić, LaRavia Scores 25, Lakers Beat Miami 130-120

Episode Date: November 3, 2025

The Lakers came home on a quick trip, facing a stronger-than-expected Miami Heat squad looking to add some legitimacy to their solid start to the season. It was an entertaining, fast paced game, but one the Lakers kept control of, pulling away at the end for a 130-120 win. Luka Dončić led the way with yet another triple-double (29/11/10, along with three steals), and Austin Reaves had 26 (to go with 11 assists of his own), but neither guy was efficient from 3-point range (5-25 between them). No worries, the rest of the team had them covered. Rui Hachimura hit three of his five attempts, Marcus Smart had three, and Jake LaRavia had two. Even Jaxson Hayes had one! LaRavia was spectacular overall, again getting big minutes in the absence of Deandre Ayton (back) and scoring 25 points, to go with eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. (As a team, the Lakers finished with 14 thefts.) The supporting cast was quite strong overall, a needed boost given how Reaves and Luka struggled from downtown. The Lakers piled up assists, and kept the turnovers down (11), and were efficient from the line (19-23). Now it's on to Portland, where the Lakers will face the Blazers Monday night.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Lakers knock off Miami despite inefficient shooting from Luka, Reaves.  SEGMENT 2: LaRaviaMania! SEGMENT 3: Other important standouts...  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashNext time someone goes off for 50, use promo code NBA50the next day to get 50% off on DoorDash with DashPass — plus your shot at the Bag Drop.DashPass members only. 50% off up to $10 the day after a 50-point game with promo code. Terms apply.No Purchase Necessary. Ends April 13th. Open to U.S. residents 21 or older. Visit DoorDashInYourBag.com for full details.DoorDash — In your bag all season long.RobinhoodYou expect more from yourself. Expect more from your money. Get started today at robinhood.com/yourmoney. Your money. Your move. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal. Options, futures, and crypto trading carry significant risk and may not suit all investors. Securities offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member SIPC. Futures trading is offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC and not SPIC or FDIC protected. Crypto offered through Robinhood Crypto, LLC (NMLS ID 1702840), not FDIC or SIPC protected. Portfolio management offered by Robinhood Strategies, an SEC-registered advisor.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBAfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.comto get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, everyone, welcome to Lockdown Lakers for Monday. Brian Kaminetsky, Andy Kaminetsky, another triple double for Luca Donchich, but he was hardly the only star for the Lakers. We'll explain next. You are Locked on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks to everybody for making Locked on Lakers. First, listen to every day, Monday through Friday, no matter how, where you get your podcast. This one's always going to be free for you and never behind paywall. Lockdown Lakers on YouTube is where over 37,000 subscribers are all hanging out, talking to each other, talking to us, leaving questions, leaving comments, and generally, I think, looking pretty pleased as to what they saw in L.A.'s 130 to 120 win. Over the Miami Heat at the Crypt on Sunday night,

we will break it down for you in just a moment, but we need to tell you first. that today's episode brought to you by GameTime Down on the GameTime app create an account use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase

Andy we will surely get into some of the individual performances here but you know your headliner as it often is Luca Donchich

he leads the Lakers with yet another triple double despite an inefficient shooting night Lucas still goes excuse me for 29 points 11 rebounds tennis

he had four steals as well. So in this bad game for Luca, one of 11 from three point range, those are still the numbers that he put up. But we'll talk about Luca, we'll talk about Reeves, we'll get into all that. But I think,

at least for me, this was one of those games that if you're a Lakers fan looking for a reason to feel encouraged by the roster as a whole, this was exactly the, type of game that you want to see. Luke had three steals, not to take away from his night.

Well, I gave him one extra. I said four. Just purely for accuracy's sake. But yes, this was a night where the Lakers, you know, obviously they have not had LeBron for this season, but Gabe Vincent's been out. DeAndre Aiton ended up not playing. There had been some hope that the back spasins that kept him out of the second half on Friday would not be an issue. He went from probable to questionable to out over the course of, I would say, less than 24 hours, which in a lot of ways, I mean, it's obviously not good. And hopefully he's going to be available for Monday's game in Portland,

which I'm sure that one in particular he would like to play in, if at all possible. but the fact that Aiton was out in a lot of ways, I think, is, it's kind of emblematic of the way the supporting cast around Lucas stepped up because Jackson Hayes, obviously, got the start in place of Aiton and was really, really good on both sides of the ball. We'll get in some of the specifics, but... It's really arguing this is his best game as a Laker. Well, it's one of his best games as a Laker, but I actually tweeted out during the game at Cam Brothers.

The first half of the game, and some good stuff went on in the second half, but the first half is when I was actually tweeting this in real time. The first half of the game might have been the most effective I've ever seen Jackson Hayes as a lane deterrent lane protector as a Laker. I mean, he just between bodying shots in the lane, bodying guys driving, he had an incredible two-handed chase down block in the first half. Just his protection of the lane and, you know, it's starting to look like the extra muscle that he put on in the offseason is paying some dividends in this particular department. But again, we'll break down the specifics of Jackson, specifics of others, But Hayes stepping up in this game where they did not have Aiden coming off a second half on Friday where Hayes played very well when Aiden couldn't play.

To your point, it just felt like a night that can get fans and the guys themselves excited about this roster. Well, yeah. I mean, it was, you know, again, an inefficient night from Luca from three. you know, the shooting numbers overall were not awful. You know, it was 9 of 22 from the floor, 10 of 12 from the free throw line. So, you know, 29 points on 22 shots is, is not, you know, catastrophic by any stretch of the imagination. For Luke, it was another, it was an inefficient night from Reeves, who was himself 9 of 22 from the floor. He was 4.14 from 3 point range.

So. Reeves had a play where he kind of broke his own ankles. But he recovered and turned it into an elbow jumper, but he got, it was funny. I mean, really, the defender who broke Austin was Austin. And so, you know, you look at that, like between those two guys, five of 25 from three point range. And, you know, this was a night where like the, again, that, well, you get five of 25 from your two highest volume guys. Your overall percentages aren't going to be great, but Mark Smart was three of seven. Rui Hachamura, three of five.

He had 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting, six rebounds, which is nice to see from Rui. Jake LaRavia was 2 of 3 from 3 point range, which makes it sound like maybe he had a somewhat quiet night, but no, sir, Jake LaRavia was anything but that. You know, Dalton Connect hit one of three. So, like, they got some support from 3 point range. Jackson Hayes hit his only three-point shot. This was not just his only... All the things that Jackson did.

I assume that his three-pointer was probably his favorite. He actually said after the game, it would be cool if he could shoot more threes, but I think it's very clear he understands he won't be. This was Jackson Hayes' first made three since the, I believe, 23-24 season, and just the 12th three he's attempted in that same time. So this is like the Haley's comment of,

of three pointers. But, you know, so you start going down to this and he, you know, you mentioned the contributions of Jackson Hayes. La Ravia was 10 of 13 from the floor. He got big minutes again with eight and out. And no Gabe Vincent and obviously no LeBron. There is still space for Jake LaRavia to play 35 minutes, especially again when he hits 10 of 13 shots, eight rebounds,

three assists, four steals. him and Luca their steals backwards from the intro but you know Luke with mixing up your white dudes it's okay yeah I mean they got a lot of you know

proverbial exciting whites right now on the on the roster but like La Ravia is very we both had very high hopes for La Ravia and obviously he is currently out playing

Contavius Caldwell Pope the other guy who could have gotten I think because KCP hasn't played yet. He's still recovering from offseason ankle surgery. You mean Dorian Finney Smith. I'm sorry, right. Doreen for KCP was in the game, Memphis game. He's also, for that matter, outplaying KCP, but that is less relevant.

Now you're mixing up dudes that the Lakers either traded or let go that initially had Laker fans really upset. And right, and hyphenates. Yes. I'm getting my white guys confused. My hyphenates confused. And your ex-Lakers can feed. And my ex-Lakers can- Your ex-3 and D-Lakers.

Yeah. You know, DFS, even if, like, here's the thing. And we will probably have this discussion in a little more detail in terms of La Ravia and defense, maybe over the course of the week. You know, game on Sunday, game on Monday. There was a game on Friday. There just haven't been a lot of time for it. But La Ravia, I think there is no question, is showing himself

to be a stronger overall offensive player than DFS, which is kind of what we hope for. You know, replace some of the three-point shooting, but a little bit more versatility in the offensive game. Defensively, he's proving to be a very solid player. You know, we were retweeting out this morning on Cam Brothers on Sunday morning. Deflection statistics. La Ravia has his hands on, you know, tipping balls and things like that.

He's top, I think he's still, you know, top five in the league. And then a game like Sunday where he ends up with four steals, you don't expect that to go down. And this in minutes that aren't at the same level as some of those other guys. So like defensively is making an impact. And you can tell JJ Radick already is a huge fan of the sort of just decision-making. and connectivity and all that kind of stuff that La Ravia provides, is a very versatile offensive player. And now being given a chance to play some big minutes.

Yeah, I want to make it clear. The guy that I'm about to name, Jake La Ravia is nowhere close to as good as, but in terms of just- Oscar Robertson. No, no, but I was about to go versatility like that route. It's similar to the way Lamar Odom would do a lot. lot of many things for the Lakers. Again, Jake Leravia is nowhere close to as good as Lamar

Odom, but it's similar in the ways that Lamar could provide stats for you, but he could also fill the cracks. And Lamar was also a very underrated defender. Again, I don't think Jake Lovia is as good a defender as Lamar Odom, but L.O. was very underappreciated for his defense, I think, as a Laker. I would agree with you. And we'll talk a little bit about sort of the change in La Ravia from that opening game and that first game where he was put into the starting lineup and didn't perform in the way he wanted, or I think the Lakers were hoping.

So we'll do that and then get into some other really strong performances from this game. We'll do it all next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by. Robin Hood, your ambition just met its match with Robin Hood. You play for the win, not just on game day, but every day. Locking in on every opening, beating your PR, beating it again. Channel that drive into your money. Robin Hood puts you in control of your money.

You can trade stocks and ETFs, options, futures, crypto, all on one platform. You can build, execute your own trades from a desktop with Robin Hood Legends advanced tools or take advantage of the new Robin Hood strategies with a tailored portfolio managed by a team of experts. You expect more from yourself. Expect more from your money. Get started today at robin hood.com slash your money. That's robin hood.com slash your money, your move. Locked on leggers also brought to you by game time basketball season, as you may have noticed,

is officially here, obviously. And nothing beats being in the arena for these opening games. Let's be real. Getting tickets is not always fun. It can be a real headache between waiting and queues, surprise fees, prices that jump right before checkout. It's easy to get frustrated. Really, all you want to do is get in the building and cheer on your team. And this is where game time comes in. It's the app that gives fans the advantage. It's your ultimate life hack for scoring amazing NBA tickets, fast, easy, and stress-free. Our family, we use game time a ton for soccer tickets, whether Angel City, L-AFC. We, We love to do it the same day as the game. You bring up the map and you pick your seats and you can see exactly what it's going to look like, what your view of the field is going to be, and you know exactly how much those tickets are going to cost.

And what you see is what you pay. No hidden fees at checkout. It makes the whole process really, really easy zone deals. Big game changer. You pick the section. Game time can pick your seats and you can save even more. So when it comes to the NBA, you can. find NBA tickets for under $25.

So take the guest work out of buying NBA tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create and count use code lock in NBA for $20 off for first purchase. Terms apply. That's code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-BA for $20 off. Swipe, Tap, Ticket, go. As we can finish up La Ravia here and then move on to some other things because, you know, again, lots of really good performances up and down.

Look, they even got kind of pressed into service because Marcus Smart, I don't think they want to play Marcus 37, 38 minutes over the course of these games. They're short of guards. Brony James gave him, I thought, 18 pretty strong minutes. He was a plus one. He had three steals. He had a fun alley-up. And while he was not aggressive offensively, he played with some confidence.

He defended with confidence. And they, I mean, they look like they were sort of playing four on five offensively with him out there. But he was able to find ways to contribute and help the Lakers get through those minutes. Again, he's, he looks like a, he's teeny tiny out there. And that's going to be a problem for him until he develops a wider skill set. But the defense was visibly useful and particularly visibly useful against a team like Miami that plays very quick. you know, a lot of motion offensively. It was a strong night, even if while there wasn't a lot of offensive stats for, for brawny.

Yeah, I will say, and I tweeted this out during the game again at Cam Brothers. Like, it was genuinely cool and great that Brony had played well enough to put himself in a position to basically close the game. Marcus Smart went out there for like the last 90 seconds or so. Yeah, two minutes or so. But Brony played a lot of the crunch time minutes, and I get why. He needs to look for his shot. They were back. And I say this.

Well, no, but just to put a more specific bow on it, there were back-to-back possessions where Brony passed up very wide open looks, and it led to empty possessions that I believe Miami scored on the back end of both of them. So it's not just the idea of playing four on five. It's actually getting the offense out of whack. Like Stu Lance actually commented during the game that the Lakers, during those possessions, it was like they were playing pre-vent defense and they were playing to not lose as opposed to playing to win. Yeah, to be honest, that really was Brunny.

But to your original point, it was overall a strong game for Brony. And hopefully a game that gives him the confidence to actually put up an open shot if it's there without worrying about any ramifications if it doesn't go down. Well, yeah, I mean, like the one that he took two threes. One of them was a late clock three that he, you know, at least recognized needed to go up. And it rattled around the rim and it looked good out of the hand. Like, he is not a strong offensive player. And when he's on the floor with Luca and AR and those guys, like, to say the least, he has no niche offensively. Like he's not going to be handling the ball rightly. He's not like, you know, the guy that you set up on the outside is like the knockdown three point.

Like it is hard to figure out what to do. And I, you know, he'll give him wide enough open lanes that he can at least drive. Right. No, I mean, there was, you know, Stu pointed out of time that he drove. into the lane, but he drove not to score. Right. And, you know, defenses, you would have been nice to see him like, you know, pull up, you know, when nobody really closed on him, pull that, you know, nine footer or something

that he's, you know, used at different times in the preseason and stuff like that. I get the compulsion. This is like rare crunch time, like real minutes with the first team against, like, in a real game. And so the sort of impulse to especially offensively not get in the way and not look like he's forcing stuff, I think is natural. If this happens again or a couple more times, which it could while Vincent and LeBron are out and guys slide up the lineup a little bit, you know, to compensate for Aiton, I think it'll get a little better at that. But I was very pleased. pleased with how aggressive and confident he was defensively.

Sure. And so, you know, if you can get by with 18 minutes from him and it's not, you know, you're not at minus nine, minus 10 and really suffering for it, I think that is progress. But back to La Ravia, he's just, he, the, the first game he started, you could tell he didn't want to push it. Like he was trying to, to me it looked like he was sort of tentative in looking for his own shot. In looking, you know, being kind of forces. He's one of these guys who like to.

Similar to Diannri Aitin in his first. Yes. Doesn't want to, you know, not trying to be the center of, you know, letting things come to you. And sometimes you can do that too much. Certain guys, you know, are, we used to say this about POW, trying a little. little too hard to always make sure they're making the right play and not having confidence in the thing that you're about to do is the right play. La Ravia has since become far more aggressive. He's shooting about 800% over the last few games. That's obviously not sustainable. But the

confidence in both moving the ball, the shot selection, putting the ball on the floor, making the right pass is a very good passer. So far, the returns. on him have been very strong and I think exactly what the Lakers were hoping they would be. I don't remember if it was Mike Trudell giving a sideline report during the Spectrum Sportsnet broadcast or Billy and Stu talking, but it was brought up that to your point, La Ravia started out a bit timid and kind of just trying to blend in a little bit being truly like connective in ways that you might not even notice. And it was brought up that both JJ and Rob Polinka talked with them. And I don't know if it was separate together,

but they both said, be yourself. Like, we didn't bring you in just to, you know, grease the wheels in ways that are just purely intangible. We brought you in for the tangibles as well. Like, be aggressive, be somebody that, be the guy that you picture yourself as essentially. Like, the highest level version of yourself, don't worry about stepping on anyone's toes. And thus far, it seems to be working really well. There is, I think, you know,

again, no DeAndre Aiton in this game. We're obviously still waiting for LeBron, Gabe Vincent, who was a damn wakey on Twitter noted, was at least out of his walking boot and stuff like that. The Lakers are gelling, I think, pretty well.

at a time where they're missing some guys. And we talked about this before. Maybe we can carry this over after the break. The Lakers are getting a really good look. With Luca getting back faster than I think everybody expected when the Lakers did this. I think people thought maybe he'd be back for Monday's game in Portland, for example, after this week long end. But they've already gotten two games out of him.

This sample size of what it looks like with Austin and Luca together as like your main pairing and then what kind of team you would need to put around them. They're getting a little bit of a look in that lab and the, you know, the results have been pretty good in these last couple games. Yeah, let's definitely talk about that coming up next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Ruggiet, let's be real, making excuses, doesn't solve anything. We've all heard them before.

It's stress, tired, can happen everyone sometimes, but when it comes to performance, sometimes your body needs a little extra sport. That's where Rougiette comes in. Rougiette.com offers fast-acting doctor-prescribed treatments for ED, designed to help you stop making excuses, start making moves. Rougiette makes it easy to get started. You just connect with a board-certified doctor 100% online. There's no awkward waiting rooms, no in-person appointments.

It prescribed the treatment ships discreetly to your door, and then it becomes just about confidence, connection, getting back to the moments that matters. So visit RUGIET.com slash locked on MBA to get 15% off your first order. That's RUGIET.com slash locked on MBA. Don't forget to use that code locked on MBA. So they knew we sent you. That is extremely important.

Rougiette, stop making excuses and start making moves. One last thing, though, to mention about LaRavia before we get into this Luca and Austin thing. The Lakers have needed guys who can sort of walk and chew gum a little bit. Like, part of the problem they've had over the last few years is it's not that they didn't have anybody who could play defense or anybody who could score. But they didn't have a lot of people who could do both. And you, the finding lineup combinations that work becomes very challenging when you have a bunch of either or players. and the fact that La Ravia has shown that he can be a very versatile offensive player, but is holding up defensively and has some utility defensively, again,

with deflections, steals. I don't know if you want to put him on an island against, you know, Shea on the perimeter. Well, I don't know how many people you want to put on island against Shea, period. Correct. That's what I was getting at. Like, you know, he has his, you know, but like, Laravia clearly has some demonstrable strengths defensively that make combination. He's an easy guy to put other players with.

And so you combine that with, you know, Austin Reeves is, if nothing else, consistent willingness to work hard defensively. And a much more mobile Luca, Luca's always been a sneaky steals guy. but his quickness to jump passing lanes and all that kind of stuff, which has always been something that he can do. He sees the floor on both ends. The Lakers have been, you know, have had moments where they've been surprisingly disrupted.

They were, I would say, they played three quarters of pretty good defense in this game, the exception being the sort of the second half of the third quarter, when they almost made JJ's head explode. Oh my Lord. I joked on Twitter. He was more like JJ red-faced. I mean, he was furious. It did not take like the lip reading experts over at John Boy

to figure out that what he was saying was, it was not safe for any work, including frankly, his own work. No. Because JJ has said he's trying to avoid cursing too much, getting too upset. Some of the... A swear jar at home. Yeah.

of the intensity that we've talked about with JJ at times can feel like it overwhelmed overwhelms him this particular there there was a sequence I think early in the fourth quarter after a third quarter that frankly the lakers were lousy they the third quarter they started it very sloppy they closed it very sloppy I thought I mean I thought the the opening of it was like it's not great but they then they they seem to get their feet under this last few minutes were just Terrible. Right. And then in the fourth quarter, there was a defensive breakdown that led to Calais, where getting a very easy layup. And JJ called timeout and exploded. He, he ripped the clipboard from one of his assistants. He was so mad.

You do one of those things like, you know, like you call time out and, you know, your players are walking back. You like, you walk like almost to be like the opposite side of the floor. Like you're so like, you like you do with your kids. Like I can't even look at you people. There was a little bit of that, but I think he was also walking the other side of the floor just to make sure that he could without ever stopping cuss out all of them. And that's how you managed to cross paths with everybody as you just walk from one sideline to the other. And then everyone's been mother bleaked. You know, it works out well. You were talking also about Jake LaRavia and the ability to play on both sides of the ball.

the last few games, and certainly this one against Miami, we've seen that with Marcus Smart. Oh, yeah. The last three games, Marcus Smart, you know, you expect and hope for that defense. That's been Smart's calling card. But the last three games, he's hit double digits on pretty efficient scoring. He's averaging, he's had four or five assists in each of those games. He's had multiple steals and two of them. Like the way Marcus Smart is playing, he is at minimum a one and a half way player, if not kind of a soft two.

Oh, I think he's played pretty well offensively. Yeah. Again, it's not just scoring. It's passing. Yeah, absolutely. I 100% think they're getting the same type of supporting cast two-way play from him. He is playing right now like a guy that is looking to. make up for lost time and lost fun after the last two seasons in Memphis and with the Wizards

that were both injury riddled and very, very unpleasant. When I did for Lakers talk, my weekly Lakers radio show for ESPNLA 710, I talked with Drew Hill, who covers the Grizzlies for the Daily Memphian and also 929 ESPN. And this was before we knew for sure that Marcus Smart was going to play. but he said he was very curious if Smart played how he would perform and what the reaction would be because it was no secret that Marcus Smart did not enjoy his time in Memphis and that the citizens of Memphis did not enjoy Marcus Smart's time there. So this was sort of a low-key, Drew Hill thought it might be kind of a low-key revenge game for Marcus Smart, but he's just playing right now like a guy who has been miserable for a couple years and just

like, holy bleep, man, this is enjoy. I forgot what it was like to play enjoyable basketball. Well, it's also too. It's this is why, you know, like you look at like, I think and I wasn't in the arena on Sunday, obviously wasn't on the road trip. I think they are, you are going to see still more like you might. see Gabe Vincent start when he's healthy again. It's going to be a couple weeks.

I don't think you, but like, you know, it depends on LeBron. It depends on a lot of things. But like if LeBron's not about like you, you could see the same starting line of whatever it might be. My point being because I think they are going to try. I think the Lakers really understand the tangible difference that Marcus Smart makes to their roster and to what the lineups that they put on the floor, the edge they put. play with the attitude they play with and then you get you know second units whether he starts or not he started on on sunday but whether either unit he plays with when he's with that second group he is a

very capable ball mover he can put the ball on the floor a little bit so you know when he does it there's a little like ooh like they're a little burst there like it's he's not a you know slow and broken down looking player and they need to keep him that way and they're you know he's already struggled a little bit with injuries. He's missed a couple games. He was injured through training camp. I don't think, even if he plays incredibly well, like really, really well, I think they're going to cap how much he is on before. I don't disagree that they may cap his minutes over the course of the seasons until you can start getting close to the playoffs. But from a purely basketball matchup perspective.

Cap his minutes as a starter because the matchups that he's going to play as a starter, like we saw Gabe works his ass off. He's smart. He does, you know, he plays intelligently. He does the proverbial right things. He is too small for the assignment.

You don't have to convince me. No, but I'm saying also this is why this is why. No, I know, but I'm saying this is why, A, I don't think it's going to happen.

B, if it does happen, JJ's making a tangible mistake because it actually, I remember you, one of the points you brought up when Gabe was starting out of necessity, JJ's preference, however you want to frame it, both, was that Gabe being in the lineup just by himself does not constitute the Lakers going small. Like it doesn't make the Lakers an overall small team.

And I think that is true in a technical sense. Defensively, however, it makes them small. It actually, I think, makes them a much too small team to defend because then all of a sudden, Austin Reeves becomes a guy who can be too small for some of his assignments. And then you have a back court that can, that can be, no, I mean, it's true, man. It just happens. I just, I'm not, I don't, I don't know if smallness is necessarily the issue. Well, okay, fine, too weak, too small combination of both, whatever. He gets. it's pushed around too easily if you don't have smart out there as an option. Like it just, it makes no sense.

I would, you know, first of all, a lot of this is obviously dependent on when LeBron gets back. But like, um, and we know, what these lineups look like. I, I am no problem with them starting it. And I would love to see that be something that they do. It was it's what I would have loved to see coming out of the preseason were it possible. Um, and I don't think it was. it's just one of those things where my my opinion,

a portion those minutes, however, you know, they can be done best. It's just the level of play and the amount of minutes, I don't think are necessarily going to match. Like there is that desire. Like this guy obviously is a big difference maker. You know, it's not a diminishing returns kind of thing in terms of, you know, you're looking at somebody who's never been a 35 minute

a night guy and now you're well no marcus smart's done that i just i i my expectation over the course of this season is he's they're going to try really hard again i don't disagree that's really the only point i'm making i if if starting him works great i am with this way i am i'm an advocate let me put it this way it there's no it it has to work if you're not going to do that then you have to start banderbilt like you can't start gabe he's too too small and he makes too much of the defense too small. And particularly start La Ravia. I mean, you, whatever.

I think that becomes a live option. And again, not to rehash for the guy who's not in the lineup. You need to find somebody in that spot if you're going to play one side or the other. Like if the idea is Vincent provides you a little bit of defense gives you the offense, you need to find somebody who actually is going to provide you the defense and give you the offense. The problem with Gabe wasn't. just that he was getting picked on defensively, is that he was providing none of the awescence.

I mean, that's also predictable because... La Ravia can provide that. They need to make sure they're getting whatever your philosophical reason for starting player X is, you actually have to get that result. Right. Well, I mean, it's another reason. Gabe, the reason Gabe showed out in the preseason

is because he got the ball more than he ever will in an actual game with all. hands on deck and it will reduce Gabe to more of what we've seen, which is a guy that isn't fully comfortable or the best version of himself offensively unless he has the ball. It's not going to happen. He has more opportunities if he's coming off the bench than if he's starting. So we'll see. It's a moot point until he gets back and all of that.

But I would not, we'll see what they do Monday in Portland, who is available, who is not how many minutes they allow somebody like Smart. to play would certainly be very helpful if 8 was back in the lineup. And we'll go. But like, hey, they keep winning and they keep looking good in the process. And a bunch of guys around this roster are starting to develop confidence beyond just the stars of the team while LeBron's on the sideline. Lockdown Lickers on YouTube is where over 37,000 subscribers are hanging out. We will see, of course, everybody after the game Monday night in Portland. Thank you.