Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Austin Reaves (31 Points), Luka Dončić (24 Points) Help Disjointed Lakers Beat Pelicans 118-104

Episode Date: November 15, 2025

It wasn't a nailbiter, it wasn't a disaster, it wasn't a dominant performance. The Lakers came to play, but they didn't necessarily play well. Final score against a very, very bad New Orleans team, 118-104. Austin Reaves led the Lakers in scoring, with 31 points, using 13 trips to the free throw line to push the attack. Luka Dončić wasn't efficient (6-16) but did finish with 24 points and a healthy 12 assists against three turnovers. Deandre Ayton (10-11, 20 points, 16 rebounds with a two steals and a block) was probably the team's most consistent player. The Lakers certainly got the job done, but what looked in the first 12 minutes or so like it would be a very strong performance where they put the Pelicans away early became something different. New Orleans went on a couple big runs fueled by 3-pointers, and the Lakers seemed to fall in and out of rhythm offensively. All in all, a far better effort than the opening game of the trip in Atlanta, and you could argue the hot start letting them play from way ahead makes it better than the Charlotte game. But they'll need more to beat Milwaukee on Saturday.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 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.BILTTurn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood by going to https://joinbilt.com/lockedonnba.DripDropStock up now before the heat hits hard — and keep your body and mind performing at their best with DripDrop.Right now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order.Go to dripdrop.com and use promo code LOCKEDONNBA. WayfairDon’t miss out on early Black Friday deals.Head to Wayfair.com now to shop Wayfair’s Black Friday sale for up to 70% off.Mint MobileReady to say yes to sayingno?Make the switch at https://MintMobile.com/LOCKEDONNBA Upfront payment of $45 required (equivalent to $15/mo). Limited-time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on Unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.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 a special bonus episode of Locked on Lakers for Friday and Saturday, depending on when you're listening. Brian Komenetsky, Andy Komenetsky, the Lakers write the ship in New Orleans, but did they write it enough to win Saturday in Milwaukee? Talk about that next. You are Locked on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks to everybody for making the Locked on.

podcast network, the number one sports podcast network anywhere in the known universe. Brian Komenetsky, Andy Komenetsky here locked on Lakers. Lakers 118 Pelicans 104 in New Orleans. Andy, I would say this was not exactly a dominant win. It was not a nail biter. The Lakers were really in control for most of this game. It wasn't a bad performance. It wasn't a great performance. I think the Lakers tried, but they didn't necessarily play focused or well. All in all, it was an improvement over, say, the Atlanta game, but probably not where JJ Reddick wants them to be, especially heading into Milwaukee on Saturday night.

So better, but maybe room for improvement. I thought at times they looked very good, and most of those times were when the starters were in. In particular, Luca Donchich, DeAndre Aiton, I thought were, Aitin especially,

I thought were very good. I thought Austin had a good night. I thought Rui had a good night. I thought Marcus Smart had a reasonably good first half. I thought he got wild as this game went along. Adventurous. He took 10 threes in this game. Like 10 threes should be like,

if not a week for Marcus Smart, maybe like three days. Like three games. It should not be. It should not be one game, but, you know, again, the first half I thought Marcus played pretty well. And I thought the other four starters were anywhere from very good to excellent. The bench was an issue in this game. And basically, that's when Leeds kept getting chipped away or in the fourth quarter, actually getting down to single digits, which is kind of ridiculous against a Pelicans team that's won two games.

and is missing at minimum one of their two best players, depending on how much you still believe in Zion over Trey Murphy III. But again, we wanted the Lakers to get like a decisive win. And in the grand scheme of things, that is what happened in this game. But if you look under the hood, there were still things not to like in this game. But as I did mention, I'm sure we'll get into, there were elements to like as well. Yeah, again, like it's just saying,

I don't walk away from this unhappy with what they do. It was just one of those things where you're like, you're not as pleased as you hope to be. Right. It's like you go, it's like going to a restaurant that you really like. And you get there and you're used to, you know, a certain level of service,

a certain level of quality and all that kind of stuff. And it's like the meal isn't bad. There's nothing wrong with it, but it just, it's like, this wasn't their best night. Like it was there, you know, I doubt the, the folks back in the kitchen were, were blowing it off. But like, it just wasn't quite right. It didn't come together. Although at times, the servers and the bus boy and the bartender kicked ass.

Like the appetizer was good, but the main was like whatever, you know, part of the main. Like the steak was good. the sides. You know what I mean? Like it's not that the whole meal wasn't good. And it's not like all elements of the service were good. It's like one of those restaurants where a lot of people take care of you. And it really depends on who it was.

Yeah. But I mean, you go through the numbers. Reeves, Austin Reeves led Lakers in scoring. 31 points added four rebounds and seven assists. A pretty good bounce back game for Austin got the line 13 times. And aside from a couple squirrel. moments, but you tend to get that periodically with Austin. It was a solid

night. Luca finished with 24, 7 and 12, only three turnovers, but 6 of 16 from the floor, so the inefficiency from Luca is sort of continuing. You mentioned DeAndre Aiton. He was 10 of 11. Yeah, it was. 10 of 11 from the floor. More importantly,

16 rebounds, including three offensive. He had two steals. He had a block. He also did. He was a plus 35 in this game. He was a plus 35 and as much as DeAndre's numbers will jump out of you because 10 of 11 from the field, according to Stapmews, he is the first Laker with 20 and 15, 20 and 15 on 90% from the field since Shaq in 2002. It's a pretty staggering line, but his defense in a lot of ways was

what really jumped out of me. There were several plays where DeAndre, created misses or turnovers because he was just really active in the lane. And especially, too, what jumped out of me with DeAndre was just the last few games, there's been some slippage. And he hasn't necessarily been terrible other than OKC in Atlanta, but everyone was terrible. But like, he needed a bounce back game. And even if you look at the pelicans and say, you know, let's do it against a better team and fair enough.

This was a really nice night for DeAndre. Yeah, I agree. And, you know, it was almost exactly sort of the prototypical, like what you expect offensively. We've made note, like DeAndre is not a guy who's going to get to the free throw line a lot. He had 20 points. He had 10 field goals. But the efficiency was really there.

You know, I think you mentioned it at the top. Like the issue here in this game, Luca wasn't super efficient, but the Lakers obviously performed extremely well with him on the floor. You know, 12 assists, he moved the ball well. It could have been more. You know, a lot of the nine misses from three point range for Marcus Smart were off of passes from Luca Donchich. And so like that could have been 14 or 15 assists easily. It was just one of those things where like, you know, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, major moments where the opposition, where the pelicans got back into the game, hot shooting,

generally against the second unit. And, you know, the Lakers are going to need to be able to figure out, at least over the next few games, until LeBron comes back, how they're going to smooth out those moments where particularly Luca is not on the floor. And, you know, how do you get offense out of Jared Vanderbilt? How do you, especially on a night where smart is, all over the damn place offensively. Where are your points going to come from?

Because somebody like Jake La Ravia, the 80% shooting jag that he was on seems to be over. Yeah. Well, he did lead the bench with six points. So I guess in that sense. And I'm not even saying Jake played poorly. I'm just saying, you know, that burst that he had where it was like, damn, that appears to have passed. Yeah. And he's not a natural score.

He's not somebody that you would look at to lead your bench and scoring anyway. I've said before. I will say it again. When LeBron is back, I think Rui needs to go to the bench, not just for defensive balance and better floor balance among the starting five. They need to spread around the scoring options throughout a game. To be clear, this is not a demotion of Rui at all. He's doing his part.

can only play five guys to start a game. He's the most natural, just sort of logical guy to do this. His minutes should remain high. And other guys are going to, between LeBron just coming back in and of itself, guys are going to start losing minutes as it is, and that's fine. But the lack of scoring beyond the starting five is a thing. Yeah. And there were some numbers that folks were had out over the,

if you're looking at social media on Friday, it's like Frank, excuse me, had some stuff about the numbers with DeAndre and Rui together, particularly defensively and they're not good. So, you know, there are some reasons I think you might want to split that pairing up.

But like you say, it's not anything Rui is necessarily doing wrong. It's just you've got to figure out to balance it because obviously LeBron is going to start. And you're not, I mean, people can, I know there's a strong and very vocal contingent of Lakers fans who want Austin Reeves to go to the bench. It is not going to happen. It's a strong contingency of Laker fans who want LeBron to go to the bench.

There's just, it's not going to happen. There is a vocal group for just, we're, we are a lid for every pot kind of fan base. And we welcome and love you all. Yes. But, you know, so. So like, I agree with you. And I think ultimately, you know, Smart was a little squirly on Saturday. I'm sorry on Friday, but the, the defensive balance that he provides just makes a lot more sense.

A little bit more on this game in a moment. But first, Andy, we need to tell people about this. Well, that Locked on Lakers is brought to you by drip drop new sponsor. And it's great. When I'm hydrated, everything is just better. And it's why I'm using drip drop. It's doctor-developed hydration that keeps me running at full power, no matter what the day looks like. And it's not your average sports drink.

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linens or fun serveware for holiday hosting Wayfair's Black Friday sale is here to help you get the make your space shine. The best part is you don't have to wait. Wayfers Black Friday deals are happening all month long with up to 70% off everything from sodas sofas to spatulas. all the S's and the rest of the alphabet as well on sale during the Black Friday deals across November. We've got some stuff in our home that are from Wayfair. I walked my way into the house. Got some outdoor furniture that we bought at Wayfair that I love to see out there on a nice sunny day. I sit out on our little front porch on this outdoor couch that we got there. It looks great. Fits like a glove delivery was fantastic, easy set up, all that stuff. So, and you know, and the holidays come

around. You want the place to look nice. You want to impress the family. You want to impress your friends. If you've ever hosted family for the holidays, you know how much a difference. A few nice little touches can make. Wayfar makes it easy. Don't miss out on those early Black Friday deals. Head to Wayfair.com to shop Wayfair's Black Friday sale for up to 70% off. It's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com. Sale ends December 7th. So I was looking at the, for the numbers exactly from It's like Franco that he posted on Friday

and I'm not pulling him up but it's basically the Lakers are very good when Aiton's on the floor the Lakers are very good when Rui is on the floor the Lakers are very bad when Rui and Aiton

are on the floor together. So that's the gist of it and these are the kinds of things that you just have to look at because basketball is not played in a vacuum it's not just an individual talent. It is how all the parts work together. And the Lakers, as we learn watching the game on Wednesday, Andy, they need to

become something. It's a little better than the sum of the parts, which means using all the parts as efficiently as possible. And that efficiency, I said this heading into the game against the Pelicans. One of the few things they can do if you allow this to take place is get steals. They got a bunch of guys who average a steel or more per game. And the Lakers had four turnovers. I want to say in the first five minutes of the game. I remember Luca had one, let's just say, very ambitious cross-court pass that felt unnecessarily risky and it eventually turned into a turnover because the ball just kind of bopped around because nobody could control it. DeAndre Aitin ended up getting called for a turnover because he was trying to corral it while off balance. And like things like that, as brilliant

a passer as Luca is and was tonight. those type of possessions add up. And I'm pretty sure New Orleans scored off that turnover. Again, I'm not saying this to pick on Luca. I'm saying it just, it's emblematic of the things all of them have to avoid. And it's also a matter of concentration, execution, just staying. It's funny, actually, like as far as like the minding of all the details, and it's very specific to this game because it was a cup game.

Lakers now 2 and O in cup play. Down the stretch of the game, DeAndre Aitin clearly either forgot the point differential rules and cutoffs for cup play or just decided there's 30 seconds left in this game, I don't care. But there was a point where everybody was looking for him to shoot with the clock running down and he just passed the ball out and got a 24-second violation. It's so hard. Like, it can be really, like, there are times.

JJ wasn't upset about it at all. No, but like, you know, you see it sometimes when you're used to, you're up 10, you're up 12, you're up 14, the other teams down by the bucket, you're used to just conceding a basket because the last thing you want to do is give up as an and one in situations like that. This sort of reprogramming of, no, you got to keep scoring, no, you have to, you know, in theory, prevent all this. I mean, if it comes down to it in the Lakers, let's say they win all their games or

three out of four and you lose out on that championship game because, you know, a point differential. I mean, I guess we can have another conversation. I'll be okay with it because it means they've won most of the games in this setup. They might be upset because it might mean they're out half a mill or shot at half a mill. So I get it. Look, they're going to need to play better in Milwaukee on Saturday. And to that effect, you know, it will be something of a fair fight because while the Lakers

don't need to get, well, the bucks don't need to get on an airplane on Friday night. But they are playing on the second night of a back-to-back. And they were pushed to overtime by the Hornets. So they had to do a little more work to get their win than the Lakers did. I would like to see how they hopefully elevate a little bit in this game. Janus is obviously going to be a major problem. He has been a major problem for every one. He had 18 assists in the game on Friday.

Kyle Kuzma, who has been for long stretches with the Bucks, awful, has seems to have found a little bit of, you know, kind of quietly found a bit of a groove over the last, you know, two weeks. He's playing much better. He had an excellent game on Friday 29, 10 and 5. Ryan Rollins has been tripped. Ryan Rollins has been spectacular. He's been really good. Really, I mean, and I sat there.

I almost picked him up for my fantasy team and I didn't. And then I am very angry about that. So I will be rooting against Ryan Rollins for that reason more than anything on Saturday. But like the Milwaukee's not a bad team. I don't think they're going anywhere championship-wise, but you still got to play well to beat them. The Lakers will need to play better than they did on Friday. but at least they took a step in the right direction.

Yeah, I mean, we get real greedy sometimes, like expecting, you know, sort of perfection. Well, you know what? I mean, like we talked about heading into this game and then we can wrap, it wasn't even about expecting perfection. We talked about wanting a blowout win because we felt like given the way this road trip is gone, it would be good for this team psychologically. Oh, sure. And for their own confidence.

And like you talked about with the example of how sometimes. it benefits your son's soccer team to play against a bad team and play well just so you get the practice in of execution. You wanted to see the Lakers get the most practice executing. For the most part with the starters, they did. It's in at times with the starters, they played quite well. It's just the parts of the game where you can't have all five of those dudes in were kind of dicey a lot during tonight. Yeah. And so, you know, we'll see how this goes.

Seeing the Lakers, if they can pick up a win in Milwaukee would do a lot, not just to, you know, for the, you know, the psyche and all that, but it would really do a lot to kind of reclaim the road trip and make it into a success heading into back-to-back games against the jazz, both of which should be winnable. And really, we'll take a look at the schedule probably maybe as the week begins. but a winnable stretch of games coming up at home for the Lakers if they can get through this or maybe steal game Saturday night, Milwaukee. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 37,000 subscribers, Andy,

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