Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Austin Reaves Scores 51 as the Lakers Beat Kings, Luka Dončić Out at Least a Week

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Lockdown Lakers for Monday. Brian Komeneski, Andy Kaminetsky, no LeBron James, no Luca Donchich in Sacramento. No problem for the Lakers as Austin Reeves dropped 51 in a win. We'll tell you about it 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 Lockdown Lakers.

Starting point is 00:00:33 First listen of every day Monday through Friday, no matter how where you get your podcast. This one's always going to be free, not locked behind a paywall, locked on Lakers on YouTube, is where over 36,000 subscribers, Andy, are all really stoked about what the Lakers did. On Sunday night in Sacramento

Starting point is 00:00:50 without Luca Dantritch in the lineup, he was added to the growing list of Lakers' injuries. He didn't play, but the Lakers win anyway. They beat Sacramento 127 to 1.27 to 1.1. I'll tell you all about it in a second here after we tell you that today's episode's brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create account, use code locked on NBA. For $20 off your first purchase.

Starting point is 00:01:18 So the day got off to a bad start, I think, for most Lakers fans, Andy, when we got the news that LeBron and his skinny fingers. Luca and his skinny fingers were, we'll be missing the game. me as a sprained finger on his left hand and a lower leg contusion. He's going to miss at least a week, be re-evaluated. So with the game Sunday, back to back on Monday, you know, at least a week is about four or five games. So he's going to be out for a bit. Jackson Hayes unavailable for Sunday's game in Sacramento with a knee injury.

Starting point is 00:01:58 So it was looking kind of grim, Andy, but it didn't turn out. that way. This was a great victory for the Lakers. Yeah, just to add a little more context to Lucas situation before we get into the game. Sources told Dave McMeneman, sources told Dan Wojke from the athletic, Dave McMinnman, Dave McMinnman from ESPN, and then Yovam Buha's block, they all were told that the Lakers' level of concern over Luca is pretty minor, and they're all pretty confident that while a week without Luca is obviously an obstacle that needs to be overcome, there is not a lot of concern that this is going to stretch into two weeks, three weeks, all of a sudden he's out nearly as long as LeBron is.

Starting point is 00:02:46 That does not guarantee the lack of concern that Luca will be back in like a week. But at least internally, three different pretty plugged in reporters are hearing that the Lakers are fairly confident that this will only last a week, which is good because who knows exactly how long, and this was a development in game, the Lakers could be without Gabe Vincent, who sprained his ankle during this game, was pretty, got tangled up sort of in a massive. It looked like he landed on DeAndre Aiton's foot on top of sort of being in a tight space. He knew immediately he could not keep playing. Walked straight, went straight, walked.

Starting point is 00:03:26 They were on the baseline connected to like the Lakers locker room. walked straight there. Did not pass go, did not collect $200. Lakers actually lost Marcus Smart for a little bit of that game. He came back into the game late. Very Daniel LaRuso's going to fight. I mean, it was, it was pretty amazing. He came back in for like the last 90 seconds or so of this game that was still very much tightly contested. And that was in a lot of ways. I mean, obviously, Austin's 51 point near triple double. He was one assist shy of a triple double, a 9 to 2 assist to turnover ratio, which is pretty amazing when you consider how much the ball was in Austin's hands,

Starting point is 00:04:12 like the advanced metrics of this game. And this is on top of 11 to 1 on Friday. So his last two games got 20 assists and three turnovers. But at least in that game, he was sharing some of the responsibility, not just with Luca, but with Gabe and with Marcus Smart. In this game for a variety of circumstances, Austin had the ball in his hands by himself. I imagine his usage rating is going to be somewhere in the high 30s.

Starting point is 00:04:39 Yeah, I mean, in 40s, his usage rating might be as high as his point total. So with that in mind, it's pretty amazing that he managed to take care of the ball this way. There were a lot of really great performances we'll get into, but the collective resolve of this team, despite these circumstances, this is really a win they should be proud of because they damn well earned it. They worked so hard to earn this win. They came out and, you know, they, you know, I think, it's very possible Sacramento thought maybe they were going to get an easier run.

Starting point is 00:05:19 The Kings are a weird team. To say the least, I would not want to be doing Locked on Kings all season. What up, Matt George? That just doesn't. Matt George is both too good of a person and too good at his job to deserve this faith. It's just not, God, they were so good a couple years ago. So much fun. They're not anymore.

Starting point is 00:05:45 So like, I don't know, I don't want to return that beam. That does not get a lot of work. like the Lakers used to drop the streamers and stuff like that. And they reached after everywhere. I think they still do it. But like they drop the streamers down and all that stuff. Like they reached a stretch where like the streamers had like dust, skeletons.

Starting point is 00:06:09 They just weren't used very often. I feel like that's going to happen to the beam. But, you know, you look at what the Lakers did. And they came out and they sort of surprised, I think, Sacramento a little bit with the energy and the effort. And you're like, okay, this is what it requires to win without your two best players.

Starting point is 00:06:28 But eventually, effort can be matched. You know, Sacramento hit some threes. Every time the Kings made a push, the Lakers had an answer. The Kings went ahead a couple times. And it looked like, ah, it's going to be a shame. Lakers always had an answer. And that was driven by AR. There is no question.

Starting point is 00:06:53 But it was collective, like you say, they got the performance that they needed from Reeves, who has tended to play well in games where he is the featured player, whether that's without LeBron and AD in the lineup or without LeBron and Luca in the lineup. This is not a new thing for Reeves to go off in these games. And he was definitely the impetus for it. But it was a really good collective victory. But again, I mean, it starts with what Austin Reeves did.

Starting point is 00:07:28 It was really a flawless game. It was actually pretty hilarious. And obviously, Luca has scored 50 points before. He has scored 60 points before. I believe his career high is 73. But in the win over Minnesota, Luca had the opportunity. Was in the game to try to hit 50. and he missed free throws.

Starting point is 00:07:53 And eventually, JJ said, well, I gave you your shot. I need to take you out of this game because I can't have you getting hurt. And as it turned out, he actually, well, we all thought he was playing with that finger. I don't think anybody, including JJ, was even aware of the leg thing because I think it was contused. Yeah, well, JJ said out that he wasn't quite sure when this happened. But my point is the feeling that if JJ had been aware of it, he wouldn't have allowed Luca to stay in just to get 50. He would have pulled him out and said, I'm pretty confident it'll happen at some point again. But Austin ended up hitting free throws to put him over the top from 50 to 51, which is kind of funny and ironic considering, you know, Austin's good player, but Luca's Luca.

Starting point is 00:08:36 And the Lakers, by the way, three for three with players putting up 40 plus. I actually tweeted during the game. I was like, there's got to be somebody secretly on the bench who's like hoping AR must. is a game or two coming up because somebody gets to score 40 plus a game. That's just the rule. Like, you know, La Ravia is down there going, it's going to be my turn eventually, baby. Let's do this. But I just, you know, we'll get to DeAndre Aitin for sure over the course of this game.

Starting point is 00:09:04 He was fantastic. And it was, it's smart had, you know, a bunch of contraband. But I really like to the way the Lakers approached this game. they hit some threes late that brought their percentages way up, like, you know, compared to what they were. It still wasn't great. I think they finished 32%. Yeah, 8 of 25.

Starting point is 00:09:30 But for a while, they were in the teens. But I think at halftime, it was 2 for 11. So like the numerator sucks, like two, not good. But you're controlling the denominator. They kept that game close because they attacked relentlessly 18. team with bad rim protection and bad defenders. And they got themselves to the line. And I know I'm sure Kings fans are like the free throw discrepancy here was absurd.

Starting point is 00:10:00 46 for the Lakers 18 for Sacramento. But like I'm watching that game going the Lakers earned these free throws. Let's get into that coming up next because they earned it through physicality, but they also earned it through another way that I think was. really important, especially considering their circumstances in this game. So we'll get into that coming up next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Monarch Money. Most people can't name all their financial accounts or even what they're worth, whether you're talking 401Ks, properties or investments. You don't have the full picture. You can end up leaving money on the table.

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Starting point is 00:13:03 A couple big shots from Jake La Ravia off the bench. We met Chris Mignon. We did. A good three minutes of playing time. You know, Jared Vanderbilt made a big impact in this game. But before we get to some of those guys and, you know, even more maybe about Reeves against 21 of 22 from the line for Reeves 12 of 22 from the field, six of 10 from three point range on a night where the Lakers generally were not great from three, nine assists. The Lakers as a team, I mentioned

Starting point is 00:13:36 the 46 trips to the line. They made 41 of those free throw attempts. That is a 89% rate. That is fantastic. That'd matter if you get to the line, if you don't take advantage of that. Yeah, we saw that against Golden State on opening night. For example. And so before we get to that stuff. I had mentioned that I loved how the Lakers approached this game where they did not fall in love with the three. They did not get three happy. And so even while they weren't shooting it well, they were staying in the game because they were getting themselves the line. It looked to me, sitting at home, that this wasn't like the refs, refing two different games here. The Lakers, like you said before break, Andy, brought it through physicality. They brought the game to Sacramento and they earned those trips to the line. Their physicality and their relentlessness in this game was constant through 48 minutes. JJ actually said that the big challenge before this game was playing with our edge. Those were his exact words. And he said that he thought this was the first game where they had it for 48 minutes. He didn't think they really had it at all against Golden State, no argument.

Starting point is 00:14:48 And then he thought that they had it as the Minnesota game went along, but they didn't begin with it. This was a game where from the opening tip, regardless of every possession, whether you thought the Lakers played well in that possession, played poorly, whatever, they played hard constantly, and that plays a role in getting a line, but also, to be totally honest, Sacramento often playing really effing stupid, sent the Lakers to the line as well. They had near back-to-back three-point shooting fouls, first against Gabe Vincent, against Austin Reeves, both obvious fouls, both bailout fouls, particularly the one against Austin. Like it was just stupid. They had a couple, at least off the top of my head, I can remember

Starting point is 00:15:35 two fouls committed in the back court, like around the inbound sequence. Like, I mean, they just made stupid plays, like really undisciplined plays that I think are kind of typical for a team that doesn't have a lot of defenders, and they're trying to offset this in some way, but even someone like Keon Ellis, who is a very good defender, Keon Ellis made a lot of stupid mistakes in this game. And that honestly played a really big role in the Lakers winning this. Like Sacramento played, I thought, a really unintelligent game and helped the Lakers overcome the disadvantage of who they were missing. stupidity on defense is contagious.

Starting point is 00:16:23 It just is. And when, yes, there are certain players who play and they just, you don't realize they're decent defenders until they get on another team. Like it can be very difficult to play under those circumstances. But I just, I just appreciate, like you talked about, it got me thinking about Smart's comments when JJ said that post game about, you know, that edge playing with that edge, it got me thinking. thinking about what Smart had said at practice last week, which was about, you know, being the team

Starting point is 00:16:54 that makes the rules. And they were unquestionably the team on Sunday that made the rules. You know, Sacramento, they stayed in the game with some rust three-point shooting that you wouldn't necessarily expect and, you know, some things like they made, they made some shots. But the Lakers made the rules of this game. And it was, it started with Reeves. who was, you know, we mentioned in the previous site, just basically flawless on Sunday night. But he wasn't the only guy there. Like this was a game, I had talked in preseason.

Starting point is 00:17:31 The Lakers are going to need DeAndre Aten to get, you know, eight to 12 rebounds in night. Like that's where they, and be engaged defensively every night and whatever. Score 10 to 15, you know, 60, that's fine, you know. But there will be a handful of games over the course of the season where they need a lot more. This was one of them.

Starting point is 00:17:51 And man alive, Andy to date and respond. I tweeted out during this game at Cam Brothers. I'm not saying this game is evidence that DeAndre Aiton will commit all season to hustling hard on both ends of the floor. But it's definitely evidence of how effective DeAndre Aitin can be when he commits to hustling on both ends of the floor. He made a lot happen in this game through effort, just effort on both sides of the ball. he had a chase down block after a great play.

Starting point is 00:18:21 But it was after a turnover that he committed. And there were several plays where Aiton got beat on a defensive possession but did not give up. He was very, very disruptive in the lane. He was out in space, often challenging shots. You can obviously see it in a 15 rebound five on the offensive glass stat line. but he just the disruptiveness with which he was playing and the effort and that relentlessness you know we had talked before about a couple times with aton and that shack saying feed the big dog if you wanted to protect the porch this was a game where Aiton was getting fed and he

Starting point is 00:19:06 protected that porch but it did not feel like there was a contingency plan in place um I also I saw something well I just I just want to make sure people that you got to get the full line because I don't know if we've actually said it. You mentioned the 15 rebounds, five on the offensive glass, 10 of 17 from the floor. So an incredibly efficient evening from Aitin as well. He also had a couple of dimes, was part of a Lakers team that generally speaking moved the ball very well,

Starting point is 00:19:32 found open men when they were available, had a steel and a block. Yeah, and there was something I noticed in this game that I thought was interesting. There were a lot of plays where they were finding effectiveness with Aiton around the rim. not specifically through the two-man game that all of us have talked about. And even the Lakers have talked about, you know, largely defined through pick and roll.

Starting point is 00:19:56 But rather just Aiton getting himself situated by the rim. And the Lakers just finding it. And it felt like a lot during this game that Aiton was, it wasn't solely this way. He did run in some two-man action. But it felt like there was a certain amount of just simplicity, like find big target, give him the ball, don't overthink this. And over the course of the season, obviously, they're going to get more sophisticated and complex because you needed to. But it felt like today, they just scaled it back. And it was like, look, man, just get down low.

Starting point is 00:20:30 We'll find you. We'll get you the ball. And also, too, just, you know, and he's not a guy. I think Lakers fans are looking for a player who's going to, you know, set that screen, roll hard of the basket, get that, you know, the, the, the, the, the, the pass and, like, throw it down. And there'll be some plays like that. You had a couple good dunks in this game. He did. But he's also a guy who is going to pull up and he loves the elbow jumper. Like, one of the flaws, characteristics, whatever you want to call it, of Aiton is he is not a guy who gets to the line much. He does not take the ball, you know, two drivels strong, finish through contact. It happens, but that's not his strategy.

Starting point is 00:21:17 But what you still want to see is aggressiveness in taking your shot. If the shot that you want to take is a turnaround, then aggressively looking for that turnaround. And if your shot is the elbow jumper because they're pulling back on the pick and roll and they're in that drop, and you're confident in, confidently get up and take that jumper. And so we saw the offense, 10 of 17 is a phenomenal night for Aiton. But then the 15 rebounds are huge. And a couple sequences late in the game where on the offensive glass, he's just, one, he started to get the ball, then lost the ball and they got it back.

Starting point is 00:22:01 It's just disrupted. When he's down there doing that, Sacramento can't get out, even if he doesn't get the ball, it causes Sacramento to have to secure a rebound. and they can't get out in transition. And it has a huge effect. And after the break, I want to ask you about the sort of the potential significance of games like this for someone like Aiton, given the circumstances the Lakers are in. So we'll do that next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Fanduel.

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Starting point is 00:23:50 And, you know, Jackson Hayes was missing. and, you know, which is a big deal when you're already short players. And, you know, it looks like Gabe could be on the shelf for a minute or two. I was going to say, for clarity's sake, we don't know much. JJ, uh, JJ was asked after the game about Gabe and he said he did not know much, but it wasn't enough time. Right. There wasn't enough time.

Starting point is 00:24:13 Try to be optimistic. I would be, if nothing else, I'd be stunned if he played against Portland the day after this. This was, you know, when a guy goes straight into the locker room and does. not come back like i mean marcus the smart injury for example um you mentioned you kind of made the joke about daniel le russo's going to fight like they are on the the the bench working and kind of moving his knee around it looked like first went to a bike he went right and then he went back and he rode the bike for a little while and i think it's to keep everything loose once you stop playing

Starting point is 00:24:48 like you know for the night you get on a plane you go to portland they'll have to see what happens with them. They're going to be very careful with smart. And so if there is a sense that he might be banged up and like, you know, can't play him, they're going to hold him out of that game on Monday night in Portland. And so, you know, the Lakers could be very short-handed, which is why it was so critical that they won this game. Like you're going to be without Luca for a couple games.

Starting point is 00:25:20 You know, may not have Vincent. Like, so there's some potentially winnable games that you might have, you might just not have the roster to win now. Yeah, especially too. Like Jackson, he's now been out for a couple games, but had been questionable, which means it hasn't gotten better. Well, it means they're trying to get him out there and they keep thinking that it might be a possibility, which glass half empty means he might be getting close.

Starting point is 00:25:47 Glass half empty means they keep trying and they're not getting there. So they're going to have to ride out this period where, unfortunately, they've had several games stacked on top of each other. You know, they have the game on Friday, play Sunday, they play Monday, they play Wednesday, they play on Friday. Like, they've got a lot of games in bunches. And they're going to have to figure out this period perhaps short-handed. I mean, we talked about Chris Mignon's three minutes. the biggest thing that jumped out at me that was, I think, important considering this context now, he did not appear overwhelmed at all by surprise duty getting tossed into the fire,

Starting point is 00:26:33 because I'm pretty confident Chris Mignon did not arrive in whatever the hell Sacramento's arena is called expecting to play in this game. Oh, it's like the Golden. Oh, like Golden One Center maybe? Yeah, something like that. Yeah, like I don't think he expected to play. play. No. And no. Yeah. Mani is an older rookies, 23 years old.

Starting point is 00:26:58 Um, you know, they've been high on him. I mean, there's a reason they kept him with two-way status despite him being injured the entire training camp. Yeah. They know they play great in the summer league for Golden State. And so yeah, I mean, like, well, you don't want to have to play these guys, but you know, you want your, you can look at two-way players in two ways. Um, you are, like, well, you are, like, well, you don't want to have to play these guys. Um, you are, looking for prospects, guys you can bring along and stuff like that. Or a guy who can, you know, you can sort of reliably step in to give you reasonable break glass in case of emergency minutes. Ideally, your players are both.

Starting point is 00:27:35 But, you know, we'll see. Like, it's interesting. Like, you went that way with making Mannion available to you in this game versus Smith. You know, there's a limit as to how much all of these guys can play over the. course of 82 games. Or frankly, playing brawny. Yeah, or brawny. Yeah, for sure.

Starting point is 00:27:55 So we'll see. But for somebody like DeAndre Aiden, I have to think there is value in being put in this situation where it's not like you're not fitting in here. This isn't, you know, kind of, you know, you're behind AR, you're behind Luca, obviously. You know, we want you to be aggressive. but your job isn't to go score. You get into this game on Sunday,

Starting point is 00:28:25 and it's like, dude, we need a big game from you. Like, we need you to produce frontline numbers. And they leaned on him hard, and he responded. And I just, if you're somebody like him with that backstory and all the conversation that comes with him joining a team like the Lakers, I hesitate to say that this is going to be the jumping off point for something spectacular over the course of the season. But I do think it can be a very, very positive kind of thing that pushes him forward. Especially too, it's because he flourished in no small part because of the effort and the tenacity and all the things that D'Andre Aiton, in some ways very fairly,

Starting point is 00:29:17 has been criticized for not exhibiting consistently over the course of his career. Like, nobody would ever be shocked at the idea of DeAndre Aten putting up 22 and 15. Like, that's not surprising at all for him. But a night where he gets both the numbers, which is what the detractors will say, that's all Aiton cares about is just his numbers, where he gets the numbers, but the numbers are often the direct result. of the effort and how much he can see as it's happening, hey, this is a play that will not show up in the stat sheet,

Starting point is 00:29:54 but I know it happened because of my effort on a team that's serious and that matters and that they went into this game without their two best players. And he stepped up. And like he stepped up in ways that aren't just about his numbers. I think you're exactly right. Like this is where you get the reward for doing the things. things and you get rewarded for doing the little things and the quote unquote big things. Big things. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:30:24 End up part of it too. It's the perfect, perfect result. And it's funny. Like you know, you frame things as stepping up and it's it's it's very apt. You know, AR stepped up. It's like, you know, you're down your two stars. So they're not going to win this game without a really good game from Austin Reeves. Like 51 ends up being way beyond. just really good. But, you know, the, the baseline for, are we going to have a chance in this game is Reeves got to go out and have a really good game. We've seen it before, though.

Starting point is 00:31:00 There's no doubt among most people. You'll see it on the chat board, whatever. There's still people who claim that he's a reserve, you know, masquerading as a starter. He doesn't, you know, no sane team would give him 30 million and so on. you know, it's stepping up in a way where you're like, okay, it's your turn now. We know you're capable. We've seen it. We know Aiton is capable of it, but like the level of doubt that is attached to him

Starting point is 00:31:32 versus the level of doubt attached to Reeves. When you need this kind of performance, it's very different. And we saw in the Minnesota game, especially in the second half, like, I would even say from the second quarter on. What fifth gear it looks like compared to third gear? It's like, oh, okay. And on Sunday it was fifth gear the whole game, over 35 minutes against a good center in DeMontas Sabonis.

Starting point is 00:32:01 Yeah, he outplayed Sabonis. There's no question. He outplayed Subonis in this game, which, boy, I don't want to kick AD while he's down dealing with it, just a mess of a Dallas team. But like just subonius. has often been seen as his kryptonite. You bring in DeAndre Aiton, who is not as accomplished a player as Anthony Davis,

Starting point is 00:32:20 but all of a sudden he outplays Subonis. It just feels almost like cruel irony. But that tenacity too. That's one on Sunday. Give a break. They did. They did. And Anthony Davis is not the problem in Dallas,

Starting point is 00:32:34 just to make sure that is crystal clear. He's the least of their problems. But the tenacity we're talking about with Aiton, and obviously the way Austin Reeves kept attacking, Rui Hachamoro tonight, 18 points did not hit a three, but got to, you know, he got four trips to the line, which for Rui is a pretty good night. He continues to be exhibiting three levels scoring. He's doing a lot of cutting to the rim. He's doing really good work on these turnaround middies.

Starting point is 00:33:03 He was really active throughout this game to steals, three rebounds. But I do think the three won't seem like it was impressive. but Ruey was doing a lot of work keeping bodies off, keeping Sacramento bodies away from the ball. It's just, it's an effort and awareness thing. And Mark is smart, 11 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, that activity that you expect from Smart, he got the line six times,

Starting point is 00:33:32 came back in at the end of the game, which is inspiring for his teammates. Jared Vanderbilt was all over the place, nine points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, super active. Jake La Ravia, I thought this was a really nice game for Jake, 11.6 rebounds, five assists. And all of those guys were just, again, aggressive and relentless. And I hope that among other things, this game really grows their confidence in terms of what they can do even without their best players. Like they can force, as you said, in the beginning of the show, the rules, despite not having their two best players.

Starting point is 00:34:16 That's a big deal. So we'll quit here and we'll be back obviously after the game on Monday night. But it is Monday in Portland. Wednesday in Minnesota, obviously the Timberwolves be looking for a certain measure of revenge. You get the Grizzlies on Friday. They're a box of chocolates to say the least. And then the heat on, I believe that's Sunday. So you're looking at all four.

Starting point is 00:34:44 They just had a big win over the Knicks. They did. And you're looking, Norm Powell was bawling. You're looking at four games all on the road, all without your two best players. So to get this game on Sunday is huge, both sort of confidence-wise. And it's also really important from like a treading water kind of thing. realistically, if you've got these four road games, you can figure out a way to win one or two of them. It's hard to complain.

Starting point is 00:35:14 So they got one out of the way on Sunday. So big win for the Lakers, great performances, up and down the roster. A lot of fun to watch. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with 36,000 subscribers. We'll see everyone after the game on Monday. Hopefully another big win for L.A. Everyone have a good day.

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