Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Deandre Ayton Is Ready to Play Defense, and Is a Product of Good Lakers Culture

Starting point is 00:00:00 DeAndre Aiton is ready to go for game three. We'll tell you what he's saying and what it says about Lakers team culture 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 stopping my locked on Lakers, Brian Kiminetsky, Andy Komenesky, Lakers preparing for game three Friday evening in Houston.

Starting point is 00:00:34 and a chance to really put a hammer lock on this series that they can go up to 3-0. We noted how Austin Reeves has been upgraded to questionable. Obviously, keep an eye on that. And Kevin Durant downgraded to questionable with an ankle injury. So player personnel could play a huge role in this game. Do it to let people know as well that today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create and account use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase.

Starting point is 00:01:04 But in terms of any of the guys that we know are going to play, one dude who is stoked to get out of the floor and do some stuff for game three is DeAndre Aiton, who's had a good series to this point. Yeah, he's actually had an excellent series in particular his effect on Alpern-Shingon when they've been matched up. He's really done a number on him defensively. Jackson Hayes as well, the two of them as a tandem have both outplayed and out-impacted Alpern-Shingon, the All-Star with a greater resume than either Aiton or Hayes. And it was interesting Thursday when the Lakers practiced and then headed out to Houston,

Starting point is 00:01:50 DeAndre Aiton was asked about something to the effect of being asked to switch one through five and really being asked to do more activity defensively. And he got really geeked at talking about this, quote, I love to guard one through five. I'm about to show the world I can guard one through five. The Lakers challenged me to guard one through five. And I love that. I can't wait to show that.

Starting point is 00:02:16 I thought I was going to be a secret weapon, but I've been practicing it and having multiple reps guarding the best players in the league on isolations. And the confidence is way up there. And I have extreme help with the guys I built chemistry with off the court. They got my back. So, yeah, I love switching. He was really, really animated in this conversation about defense, which in and of itself,

Starting point is 00:02:40 just DeAndre Aiton and having these conversations about defense or having these conversations through the prism of these are positive conversations about DeAndre Aten's defense. These were not things a lot of people expected heading into this season. No, for sure. And, you know, obviously like everything else that's happening. happened all season long with Aitin. It's, it's, uh, you know, it's something you got to back up with the, you know, the performance and you got to go out and do it and you got to play one.

Starting point is 00:03:10 But the good thing about with Aiton is that part of the reason I think guys sometimes struggle with doing quote unquote the little things and, and all of that stuff is because they don't feel like they're rewarded for it. Like, you know, nobody notices. I'm not getting paid. You get paid for points. You pay for rebate. People are noticed.

Starting point is 00:03:31 this with Aitin right now. Like when Aiton goes out and plays a game where he sets a bunch of really mean screens and that helps unlock the Lakers offense, people notice. They notice when he's on the glass. They notice when he has, you know, a couple block shots or, you know, keeping track of what he's doing as the primary defender against Alpe Sengun and stuff like that. Like the little things he actually is being rewarded for. I think that is a credit to, you know, JJ Redick and the coaching staff for placing so much emphasis and making a point of making sure to reward him for it, you know, noting his performance in press conferences, even in games where Aiton hasn't been, you know, statistically awesome. And broadly, I think, sort of

Starting point is 00:04:26 continuing to show faith and stay with him during that stretch of the season where he was anywhere from me to really bad on any given night. And so, I mean, I think the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for getting Aiton to where he is now. I would say the coaching staff and his Aitin whisperer, Marcus Smart. Yes, his Yoda. I was going to say Marcus Smart deserves credit, and I know this because Marcus Smart is the first person to say, I deserve credit for this. He's let it be known. He has taken on DeAndre Aiton as a project, and by and large, the workshopping seems to be working out. JJ was actually asked about Aiton expressing this pride in switching one through five during practice, and J.J. said, quote, you have to challenge players to do things you know they can do. doing that, you're not actually telling them you believe in their ability to do it.

Starting point is 00:05:28 And then hopefully that gives them confidence overall with him, him being Aiton. He's had a great season. He's been a big key in both of these games. We can't win at the level we want to win without those guys, you know, Aitin and everybody playing great. He was talking specifically about the second half defense that was and that Aiton was playing. And he noted that Hayes closed the game in part because Hayes was playing well down the stretch. But the second half had a lot of stretches with very little stoppage. And Aitin was playing so hard. He's just like, I was concerned he was getting tired as opposed to. And he, he said, JJ, like I told DeAndre, you didn't do anything wrong. I didn't pull you from the game.

Starting point is 00:06:11 I thought you needed a rest. Jackson was playing well. There's nothing to read into this. You did really well. A friend Dan Wojke over at the athletic, I thought asked a really good question about D'Andre and basically to the effect of, is he always aware how much his effort, say, in a sequence involving rebounding? He may not get the rebound. It may not be recorded as a D'Andre Aiton rebound, but his activity led to the Lakers getting the rebound. Like, is he aware of how much the appreciation is there for that type of effort? And J.J. said, quote, we love giving D.A. praise when he does what we ask him to do, he should get all the praise in the world. He's a former number one pick, and he's doing a lot of thankless work at times.

Starting point is 00:07:00 So we always praise him. And I thought that in and of itself was really interesting. Like the idea of just being mindful of this is a guy that requires this sort of praise. And I know there are going to be a lot of Laker fans who are like, F that, man. The guy's a millionaire many times over. It hasn't even played up to the potential that was expected of him. Why does he need a cookie every time he does the thing he's supposed to be doing?

Starting point is 00:07:30 Okay, but I think you're missing the point. Let's talk about that next, just because some of that just kind of drives me nuts. We'll get to that and a couple of things to look for in front of that game. Do it next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Indeed, and you got workplace chaos, you got a deadline stacking up, the inbox is overflowing. There's still a position in need of filling. You can't find the right person.

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Starting point is 00:10:27 GameTime app, create an account. Use the code locked on for 20 bucks off for first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account, redeem the code L-O-C-E-D-O-N for 20 bucks off. Download the Game Time app today. I mean, yes, it would always be better if your players, you know, we're, quote-unquote, textbook professional. Like, all this, like, it would be great if, you know, DeAndre Aten was a more consistent personality with a more

Starting point is 00:10:54 robust internal motor and focus and all of it, he isn't. And, you know, you're, like you say, you're getting the performance that you need out of him and you, you just, you know, if every player could do it the way LeBron does or Marcus,

Starting point is 00:11:13 more like more consistent pros or more consistent personalities or just more mature. or, you know, a little less flighty or whatever it might be. But Aiton is what he is. And you sort of bought, you bought that ticket when you got there. And you got to coach different guys and treat different guys a little bit differently. And squeezing value out of role players like an Aiton is critical for a team like the Lakers to make some noise. I mean, we've seen the effect of Aiton in this series.

Starting point is 00:11:46 Like he has really taken, he's been a big part, I should say, others have contributed, but he has been a big part of rendering Alpern Shangoon largely a non-factor in this series. That is a really big deal considering how good of a player Shangoon is, but also who the Lakers are missing. And if it would be, like you said, it would be great if Aiton did these things organically. but as far as like the little things and focusing on defense and not worrying or seeming not to worry about the counting stats or framing value through points and sort of the star stuff, it would be great if he was just as wired to do all the little things. But the truth is, I don't care what motivates him to do it. Like, I just want him to do it. And the staff just wants him to do it. Like, as JJ has often said, there are non-negotiables.

Starting point is 00:12:48 And if it requires a lot of carrot and it feels like he's being overpraised again for doing the things that not only is he supposed to do, he's often talked about being willing to do, whatever. Some people are more wired than others to do the thankfulest things without thank yous. Some people need the thank yous. What matters is, is he doing the bleep or not. And it's not like the Lakers are like bending the rules, bending team culture or whatever. They are really absorbing him into what they want the team culture to be. It just looks different.

Starting point is 00:13:26 It requires a little more work and a little more outward effort and, you know, stuff like that than other guys might. And so, you know, the results are are strong. And I think, you know, as you pointed out in the first segment, like, It kind of reflects the culture and it reflects the value of a Marcus Smart to come in and be the whisperer for somebody like Aiton and why it matters having guys like that on your team. I think also part of building a team culture is understanding who your players are and your teammates are and what makes them tick and bothering to. bothering not just to understand how best to work within the frameworks of different people's personalities, but leaning into it. Like really seeing this as a worthwhile challenge as opposed to thinking of these guys as

Starting point is 00:14:25 just essentially vessels for carrying out the things that you want as a coach or as, say, a star player like LeBron, these guys are the vessels towards getting me another ring and that's all I see them at. Like we, we covered the last 10 years of Kobe's career. And one of the things that was very obvious Kobe learned over the second half of his career when he became the unquestioned post-shack franchise face leader of the team, that he had to start understanding his teammates better, like as people.

Starting point is 00:15:00 And the idea of just everybody get on my back or get the F out of my way, that can't sustain itself as leaders. Kobe began to really understand the value of his teammates as people. And it's not that he still didn't push the hell out of him. I'm like, by Kobe's own admission, not the easiest guy in the world to play with, and he made no apologies about that. But I think he started to realize the value of not making it harder than it has to be. These are all things that ultimately made Kobe a better leader and made Kobe able to instill

Starting point is 00:15:35 the culture that he wanted in the second half of his career. during the Kobe Poww years. And I think this is a part of what JJ Reddick and some of the leaders of this team have been doing for instilling culture. It's really understanding who the people are that are part of your culture. Yeah, for sure.

Starting point is 00:15:50 And at the risk of jumping ahead, if the Lakers win this series, and they are up to nothing, they will see what happens on Friday with Kevin Durant's performance, you know, a capacity to play. and whether or not Austin Reeves rejoins the team Friday, Sunday,

Starting point is 00:16:13 Game 5, whatever it might be. You know, they, if the Lakers get through this round, and I think they will at this point. I think they should at this point. These sorts of like

Starting point is 00:16:29 team culture is made a big part of it. Because team culture is what set them up to enter the series with not just the, right mindset, but sort of the kind of the discipline and the willingness to do all the little battles that we talked

Starting point is 00:16:45 about in the big show for Friday, like to do all that stuff and to have the cohesion and to execute a game plan and to do all that stuff. That's all built around culture. And so it will have paid off hopefully long enough for them to get their talent back. So

Starting point is 00:17:01 we'll see. Any prediction for Friday night? I think they're going to win game three and game four is the one that Houston's going to take off him in Houston. I'm getting a weird vibe from this. I either see like a 20 point Laker win or a 20 point Laker loss. Like a two point game seems weird to me in this one. I think either Houston's going to come out and have their game where they look like

Starting point is 00:17:25 they finally got it together and I don't think it'll sustain itself for game four, but we'll see. Or is this going to be a catastrophe? A lot depends on Kevin Durantzaville. It really does. Locked on Lakers either way. I still think the Lakers are moving through the side. second round locked on liquor's on YouTube so we can hang out with over 38,000 subscribers of the

Starting point is 00:17:44 channel see you after the game

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Deandre Ayton Is Ready to Play Defense, and Is a Product of Good Lakers Culture

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