Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Does Sunday's Win Over New York Indicate the Lakers Better Without LeBron James?

Starting point is 00:00:00 A decisive win against the Knicks has a vocal group of Lakers fans asking a simple question. Is the team better off without LeBron? That's 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 them every day.

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Starting point is 00:00:53 the number one sports podcast network in any known universe that you're going to find on Brian Kamenetsky with Andy Kamenetsky. We've covered the Lakers for nearly 20 years, and for the ESPN, for the LA Times, for the athletic, And generally speaking, there's always some sort of star politics going on, Andy, where you're wondering and questioning whether you want the stars you have around. Is it time to let them go? Is it time to get new ones? Who do we love and all that kind of stuff?

Starting point is 00:01:24 I will say, even during the Kobe era, there were people who wanted that to end and all that kind of stuff. So it happens with everyone. It's certainly happening with LeBron James. as we get deeper into this season. And it's especially happening, Andy, with at least a very specific group of Lakers fans following Sundays win 110-97 over the Knicks. LeBron sits this one out with the arthritic foot

Starting point is 00:01:50 and the bum elbow, and the Lakers turn in, arguably their most dominant defensive performance of the year when you consider the opponent. We did the live show, Andy, following the game, and it was filled with people who used that game is a proof point that the Lakers would just be better if LeBron went away. Yeah, and as we talked about less at depth than we're in depth than we're going to get into in this show less at length.

Starting point is 00:02:19 The answer, I think, isn't so much, are they better without LeBron, even though I think they are, I think the answer to that is broadly speaking, no. I don't think they are necessarily as better with LeBron as either they want to be or someone of LeBron's stature would lead one to believe or they're not as better with LeBron that it would, I think in the eyes of many Laker fans merit the amount of conversation and in their view allowances and ass kissing that LeBron enjoys as a member of this franchise, like the politics of LeBron. But what I do think, and I imagine this is something we're going to talk about, over the course of this show, whether you think the team is better with LeBron, better without

Starting point is 00:03:12 LeBron. Same with or without LeBron. What they are undoubtedly without LeBron is less complicated to figure out how to put on the floor. And that ultimately is, we've seen this throughout the course of this season before LeBron arrived when you missed the opening 14 games with the sciatica or the various games that he has missed, but Luca and Austin have been available. The games where Luca has missed, but Austin and LeBron have been available. The games where Austin has missed,

Starting point is 00:03:43 but Luca and LeBron have been available. It is much easier to figure out how to get this team at its most functional with two of the three than all three of them. And that is where I think a lot of the conversation and riddle solving and for a, very notable and vocal portion of Laker fandom, the resentment comes from. Yeah, and look, I think so much of this, it's,

Starting point is 00:04:13 LeBron has never been a as beloved by, um, by Lakers fans as I think some people sort of on the outside looking in might think, um, or might assume just because, you know, he's LeBron. They've won a title. He's been here now for a very long time and been very very, productive in that time. This stint with the Lakers, for those unaware, is the longest consecutive amount of seasons he's ever spent with any franchise. And now it hasn't been quite as successful as I think people would have wanted, but I also don't think that's directly related to LeBron's output as a player.

Starting point is 00:04:53 You know, roster composition, some injuries and things like that with him getting a little older and all that. But broadly speaking, he's been LeBron since he's gotten here. But fans have never, I think, widely embraced him in the way that Luca, I think, has been initially embraced, for example. And that's fine. I'm not here to argue with people about that. I understood the reasons we talked about it when he got here, that the challenges he would have in this market, LeBron, I mean. But it's been particularly over the last couple of years where even if you really have really, appreciate LeBron and are a fan of his and do think overall he's been, you know, a great Laker

Starting point is 00:05:39 and deserves like a special place in Lakers history, which broadly, by the way, is where I am. It's still, like the last couple of years have shown, like it's gotten complicated. This relationship, you mentioned it's the longest one that he's ever had with one team. It's gone on way longer than either party expect. LeBron actually said something to that effect. he didn't expect to be this good this long. You know, when he signed with the Lakers, he didn't think he'd still be doing it at this level at 41.

Starting point is 00:06:07 The Lakers, for damn sure, didn't believe LeBron would still be doing it at this level at age 41. And so that has created year-to-year complications that I think a lot of fans are tired of. And particularly as you get into this season, you don't even need to dislike LeBron as a player and the La-Drama and, you know, all that to just be like, this needs to, it needs to end. And so I think this debate about are the Lakers better off without

Starting point is 00:06:38 LeBron for this year based on the game that we saw on Sunday using that as a as a proof point, it kind of comes out of that discussion and that general sentiment. But it's worth exploring a little bit more about, I agree with you, what changes, what gets more simple and more importantly, how can the Lakers maybe tweak that so that the LeBron version of the team is as good as it can be down the stretch into the playoffs? Let's talk about it next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Quo. Spring is a natural reset point. And if there's one thing that can quietly cost businesses money, it's messy communication.

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Starting point is 00:10:31 I agree with you. There is a lot more clarity, I think even on both sides of the ball, but elaborate a little bit more on where you think the simplicity comes from because I have a couple of spots. I'm curious that they match up with yours. Well, I mean, to begin,

Starting point is 00:10:47 it's not likely a pure coincidence that Austin Reeves had one of his best games over the last 10 to 15 or so in this game without LeBron. I mean, some of this is on Austin. Austin has to play better. He has to play more aggressively. He has to get more frequently into the paint. He actually has to make his shots.

Starting point is 00:11:09 But he's also going to have the ball more. He's going to have higher usage. He's going to get into a rhythm more as the player that he is most comfortable being when he doesn't have to share on ball reps with LeBron and Lucas. And just sharing them with Luca in and of itself is an adjustment, I think, on some level for Austin with that rhythm because Luca is rightly and predictably going to have a very high usage on this team. He is the best player. He's a heliocentric player. So everyone has to fit around that to some degree anyway.

Starting point is 00:11:47 But when the reps that are not Luca on ball get split up between Luca, I mean, between. Austin and LeBron. And then on top of it, JJ had, and I think to JJ's credit, this had been successful, running some minutes where it's just LeBron

Starting point is 00:12:05 and then like some combination of Rui, Aiton, smart, Vando maybe now if he's back in the rotation, La Ravia, canard, like a bunch of guys who do not handle the ball at particularly high usage,

Starting point is 00:12:20 where LeBron runs the entire show and he feeds off those guys' energy and physicality and some of the souped up defense the other guys provide that I think LeBron often matches with them out there. But those are by definition minutes that Austin is not out there getting into more of a flow, say, without Luca or LeBron. There have been very few minutes Austin has had without the two of them out there. He had them in this game against the Knicks and to Austin's credit, he paid them off. But that combined with how the three of them can at times devolve into isocentric offense,

Starting point is 00:13:02 like very, you know, my turn, your turn, my turn, my turn, your turn, my turn, but also a lot of dribbling along the way before the possession eventually takes off or the shot goes off. There's just, it can become triple the stagnation. And all three of them, so it's clear, bears some degree of blame with this. I mean, if you want to say Luca bears the highest degree of blame because he's the one with the ball the most, I think that's a fair argument. And I do think they're all sort of trying to do the right thing and not kind of big foot the other. You give everybody space, but right, it creates complications. But what's interesting, though, like I was looking at the last, say, 15 games of the season and some of the numbers. and in the last 15 games of the season,

Starting point is 00:13:51 LeBron has the second lowest offensive, or second worst, I should say, offensive rating of anybody in the rotation, just above DeAndre Aitin. But he has the highest assist percentage, like by a pretty good margin in those last 15 games, which speaks to he is contributing, like tangibly contributing to the offense,

Starting point is 00:14:15 even if the offense is not always, flourishing in all those minutes with him on the floor. My guess is the assist percentage skyrockets during those times without Luca and or Austin. He also in the last 15 games has the second best defensive rating. It does. And just Jackson Hayes, which I don't think offsets something that we saw in this game against the Knicks. It was the best defense they have played maybe for this entire season over the course of like 48 minutes, just the effectiveness.

Starting point is 00:14:46 We talked about during the live post game show. I don't think there was a weak link among the 10 guys who played. Everybody, I thought, stepped up. A big piece of that was they played incredibly hard, like relentlessly hard for 48 minutes. And I think in a lot of ways, that is how they're going to have to win. More than any scheme, more than any, you know, zone versus man versus what heavy sweat, whatever.

Starting point is 00:15:15 They're going to have to play their asses all. off defensively to just make up for some of their inherent defensive flaws and roster flaws. Like, I don't think there's any way around it. Doing that with LeBron playing 35 minutes at this stage of his career, that's difficult to do. And I'm not saying it's because LeBron is unwilling. I'm saying I don't think he can't. I don't think he is physically capable of doing that at this stage of his career, which is, which it's understandable, but it creates a wrinkle.

Starting point is 00:15:46 to solve. Yeah, I don't know where that. I think it's an interesting observation, and I'm not entirely sure where it fits in. Because like you say, is at the same time he's got the second best defensive rating on team. Now, individual defensive ratings can be influenced by a lot of different things. And defense can be hard to measure.

Starting point is 00:16:01 But my thing, and you mentioned Austin, I think the complications with LeBron hurt them more on that side of the ball. And when their offense is bad, their defense is bad. And so I think it's easy to, it's easy to, sort of look at the stuff you're talking about, which I don't think you're wrong. I just, again, it's hard for me to quantify it and just be like, it's LeBron is the reason that the defense drags down. I think it's the combination.

Starting point is 00:16:28 When all three of those guys are out on the floor, it's easier to protect Luca and Austin, then it's easier to protect Luca, LeBron, and Austin. Like, it's just one more guy. And now I do think of those, like, you know, Luca, we talked about it on the big show for Monday. Like, Luca was really is really, really locked in on Sunday and has been, I think, getting better on that side in terms of the

Starting point is 00:16:51 consistent. He's had a good couple weeks defensively, Luca. You know, AR always tries. The problem with Reeves is not an unwillingness to try to play defense. It's just there are certain things he can't, you know, he is exploitable in individual matchups. And like, that's just, that's just, is what it is. When you start to add a third guy who might need a little bit of protection. Now, in years past, LeBron has been able to as the season goes along to start to raise that level. And because he is not asked to do as much defensively, hopefully that can be, the trend can be in that direction to where you get that same defensive performance in terms of his net effect on the defense not being that bad.

Starting point is 00:17:34 But the net effect on the offense is not being dragged down either. That's really the side of the ball where he's having the. worst effect when all three of those guys play together. The other thing that I think is interesting, we had, like I said, the, when we did the live show after Sunday's game, the chat board was filled with a lot of this kind of, you know, very much like, for lack of a better term, kind of anti-Lebron, better off without LeBron talk. And one of the interesting points that in a Twitter exchange that we had with Chavanon 1, he was pointing out that one of his problems is that LeBron sometimes gets caught down at the other end of the floor,

Starting point is 00:18:17 either because he's complaining or he's slow getting back, that sometimes he leaks out on the break too early, things like that. And what I found interesting about that too is that, I mean, he's got plenty of company in terms of guys who might complain and are slow getting back. But the question becomes, does LeBron, is he still playing at a level that he has those privileges? Like Luca, as frustrating as it is, and we all wish he wouldn't do it, has kind of has some privileges for that kind of thing. You can get away with it when you're as productive and as dominant as Luca can be. Well, I would argue you can't get away with it, but I understand what you mean.

Starting point is 00:18:58 But you understand what I mean. Like, there's a little more space, but every step you go down the ladder, he shouldn't do it. And it'd be better if he didn't. But like, it's harder to even get away with it when you start to go further down the productivity ladder to where it's like, dude, you're not, you're not good enough at that point. So I thought that was an interesting point to make, like that LeBron needs to kind of get past some of the privileges that he might have had earlier in his career. But I'm very interested. They're not, I agree with you. They're not better without LeBron.

Starting point is 00:19:33 They're definitely less complicated without LeBron. and for them to be their best selves, they need to figure out a way, as they sort of had been, to make that offense work in a way that doesn't put tremendous pressure on their defense. And then we'll see. I think the complications also is the last thing I would say. We'll frustrate a lot of Laker fans because they feel like LeBron isn't part of the future anyway. Correct. So why are we even dealing with this at all?

Starting point is 00:20:03 Right. These are all really, like, I think all of this, what Sunday's game really drives home for me is the, the folly, if you will, of intentionally returning a team next year that includes both of those guys, too, along with Luca. You could have a scenario where obviously Austin is back, and you could even have scenarios where LeBrona's back. But in those LeBrona's back scenarios, it's hard to justify that if, you're not. Austin's back too. Yeah, I agree. So, yeah, Lockton Lakers on YouTube

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Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Does Sunday's Win Over New York Indicate the Lakers Better Without LeBron James?

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