Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Great Team Effort Helps the Lakers Beat Toronto 110-93, Ayton Perfect from Floor (10-10)

Episode Date: January 19, 2026

This was a game the Lakers really needed. Not just that they beat the Toronto Raptors Sunday at Crypto.com, 110-93, but the way they got it done. This was as balanced a team effort as the Lakers have... had in a long while. Luka Dončić (25 points, seven assists) wasn't bad, but he wasn't dominant. LeBron James (24 points, seven dimes) continued a solid stretch of play, but wasn't turn-back-the-clock dominant. What the Lakers got was a spectacular performance from Deandre Ayton (25 points, 10-10 from the floor to go with 13 rebounds), and really solid contributions from guys like Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura, who hit a couple big shots over the course of his 21 minutes, particularly in the third quarter. But mostly, they won playing cohesive defense. 93 points is a season low, and it didn't feel like the Raptors (who are good) missing a bunch of bunnies, or throwing the ball all over the gym. They've got most of their important players on the floor. But after a shaky start, the Lakers found their stride and sustained a solid defensive effort the rest of the way. If Lakers fans could bottle this, they would. So would the Lakers, themselves.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: A balanced effort for a big win.SEGMENT 2: Finally, defensive connectivity! SEGMENT 3: New contributors for the second half of the season?  Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Turbo TaxFor a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 — all in, if a TurboTax expert didn’t file for you last year. Just file by February 28. Take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit https://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today.  QuoMake this the year where no opportunity — and no customer — slips away. Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to https://Quo.com/lockedonnba.Quo — no missed calls, no missed customers.  GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA and NFL seasons are here, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now. FANDUEL 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.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 A perfect night from D'Andre Aiton gives the Lakers their best win in a long time, we'll say. 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 Lockdown Lakers first listen to every day. Monday through Friday, sometimes on weekends and even on holidays, no matter how where you get your podcast, Spotify, Apple, iTunes. maybe you're one of the 37,000 plus subscribers who like to watch their podcasts and do so on the Lockdown Lakers YouTube channel. You're part of making the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one podcast network,
Starting point is 00:00:43 and this or any other known universe, and Brian Kaminetsky with Andy Kamanatsky, we've covered the Lakers for getting on two decades now, whether with the LA Times or ESPN or the athletic and ESPN radio, we've seen things, Andy, and we've seen a Lakers team that badly, badly needed a great, good win. They've been beaten down. They've been injured. They've not defended. They've lacked confidence. And Sunday night at the crypt against the Toronto Raptors, at least for one night, they turned it around 11093 over a solid Toronto team. This was a very, very good night at work for the Lakers. Yeah, we'll get into the reasons why, but it was really significant that this took place on a night where against, like you said, a quality opponent,
Starting point is 00:01:37 Luca Dachich was not superhuman. And it was awesome that he ended up playing this game. There had been concerns about his ability, availability, all that stuff. He had not been available to the previous night's game. LeBron, for that matter, it was not a given that he was going to end up playing, having played the previous night game's second end of a back-to-back. You know, it helped that DeAndre Aiton came back. Jackson Hayes came back, Rui Hachamora's minutes.
Starting point is 00:02:02 the restriction that he's still on, they are still slightly incrementally creeping up. But typically when the Lakers have gotten these type of wins this season with their inconsistencies over quality opponents, it's required Luka to go supernova. And tonight, he didn't. And sort of in the grand scheme of things and in terms of what the Lakers need to really become a better version of themselves, for one night. I'm glad about that because I'm not worried about Luca moving forward. I'm more worried about the team.
Starting point is 00:02:38 This was something the team needed. Yeah, I mean, and you know, we'll go through some numbers here. And, you know, you mentioned Luca did not go super and over. He was hardly bad, but it was not a, it was not a. It wasn't bad, but he wasn't, he wasn't, he was not great. Right. It really wasn't. And it wasn't, you know, it certainly wasn't like, you know, stick the box score.
Starting point is 00:02:56 You know, the Donchich family is not going to stick the box score on their refrigerator. He was 8 to 23 from the floor. 12 from three, which is certainly isn't bad. But, you know, 25 points and seven assists with four turnovers if your Luca Donchich is, I mean, again, that's not a great. He got an early tech in this game, and it wouldn't surprise me, given what we know about Luca and refs and getting mercurial, if the early tech
Starting point is 00:03:26 kind of put him on tilt, if for no other reason that it leads you to pace yourself and change. a lot and be very in your head about how you deal with the refs moving forward. Luca's a guy that I think often, frankly, just needs to vent a lot during these games for better or for worse. But I think from early on in this game, Luca, and coming off the groin injury, obviously, dealing with that. Like, there was a lot happening for Luca that he had to contend with that did not work in
Starting point is 00:04:00 his favor. but again, I'm worried about him moving forward. I'm concerned about the team. I think in a lot of ways it is more like positive and more of something to build on if the other guys really stepped up to help Luca as opposed to what is often the other way around. Absolutely. I totally agree with you.
Starting point is 00:04:21 I'm just trying, you know, to give people the context here. So we mentioned Luca, LeBron was, I think, good. Like, I think this was like the exact kind of solid, LeBron game that I think is what you hope is the baseline for the rest of the season, especially after Reeves comes back, where you're not dependent on him to
Starting point is 00:04:40 carry you to victory every night, which is, I think, too much to ask for him, but he's really good. 9 of 17 from the floor, 2 of 4 from 3, 7 assists, only 3, 2 and 1vers, 2 blocks. Again, solid night, but not let's beat up, father time. You know, LeBron
Starting point is 00:04:57 does miraculous things to win. And so you mention, you know, the rest of the team victories or team wins, the headliner here is obviously going to be DeAndre 8. And with what, you know, I described it in the show notes as a perfect night. 10 of 10 from the floor, five of six from the free throw line, which I guess is an imperfection. But for DeAndre Aten, you get like one freebie. If you get to the free throw line six times, I'll give you a free one. You know, he had 13. rebounds. So the two things that you want from him, efficient scoring, good rebounding, and you know, solid presence around the rim for a third thing, he was there. And like this was a big
Starting point is 00:05:42 night for a guy himself coming off of a missed game. So, you know, that kind of contribution. We can start there. But there were others that we'll get to as well. Yeah, with DeAndre 8 and the team is now 16 and 1 when he scores 15 or more points. We've talked about over the last few weeks, D'Andre's been very up and down. At times, it has felt like something that he's needed to work through himself in terms of making sure that his touches don't directly dictate his engagement on both ends of the floor, his focus, his willingness to get back and forth, all of that stuff.
Starting point is 00:06:26 but at the same time, this team is not as good when DeAndre Aiton is not heavily involved. And if you start breaking down, I took a look at a few of the numbers thinking about how the team is 16 and 1 when he scores 15 or more points. The team is in wins averaging just a shade under 54 points in the paint. In losses, they're averaging 47 points in the paint. DeAndre Aten individually in wins. is averaging almost 15 points in the paint himself in losses a little under nine. I don't think those discrepancies are unrelated when you talk about the Lakers splits as a team or D'Andre Aiton individually or that record 16 and 1 when he scores 15 plus.
Starting point is 00:07:16 Like they get a different dimension with Aiton. And, you know, that period when we still, when Rui was out, Austin's been out, other guys in and out of the lineup. And we've seen teams just saying, we are going to let Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart, Dalton Connect when he was playing Gabe Vincent, whoever takes shots. We are going to crowd the paint.
Starting point is 00:07:38 We're not going to let DeAndre Aten get going. It makes them a different team, but the last few games Aidan's played, I think he's been more active in creating opportunities for himself. And I think his teammates have been looking for him more. I think he's, I think it's been more active. but I think, well, I'll say that I don't think a whole lot is changing the sense of it's not like,
Starting point is 00:08:00 I don't, I can't think of more than maybe a couple times where you just traditional post up, dump the ball down to Aiton. That's not his game. Cooks, so to speak. You're right. That's not how it works. But I do think, like Sunday, for example, there were a lot of, it wasn't just high screen and roll, DeAndre rolls to the bucket.
Starting point is 00:08:19 Like there were all kinds of like little plays inside where. you know, Aitin finishes a play where penetration has happened in other ways. The ball has gotten into the interior, whether, you know, off the dribble, off a pass, a good screen, whatever it might be. And that is what's freeing up some close range little passes that they can make to Aiton to finish. And so. Or deep seals from Aiton himself. Like, right. But like, sure. And then you can find him off. But again, it's still usually off a. of like some sort of action or whatever, whether involving Aiton or not. And what I think is just Aiton can get more touches in the paint.
Starting point is 00:09:04 Those numbers can go up when the Lakers' offense itself is more dynamic, is more fluid. And you talk about a way that you can look at an off night for Luca as a positive. they still found ways to get the ball kind of moving around a little bit interior shots for for Aiden and when he got the ball he was very decisive and aggressive that to me is the other half of it
Starting point is 00:09:30 do you take that opportunity to go up you go up strong sounds silly for your little hook or whatever or you kind of tentative and short arm it like he was confident in what he was doing good to go it was peak Aiton for what the Lakers could expect for there was also
Starting point is 00:09:47 some baskets for him in transition where he was out in front on the break. Again, it's a combination of they have to look for him more. They have to make sure that they're finding better ways to get the ball inside, but also he has to make sure that he's being proactive. I do think it helps when they involve him early, even if he's not necessarily scoring early, if he's just touching the ball early and just JJ has talked about this, excuse me, before. We've talked about this before. This is a very common thing for big men in the league.
Starting point is 00:10:25 Their engagement level, because they depend on everybody else to give them the ball, unless you're talking about somebody like Yokic or whatever. They depend on everybody else to give them the ball. And if it doesn't happen, they often feel left out. And it affects everything else that happens with them. I'm not saying it should. I'm not saying it's a valid excuse. I'm saying it's the way the world works. You got to operate in the real world. And I think they did a good job, both Aiton and the team of operating in a real and accountable world. After the break, we will continue, though, to talk about other contributors because this was a game where everybody got to stay in their lane. And Andy, as coaches love to say,
Starting point is 00:11:11 Be a star in your role. A lot of stars in their role for the Lakers. In this one, we'll break it down next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Fandul. Fridays already feel different during basketball season. Fan Duel is making them feel even better. Every Friday night before the games tip off, Fandual gives fans a new way to kick off the weekend with NBA Happy Hour.
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Starting point is 00:12:15 That's NBA Happy Hour, only on Fandul, the official sportsbook partner of the NBA. One of the most intriguing guys to me, Andy, in this game, in terms of contributions, is Jared Vanderbilt. Because, you know, everyday listeners of the show, and we thank you very much, know that I am more sympathetic to the perceived challenges of playing Vando than I think some fans are.
Starting point is 00:12:44 Um, and I don't, more than your co host is. Correct. And I don't think he's been great, uh, over the last, you know, it's up and down, but overall, I think it's, you've seen a lot of the limitations. But this was a great, a perfect example of what a like, like how, like what you would want out of Vanderbilt and how you would want to be able to get it. He played 21 minutes, which I think is much closer to where, like that level that you would want. I don't think more than 20 minutes generally pays off for him.
Starting point is 00:13:21 Sometimes even a hard 15, I think is really good. But he had nine rebounds. He had two steals. He had two blocks. He was plus 25 in 21 minutes. It took one shot. And the reason it worked to me is because this was a game, Andy, where they didn't need him to score.
Starting point is 00:13:39 They didn't, whether Vanderbilt got two points, no points, or 12 points. was sort of immaterial to whether or not the Lakers were going to be effective with him on the floor because of everything else that was happening. This gets back to what I've often said with Vanderbilt as somebody who has very much valued what Vando brings to the court. I feel like first and foremost, I'm going to evaluate him based on the things that I expect from him, as opposed to the things that I don't. obviously he needs to try to bring the things that he doesn't on as much of a regular basis,
Starting point is 00:14:19 namely scoring. You want him to contribute in some ways there, but I judge him first and foremost by the rebounding, the defense, the energy, the disruption, because that's actually his calling card. And going back to the 2023 playoff run, where there were a couple series, particularly Western Conrad, conference finals versus Denver, where Vando, quote unquote, got played off the floor. I said then, and I maintain now, that wasn't Vando getting played off the floor by Denver. That was the Lakers
Starting point is 00:14:55 actually playing Vando off the floor because too many other guys who are supposed to be making shots weren't in the same way that I would not hold at the time, say, DeAngelo Russell, to the same defensive standard that I would hold Vando, because that's not what DeAngelo Russell is in the league to do. Sure. Like other guys need to be, if other guys do their job hitting shots, Vando's offensive limitations,
Starting point is 00:15:23 I'm not going to say they don't matter at all, but they matter less. In the same way, it's up to Vando to make up for some of the defense and rebounding that I don't logically or realistically expect from the other guys. I look at, I mean,
Starting point is 00:15:40 I think what you're saying, make sense and you know that's why I say like that's why I look at like 15 minutes 15 to 20 you know and it would be you know think if they when once everyone is back and they have like I do think somewhere around 15 minutes is like I think what they think is the sweet spot the it you you you have to be able to put the right guys around and there it is part of the problem with somebody like Vanderbilt is his effectiveness is so much built into your ability to keep him on the fork because it's not a perfect defensive player you still got to also kind of make sure he's slotted into the right spot defensively and doing what you want to like it's just it's a lot
Starting point is 00:16:26 of complication to get what you need on but that said if you can find the right structure around if the lakers can come up with a a rotation and j j j will talk about it over the course this week JJ has experimented with Drew Timmy a little bit and he's played Kobe Buffkin a little bit. Like, you know, they're, they're clearly willing to try stuff to see if they can change up elements of this rotation, particularly towards the back of it to find combinations
Starting point is 00:16:57 that work a little bit better. If you can find that right combination so that most knights for Vando look like this one, then I, I'm all for it. They need what he provides. It's just a tricky exercise, but it is cool to see what it looks like.
Starting point is 00:17:15 And then you see like, you know, Rui, you mentioned him in the first segment, minutes creeping up slightly, played 21 on Sunday. Only, you know, the relatively modest looking line, 10 points, 2 of 6 from 3 point range. But in the third quarter, when they needed a couple big buckets,
Starting point is 00:17:30 Rui was there to provide it. And like, ah, okay, that's what, you know, be a star in your role. Your role is to go get them buckets when they need a couple buckets. Yeah, everybody needs to do the things that are most reasonably expected of them. Are there nights when you hope guys can outperform them? Sure. Like we've seen a few nights where Jake Laravia's put up 20 plus.
Starting point is 00:17:53 Like those nights are awesome. Marcus Smart scoring 25 points. Those nights are great. Those are also not the things, as we saw tonight, where Marcus Smart and Jake Laravia combined for 10 points, You cannot reasonably expect those guys to put up 20-ish night. Otherwise, they'd be at a different station in the NBA. But what you need them to do is the things that first and foremost,
Starting point is 00:18:19 they're in the league to be doing, like the reason they're in the league. And I thought, JJ, by the way, we were talking about experimenting. I thought he did a good job in this game of, and this is something the everydayers know I've been bitching about for a while. he did a good job I thought of. Oh, many things you've been complaining about. Well, with this specific thing, this specific thing. Well, I'm just saying we've already covered two of them in this second.
Starting point is 00:18:48 He's, he has been, I thought he did a good job in this, in this game, mixing and matching skill sets in the rotations and blending them. So you don't get as many all offense looks or, you know, Luca and the Banshees, that type of thing, or LeBron and the Banshees, where you're really putting one of your primary stars in a position to kind of do everything offensively. And then, I guess, the better defenders, but still flawed, try to make up for everything else. I thought tonight was a good night of blending, but also it was a good night of guys just being in sync with each other and doing the things you're supposed to be doing. Like in the example, fourth quarter, there was a great possession where the Lakers forced a 20,
Starting point is 00:19:36 24-second violation against Toronto. They were running zone. They ran the raptors off the line a couple times. They were really, really active. The lineup that did this was Luca, LeBron, Vando, DeAndre Dayton, and Drew Timmy. Like, that is not on paper your five best defenders or like your defensive group. But because they all worked together and locked in and did the things they were supposed to do, they forced a 24 second violation. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:09 It was the kind of night where you just like, I mean, the Lakers, they actually got off to a rough start. I was actually joking and texted Andy during the game. Like, I wonder if the Lakers, like most of people in Los Angeles, are really trying to catch the end of the football game, you know, while they started. Rams Bears. The Rams Bears game that went to overtime.
Starting point is 00:20:28 And as soon as that game was over, go Rams. They started playing better. So maybe that was it. But they gave up 30 points in the first quarter, 24 in the second, 26 and 13 in the fourth. Like when it was go time and this is another example of those games with Lakers can be a very good fourth quarter defensive team. Or they've shown that capacity over the course of the season. So you have a bad beginning to the game and then you get better as it goes along and finish strong. And like, you know, I, that is, you know, that's, that's, that's, that's, you know, guys, you know, that that that is sort of some of your parts being better like they've talked about over the course of the season.
Starting point is 00:21:12 That to me was a really strong trend. I, there's one other thing about this, too, that I think is, is pretty encouraging. And we'll explain that next. Lockdown Lakers is brought to you by game time during basketball season. There's nothing like being in the building, the energy, the crowd, the first big run that gets everyone on their feet. Crypto must have been going nuts during this game. Fans, they want to be there for those moments, not stuck refreshing screens or guessing what the tickets are actually going to cost once you get through all the red tape. That's where game time comes in. The game time app gives the power back to fans, making it incredibly easy to score amazing tickets, fast, simple, and without
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Starting point is 00:22:32 Get in on the action. Do want to give people a quick reminder about the Everydayer Club if you would like to find even more ways to communicate with other Lakers fans and talk to us to the Everydayer Club's great way to do it. $5 a month, $50 a year gets you into the Locked-on Discord channel, which includes a chat specifically for Locked-on Lakers. It's a place where fans will be, where Andy and I will be, We'll take questions from there.
Starting point is 00:23:00 We'll use that content as stuff for the show. Additionally, and we know this is something for a lot of you, you will get the show without ads. Nothing wrong with that. So an ad-free version of the show delivered to you, whether you get it through Apple, Spotify, however you get your podcast, you get the ad-free version. So again, go to the Locked-on Lakers show notes
Starting point is 00:23:24 or to learn more about what the Everydayer Club can do for you or Lockdown-Lakers. com. So again, Everydayer Club. And check it out. I like the fact that the Lakers won this game. And they scored, you know, in the modern NBA, a reasonably modest 110 points. This wasn't one of those, you know, 137 to 110 points. 20 where you win by 17 but you gave up a lot of points on the way the 93 points i don't expect
Starting point is 00:24:03 them to stay there andy very often but i just from a mental standpoint to be able to win a game where luka was fine wasn't great where you know the where lebron was good but he wasn't superhuman um jake laravian marcus smart two members of your starting lineup accounted for 10 points. That's not crazy. Rui, 10 points. That's not crazy. There weren't any other.
Starting point is 00:24:33 You got a couple, you got a bucket from Drew Timmy. You got Jackson Hayes gave you three. Gabe Vincent gave you five. There wasn't anything crazy about what they were doing offensively. They won this game with cohesion on defense and just
Starting point is 00:24:48 nice attention to detail throughout the game. Catching eight and making sure he stayed involved. It was just a, nice flow. It didn't feel like any one person was like crazy outside their, their capabilities, other than obviously you don't expect eight and to go 10 for 10. But most nights, if he gets 10 shots, he usually makes seven of them. So that part wasn't even that crazy either. Yeah, although it is,
Starting point is 00:25:17 I want to make sure to pull up these stats. Just to make sure people really do understand just how amazing what DeAndre did during this game was. A couple from the Lakers. First of all, he is the first player this season to record a 20-point game on perfect shooting with at least 10 field goal attempts and the 34th player in NBA history to do it with 10 or more rebounds. So again, first player this season to record 20-point game on Perfect shooting with at least 10 field goal attempts, 34th player in NBA history to do so with 10 or more rebounds. And also, this is amazing.
Starting point is 00:26:04 DeAndre Aiton, third player in Lakers history to shoot 100% from the field on 10 or more attempts with at least 10 rebounds. Guess who the other two are. And I'm going to give you a hint for the sake of expediency. First one, just guess whenever you're trying to figure out a banana stat, who's the first person you go to? a banana stat? Yeah, just a crazy stat line.
Starting point is 00:26:27 It rarely ever happens. Oh, from like a Lakers Center or a player or like check. No, Laker's Center or just period. Wilt. Oh, right. Wilt Chamberlain, March 11th, 1969. The other guy, I'm just going to cut to the chase because there is no way in hell you will come up with this one.
Starting point is 00:26:47 Mitch Cup check. Oh, right. I did hear them say that on the broadcast. November 20th, 19th. 181, Wilk Chamberlain, Mitch Cupcheck, DeAndre Aiton.
Starting point is 00:27:00 Yeah, and I remember, I remember I've heard the audio of Mitch going. He goes in a post-game media session. Media walks up to him and Mitch says, Hey, guys.
Starting point is 00:27:10 Congratulations, DeAndre. Really proud of you joining this exclusive company. I feel like I had a good game. Not a great game, but a good game. You, me, Wilt, DeAndre,
Starting point is 00:27:21 we're an exclusive club. Hey, guys. But that is, you could have given me, you could have given me a thousand guesses and I was not coming up with Mitch Cupjack. It's like the Corey Brewer 50 point game. Yes. Weird things that have happened.
Starting point is 00:27:33 Yes. Corey Brewer, who was a goat owner. Like a literal goat. Like a man owned lots of goats. Yes. Maybe it was one goat. I don't know. He owned at least a goat and was one of the nicest guys we ever covered.
Starting point is 00:27:48 Wonderful guy. Love Corey. So, but, I don't mean to say that Aiton's performance was like not. I just want to put in perspective. No, it's a historical evening. But from a shooting percentage standpoint, for most of the season, the issue hasn't been DeAndre has been all inefficient.
Starting point is 00:28:10 It's been DeAndre didn't get enough shots. And also it's not like DeAndre put up four threes in this game. Right. Or went to the line, went to the line 16 times or something like that. It was a very eight-kney line in the sense that he rebounded. And the shocking part is that he got 10 field goal attempts plus five trip, you know, six trips to the line. Like even that, as good as the night was,
Starting point is 00:28:35 you aren't relying on somebody who normally shoots, you know, 38% to shoot 95%. He was normal in that sense, just a little bit above high, high efficiencies. What he'd been for a lot of the season? I just I the Lakers I think mentally Andy wouldn't you agree badly needed not just a win they needed that first and foremost five games and seven nights you know the free falling down the standings in the west but this particular kind of win I think is even more valuable than just winning yeah they they needed some proof of concept and you know we we talked after we talked after the uh loss to the to the to the to the the Blazers about how a game without Luca, without Austin, without Aiton, without Hayes, obviously put the Lakers behind the eight ball, but also too, that was the 20th starting lineup in at that point 40 games and how the lack of continuity and the continual injuries have made it
Starting point is 00:29:44 very difficult for the Lakers to build towards anything. We heard from a lot, I mean a lot of viewers about how we were just making excuses with injuries. And try to make it very clear, no. Like, Brian and I have spent an entire off season and then this season, breaking down the flaws of this roster. We have never talked about the Lakers as inner circle contenders if they could just stay healthy. We've always been very open and candid about the weaknesses of this team.
Starting point is 00:30:18 But they still have to try to become the best version of themselves as a flawed group. And that's really difficult to do. Case and point, when they got basically everybody back, but Austin, shocker, they looked like a hell of a lot better team. This was one of the most cohesive. They've looked in quite some time. Does this mean it's going to be who they are moving forward?
Starting point is 00:30:42 I have no idea. Like, I'm not ready to go there yet. But they needed proof of concept of just what they can be. if for no other reason, then they've had so little opportunities to work together as a group. Like, this stuff matters. I think like they just needed to see that they can be capable. Yes. You know, it's just like a reminder.
Starting point is 00:31:13 It's not because it's easy to oversee. The problem with the Lakers, it's that their record is so, loud for losses. And like, you know, it's just, it's, it's hard to take them as seriously as other teams in the West that they are lock, step with in terms of wins and losses. You just, you just, hard to take them as seriously because it's like, this is just, we're still on negative point differential watch. Right.
Starting point is 00:31:42 You know, it's like, it's hard to look past some of these, these issues, but they've won a lot of games. It's just, you just need to. to see it and and find reasons to believe that these last 40, and they're halfway through, these last 40 games are going to be games that they can build on. That, you know, if they get everybody back, that, you know what,
Starting point is 00:32:06 LeBron, who started real slow because he didn't have any preseason and all that kind of stuff, is going to work his way up, you know, like that, you know, that Reeves is going to come back and be Reeves, that Luca is going to be Luca and, you know,
Starting point is 00:32:25 Rui is going to get healthy again. Or like they can make a little deal at the deadline or whatever it might be. They just have to feel like a competent basketball team. And this was a competent basketball team win. Yeah. They have not looked this good in a while. Also, Eric McGilp in the chat brings up a good point. surprised how good LeBron looked after two back-to-backs, like the two that he's played.
Starting point is 00:32:51 That is an encouraging sign. Again, LeBron was, I think, more of like an anchor than he was somebody who took the game over. But to see him actually be able to do that now twice on the second end of back-to-backs, that's good moving forward. That's hopefully another positive sign moving forward. Yeah, for sure. All right. So plenty to break down and understand.
Starting point is 00:33:15 pack over the course of the week. The Lakers, of course, are heading out on the road forever. They'll be back eventually. I'm just not sure when. It's a long time from now. They play the clippers somewhere in there, but it's a long time away from crypto.com, basically through the end of the month. But plenty to break down on these little roster shifts, I think, are interesting and giving a legit shot to some of these two-way guys and stuff like that. So we'll break that down over the course the week, get you ready for the games, of course, Lockton Lakers on YouTube is We're going to hang out with over 37,000 subscribers. See you ever know tomorrow.

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