Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Has the Power Dynamic Between the Lakers and Nuggets Changed? Is Austin Reaves Now a True "Third Star?"

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Wednesday, Brian Komenetsky, Andy Komenetsky. It's Lakers versus Nuggets at the Crip tonight. Are the Nuggets as scary as they used to be? We'll ask that 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, your first listen to every day. Monday through Friday, no matter how or where you get your podcasts, this one's always free.

Starting point is 00:00:34 never behind paywall lockdown lakers on youtube 34,000 subscribers are all hanging out, getting ready for tonight's game against those mighty mighty Denver Nuggets, Andy. But are they quite as mighty as they once were? And that is a question we'll get into in a second. We'll also talk about a surging Austin Reeves and whether or not he has arrived at genuine third star status,

Starting point is 00:01:01 at least in terms of how he's playing, try to get a little bit to Jordan Goodwin as well. And his contract with the Lakers need to do with it. Do it to let everybody know that today's episode is brought to you by prize picks? Download the app today. Use the code locked on NBA to get $50 off instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks run your game. For a long time, Andy, if I told you the Lakers were playing the Nuggets,

Starting point is 00:01:28 you would see that as a threat. You would be like, why are you trying to bring me down? why are you trying to kill my mood? I wonder if that's the same anymore. I think it is early to definitively decide one way or the other in terms of whether or not it has changed in the sense that the Lakers are now the better team. Like we've simply not seen enough from both teams at full strength, and we haven't seen enough, period.

Starting point is 00:01:56 But I will say this. like the last couple seasons with the Lakers against Denver, particularly in the playoffs, like they've seen like this unconquerable mountain for the Lakers. And while I've heard every single imaginable closest sweep ever joke, closest gentleman's sweep ever joke, and I'm cool with those jokes, I am always cool with jokes, period. I do think they detract from a reality that those series were, fact, very close. I also think the Lakers, as close as those series were and as close as some of those games were, were not getting any closer in the LeBron AD era to being able to consistently beat

Starting point is 00:02:44 Denver. Who knows? Maybe things would have changed over time this season just by not having KCP. Denver's looking a little more vulnerable, yada, yada, yada. But I don't think it felt like the Lakers had ever really made progress in changing that math. But now the numbers are just completely different. Like we're talking about a different math equation altogether when it comes to the way the Lakers attack and defend Denver, the way Denver is now forced to defend the Lakers and try to attack the Lakers. Like on both sides of the ball for both teams, I think the math has changed.

Starting point is 00:03:24 I think the psychology has changed because you now have Luca into a lesser, but I think still tangible degree DFS, who don't have the PTSD of the Denver Nuggets and all that bad history. They're just like, bro, that's none of my business. What will that mean tonight or if the Lakers and Nuggets play in a series? I don't know. I just know I've seen enough to say all the past does not matter anymore. If the question is, are the Lakers better than Denver?

Starting point is 00:03:57 Yeah, we don't know. But that's not, I think that's almost like a distraction. The question to me really is, are the nuggets this inevitable force anymore when it comes to, especially when it comes to the Lakers? And I think the answer I agree with you is 100% no. You mentioned a huge one. The arrival of Luca Donchich, along with Dori and Finney Smith, the removal, no disrespect to DeAngelo Russell, who even if he wasn't in his own head about the nuggets was like the walking embodiment

Starting point is 00:04:31 of the problem that the Lakers have matching up with them. So as long as Dilo is there, it's like, look, we have this massive problem. So I think just in the way that people talk, I'm not saying it's fair or not. I'm just saying just in the way that people talk about the series, that swap makes a difference just in how people are going to frame things. You bring in Luca, like you say, who has zero of this baggage to go with him. I think that makes a huge difference. And then, you know, Denver is starting to let.

Starting point is 00:05:05 I'm not saying, like, look, they can easily get to the conference finals. They can easily get to a finals. The nuggets are not done. They are not washed. What they are is different. And it used to be a couple seasons ago, you would look at the nugget. and there's just this sort of, there's waves. There's a healthier,

Starting point is 00:05:27 Jamal Murray, along with Aaron Gordon, who's like this perfect fit and KCP is there. You just have these sort of waves of players where Yokic is incredible, but it didn't feel so top heavy. Now it feels much more top heavy to Yokic, although they did win earlier this week to be Minnesota, right,

Starting point is 00:05:50 without either him or. No, well, they beat the warriors on the war. Sorry. The warriors on the brain because it feels a little bit like Golden State when they were just getting past their peak. And it felt like, oh, man, they're starting to really depend on staff a lot more than they needed to before. I feel like they're there with Yokic.

Starting point is 00:06:14 And the biggest thing vis-a-vis the Lakers is the fact that it's switched. the Lakers now feel like they can play defense against a Nuggets team that doesn't play very good defense right now. Nuggets are 20th in the NBA in defense. And so, yeah, they've still got a top 10 point differential because they're so good offensively. But the Lakers can defend. So it feels like the formula for how the Lakers compete with Denver has completely changed. It's interesting you bring up that defense for the Lakers talk, the ESPN L8-7-10 weekly show that I do. I had on Adam Marres, who used to cover the Nuggets for Locked on Nuggets. He's now

Starting point is 00:06:56 covering the team for Denver, DNVR Sports. He's got a podcast with Tim Legler. He knows the Denver Nuggets as well as anybody you're going to talk to. And one of the conclusions that he had from watching the last two games with the Lakers and Nuggets, because I asked him about this, is the way they are defending Yokic now that is sustainable in terms of it being an effective, viable approach. It doesn't mean it's automatically going to contain him in every single time those two teams match up. Hell, it may not do a damn thing tonight. But the way that they have been giving Yokhij that sandwich defense look where one guy is fronting, you've got somebody close by playing Yokic from behind. You've got all these different defenders

Starting point is 00:07:53 specifically looking to muck up the passing lanes and making Yokic less effective as a facilitator. And Yokic averages this season about 10 assists a game against just three turnovers. In these two games combined, he's had just 15 assists and I want to say nine turnovers. So he is being held below his assist averages above his turnover averages and they're making it more difficult. And once you start making it so Yokic can't operate the defense, I mean, the offense the same way he has before because he's the most important hub of that offense by a wide margin, it then becomes incredibly dependent on either Jamal Murray, who has, he's a great player, but has his own flaws.

Starting point is 00:08:48 And just not quite where he was a couple of years. Or Russ, who's having a terrific season in Denver, but there are downsides to having Russ with the ball in his hands too much. Like, Yokic is what makes everything in Denver work so well. And you're never going to shut him down completely because he's so good. But if you can cut off part of what he does in particular in the way he makes everything operate smoothly, Denver does become a different team. And Adam said he thought the way they are doing this is viable.

Starting point is 00:09:25 A little bit more on this and then also how it relates to the rest of the Western Conference. We'll get to that next as well as Andy is Austin Reeves a legit third star now. We'll talk about all these things. Next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by prize picks basketball season's heating up. There's no better way to get real money action while watching your favorite NBA stars and with prize picks, whether you're a diehard fan or just, looking for a little friendly competition.

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Starting point is 00:11:56 Code locked on MBA to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. Hungry root.com slash locked on MBA. Again, that code locked in NBA. Don't miss out. I just think this stuff with Denver, Andy, it's, it really to me reflects the entire conference. It's that there isn't a team that just looks insurmountable other than, I guess, if you buy into Oklahoma City, and I'm a big Oklahoma City fan.

Starting point is 00:12:34 As am I. They're the only team that has been head and shoulders above everyone in the conference all season. And you can't even say, well, it's just because they've been healthier than everybody else. Well, no, Chet's missed half the season. And so, you know, they've been reasonably healthy, but they're without James. Valen Williams right now. Right, right now. I mean, they're missing dudes.

Starting point is 00:12:56 They just have an incredible depth. But even they, like the flaw with the thunder, are they going to have a series where they get a little cold from three-point land and they don't shoot as well and they can't quite defend, where the point's going to come from? So I feel like with Denver, it's, again, it's not that the Lakers are clearly better.

Starting point is 00:13:15 One game does not make the Lakers better than the Nuggets, beating them and then, you know, pushing them without, really three quarters of their roster available. But I just, they're not inevitable. And I don't look at Memphis as inevitable. I don't look at Houston as inevitable. If anything,

Starting point is 00:13:36 they haven't even proved that they're evidentable in any way. You got to see a group in a playoff series. Right. You got to play a game first. Exactly. And that is why, before we talked about it in this way, the Lakers, they've got a chance

Starting point is 00:13:55 because there's not that super dominant team. The AD LeBron Lakers had stretches where they played well long enough. But what we've seen now with Luca in conjunction with having LeBron and the way that Austin Reeves is playing, and having a team that defends, the problem with the Lakers is they couldn't defend Denver.

Starting point is 00:14:20 They couldn't defend Denver. defend a lot of teams. Now they can. There isn't a team out there that the Lakers don't seem to be able to depend. We've got a long stretch of evidence that proves it. And I just, not only do, I don't think, you know, Lakers fans are scared of the Nuggets anymore. I really don't think the Lakers are either. I think I agree with you that they're definitely not anymore for a lot of the reasons we talked about before. I think they are very cognizant of the idea that they are a different team at this point. And I think that I'm sure they still respect the Nuggets just because Nikol Yokic in and of himself demands it. But on paper. And we, we unfortunately have gotten a very

Starting point is 00:15:03 small sample size of the Lakers and Nuggets full strength in the Luca era to really evaluate this, but just on paper. I don't think Denver matches up as well against the Lakers that they used to. Like Aaron Gordon can, he's the best perimeter defender with size. He can not. guard both Luca and LeBron. Michael Border Jr. can't really guard either one of them. Like, Christian Braun can, I think, maybe check Austin Reeves, but you're still left with one extremely high-end facilitator and score to account for. Like, I think Rui is going to have an easier time offensively forcing mismatches and defensively. He is no longer going to have to guard Michael Porter Jr. as much, which was a nightmare for both Rui and for the Lakers.

Starting point is 00:15:50 for all the focus on Yokic, and I get it because he's the best player in the league, and there was a lot of the mono-e-mono between him and AD. The guy that I think was really making the nuggets unbeatable in a lot of ways for the Lakers was actually Michael Porter Jr. Like he was a nightmare matchup for them who used to torch them. You've now got guys like DFS and Vando healthy to put on Porter. You know, Jackson Hayes is a very fast cover, if nothing else. for Yokic. And I think there's just a lot that has changed in terms of the way the Lakers can

Starting point is 00:16:28 defend Denver, the way they can attack Denver, which again does not mean that they are better than Denver. I don't even know if we're going to be able to answer that question in a way that feels more definitive until the only way to know is a series. That's the only way to know. But I do think between what we've seen so far, the psychology of it all, and again, some of the matchups and the way that you look at these teams on paper, it's just much different. Like Denver used to be one of the few teams that could match the Lakers' size advantage that they had over most teams and had front court defense advances for LeBron and AD. The Lakers are now much more of a perimeter team, even though they're still a. relatively speaking big team. They're not huge, but they can throw out, as I like to say, medium ball.

Starting point is 00:17:23 We don't have centers necessarily, but they have a lot of everything else in terms of their shortest starter when everybody is available, six, five. Right. Denver is not as well equipped, I think at least on paper, to be dealing with this type of perimeter team that is more perimeter oriented, but has the type of size along the perimeter between Luca, LeBron, and Reeves, who is, if nothing else, big for a point guard. I just look at this. And let's get into Reeves, too, because where, you know, he has been, the last four games just been outstanding.

Starting point is 00:18:02 It was great over the weekend, both of those games. You want to hear his numbers for the last four games? I would love to. Nearly 31 points per game on roughly 53, 43, 94 splits, plus 7. seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals. That's the last four games. He's just like when Reeves ascends to this level, the Lakers, while they lack that post-scoring threat,

Starting point is 00:18:31 becomes so multidimensional in terms of how they can create shots and the quality of shots that they can create and the ball movement and all that kind of stuff, it makes them a fundamentally different team. I mean, it sounds dumb to say, and you add Luca Donchich. it changes the nature of your team, duh. But, you know, Reeves doing this kind of stuff in conjunction with those two other guys is it's a whole other set of challenges for the Western Conference.

Starting point is 00:19:02 I mentioned the conversation that I had with Adam Aris about Nicola Yokic and the Nuggets on Lakers talk. I also had Kobe Price on who covers the Lakers for the SoCal News Group. And we talked at length about Austin. And one of the things he pointed out that I thought was a really good way of framing it was that Austin pre-Luca with AD, even when he was playing well, there was often a responsibility for him to tilt the defense himself. Now you've got Luca often tilting the defense away from Austin. So when Austin eventually does get the ball, he's often given a lot more space to operate. Another thing that in this conversation that was having, Kobe, that kind of dawned on me in real time,

Starting point is 00:19:55 is that as great of a player as AD was for the Lakers, and as much as I think Reeves benefited from having AD there, for a guy that wants to get into the lane and be able to create, a lot of different forms of chaos in the lane. Having AD often setting up shop in the lane and having things oriented around that guy setting up shot, rightfully as you would for somebody like AD, it's not necessarily as conducive for someone like Reeves who either wants to get into the lane or often flourishes well off movement.

Starting point is 00:20:38 Like there's less motion when you've got AD in that. spot, Jackson Hayes is basically just going to be either screening or rolling or screening and rolling. But either way, what he's not doing, other than maybe in the dunker spot, is standing stationary anywhere Austin would want to go. So while nobody would ever try to argue that Hayes is a better player than Anthony Davis because he's not, in terms of the things that Austin is really good at, Not having Anthony Davis there in certain respects makes it easier for AR to really flourish. Let's talk about Reeves in the context of something. I saw a lot of debate, like given this stretch of four games, you know, with the 30 points

Starting point is 00:21:31 of night and the seven and the seven and all these other things, it has rekindled this idea as to whether or not Reeves is a quote unquote third star, like a real one. as opposed to just the third best player on the Lakers because there is a difference. So I want to dig into that a little bit next. With Robin Hood Gold, you can now enjoy the VIP treatment receiving a 3% IRA match on retirement contributions. The privileges of the very privileged are no longer exclusive. With Robin Hood Gold, your annual IRA contributions are boosted by 3%. Plus, you also get 4% APY on your cash in non-retirement accounts.

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Starting point is 00:23:49 Click on Locked on Lakers, and the show is delivered to you every day along with analysis from around the NBA channel. So on the season, Andy, Austin Reeves, he is averaging 19.5 points, four and a half rebounds, six assists, six assists,

Starting point is 00:24:04 shooting, rounding up, 45% from the floor. And what is that from three point range? 37%. from three point range this year. 87% from the line gets there a fair amount. So these are good numbers. But the perception certainly has always been that AR wasn't a quote unquote third star,

Starting point is 00:24:26 certainly not an all star. And that the Lakers were kind of stretching to give themselves a big three to really include him because he has not made an all-star team. And I wouldn't even say is necessarily on track to do that anytime soon. The flip side of that is there's a difference. between a guy who has made an all-star team and a guy who plays at an all-star caliber. Mike Conley took for it took him forever to get on an all-star team. I don't think anybody to argue that Mike Conley's not an all-star.

Starting point is 00:24:57 Damian Lillard missed all-star teams, was left off teams at different times over the course of his career. Nobody's arguing that he's not a star. DeAngela Russell to use a comp that Lakers fans like he is an all-star. He has been on an all-star team. I don't think people think of him that way. I think the question should be, in terms of this all-star thing, like how tall is he to ride this ride?

Starting point is 00:25:27 Is Austin Reeves a guy who is that caliber? And certainly over the last four games, the answer is obviously yes. But overall, I just think we're getting closer and closer to a place where you can say pretty definitively that Austin Reeves is an all-star caliber player. whether he makes all-star teams or not. I mean, the all-star distinction of all of this, I think in some respects, it's contextual.

Starting point is 00:25:53 You brought up DeLo. DeLo made an all-star team. He is not somebody that I consider an all-star. Exactly. What I mean, like, frankly, I didn't consider Mike Conley that way either. Like, if you make one all-star team, like the talent is the talent,

Starting point is 00:26:09 but the reason I even say this at all is just because I think people can get, like too semanticy in terms of the way that they That's exactly what I was arguing. It's like, you know, don't get bogged down and whether or not the guy actually is, you know, Mike Conley doesn't make all-star teams is obviously an all-star caliber player throughout his career. Yeah, he's been all-star adjacent. But what I think is interesting about somebody like Mike Conley is he is, I think,

Starting point is 00:26:38 sort of the baseline of that level where you can have a conversation about is this guy good enough to be the third player on a championship level team? And I think, and look, every day or no, this is something I've talked about a lot with Austin Reeves, with some skepticism. Having always made it clear, I think Austin Reeves is a really good player. I've always thought he's a really good player. I think people underestimate how good you have to be to be the third best player on a team that really is capable of making a championship run.

Starting point is 00:27:15 Unless you're talking about something like Kobe and Shaq from 2000 to 2002, where they were arguably the two best players in the league, teamed up, and as far as how you situate them on the court, perfectly paired with each other, like there are exceptions. But for the most part, you need a third player who is typically at a multi-all-star level roster or somebody who's made multiple all defense teams. Like these third best players, when you look at their career as a whole,

Starting point is 00:27:50 they often end up guys with Hall of Fame questions around them. Like it's really, really hard to be that good. And I've had those questions about Austin. And I will say over the last month or so, Austin has assuaged a lot of those concerns that I've had. And I think some of that is, to his credit, he keeps getting better. He's a workaholic. He has a high standard for himself. He has a lot of confidence, and he believes he is capable of playing at a high level, and he does not shy away from that challenge. I also think, though, that bringing in Luca specifically changes the demands on Austin, where before he needed to be the second best facilitator on a team and, say, the third best score.

Starting point is 00:28:39 but the facilitating part of it in particular. He needed to be the second best playmaker in the LeBron AD era. I'm still not 100% convinced he is at that level, because again, really damn good. But now he has needed to be the third best scorer and facilitator on this team behind LeBron and Luca. That actually makes the asks in terms of Austin's strengths easier. It's still a lot demanded.

Starting point is 00:29:09 of him still have to be highly skilled, but they are easier now for him specifically with this roster construction. He absolutely can do this. The thing has changed for Austin with this team as, again, to his credit, Austin's actually gotten better. So two very specific things have lined up very well for Austin right now, and we're seeing the fruits of it. I would also say, to your point about third best player, like how good you had to be the third best player on a championship team. It makes a difference. You made the Shaq and Kobe comparison. The bar to be the third best guy on a Shaq and Kobe team is lower. You know, different league, different times, you know, three star model and all that. But, you know, if you've got Kobe and

Starting point is 00:30:04 how maybe that changes it if you're you know and so as good as ad what mar odom had to be better than either derrick fisher rick fox or robert orie whoever you consider glen rice whoever you consider the third and the lakers you know again different time where like you know we didn't you know you didn't think of like the big threes in the same way and and uh you know roster constructions were different and that lakers team was particularly different in in how it was constructed around Shaq and Kobe and then Kobe and Powell later on. I think when you look at where the Lakers are now, it makes a difference that the Lakers actually upgraded from their second star.

Starting point is 00:30:48 As good as AD is, there's a big difference between having a guy who is considered top five in the league, as Luca is when he's healthy and going right, versus top 12? I don't want to get bogged down in rankings, but I don't think most people consider Anthony Davis to be a top five player in the NBA. Top 10, sure, top 15, definitely. But not top five.

Starting point is 00:31:16 There's a big difference. And if you're kind of pegging LeBron where he is right now with this sort of consistent the way he's been playing in that, you know, seven, we'll call him the seventh best player, making up a number. It makes a big difference where Luke is versus where AR is relative to the lift that has to be done by that third guy. The third guy doesn't need to be quite as good when your two guys are within the top seven.

Starting point is 00:31:49 And so that part of it makes a difference too for the is AR good enough to be the third best player in a championship team? I think the answer is from a fit standpoint, yes. and from a, is he tall enough to ride this ride, you know, 20, what is he doing? I said the numbers earlier, 25 and 6, 5 and 6 or something like that over the course of the year. It's pretty good. So I'm ready to put him in that category, especially now that the Lakers really have improved the rest of the infrastructure in a way that makes him a more viable candidate for that role. Well, here's the thing that's most important, too. what ultimately matters isn't whether Austin Reeves is good enough to be the third best

Starting point is 00:32:34 player on a championship team across the league. I mean, in a lot of ways, that's a hashtag NBA rank assignment that debate this all you want. Neither one of us gives a bleep. What matters is, is he good enough for this team? It's similar to how I've talked about Rui. And Rui has a very high importance on these Lakers, and I think is set up on this roster to play very well. This roster is set up to, especially now, play to a lot of Rui's strengths and ask him to do less that he isn't good at. Is Rui that good on every team across the league?

Starting point is 00:33:15 Maybe, maybe not. Again, I don't give a belief. I don't care. I'm not interested in whether Rui Hachamura is the 112th best player in the league or the 147. Like, I could not give a leap less about that debate. What I care about is can Rui do the things that the Lakers need from him? Is Rui good enough to be the fourth best player on these Lakers quite possibly? That's all I care about.

Starting point is 00:33:46 Absolutely. And just the way the, the, the, roster. This is why I didn't quite understand this automatic assumption when the Lakers made the Donchich deal that it was long term. Great. Of course, it's Luca Donchish short term. Well, it's going to hurt him. You did get Luca Donchich. Never got that either. I never quite understood. Once you and I got past the shock of it and the, okay, what does Dallas know? Like, this is like there's got to be a catch. The whole thing was what's the catch? Right. Once we got It turned out there wasn't one.

Starting point is 00:34:21 And once we got the shock needed to wear off from our emergency podcast reaction that quite frankly, our overall reaction could be described as what the F. Once that's settled down, we're both like, this is a pretty damn good thing. I just like, I did. I thought it was a good thing for the now in the sense. Yeah, there's an adjustment, but they acquired Luca Donchich. I'm just unwilling to buy into until I see it. buy into a

Starting point is 00:34:50 storyline as an absolute that that's going to make you worse in the short term. I just can't do it. And it turns out we were correct about that. So we'll see what happens tonight. Obviously the Lakers against the Nuggets, this doesn't prove one team's better than the other, whatever. But I am very curious to see just

Starting point is 00:35:09 attitudinally what it looks like when the Lakers play these guys. Has the atmosphere and the aura around these games changed? That's really what I'll be looking for. Lockdown Lakers on YouTube is where you can go to hang out with 34,000 of your closest friends. We'll, of course, be back after the game. See everyone then.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Has the Power Dynamic Between the Lakers and Nuggets Changed? Is Austin Reaves Now a True "Third Star?"

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