Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - How the Lakers Can Help LeBron James Help Them Beat Houston

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

Once again, it's falling on LeBron James to lead a team into the playoffs.  This time, though, James is 41 years old, and will enter the series as part of a roster meant to be led by Luka Dončić first and foremost, and then by James and Austin Reaves. With Luka and Reaves unavailable, the lineups around James will be at a constant talent deficit. So can LeBron muster up one more run of greatness, and help the Lakers pull an upset over the Houston Rockets?  If we're being honest, even if LeBron plays well throughout the series (a reasonably safe bet) Houston would still be favored to win. But it's clear LeBron finds the challenge intriguing, because it's no longer a given he can put on the Superman cape as he once did. It's something very different. The good news is the stakes are more personal than legacy-defining. Nobody expects this series to end well for LA, and LeBron won't get blamed if the Lakers lose.  But what has to happen to maximize LA's chances?  The Lakers have to find ways to help LeBron help them. They have to get him the ball in advantageous spots, so he's not constantly fighting through five Rockets to make a play or get a shot. That means ball handling and organizing duties for Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard. They obviously have to support him by making shots and meeting (and even exceeding) offensive expectations. They have to find ways to allow LeBron to hide when needed defensively. And they have to find ways to stay tight in the minutes he doesn't play, so James isn't forced to stay on the floor for 40+ minutes every game in the series.  Oh, and they really, really need to show out in Game 1, because trying to come back from a series deficit is going to be brutally tough.    HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky    Everydayer ClubIf 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! TurboTax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. Rocket Money Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join athttps://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDON. 5-Hour ENERGY Get candy-flavored chaos with Fruity Rainbow 5-hour ENERGY®️ Shots - available online at https://5hourENERGY.com or Amazon   Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get two-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins.Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started — Play Your Game.   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.

LeBron James is the last star standing for L.A. We'll tell you what the Lakers have to do to help him pull an upset. 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 stopping by Locked on Lakers. Brian Keminckesky with Andy Kemenitsky.

We heard it, Andy, so eloquently. It was being thrown around. round socials, the clip with Stephen A from ESPN on Monday about how LeBron James is healthy and nobody else is. We talked about kind of the stupidity of that framing on Tuesday's big show, but it is nonetheless true that LeBron James is in fact the only of the three stars who is capable of playing right now and we'll start the first round Saturday night against Houston at crypto.com. And while this presents a kind of a possibility of a storybook kind of of first round, Andy,

for the Lakers to pull off what many people will see as a massive upset beating the rockets in the first round, not only is LeBron going to have to do some special stuff, the Lakers are going to have to put him in the best positions to do it. And that's kind of be the focus of this program. First, it's just, it is kind of crazy that we are back in this place where once again, it's LeBron James and a team and the playoffs and, you know, the hope of big things, but the context this time really does feel very, very different. I mean, it's funny, the expression, the more things change,

the more they stay exactly the same. And you're talking about a 23-year sample size, most of which have been spent in the playoffs or involving the playoffs, all of which have involved LeBron being one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, one of the greatest athlete sports has ever seen. So there is sort of a La Groundhog Day effect to all of this.

The details may change, and obviously in this particular case, this is among the more uphill challenges LeBron has faced in the playoffs, I think over the course of his career. You know, there was the time he carried those sorry calves to the finals in 2007. But, you know, he was at least what then almost 20 years younger or 18 years younger. and he was at a place of ascending into the player that he became at his peak and that he still can put on pretty incredible performances now. He is in a more difficult conference, and the lift, I think, is going to be among the most difficult he's had,

certainly to begin the playoffs in a while. It's been a minute since a first round series, was something that was presented as a, no, really, this is a big lift for LeBron. It is. And one of the things that I think is kind of amazing about it is like when I say the context is different, like you talk about it. It's it's clear he kind of looks up the challenge differently. They've spent this year and last year and all this kind of stuff, recap, Calibrating this team to his credit.

LeBron, you know, kind of at the front of the line, like recalibrating this to a Luca led operation. You know, obviously LeBron plays a big role. Ironically, he was at the front of the line in terms of the willingness, which meant kind of being put at the back of the line. Yeah, for sure. And to be perfectly honest, if we're done, it was like he's been, he tried to make AD, you know, the focal point and all that kind of stuff.

Like LeBron, for all the talk of ego and this and that, whatever, one, but he's tried real hard to make the younger stars that he played with into the centerpiece of the team. Obviously, he didn't have to try that hard with Luca. They just had to give him the space to do it. And since both of those guys got hurt, and this concludes AR, because LeBron's made plenty of space for Reeves to thrive as well. But like when those guys got hurt,

you could see kind of LeBron come out and be like, all right, I got to do this again. Like he said the day after he's like, what is it? I got to go back to the old ways, basically what I said? I mean, you know, you need my voice. They need my presence offensively. You need my presence defensively. It's not that he doesn't know the script, but you also get the impression that he understands that the challenge is just so different this time in terms of trying to carry a team through,

a playoff series against a more talented squad. And there's just no way around it. Houston's got more good players than the Lakers do right now. And in particular, they've got a lot of players that are built to defend somebody like LeBron. No question. They're the type of players between Amen Thompson and Tari Isson and Jabari Smith Jr. And, you know, even at times, Kevin Durant, they've got a lot of guys. guys that if you're going to try to do that, they're fairly well equipped, particularly when

the drop off between LeBron and everybody else is as stark right now with Luca and Austin out as things stand. And I think LeBron is both up for the challenge and curious about the challenge. And I think he's also wise enough about the challenge to realize he's really got nothing to lose here. Like other than for the people, other than for the people who will be unreasonable about this and looking to detract from LeBron, either because they're fans who don't like him or they are media members who've made a cottage industry and bought their second and third homes off detracting from LeBron. You know who you are. He really has nothing to lose. It definitely is not either one of us. I don't wish that I made my money doing that to LeBron because that's a crappy way to make

your living, but I do wish I had those bank accounts. That's true. But LeBron's got nothing to lose here. And I imagine there is, while this is going to be a really taxing task for LeBron, I imagine there is a certain freedom to recognizing like, look, man, I'm going to go out there. I'm going to leave it all on the court. And whatever happens happens because the odds are really stacked against me to. I'm so glad you put it that way because like I think that really articulates well kind of how I feel about it because it's, I think it allows him to enjoy the, the challenge and the obstacle

of just like, let's see if I can do this. Like, I've always been able to do it before, but let's see if I can do this. Like, and, you know, the last three games, he's played quite well. He's player of the week again for the 70th time in his NBA career. He has been the player of the week in the NBA. You know, so he's heading into the postseason, you know, feeling good and playing well and all that kind of stuff. but like it's different doing it against, you know, a Rockets caliber team versus the caliber of team that he's played in the last week.

So I think that allows him to like to really appreciate and take in the challenge as kind of just as a competitor because the other stuff really right really doesn't matter in that way. It's like let's see if we can get this done. And next let's talk about like what has to happen for it because it's not. not just about LeBron. It's about how JJ Redick positions LeBron, and it's about how his teammates support him. So we'll get to all that next. Lockdown-Lakers is brought to you by TurboTaxix tax time, but for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is a lot. Trying to book an appointment that's not particularly convenient, sitting in a waiting room with stack of papers, emailing back

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Yeah, I put the thing in your pocket and then go, go, go. Get candy-flavored chaos with fruity rainbow five-hour energy shots available online at five-hour energy.com or Amazon. So as we noted, Andy, there's a lot going on here. And it's not just about LeBron. It's about JJ Reddick and it's about the supporting cast and all these other things. I mean, I think we talked about the importance of game one in the context of, you know, this hypothetical luca return. We've talked about game, you know, you got to win game one to make this a longer series.

The longer the series goes, the more likely you are to get your players back, unlikely as that may be. Game one is going to be incredibly important psychologically for the Lakers. in terms of helping them feel like, you know what, we really are in a series here. Like this is, if they get dusted, I feel like it's a hard thing for them to come back from. But the other reason it's really important is you can't expect, you really can't expect LeBron to lead the team to a victory in here anyway,

but you really can't expect them to do it down to zero or something. Like suddenly LeBron, you know, just carries, like that's just not a thing that is going to happen. win four out of five games, three of which come in Houston. And so how do they get there? It can't be, even as his usage rate goes up, it can't just be, go back to, as LeBron says the old way, where he's got the ball on his hands from the moment it's inbounded after a made basket or after a rebound and instigates all of the offense.

It's going to have to be more Marcus Smart. It's going to have to be Luke Kennard. you have to see maybe even Jake Laravia guys like that handle the ball and try to get LeBron the ball in the most effective position for him to do damage with the least amount of effort to get that ball. Yeah, it's interesting. You've mentioned before once we knew that Luca and Austin

were going to be out at minimum to begin this series, the idea of LeBron having to put up 30 a night, 30 plus a night for the Lakers to get through this. If that's the case, then you really start thinking about how many assists get taken off LeBron's plate? Or is that the proper place to look? Maybe it's the rebounds. Maybe it's, you know, bringing the ball up. Like who initiates some of these sets like, you know, does Marcus or Luke get them started?

And then you eventually work to get the defense in the blender a little bit, get LeBron the ball, let him finish off everything else. Or should, you know, should it be focusing first and foremost on getting. getting everyone in the right places, set them up to hit the shots that, quite frankly, they're paid to do. Guys like Rue Hachemora, DeAndre Aten, they've been scorers in the league. DeAndre Aten has been, if not a 20-point score for a season close to it. Like, these are guys that may need to step up their own production with the scoring stats. And, you know, LeBron is the guy conducting things more?

Or is this really just realistic or not? He's got to average a pretty impressive triple double over the course of the season because that's the scenario. And this is the cost of survival. Can you do it or not? And it's a big, big ask of LeBron. No matter how you slice any of this, that's before you even get to the defense. And I've got a few thoughts on that as well. Yeah.

I mean, how do you look at the defense? part of this because that is you know it's a flip from you know we've seen you go but even go back to the Miami game not this season but last season like that whole idea like we need LeBron to do

more and it can't just be offense the Lakers don't have enough good defenders in this series for LeBron to do nothing on that side of the ball but you're right he can't be the a burden carrier

on that side and do it on the i think you do it for a game but you can't do it for seven i've been thinking about this if tar i may adoka has vacillated back and forth between the fifth starter as either tari ysson who he trusts defensively a lot but right his offense particularly post all-star game has fallen off a cliff he is averaging since the all-star break 22 percent from behind the arc um or Reed Shepard, who obviously helps run the offense and he can get on a heater as a shooter or as a score. And we even saw this in the last two games where the Lakers beat the rockets pretty decisively. But Shepard had some really good moments, but he is a liability defensively.

If Yason starts, I think that's the best assignment for LeBron to begin with, just in terms of a guy that he can wander off a bit, take a slight breather. He, Tari Isson is somebody that, they're going to make or should make prove that he can hit shots. Like he has not been. He has been great this year, but he's certainly capable. He's capable, but again, particularly since the All-Star break. I mean, I like Tar Heeson as a player, but since the All-Star break, and maybe it's pressure over his contract

because he reportedly turned down a deal worth about 100 mil, not fully guaranteed, but a lot of money. and maybe that's starting to weigh on him. I don't know, but his offense has slipped a lot. So I picture that as a pretty good primary assignment for LeBron to begin if Eason starts. If Shepard starts, I'm guessing LeBron would start on Jabar Smith, Jr. But either way, like just thinking about this, it reinforces a thought that I had. I don't remember if it was her Monday show or after the Phoenix game or whatever or after the Utah game.

but that Jake LaRavis should start over Luke Kinnard. I just think between Houston's size, but also trying to prevent LeBron from having to do too much, I think starting Luke Kinnard puts LeBron in more of a potential position of having to do too much, or you start getting into places where you have Rui guarding way out of position, and we've been down that road before, and we know what it looks like.

and it's not good. I'm really interested as the week goes on if they give up any clues about this sort of thing, like what JJ's thinking about, like you say, defensive matchups,

how to both utilize LeBron's strengths as a defender because when he's locked in, he still is one of the better guys they have available here. I do think Jake makes sense as a starter over Luke both for the size reason, but also he's a better defender.

And so, you know, like, you need that. And, you know, so the other big thing, we'll unpack all of this over the course of week. The last thing that I think is critical to getting the most out of LeBron over this series, and we'll talk about how maybe in some of the previews and stuff, they have to figure out how to hang in for the minutes he doesn't play. Like if every time, I mean, they're going to have enough trouble sticking close when LeBron does play, every time he steps off the floor,

they're a minus five, a minus six and four minutes. They're cooked because it's going to require LeBron to play 42 minutes a night. And that's not sustainable if the Lakers want to win the series. Thankfully, the first round is the one where the games

are the most spread out. But even then, I mean, they're just I think again, you can do it for a game or two, and there'll be games where LeBron plays well over 40, I'm sure. but can't do it for seven. Like, and I'm, you know, projecting like the longest series possible. So how do you win those minutes that he doesn't play?

It's going to be key to giving the Lakers any shot at all in winning. So lots more to talk about, lots more to consider over the course of this series and the week as we get you ready for it. LeBron is going to be a big part of it and this opportunity to do something truly historic that will make a mark, I think, on Lakers history in people's memory banks and stuff and potentially shift the way people think about him in a few years once he's not here anymore. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where he can go hang out with over $38,000. Presumably.

Presumably. That's true. He might decide he wants to play with his grandkids one day. I'm not sure. Locked on Lakers on YouTube, if we can hang out with over $38,000. thousand subscribers of the channel. We'll see everyone next time.