Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LAKERS POSTCAST Anthony Davis has the game of the season as the Lakers hold on to beat the Hornets 112-107

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

Anthony Davis had a season high 42 points and grabbed a season high 23 rebounds, while LeBron James added 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists as the Lakers, who once led by as many as 23, held on to beat the Hornets on the road 112-107. Charlotte had to play short-handed tonight, losing the league’s fourth leading scorer LaMelo Ball in the 2nd quarter with a sprained ankle. The Lakers will look to continue their winning ways Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Lakers, LA Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui, Hachimura Austin Reeves, NBA, Lakers Post cast, JJ Redick, Dalton Knecht, Lakers vs Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers vs Charlotte Hornets   Support Us, By Supporting Our Sponsors!FAN DUELSuper Bowl 59 is here—one game, two teams, endless possibilities! And there’s no better way to make every play more exciting than with FanDuel Sportsbook.Whether it’s predicting the first touchdown, calling the MVP, or even betting on the coin toss, FanDuel makes it easy to get in on the action. With live betting all game long, you can adjust your bets as the game unfolds and feel the thrill from kickoff to the final whistle.ADD PERSONAL TOUCH: The live betting feature lets you stay involved no matter what happens on the field, and the app is super easy to navigate. Plus, knowing that you can place a $5 bet and potentially win $200 in Bonus Bets for the Super Bowl? That’s the icing on the cake!Download the app or head to FANDUEL DOT COM to get started. Bet just FIVE DOLLARS, and if you win, you’ll score TWO HUNDRED BUCKS in Bonus Bets. That’s FANDUEL DOT COM.Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of Super Bowl Fifty-Nine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You are a Locked-on Lakers podcast. Part of Locked-on Sports Los Angeles on the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What a win for the Los Angeles Lakers 112-107. The Lakers play their best quarter of the season. Anthony Davis plays arguably his best game of the season, and yet the Lakers still have to battle to hold on to get a win. We talk about it all on the Lockdown Lakers Postcast.

I'm Dave Pallet. Thanks so much for joining me tonight. Big win for the Lakers in Charlotte. We'll get into all that in just a little bit. But again, a lot going on with the Lakers, as there always is. A lot to be excited about. But first, let's mention the people over at Fandul. Right now, Super Bowl 59.

It's here in a couple of weeks. One game, two teams, endless possibilities. And there's no better way to make every play even more exciting with Fandul, the sports book. Look, the transition to going from NBA to NFL. It's always exciting. And at the same time, when we talk about, about sports. Right now there's nothing bigger than what's going on in Super Bowl 59,

whether it's predicting the first touchdown, calling the MVP or even being part of the coin toss. Fandall makes it all possible. It's very easy. Again, Fandul, the official sportsbook partner of Super Bowl 59. So here we go right here, talking about the Lakers. And the Lakers get a big win tonight. And the Lakers continue to win. And right now they're playing very good basketball. Not perfect basketball. They're playing very good basketball. Again, going to take comments throughout the show. But I appreciate you joining me as the Lakers travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets. Now at the same time, you look at this Hornet team and he'd go, okay, well, you have Lamello Ball. He's a fourth leading scorer in the NBA. La Mello Ball,

unfortunately for them, he was injured in the second quarter and didn't play very much. Sprang ankle could be a certain amount of time that he is out. That really takes a big shot at what they're trying to do. Also, you've heard that he's been rumored in trade talk. So the fact that he's injured isn't good for him as well. We all know Brandon Miller, the young player at Alabama. Brandon Miller isn't able to play. He's gone for the year with knee injury. I was looking forward to seeing Brandon Miller and the Hornets this year just because just on a personal note, I went to school with Brandon Miller's mom. We grew up together. And so I was kind of one of those guys that's a big Brandon Miller fan and wanted to see how he developed in the NBA throughout his

career. But here we are early on and he suffers a knee injury. So good news. for the Lakers. They're playing a Hornets team that doesn't have two of their best players and going to go, how's this going to work? Like we all know it's a long flight. We all know the Lakers had two big emotional wins against Boston and the Golden State Warriors on national TV. What kind of team would we see against the Hornets? And he'd say, well, we know how this usually works as fans, right? We don't expect a lot because the Lakers often will play down to their opponent. Lakers coming into this game, they're 12 and 1 against teams with a losing record. Obviously, that number's now improved. The Lakers are at 9 and 12 on the road heading into this game. So the Lakers struggle on the road at times. So here's the deal, the starting

five for the Lakers, Anthony Davis, Doyen, Finney Smith, again, playing for Rui, who's not in the starting lineup and not even dressed in uniform because he has the same injury that bothered him against Golden State, which the hip injury, he should be back tomorrow night against the 76ers. Austin Reeves, Max Christi, LeBron James, there's a starting lineup. Now, the quarter in the first was awesome. Now, if you were one of those people that weren't able to catch this Laker game at the beginning, and unfortunately, the game starts at four and you're still at work or you're stuck in traffic, I recommend you go back and watch the first quarter.

The first quarter was the best quarter of the season for the Lakers. Maybe the best quarter I've seen from the Lakers in years. It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of energy, a lot of excitement. And it reminded me a lot, dating myself of the Magic Johnson days when Pat Riley used to coach, It was one of those, grab the ball and let's go. And every team wants to get out and run, but not everyone's able to get out and run and be successful at it.

And for the Lakers, man, they were out and they were running. They're making solid passes and they're scoring and they're playing solid defense. Everything was working perfect for the Lakers. So if you missed it, the Lakers jumped out to an 8-0 lead. And they added on to it to make it 15 to 2. And then again, it was 215. Max Christie found Anthony Davis. on a cool alley-oop to make it 21-5, 519 remaining, 24-5,

Doyle-Smith, who the last Lakers started to score. He drills a basket, and the Lakers are often going. And you're going, this is the perfect game for the Lakers to have a back-to-back road games, which is always tough in the NBA because tomorrow, of course, they play the 76er team. They know it's going to be ready for the Lakers with their best effort. This is the kind of game that's going to start out where, hey, maybe the Lakers can rest a bunch of these starters.

in the fourth quarter. So everything is going the Lakers away. Everything. All right. 26 to 5, it's the Lakers that made nine straight field goals. Pretty amazing. Guess what?

It got even better. 29 to 6. Lakers made 10 straight field goals. It got even better. 31 to 9. Lakers are leading. They made 11 straight shots. 11.

Awesome. Okay? Guess what? It gets a little bit better. They make their 12th straight shot. They go up 33, 12 on an Anthony David. a basket. Maybe you finally missed a jumper. Otherwise, the team made 12 straight shots. It was awesome. So if you missed the game, as I said, go back and find the first quarter and watch it from

beginning to end. You'll love it. If you're a Laker fan, this is the kind of basketball you dream of. This is when you think in your mind because a lot of times you go back going, is my memory better that the Lakers weren't always as good as I thought? Or is it one of those? The Lakers were as good as I thought back in the days with Kobe and Shaq and Magic and Kareem and Worthy. And guess what? This was one of those games in the first quarter. It did not disappoint. It was awesome.

It was so great. It was exciting. And you're like, when's it's going to stop? And you hope it never stops. But the Lakers were rolling. Everything they did was great. The defense was great.

They were fast. There was a lot of emotion. Again, remind me of the Laker teams in the 80s, the way they pushed the ball up the court, pushed it towards the basket, took the ball out of the basket, off the rim, whatever.

But guess what? Fans in Charlotte loved it too. Not just Hornet fans. We know how it is. When you travel and you're a Laker, there are a ton of Laker fans in the crowd, you could hear them. And the fact that the Laker fans were there

that get to see this team maybe once a year and ticket prices are always expensive. I think the cheapest seat I could find before the game. Just looking was around $130. And otherwise, you know, people spend a lot of money to watch this Laker team and they put on a show. Anthony Davis led the Lakers in the quarter of a 21 points,

11 rebounds. LeBron James, he had four points, three rebounds, three assists. You're thinking at that point, hey, maybe LeBron's going to get a triple double tonight. Listen to the shooting for the Lakers to show you how great it was. Lakers shot 72% from the field, 50% from three point range. Absolutely insane. The Hornets, on the other hand, they struggled. Who cares about the Hornets, right?

We care about our Lakers. The Lakers need to take care of business. The Hornet shot 30%, 38% from three point range. Lakers that rebounded the Hornets, 17 to 7. Lakers had 11 assists, Hornets had seven, and the bench points, the Lakers didn't do well on. Lakers had zero bench points, Hornets had 10. Otherwise, it was almost a perfect quarter for the Los Angeles Lakers,

and everything is rolling, okay? So at the end of one, Lakers have a 20-point lead, 39-19. And there's a ton of talk that even though the Hornet stink, that the Hornets defense holds teams under 30 points per quarter, and for the Lakers, they got over 30 in the first quarter, scoring 39, things are looking pretty good for this Laker team, right? All you have to do is keep it moving. Let's keep things moving. A couple of players weren't able to play, as I mentioned,

Rui wasn't able to play. But at the same time, we know you got Jared Vanderbilt back, even though he's on a minute's restriction. And you want to see Dalton Connect, continue his hot streak. Can the Laker bench players find a rhythm, get things going? Again, Dorian Finney-Smith has been in the starting lineup the last two games. Lakers have looked pretty good. Is that something that we see. It's been a lot of talk for a long time about Dorian Finney Smith, about what is his role in our, the Lakers, a better team if he's a starter. And in the same time, Rui, does he deserve to lose his starting spot being a guy that's been a starter, basically his entire time since joining the Lakers. So again, Lakers lead at the half. Okay, it's, it was one of those

where it had a little bit nerve-wracking, but the Lakers lead at the half and they barely let at the half. And you go, how can that be? Lakers added 20 point lead in the first quarter. It's because the Hornets outscored the Lakers 32 to 20 in the second quarter. Lakers fell apart. They couldn't keep it going. Lakers led by as many as 23 points at one point, but the Hornets cut it down to 14. J.J. read it called a time out. Lamello Ball left the game at that time with an ankle sprain, tripping over Jared Vanderbilt's foot. And then with 439 remaining in the quarter, the Hornets cut the lead down to 13, 305 remaining in the quarter, Hornets cut the lead down to 11, and then eventually eight. And you're going, my goodness, man, what is going to happen with this, with this Laker

team? And why does this happen to the Lakers? Why did they play basketball that makes them fall apart? So, very frustrating. Lakers, again, with 59 points at the half. And at the same time, you look at what the Charlotte Hornets did because they outscored the Lakers 32 to 20 in the corner. they had 51 points. And so it's a game. It's a game, but at least maybe it's one of those where you go. It's a wake-up call for the Lakers as well. It's a wake-up call for the Lakers to say,

we've got to pull it together. You got to come out in the third. You got to come out and play great basketball. And at the same time, what was JJ Redick saying to these guys? What was happening to this team to possibly make a difference? Well, we'll talk about all that in just a second. Again, when I mention the people over at Fandual, again, I will get to your comments as well.

I appreciate you joining me. Again, Super Bowl 59 is here. One game, two teams, endless possibilities, and there's no better way to make every play more exciting than the Fandall sportsbook, whether it's predicting the first touchdown. Calling the MVP or even betting on the coin toss, Fandall makes it easy to get in all the action. With live betting all game long, you can adjust your bets as the game unfolds and feel the thrill of the kickoff to the final whistle. Again, live betting features lets you get involved in the action. what happens on the field. The app makes it super easy to navigate,

plus knowing that you can place $5 on a bet and potentially win $200 in bonus bets for the Super Bowl that's icing on the cake. Now here's the deal. Download the app, fanduel.com, to get started. Just bet $5 and you can win. Look, you'll score 200 bucks in bonus bets. That's fandul.com.

Bet with Fandul, the official partner of Super Bowl 59. All right. So for the Lakers, again, an exciting time, but again, nerve-wracking time for this team. For this Laker team, what does it mean and what are they going to do in the third quarter? What does J.J. Reddick say to these guys at halftime? What do they say to rally these guys? And at the same time, we know Anthony Davis is having a great game, but it can't just be Anthony Davis. You've got to figure they're going to make an

adjustment, meaning the Hornets against this Laker team. Well, disappointing. Lakers did not play fantastic coming out, coming out. And it was frustrating. So to set the ground of where we wore, Lakers were led at the half. Anthony Davis had 23, 12 rebounds, Austin Reeves. He had 13 points, five assists. LeBron had seven points, three rebounds, four assists. So LeBron only had seven. So when we talk about who else is going to help Anthony Davis, you know LeBron's going to do better than seven points. If you're a fan of the Lakers or your chance to say it's the only time the Lakers come to town in Charlotte, you know LeBron's going to be better than seven points. He's going to put on a show. Josh Green, Miles.

Bridges led the Hornets to nine points apiece. Lakers shot 56% from the field, 29% from three point range, made 4 or 14. So big change in stats happened for the Lakers from the first quarter to the second quarter. Hornets got better, 40% from field goal range, and they were 8 to 20 from three point range. So they made 40% rebounds, Lakers 25, Hornets 15, assists, both teams had 14, bench points. This is where the Lakers, when you talk about trades. This is what you think about right here. Bench points. Hornets outscored the Lakers 19 to 6. Turnovers. Lakers had 10 and it got much worse. We'll get into that. Hornets only had six. And points off turnovers. Hornets had 13. Lakers had 12 points in the paint. Lakers,

of course, with Anthony Davis. Lakers had 32 to 18. So they did a pretty good job. Third quarter, we move on to that. And again, this is, you hope things are going to go the Lakers direction. Now here's the deal. Lakers win the quarter, 27, 26, but didn't start off great. 7.05. five remaining in the third quarter, Hornets cut the Lakers lead down to six. They have momentum building. And it sounds crazy to say when you see a team that doesn't have a bunch of superstars, playing against a team that has a bunch of superstars, that the Hornets all of a sudden have momentum.

Anthony Davis, after three, had 36 points, 18 rebounds. Pretty amazing. LeBron James, as we just said, you knew he was going to come out in the second half and be better. He had seven in the first half, scored 10 by himself in the third quarter. But the Lakers, again, struggling. So here's the number the Lakers have, right? They're 19 and 4 when we're leading at the half,

but at the same time, they have quarters that they take off during the game, where things just don't seem right. And for me watching, and if you watch the Lakers rotation, I always find it interesting how different coaches, take care of Superstar's minutes. If you look at LeBron, LeBron will start the game, usually come out with about five minutes, six minutes remaining in the first quarter. LeBron will sit, and then I'll come back in the second.

And then Anthony Davis, though, will play the entire first quarter. So you've got to think by playing Anthony Davis, the entire first quarter, you're very getting, you're very much getting them for limited amount in the second quarter, and is that the best way to attack? I mean, obviously the team is at its best when you have Anthony Davis LeBron, Austin Reeves on the floor at the same time.

Obviously, you can't do that in the entire game, but at some time, it looks like the second quarter, we've seen this, that maybe it's be better off of Anthony Davis instead of playing the entire first, and maybe it's a health thing where Anthony, David says once I get warm, I want to stay that way. But it seems like Anthony Davis, when we're watching these Laker games, we're watching way too often in the second quarter where we're waiting for

Anthony Davis has come back in the game. Everybody's thinking the same thing. Wins Anthony Davis coming back in the game. And it seems like damage is always done. So God forbid the Lakers have a bad first quarter. Anthony Davis has already spink because he played him 12 minutes in the first. You can lose a game in the first half if you're the Lakers because you burn, you know, your superstars down to the ground.

and the timing seems kind of weird. You know, so if you remember the way Phil Jackson used to do it, he would basically have the players played until about four minutes, three minutes remaining in the quarter. They would finish the quarter out on the bench. Then, of course, you get the in-between time between quarters, then you start on the bench for two to three more minutes. You're rested, and then you're back in basically all the way to halftime.

For the Lakers, that's not what J.J. Reddick feels his best. again, I don't know if it's the plan that's going to work overall, but when we're all sitting here looking at the television or if you had a game in person, you're just thinking in your mind, we need Anthony Davis to come back in the game because this team is completely different when Anthony Davis isn't available. Moving on to the fourth quarter, Lakers, they struggled. Okay, so the Hornets came out on fire in the fourth quarter quarter.

They cut the lead down to two. With 1046 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Hornets cut the lead down to two. At that same time, I wasn't thinking Lakers are going to lose this game, but in my head I'm going, man, my perfect scenario was for the Lakers to get a chance to rest guys, getting ready for the 76ers tomorrow night. Well, you know, that's out. That's out.

The game plan's out the win. Now you're just thinking the best scenario is just get a win. And if this guys are spent and they don't have their best effort tomorrow night, it's because they couldn't close this game out soon enough. 4-46 remaining. The Lakers extend their lead to 13. All right, they got a little bit hot. Of course, Max Christie's four-point play was the difference right there.

with 446 remaining in the game. Max Christie got fouled, drill in a three-pointer. He makes it, makes the free throw, and that was big for the Lakers. Again, when they're at by 13 with 446 remaining, you're going, things are going to be okay. Well, guess what? 323 off of Lakers turnover. The Hornets cut the lead down to 106.98. Now Miles Bridges, three-point shot with 107 remaining. Dorian Finney Smith drives the lane for a monster dunk. It was one of the plays of the year.

It was awesome. So the Lakers go up 110, 104. Again, that's a minute, seven remaining in the game. And again, 13.3 seconds remaining. This game still hasn't been decided. The Hornets cut the lead down to 110107 on a three, excuse me, three free throws. That was really a questionable call. Anthony Davis, number one, got the ball stripped, which is frustrating.

But two is he argued he didn't foul him, said he got all ball. It doesn't matter. What the referees say is what's going to count in that situation. and for the Lakers, they're holding on. So again, with 13.3 seconds remaining, it's 110, 10.107. The Lakers end up closing this thing out. Thank goodness, 112, 108, and they get the win. They get the win, and it's a big win tonight for the Lakers because they got a role,

but also you've got to beat the teams that have these losing records, the teams that don't have any star power. As we mentioned, Lamello Ball not playing, Brandon Miller not playing, and it's the Hornets. The Hornets stink. The Hornets are one of the worst teams in the league. You can't have a situation like that. LeBron James finishes 22 points,

May 9 to 17 shots, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, solid night for LeBron. But this was Anthony Davis's night. And so I'm curious to know what you think about Anthony Davis. And as far as what he does for this team, win healthy, what he's capable of doing. It's frustrating that he's had games this year where he's not there. And we've seen the game when they were in Miami.

And we've seen Anthony Davis do this in the past. We've also seen times where Anthony, Anthony Davis gets injured and you're like, well, how long is he out? Because the team's not the same without him. So a lot of talk about his durability. Also at the same time, until the trade deadline passes, we're going to be talking about what can he do for help. Anthony Davis is very vocal a few days ago saying, you've got to get me some help. I need a big man.

I need someone to help this lineup out for me to finish out the season the way they're going. Again, the Lakers are a little bit more past the halfway point. And for this Laker team to have superstars asking for help. let's see what Rob Polinko's going to do. We all want to see it. As fans, we want to see it. Again, it goes back to that argument. You can't waste the years that you have a chance to win when you have a LeBron James and Anthony Davis,

two future Hall of Famers who are doing their job. Yet they're saying, you know what? We could use a little bit of help. Not so much worried about draft picks because, in all honesty, those guys are thinking, I'm not going to be around when those draft picks become basically good players. I'm worried about now. I'm worried about my career right now.

We'll get into the box, scoring your comments in just a second. Again, I want to mention the people over at game time. Don't forget, Super Bowl is just around the corner. It's going to be exciting. We're 13 days away from the Super Bowl. And with Super Bowl 59, one game, two teams, endless possibilities. There's no better way to make every play more exciting than with Fandall's sportsbook, whether it's predicting the first touchdown, calling the MVP of the game or

betting on the coin toss. Fandall makes it easy to get in all the action with live betting all game long, you can adjust your bets as the game unfolds and feel the thrill of kickoff to the final whistle. The live betting app, the feature will help you get involved in all the action and the app is super easy to navigate to, plus knowing that you can place a $5 bet and potentially win $200 in bonus bets for the Super Bowl. That's icing on the cake. Download the app today. That's fandul.com. That's fandle.com to get started. Bet $5 and you could win. Again, you'll score $200 and bonus Badge. That's fandul.com. Bet with Fandul, the official partner of Super Bowl 59.

All right. So let's get to what everyone's talking about. Let's get to the comments here. Let's get to what you guys have to say. I'm excited about the Lakers and the way they're playing. I see some of the negatives in there as well, and I'm all for it as well. Okay. So I'm one of those that's, hey, happy we got the win. There's things they did extremely bad. So let's get to the negatives first, okay?

let's get to Craig. Here you go, Craig. Too many turnovers again. Craig, this is what this team does. This team commits a ton of turnovers. That's not championship basketball. I'm with you, Craig, on this. Way too many turnovers.

I think I'm just callous to it of going, you know, this is what it is with this Laker team. They turn the ball over and hopefully they can sit there and do a better job of it. LeBron James, when he turned the ball over, some of them are moves where I'm like, I wonder if the guy's in the right spot. or if it's LeBron that makes a bad play, they can't take responsibility. But there are some frustrating ones.

Also, I think at times, as much as I'm a LeBron James fan, there was a pass he made to Max Christie in the corner where he was setting him up for a three, and he threw it right out of his ankles. And Max Christie didn't handle it, and ball goes out of bounds. And LeBron's throwing a fit, throwing his arms in there. He's storming down the court,

looking at everybody like, can you believe this guy? It was 100% a bad play on LeBron James. It was a bad pass. You know, most shooters will tell you, If I can catch anything from my waist up, that puts me in a position to shoot the ball effectively. But to reach down and grab a ball by your ankles, and you're not expecting to pass by your ankles, it's tough. But the turnovers will kill you. Craig says the team should have won by 15.

I agree. BC, you know, makes a good point. He said they were up 29 to 6. Should have won by 30. BC, you're absolutely right. They should have. They should have been able to wrest their superstars. And they should have been set to go against the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow night with guys arrested.

It's tough enough to be an athlete, get on a plane, check into the hotel, get to the arena, get settled, and then come back with your best effort. We all know back-to-back games in the NBA are extremely tough to win. We all know at the same time it's the Lakers. So when the Lakers come to town, it is a big deal for any team. But especially the teams that play in the Eastern Conference, because they know they're only going to see them once. They know that there are fans that are in their arena who are rooting for the Lakers. And at the same time, it's that Laker resume. The Celtics have the same thing, by the way.

If teams can beat the Boston Celtics, they feel the same way. We only see them twice a year. And if you're a fan and you aren't traveling, you see them once a year. So you want to beat teams like the Lakers. You want to beat teams like the Celtics. It's such a difference from those two franchises to everybody else in the NBA. There's always a target as far as let's get up for that game. I don't care how you're feeling.

You walk in and the Lakers come to town. It's a big deal. And that's why the 76ers are going to try with their best effort, their best game tomorrow night. And BC, I agree with you. Lakers should have won by 30, and the same time we shouldn't be able to rest these guys. All right. So Craig says AD does everything.

AD playing great, you know, playing great. Here's an interest in one as well. Capella would be a good, be a good fit. Not sure what the right fit is. You know, I was one of those guys that's pushing for someone that could put a ball in the basket a little bit better. Like even bring them back, you're hearing Jordan Clarkson. And I like Jordan Clarkson, but I honestly,

I'd like to see Brandon Ingram. If we're going to bring back a former Laker, I like to see Brandon Ingram. Julius Randall is rumored to be traded in the next few weeks, that things aren't working out in Minnesota. There's Julius Randall, a guy you'd like to see in a Laker uniform. I love Julius Randall, but I'm not sure he's the right guy for this team. So let's look at the box score of what everybody's talking about here. In 37 minutes, again, Anthony Davis career, or excuse me, season high in points, 42, season high in rebounds, 23, was great. It was absolutely awesome.

One of the things that bothers me is when the Lakers need a key basketball. and Anthony Davis fires up a three. He's just not that guy. He's not that three-point shooter in a crucial situation. And, of course, it doesn't work. Today, he went 0 for two. I'll take it. Free throws, he made eight of ten, so that gives him 80%.

On this Laker team, the 80% is good enough. Four turnovers for Anthony Davis. Dorian Finney Smith, who got the start, six points in 26 minutes, made three or four shots. It seemed like it was tough at the beginning when everybody was scoring at such a fast pace that Dorian Finney Smith wasn't getting his shots, but it didn't seem to really cause a problem because everyone else was picking up the pieces. Dorian Finney Smith was the last one to actually score for this team.

So six points, five rebounds for him. LeBron, as you mentioned, not the triple double, but 22 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, only one of eight from three point range. And I saw people on Twitter saying, why is LeBron shooting up threes? I mean, he has to know, and I think everyone knows who's ever played basketball. There are days where you go, I can't miss, and there are days you're like, this is not my day. And you either think, I'm going to be a pass. today. I'm going to drive to the basket. I'm a defense and I'm going to

rebound. That's what I'm going to do. LeBron shooting one for eight. There should never be a game where a guy that shoots one for three point range. Stop shooting it. It's not your night. You don't have it. You don't have the touch. I mean, some of the shots were, were terrible shots. Austin Reeves, same thing. Three point range wasn't his deal tonight. He was only two of eight. Finished with 17 points on the night, but Austin Reeves, 17. points, six assists, three steals. Those three steals are big. Also, only one turnover for him. and Max Christie. You could see the Lakers plan, as we said, the Lakers defensively, Max Christie is one of the better defenders on the team. When you look at AD, Max Christie,

and Vanderbilt, Max Christie had the responsibility tonight of covering ball, which is always tough concerning he's the fourth leading score in the league. Max Christie, 10 points in 39 minutes, three assists, solid defender as always. And for the Laker bench, led by Jackson Hayes, which I think was good for the fact that Jackson Hayes doesn't have the best hands at the same time he can catch the alleyup that you could tell there was certain situations where LeBron was looking for him. AD had faith in him. So to go to a guy that people say offensively isn't exactly up to NBA standards of being elite, which is far from.

The Lakers went to him in crucial situations and he did okay. Nine points in 17 minutes for Jackson Hayes. Jared Vanderbilt had four, played 13 minutes. Jared Vanderbilt for me, I don't want to see him shooting up threes right now. I don't think Jared Vanderbilt offensively is the player that the Lakers can rely on. I'd rather see Vanderbilt play solid defense right now, and unless he's driving to the basket, I'd like to see someone else shoot the ball, feel safer with him. Shake Milton tonight, got in the game.

Shake Milton, 12 minutes, zero points, shot the ball twice, didn't make any of them, and kind of was a person that really wasn't there. And so for Shake Milton, is it one of those, you had to take shake Milton to get Dorian Finney Smith because right now shake Milton seems like he's a guy that's not going to help the team out. Dalton Connect gets in the game, 21 minutes, one of three shooting. Oh, didn't make one shot from three point range, two points. As his shooting is coming back, again, I'll preach it as I do all the time.

If he's shooting and he's starting to shoot well or starting to get his touches, keep them in the game, get him shots. To put him back on the bench is one of those where you're as a player. You're constantly looking over your shoulder. How's he supposed to find a rhythm? And with the lead the Lakers had, I thought it was interesting that they didn't put Daltar Connect back in the game to kind of build on his confidence. And hopefully, if he's playing, you're giving another guy on the team that needs a rest, a chance to kind of tune up for tomorrow night. But not the case, not the way J.J. Reddick sees it. Cam Reddish again doesn't play.

Definitely in the doghouse right now with, you know, overall with what's going on with J.J. Reddick. As I mentioned before, Gabe Vincent, he was a. he wasn't able to play. He's expected to be back tomorrow. So was Rui against the 76ers also. Lamello ball only played nine minutes for the Hornets, seven points for a guy that averages almost 29 points a game, that that will hurt your average for sure, not very good at all. Miles Bridge is a player that you're hearing all the time that's on the block, 26 points, and 37 minutes. And that was your kind of your offensive stars for the Hornets. Again, Lakers win 112-107, but it's a game that the Lakers, unless you want, watch the whole thing and not just looking at the score. This was a game that was extremely

close, much closer than it should have been for for the Lakers in this situation. So again, a 112, 107 win. They will take on the 76ers tomorrow night. I will be back with you tomorrow. But real quick, I'll tell you where the Lakers stand overall. Here we are in the Western Conference. Lakers are the fifth seed right now. Oklahoma City is still one, Houston, two, Memphis three, Denver four, and the Lakers are the fifth seed right now. They're a game and a half back behind the Denver Nuggets. And again, they're chasing. So the Lakers have won four straight games looking for the fifth straight win tomorrow.

Again, it's a busy time for Laker basketball. And for right now, you're pleased where they're at, but at the same time, is there room to grow me better? I look at the teams that are behind them that we're about, yeah, we're chasing teams like the Nuggets, Gridsley, Rockets, Thunder. But Minnesota, you expect them to really become an elite team again, right? the Phoenix Suns with all the talk that, you know, you know, Jimmy Butler is going to be added to that team. Who knows? Jimmy Butler's situation is a complete mess. But the Phoenix Suns, not much of a bench,

but they're willing to do it with all these future Hall of Famers. Kind of worried about Minnesota and Phoenix who are right behind the Lakers in the standings. Not so much word about Sacramento and the Dallas Mavericks. Don't forget Dallas, once they get Luca back, they're going to be a different team. Dallas right now was a top three team, has not fallen all the way to number 10. But when they get it, at Luca back, you know, watch out. Also, Golden State, not in it. What does it mean for the Warriors as well?

So here we are. Lakers get the win, most importantly, not exactly pretty, but it works. Okay, it works. Lakers win tonight 112-107 over the Charlotte Hornets. We'll be back tomorrow night. It's a 430 Pacific Time tip-off as the Lakers try and take on the 76ers and beat the 76ers. Looking forward to that game and looking forward to talking basketball with you as well. Appreciate the comments as well for you guys.

who are tuning in. Craig B.C. account on you guys every single night. Looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say. Again, you can follow Brian and Andy every single day talking Laker basketball. I'm here with you for the postcast. But again, Lakers win. 112.107. We'll see you tomorrow night as they take on the 76ers. These shows are heard anywhere you get your podcast. Again, on the Locked-on Los Angeles Network.

And again, locked on Lakers as well. Have a good night, everybody.