Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LAKERS POSTCAST Austin Reeves sets a career high with 45 points as the Lakers held on to beat the Pacers 124-117

Episode Date: February 9, 2025

Playing without LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Austin Reeves set a career high in points with 45 and Rui Hachimura added 24 as the Los Angeles Lakers held on to beat the visiting Indiana Pacers 124-117. The Pacers were led by Pascal Siakam’s 23 but trailed by 25 points in the first half and couldn’t overcome the massive deficit. The Lakers will look to continue winning ways Monday night against the Utah Jazz when Luka Doncic makes his Lakers debut.Lakers, LA Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Rui, Hachimura Austin Reeves, Mark Williams, NBA, Lakers Post cast, JJ Redick, Dave Palet, Lakers vs Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers vs Indiana Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton  Support Us, By Supporting Our Sponsors!GAMETIMELooking for tickets to your next big event? Whether it's a concert, a comedy show, or a sports game, finding the right ticket at the right price can be a headache. But with Gametime Picks, it’s never been easier. Let me tell you how it works.With Gametime Picks, the app does all the hard work for you. It curates the best deals, so you don’t have to waste time searching through endless ticket listings.I’ve been using Gametime Picks for a while now, and here’s why I love it:The curated deals make it super simple to find great tickets at a great price—no more sifting through thousands of options.The seat view feature is a game-changer. Before I even hit “buy,” I can see exactly what my seat will look like in the venue. It’s so reassuring.And the best part? You’re covered with Gametime’s lowest price guarantee—if you find a better deal somewhere else, they’ll refund 110% of the difference. Plus, your tickets are guaranteed to be delivered on time, with easy cancellation options if something comes up.Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-B-A for $20 off. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Robinhood GoldWith Robinhood Gold you now enjoy the VIP treatment, receiving 3% IRA match on retirement contributions. The privileges of the privileged are no longer exclusive. With Robinhood Gold your annual IRA contributions are boosted by 3%, plus you also get 4% APY on your account in non-retirement accounts. That’s over 8 times the national savings average. The perks of the high net worth are now available for any net worth.The new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold. To receive your 3% boost on annual IRA contributions, sign up at robinhood.com/goldInvesting involves risk. Rate subject to change. 3% match requires Robinhood Gold. At $5 a month for one year from first match, must keep funds in IRA for 5 years. Go to robinhood.com/boost. Over 8x the average national average savings account interest rate claim is based on data from the FDIC as of November 18, 2024. Robinhood Financial LLC (member SIPC). Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC. 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 Postcast. Part of Locked-on Sports Los Angeles on the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. No LeBron, no Luca, but plenty of Boston Reeves. We talk about it all on the Lockdown Lakers Postcast. I'm Dave Pallet. Thank you so much for joining me today. Big Laker win.

Lakers win again over the Pacers, 124, 117. And for the Lakers, they continue to roll. We get into the entire game as far as everything that's happening with this team moving forward. And again, so many people thought the game was going to go one way. And all of a sudden, it goes a different way. But the Lakers, most importantly, finish on top, we'll go through all of it. Again, want to mention the people over at game time.

Before we get things started, game time, take the guesswork at buying tickets with game time. Download the game time app, create an account, and use the code locked on MBA for $20 off. Your first purchase, terms apply. again, create an account and redeem the code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-B-A for $20 off. Download the game time app today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Lakers, most importantly, again, they win today. Big game, 124-117.

And I say big game because they're all big games right now. And again, I'll take your comments throughout the show. But there's a lot going on and a lot of excitement with what's happening with the Lakers. Now, here's the deal. So many people thought, and hoped that Luca was going to make his debut today. And you heard that, hey, Luca could be making his debut on Saturday against the Pacers. Kind of felt a little strange because, number one, he's coming off an injury.

Sure, it's a weekend game, but it's a one o'clock tip-off. Not usually the kind of place where you'd think that, you know, prime time and, you know, showtime that he would play at one o'clock in the afternoon on a Saturday to make his Lakers debut. The Lakers understand the magnitude. At the same point, no point of rushing a player back who's coming off. a cap injury who hasn't played since Christmas day. Well, it comes out,

Luca's not going to play today. And then all of a sudden you to find out, LeBron James isn't going to play either. So in my head, I start thinking, I go, man, can you imagine if I buy tickets to see, you know, Luca? And then I'm saying, well, at least I'm going to see LeBron when I find out

Luca's not going to make his debut until Monday against the Jazz. And then you find out a few hours before the game that Austin Reeves might not play, that Austin Reeves is nursing an elbow injury. And he's going, What are we going to see from this Laker team at the same time? If you buy tickets, it kind of made you feel like so many NBA fans feel when you go nationwide and guys are taking games off. You know, thanks to Kauai, it's okay for players to take games off. Well, this wasn't a situation where the Lakers are, let's say, in Atlanta or San Antonio, and you aren't going to see a superstar.

These are Laker fans who want to see their stars for a home game that all of a sudden, you know, you're excited. You're telling your friends, you're going, I'm going to see Lucas debut. Well, I'm not. well, at least I'm going to see LeBron James, maybe the greatest player of all time. Well, I'm not. And you go, okay, who's our next favorite Laker? Well, it's probably going to be Austin Reeves. He's right there in the conversation.

Then you're here in Austin's a game time decision. Thank goodness Austin Reeves play today. Because of Austin Reeves do not play today, Lakers do not win today. And so for the Lakers to continue their winning ways and basically hold the fort down until you're at full capacity, where you have your center, you got your Mark Williams, you have Luca, you have LeBron. And that might take a while. to let the team gel. Almost like a perfect team for the Lakers to play with Luca making his debut

will be on Monday against the jazz because the jazz stink. So even if things aren't going as planned it, and it's going to take a little bit of time to figure out guys spacing and who's in charge and how guys move, you never know. Luca doesn't strike me. And same with LeBron as the kind of guy like, it's my team.

So no matter what happens and who joins this team, everyone's going to know when they leave the arena, I'm the star. LeBron's all about the wins at this point in his career. and I think he has been for a long time. Guess who else is like that? It's Luca. Luca fell short of winning an NBA championship with the Mavs,

to the point where the MASS said, we can't win with you. So we're going to trade you away. And there's so many things that Luca is in the mode of, I've got to prove people wrong that him come in L.A. And playing with this hero, you know he's not going to come in and say, hey, guys, guess what?

Number 77's all that matters in this locker room. That's not what he's about. And so you almost wonder, will those two guys be too unselfish when they match up? So either way, again, Brian and Andy, they will break everything down for you. They do Laker Talk every single day. Again, every one of these shows, the Lockdown Lakers, Locked out in Los Angeles. You want to find Laker Talk.

Brian and Andy do a great job. Again, every one of these shows can be heard anywhere you get your podcast. Again, I'm here for the postcast only and talking postgame stuff. So don't want to go too far off as far as everything that's on my mind. As a Laker fan, I'm extremely excited. I can't say enough about how excited I am about this Laker team for a guy that is a very critical of Rob Polinker for not basically pulling through and making the moves he said he was going to make to a team that thought played kind of shoddy defense. And at the same time, guys who were coming off the bench that couldn't seem to find their way that all of a sudden are finding their way. This is a different Laker team to the point.

This is a Laker team of my mind should contend for an NBA championship. Some people might disagree, but I think the players they have, the guys who have been in the postseason of bunch that this is a Laker team that can send. All right. So let's start off with the way the starting lineup looked. Again, you have no Luca, you had no LeBron. You had Jackson Hayes, Rui, Joey, Joy and Finney Smith, Austin Reeves. You had Gabe Vincent. Those guys were your starters today.

Lakers dominated in the first quarter. And what's amazing, and I think the most amazing step for this Laker team on how well they're playing many times, and I think it's now four straight games just off the top of them, I had four straight games with the Lakers that have led by at least 20 points in the first half. outstanding job. Okay. So if you watch what the Pacers did, I think the Pacers did what I think many of us as basketball fans would do watching the Lakers, hey, let's stop Austin Reeves. Let's make him work. And if you notice defensively, the Pacers at the very beginning of the game, we're almost playing like old school, high school basketball where we're just going to press this guy. We're going to

make him work both offensively and defensively, and we're going to tire him out to the point. He's not going to get the minutes that he expected to get. We're going to wear him out. And the defense was, Like you don't see this in the NBA because everybody can handle the ball, but they started off kind of pressuring them from basket to basket and make every foot on the floor be exhausting for him. Pacers put a lot of pressure on Austin Reeves, gave Vincent Ruy at the beginning, Jackson Hayes. They all picked up the pieces until they realized it wasn't going to work.

Then Austin Reeves found his place offensively. Lakers took a 14-7 lead with 9-25 remaining in the first quarter. Austin Reeves, big four-point play was great. Again, 805 remaining. Lakers are up 19 to 9, gave Vincent's three-pointer. Again, at that point, the Lakers were three-for-three from behind the arc. And at this point of the game, things are looking really good. 602 remaining. Lakers now on a 17 to 5 scoring run, making the score 2612 in favor of the Lakers. So you're going fantastic. We know the Pacers will put a run together, but how long can we keep this thing going? Well, I'll tell you what, 4-10 remaining. In the first quarter, Lakers lead 29, to 12. They go on 11-0-0-scoring run. Three minutes remaining. They're up 32 to 12, 13-0-0-scoring run. Two minutes remaining, 37-15, 138 remaining Lakers up by 23, 40 to 17.

So we always say all the time for the Lakers, what they need to do is the Lakers need to try and score at least 30 points in a quarter. Well, all of a sudden, here they are over 40, and you're going, this is fantastic. This is absolutely fantastic. It's a dream come true. They finish the quarter with 44 points. The Pacers at one point had missed five straight field goals going down the court and cannot put anything in except for a couple of free throws. Lakers shot 71% from the field in the first quarter, 56% from three point range, five and nine. Pacers 30% for three point range. Lakers led by Austin Reeves, who after the Pacers realized their defensive plan wasn't going to work,

Reeves finished the quarter with 14 points in 10 minutes. Pacers led by Benedict. Matherent, he had nine, Halliburton had zero. And so when you look at the other team star player and he has zero, you're doing a pretty good job. Rebounds, 17 to eight Lakers, assists 12 to six. Lakers, bench points. Actually, I don't have the number.

The Pacers were on fire on that one. Lakers, though, bench, not too bad. The guys were going in and out, didn't keep track the bench points in the first quarter. My bad, I'll get the bench points at the halftime. Turnovers, Lakers, two, Pacers had two. Okay, so that's one thing that turnovers always look up for the Lakers that end up hurting them in games.

A lot of that unfortunately has to do with LeBron James. Points off turnovers, though, and points in the paint. Points in the paint was big. Lakers had 20 to 6. At one point, the Lakers out rebounded the Pacers in the first quarter, 11 to 1. So they're controlling the glass. They're dishing the ball out. Austin Reeves is getting points.

Everybody's stepping up at this point. Rui's looking great. Gabe Vincent's looking good. Jackson Hayes is doing his job on the boards. Lakers are playing very good basketball. And as a Laker fan, extremely excited to see how, they're rolling everything out. Lakers look good right now.

And so for Laker fans, if they can do it with these guys, what can they do starting Monday when they have LeBron and they have Luke on the floor at the same time? We'll get into the way the rest of the game went. But most important, Lakers got out to that first quarter lead. And I hate to say there's no looking back. But at the same time, if you're a Pacer's player, Pacers coach, right now you're in that locker room going, if we would have done a couple things different,

the outcome of this game might have been a little bit different. Once again, want to mention the people at Robin Hood Gold. Don't forget, Robin Hood Gold, they can now help you out. You can now enjoy VIP treatment, receiving 3% IRA match on retirement contributions. The privileges of the very privilege 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. That's over eight times the national savings average. The perks of the high net worth are now available for any net worth. The new gold standard is here, Robin Hood of Gold.

To receive your 3% boost on annual IRA contributions, sign up at robin hood.com slash gold. Investing, as always involves risk, rate subject to change. 3% match requires Robin Hood gold at $5 a month for one year from first match. Must keep funds in IRA for five years. Go to robin hood.com slash boost. over eight times the national average savings account interest rate claim is based on data from the FDIC as of November 18th, 2024, Robin Hood Financial LLC. Gold membership is offered by Robin Hood Gold LLC.

All right. So the Lakers, again, playing great basketball. You're a Laker fan like me. You're extremely excited as far as everything that's going on with this team. Taking a look at the second quarter, Lakers in the second quarter didn't play as well. they were outscore 2822. Lakers points in the paint. They outscore the Pacers 24-8. 7-10 remaining in the first half,

Lakers' biggest lead of the game was up to 53, 28. Then that was it. So you've got a 25-point advantage, and you're going, okay, things are okay. But the pastors, they put a run together, ended up going into the half, 66, 50, with a 16-point lead for this Laker team. So for the Lakers at the half, you go,

okay, you gave up nine. At the same time, you know the Pacers are going to make a run. What's going to happen through a quarter? At the half, the Lakers shooting lights out. 56% from the field, 41% from three-point range. Made 7 to 17. Remember, they started off the three of three, though. Pacer shot 38%, 29% from three-point range.

Lakers led by Austin Reeves, 20 points, three rebounds, three assists. Ruiz, 16 points, eight rebounds. Gabe Vincent was awesome in the starting role, by the way. There's some amazing shots, came up big for this team. The 10 points, five assists, I think, don't, show how good Gabe Vincent was today, especially in the first half. Jackson Hay, seven points and most importantly, 10 rebounds. Pacers led by Mathurin, again, 11 points, OB-Topen 9 off the bench.

Now, here's the number that's surprising for the Pacers. And if your Pacers fan, you're frustrated because they started to score in the second half. Halliburton, one of the best players in the league, was held only three points. He was only 1 of 7 from the field. Seacom was held to 2 points, 0 of 5 from the field. Lakers out rebound of the Pacers. 17, 15, assists, Lakers 17, Pacers, 13, bench points. This is where the Pacers were great.

30 to 11 over the Lakers, turnovers. Lakers had eight turnovers, too many turnovers in the second quarter when they had six. Pacers, two in the first quarter, two in the second quarter, give them four. Now, points off turnovers, Pacers had nine, Lakers had four. So Lakers didn't get killed off their turnovers. At the same time, you got to change the turnover number if you're the Lakers, if you want to be a continuing winning team. Points in the paint, Lakers dominated 30 to 16 in the first half.

Now, here it is. So I was right on this stat here. Third time this week, Lakers have led by at least 20 points in the first half. Lakers are 24 and 4 when going into the half with the lead. So you can add a change of that. Lakers are now 25 and 4 after today. Fantastic job, okay? Things are looking really good for the Lakers at the same time.

The announcers knew it. The players knew it. We knew it as fans. The Pacer team you saw in the first half was not going to be a Rick Carlisle team that came to face off against the Lakers in the third quarter. Those guys are going to come ready to play. And sure enough, the pastures did. Pasters came out hot.

They were on fire. Lakers, though, basically answered back with the 11-2 run to take the lead up to 18 points again. Austin Reeves led the Lakers to three quarters, 31 points, 29 minutes. And Austin Reeves was just something else. It's bad of a shooter as Austin Reeves was a couple nights ago. and when he found out he had the elbow injury, you said, okay, maybe that makes a little bit of sense. Austin Reeves played his best game as a professional basketball player today.

It was absolutely incredible. Rui, 22 points, nine rebounds. Kind of funny, I had Rui had the nine rebounds. This is all through the third quarter because one of the things we were very critical about Rui in the last show was as much as Rui is on the floor and as big as Rui is, how come he doesn't rebound? How can he never has any good rebounding numbers? I mean, often you see Rui with three rebounds or less than.

the game. And it's very frustrating to say, you know, that's an effort stat. That's how it always feels. Defense and rebounds, those are all effort stats. And for Rui, not to get the rebounds, well, today it was different. Maybe Rui is listening to the show on the way home. I don't know, but all I know is there's a different Rui. We saw out there on the boards today. Fourth quarter, Lakers, you know, going, okay, we're going to be okay. Pacers, you know, win the third quarter. By the way, the back-to-back quarter is 34-28. Lakers lead by 10 going in on the fourth, 94, 84, but for Laker fans, unless you're in double digits with a few minutes remaining, you really don't feel comfortable because it's the NBA.

Anybody can shoot, anyone can get breaks. You never know what's going to happen. But for me, I felt with 7.30 remaining when Austin Reeves had the big dunk, they gave them a 15-point lead. I said, we have this. I did not feel at any point, I got to start biting my fingernails. Like, what is going on here? What's happening with this team?

I did not feel uncomfortable with what the Lakers were doing. So overall, very pleased with the Lakers and the way they were going. Austin Reeves was one of those where he put up a LeBron James Kobe Bryant type night and as exhausted as he looked. Think about this. LeBron James has been doing this like for 22 years where he's always been the guy where all the minutes. These are LeBron James a minutes. These are LeBron James stats. And as exhausts as Austin Reeves looked doing it one time, you look at LeBron James and going, man, this guy has done this for a long time.

I mean, he just did it the other night. We just saw him do it against the Golden State Warriors. So it even makes you more appreciative of how good LeBron James, the great ones are, the Michael Jordans, the Kobe Bryant that can do this day and day out for an entire career. Amazing, amazing. But most importantly, Austin Reeves, so I'm sure is wondering, what is my role going to be when Luca jumps into the starting lineup? You heard talks even during the game today.

Not sure which feed you watched, but what's the deal with Austin Reeves? is Austin Reeves a guy that could be going to the bench and come back as a guy that's a spark guy off the bench to strengthen them or is Austin Reeves a guy that stays in the starting lineup and has to find his way with what Luca does and what LeBron does. And again, there's five really good players on the floor, but there's only one basketball. So a lot going on in Lakerland. And hopefully, you know, they can figure things out quickly. I don't know if the All-Star breaks a good time or a bad time for this Laker team coming up because when you're winning, you want to keep things going and you want to keep things going. and you want to keep all the momentum going. But at the same time, it's not like the Lakers

going to be involved in a ton of practices to get everybody the feel of what it feels like to play with LeBron and Luca on the floor at the same time. Because everyone's going to have to adjust to those two guys at the same time Luca needs to adjust to what kind of teammates he has. Who runs the floor a certain way, which guys do this, which guys do that. And then just a short amount of time,

and less than a week of practice time, there's a lot to figure out. The good news is they open against the Utah Jazz, bad news is, man, the NBA doesn't stop for anyone, and you can't make these guys coming in practice every day when they're supposed to be on break during the All-Star break. The break is there for a reason, and it's extended for, you know, a player's union, you know,

argument of saying, we need more time than just a few days. So Lakers win. Again, 124, 117. Lakers continue to play great basketball. Austin Reeves, started the day, 45 points, 14 to 26 from the field, four of nine from three-point range, seven assists, just a complete game from number 15. We'll take a look at some of your comments as well.

Great to see you, Craig as well. Hi, Craig. Great to see you on a Saturday. Hayes doing a great job. Hayes is. My only argument with Hayes is that, you know, not for lack of hustle, not for lack of effort, Hayes doesn't have the best hands,

and it becomes a little frustrating. Kind of reminds me a little bit of your old school Laker guy like me, and for me, old school is 80s, you know, 80s Lakers. As far as Laker basketball before the 80s, I've done a ton of research on Reckers, reading and watching the many highlights as I can of the guys that played before I was born. But when I look at the Laker basketball, the 80s and see Eldon Campbell, you know, I was, I was thinking of Eldon Campbell where, man, this guy's tall and he's athletic, but I always

thought Eldon's hands were kind of weak. And, you know, obviously Eldon wasn't a shooter. It's like Jackson Hayes really isn't a shooter. Craig says, gave Vincent Ruiz that contributed greatly today. Absolutely they did. Did a fantastic job. Jared Vanderbilt, now that he's back and we didn't see him for about a year and he's been back now for a few weeks.

Makes you appreciate actually how good of a defender he is. And I think a lot of guys on this team are going back to, you know, defense, knowing that they lost two big guys in Anthony Davis and Max Christie that were two very good defenders. But I think right now you're looking at a team that wasn't deep at all into a team that there are guys that want minutes. I mean, nobody wants to go to the end of the bench and be those last four guys that never play in a game where you don't break a sweat, don't have to take a shower after the game. You want to be part of it.

You want to be part of everything that's going on, whether it's chasing the championship or at the same time, just that feeling of, hey, man, that was a great win, guys. And you feel like everybody contributed. Those four guys at the end of the bench in an NBA game, a lot of times it feels like those guys, unfortunately, they get lost. And so for the Lakers, it's one of those where guys are fighting. And I think right now because those guys are fighting to get on the floor, what it does is it puts you in a position where you're going to get the best of basketball because effort isn't a question, where some of the teams they're facing who didn't make moves are surrounded by guys right now that are like, it's a long season and wins this all-star break coming, and I need a rest, and I'm beat.

The Lakers are not playing basketball right now like that. Lakers are playing their best basketball the year, and it is fun to watch. It's a lot of fun to watch. I'll get to more of your comments in just a second. I want to mention the people over at game time. Again, don't forget looking for tickets for the next big event, whether it's a concert, a comedy or again a sports game any kind of game finding the right ticket at the right price can be a headache but with game time picks it's never been easier let me say how it works with game time picks

the app does all the hard work for you it curates the best deals so you don't have to waste time searching through endless ticket listings now i've been using game time picks for a long time i'll tell you why i love it i say it all the time if you listen to the postcast i do this baseball trip with my son every year and we pick a random team or cities sometimes we hit one like last year we just hit Colorado was only one and this year we're hitting three we're hitting three and three days and so June 6 guess what we're we're flying into Milwaukee and we're going to see the brewers take on the Padres and then we're driving the next morning we're going from Milwaukee to Chicago to see the white socks because we already saw the Cubs so we're going to see the white socks face the royals and then we're

getting back in the car and we're driving in Cincinnati and we're going to see Cincinnati on Sunday take on the Diamondback. So we're going to knock out three different stadiums and we're going to see baseball, but it's because of game time. Game time's the one that makes it easy for us because we're able to get our tickets, know that we're going to be fine. Look, you're going to be covered with game time's lowest price guarantee, just like me. If you find a better deal somewhere else, they'll refund 110% of the difference. Plus, your tickets are guaranteed to be delivered on time with easy cancellation options. If something comes up, take the guesswork, get to buy tickets with game time, download

the GameTime app, create an account, use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply. Again, create an account and redeem the code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-N-BA for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today, last-minute tickets, lowest prices, guaranteed. Always a good time right there. So best luck to you if you're doing a trip like me, and it doesn't have to be, obviously, Major League Baseball, whatever your sports fan like I am, we're all in. So taking a look at this, this Laker team again, Lakers are playing fantastic basketball.

If you're like me, you have to be extremely excited. This team right now is so much better than I thought they possibly could ever be doing the show a few months ago. Very frustrated with Rob Polinkas. I pointed the finger at him all the time. Very frustrated with JJ Redick. I still think JJ Redick at times doesn't understand that the feeling of runs of when it's time to call a timeout. Sometimes I always think he's a possession maybe one too late. I always say, you know, Pat Riley was the best I've ever seen do it,

understanding of run, that feeling of you're losing control and momentum. Stop the momentum as fast as you can, call a time out and stop all the action. JJ Reddick's almost there. He's getting better, and he's doing better and better every single day. The players are playing hard for him. This is a fun Laker team to watch. Most fun I've had watching Laker basketball in years. And, you know, sure, do I miss guys like Anthony Davis and Dalton Connect,

and which those guys are the best? Of course, but those guys don't wear in Laker uniforms anymore. So it can only get better from here, and it should only get better from here. By the way, if you followed Anthony Davis today, if you're doing like me before the Laker game, I'm looking at that box score and I'm going to, oh, my goodness, like when Anthony Davis can be as good as he wants to be,

and his numbers were insane. His first quarter numbers were as good as a game total numbers. And then unfortunately, Anthony Davis gets hurt. If you aren't aware, Anthony Davis was hurt today. And it was a non-contact injury from just looking at the video. It looked like it was a groin injury. I don't have any details. Maybe people who are watching have details.

you can tell me in the chat what his injury was, but that's one of those, man. In fact, things were not bad enough for Anthony Davis going to Dallas and Maverick fans before this, this is about the worst thing it could happen to Maverick fans. Not only is AD a great player, but AD now all of a sudden could be out for an extent of a period of time if it is a groin injury.

So bad news for Anthony Davis, which I'm nothing but the best. Same with Dalton Connect. He'll be a guy that we're going to pay attention to his career in Charlotte is how things go. So Craig says Lakers defense has been, ranked number two over the last week. Fantastic. I mean, remember how many times, Craig, have we watched this Laker team and you look at those defensive stats and they're in, you know,

26 to 30 and you're going, oh my goodness, man, this is a bad area to be in. You can't win games this way. Again, this is effort. Guys are playing really hard. LeBron James seems excited to put on that Laker uniform. And as I said in the last show, I feels like to me, LeBron James looks like that guy that is trying to show Luca, this is going to be great and showing them. from the side wait until you get out here and he he looks like LeBron looks like he's 23 again. You know, he never looked old, but at times, you know, you go to enough arenas. You do the same thing every single day. You don't exactly get the best effort or that 23 year old effort.

LeBron James looks awesome and he looks like he can't wait to play with this new toy. So I absolutely love what I'm seeing right now from the Slaker team. I know you guys do too and it's only going to get better. 124-117 this team wins and can't wait to see what they're going to do next. So let's see where the Lakers are at right now because the standings are changing. All right. So what do we say all the time? The Lakers have to be in the top four in the Western Conference.

They need to be in the top four somewhere. There can be one, two, three, or four. Four is obviously the last spot you want. But let's see where the Lakers are right now. Here we go. Number one, Oklahoma City, Thunder. They've won four in a row. They're the number one seed.

They're only going to get better Oklahoma City. They're getting Chet Holmgren back. again, he's healthy, good for them. Memphis Grizzlies. They're the two seats. Six and a half games out, though, of Memphis. So six and a half. Remember these numbers, so I say games back.

Denver Nuggets have moved up to number three. There are nine games back. Guess who's number four? It's your Los Angeles Lakers. Number four, we made it. We made it to the big game, Lakers. Here we go. They're the number four seed as they have won nine of their last 10.

We won five in a row. They're 31 and 19 on the season. and the team that has fallen behind them is the Houston Rockets. What do we say all the way back in November? Houston wasn't the real deal. And Houston right now has last six straight games, and they're not playing like they're the real deal. Again, don't be surprised Houston keeps falling

because the team behind them is playing really well too. Minnesota is the six seed, clippers of the seventh seed, Dallas Mavericks, Anthony Davis. Those guys are now 28 and 25. They've won their last two in a row. Mavericks, though, again, could be without Anthony Davis for an extended period of time.

Phoenix Suns, they say it's a disaster in their locker room. No one's taking the Sun seriously. Sacramento Kings right now. They're number 10. So the Lakers, they're in really good shape. Out of those teams in front of the Lakers. And, you know, not saying just because I'm a Laker fan, I know it's not the popular opinion according to Vegas,

but I would put the Lakers as the team for me as the favorite to come out of the Western Conference. What they can do, especially being able to get a center and get Luca, I think the Lakers can beat the Oklahoma City Thunder. I think they can take care of Memphis. Denver is the only. team that really makes me a little bit nervous. Minnesota is a little bit long, but at the same time, Minnesota doesn't have the players on that roster that are experienced. They don't have that whole deal as far as the winning with championships. And Anthony Edwards is a great player,

man, but he doesn't have that history, doesn't have that resume. I like what the Lakers can do this year, and I'm fired up for it. I expect the Sons or Sacramento to fall back. Golden State will be a team that makes into the postseason. But again, Lakers look to continue the winning way, they will take on the Utah Jazz on Monday. It will be a home game. The Jazz are 12 and 38 on the season. They've won two of their last 10. They stink.

They're 7 and 20 on the road. And for the Lakers, this is a chance for the Lakers to continue their winning ways. Again, Lakers 18 and 6 right now at home, and they're playing their best basketball. Laker fans want to see a show on Monday. It's funny, it's the Utah Jazz, but the Lakers want to see a big show to see. This is going to be the start of a tremendous story

with Luca being a. a Laker and hopefully been a Laker for a very long time. In the east, Cavs still the number one seed, Boston Celtics number two seed. Cavs are six games back. Nags seven and a half games back as a three seed. And the Pacers. So anyone who says the Pacers aren't a very good team,

the Lakers didn't be a very good team. Pacers are the four seed also. So you saw two number four seats face each other today. Not too bad. Not too bad right there. So that was a big win for the Lakers. Remember the paces are ahead of teams like the Milwaukee Bucks. And the Miami Heat and the Detroit.

Pistons. And, you know, the Lakers did not beat a bad team today at all. And the Pacers, it wasn't like they played last night. They played a couple nights ago the same day the Lakers played against the Warriors. So everything worked out really well. So very exciting to see the way things went. And at the same time, remember this, there's an open roster spot for the Lakers. They could add somebody as well. So I saw Ben Simmons has agreed to a deal to be a clipper. That's fine. I had an argument with another Laker fan today saying I would have loved to see. them work something out because of finances where Ben makes more than $12.5 million, the Lakers aren't able to fit him in.

Not that I think Ben Simmons is an outstanding player, but I think he's an outstanding defender and I think he's an outstanding passer and someone that if you put on the floor, could I think help you out. But either way, he's a clipper now. Let's not worry about it. We're all ready to go and see what's going to happen from here. So again, good time to be a sports fan in Los Angeles, right? Between the Dodgers getting ready to go for spring training and the Lakers,

right now getting hot. Man, it's an exciting time. Again, enjoy your Super Bowl tomorrow. I hope you guys have a great time. I hope your team wins. Routing for the Eagles, not a Chiefs fan at all. Routen for anybody but the Chiefs. Routen for the Eagles to win. And a little personal story. My son was backup quarterback to Jalen Hurts at Alabama. So we've known Jaylen since he was 17. So we're rooting for Jalen, rooting for all Eagle fans tomorrow. Go Eagles. We'll be back on Monday after a very exciting game after Luca makes his debut. you want to hear what you have to say in the comments. And again, you want to follow everything we have to say,

Laker basketball, follow Brian and Andy every single day. Those guys do a great job with Laker Talk. Andy, follow me after the games as well. Again, locked on Los Angeles, locked on Lakers. We're here to talk, Laker Basketball with you. Shows heard anywhere where you get your podcast. Otherwise, have a great rest of the night. Enjoy the Super Bowl.

And we'll see you Monday after Luca's debut. Thank you so much, everybody.