Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LAKERS POSTCAST Lakers beat the Celtics 117-96

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

Anthony Davis scored a team-high 24 points, Austin Reeves added 23, and LeBron James scored 20 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the defending World Champion Boston Celtics 117-96. The Lakers will look to continue their winning ways Saturday night when they visit the Golden State Warriors. Lakers, LA Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui, Hachimura Austin Reeves, NBA, Lakers Post cast, JJ Redick, Dalton Knecht, Lakers vs Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers vs Boston Celtics Support Us, By Supporting Our Sponsors!TALKSPACETalkspace, the leading virtual therapy provider, makes getting the help you need easy, accessible, and affordable.As a listener of this podcast, you’ll get $80 off your first month with Talkspace when you go to Talkspace.com slash LOCKEDONNBA and enter promo code SPACE80. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to Talkspace.com slash LOCKEDONNBA and enter promo code SPACE80 to get $80 off your first month and show your support for the show. That’s Talkspace.com slash LOCKEDONNBA, promo code SPACE80. GAMETIMEIf love going to live events, whether it's sports, music, theater, or comedy. One of your favorite memories will be attending a concert – the energy and excitement were unforgettable!Now, Gametime has made it even easier to get tickets for your favorite events with their new feature, Gametime Picks. This feature filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats, so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets.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. What time is it? Gametime! 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. Well, Anthony Davis and LeBron James show why they're all-stars. Austin Reeves proves why he's an elite player in this league, and the Lakers play their best basketball of the season. We talk about all of it on the Locked-on Lakers postcast. I'm Dave Pallet.

Look, so here's the deal. Lakers played great tonight. We're going to talk about all of it. It is the most exciting game they have played this season. Can't wait to talk about it. But first, I want to talk about the people over at GameTime. Take the guest work out of buying tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use the code locked on MBA for $20 off your first purchase.

Terms do apply. And of course, create an account and redeem the code with Locked on MBA. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-N-B-A. For $20 off, download the game. game time app. What time is it? It is game time. So look, here's the deal. Very exciting game. Lakers play the Boston Celtics tonight. And if you're like me, there's one team I want to beat more than any other team. It's not even close. It's the Boston Celtics. It always feels like it's important. It doesn't matter what the team's records are. We all know that Boston won the championship last

year. And at the same time, the Lakers are now one NBA championship away from Boston. Took the Lakers forever to catch up. They did. But when they got to seven, Boston ends up winning their 18th the last season. Lakers need to catch up again and when they're 18th. That's why it's important. I'd like to see them do it sooner than later with the veterans they have. You hear me complain about it all the time. Let's make some moves.

Let's help our Hall of Famers out. LeBron James, we all know he's not getting any younger. Anthony Davis is in his 30s. Time to sit here and make some moves, Rob Polinkin. Let's sit there and put players around these guys to make a run at an NBA championship. It's been a tough year for L.A. already, just meaning the city. This city needs it. Look, right now, it's always been a, this is a Laker town.

It's like the Lakers of the number one sports team in Los Angeles. Well, the Dodgers are making a heavy run right now. You want to hold on to that title as far as being the number one sports team that people care about? Let's go out and get some players. Let's go ahead and get someone that can be around these guys and not only help them on the court, but also on the same time in the locker room, team chemistry, you name it. We'll talk about Jared Vanderbilt, who's coming back, but Jared Vanderbilt alone is not enough.

again, we'll talk about everything tonight because the Celtics, when they come to town, it feels like old times. And no matter how old you are, you know the rivalry. You know what it felt like the first time you realize, hey, I'm watching the Lakers Celtics, and this game is important. And for me, it's always been that way since I was a little kid in the 80s. And when they traded for Michael Thompson, like I talked about on the last show, that was a big deal to feel like, okay, we have their number.

I can remember better than anything as far as almost every single game the Lakers and Celtics since I became a Laker fan. And every single one of these is extremely important to me. It was so important to me that the Lakers won tonight. I know when I wake up tomorrow morning, first thing I think about is we beat the Celtics, and that's a big deal. And they'd be doing the same thing. And I'll tell you, if you don't think it's a big deal when the Lakers played the Celtics,

remember what Larry Bird said. If you didn't play for the Lakers or you didn't play for the Celtics, you never played in the NBA. Those two teams are everything to what the history of basketball is. And again, 35 combined championships. But when you see the green uniforms with the yellow uniforms in Los Angeles, it's important. That's why I hate when the Celtics come to town and they decide to wear something crazy. Either the Lakers decide to wear a road uniform or a throwback uniform and the Celtics get to wear white on our floor. Can't stand it.

It doesn't feel the same. Tonight it felt the same. Seeing the yellow and the green at the same time. So again, Boston comes to town. I made a little wager with a buddy of mine who's down the street, who's a huge Boston fan. It says, wherever you want to go to eat, while the loser picks up the bill.

I said, you want to play the points, because the Celtics were favored by four and a half. He said, didn't want to do it. I said, all right, we'll go straight up. And I knew the Lakers had a little bit of help because they didn't play back-to-back games, like the Celtics played the Clippers last night. Didn't matter.

He thought his team was that much better than the Lakers, and guess what, it didn't work out that way. So it was a good night for me. It was a good night for Laker fans. It was a good night for a bunch of people. as the Lakers win tonight, 1176 over the Boston Celtics. So what a night it was.

Let's get started on how things played out for the Lakers and how we got to where we are. Celtics come in with a 31 and 13 record. Lakers 23 and 18 on the season. First quarter. And as things are starting to start off a little bit with the same starting five with Anthony Davis, Hatchamora,

Allison Reeves, Max Christie, LeBron James, going, okay, this is what we have. This is what the Lakers say, going to roll out every single night. Let's see if we can do things a little bit different. Can certain guys contribute? Can we get some consistency from our starters, but also can our bench help out? Well, the Lakers jump out to a quick lead, right? They have an early six point advantage over the Celtics, and at the same time, the Celtics, they rally back. They make it 16 and 15. And so when the Celtics rally back, and even though the Lakers had a six point lead, it feels like, oh, no, this is Boston.

It's the reason why they're championships. Lakers, though, went on a 17 to five run to in the first quarter, capped off by LeBron James Powerful Dunk. That was awesome. Anytime you see LeBron James dunk, it's still exciting because he's not only 40 years old, but we're also watching one of the greatest of all time. A player we're going to be talking about our entire lives when we start talking about how great he was. And we all know when a player retires, he gets better.

LeBron James, just an amazing talent again. Laker shot 50% from the field in the first quarter. They'd never do that. Lakers shot 50% from behind the arc. They don't do that either. They made five at 10, three-point shots. Pretty good. Boston, which is known as a very good shooting team. Boston shot only 37% from the field, 36% from three-point range.

There are four of 11. Lakers did well in a lot of different aspects as well. Lakers had 13 rebounds, Celtics had seven assists. Lakers had 16. 16 in the first quarter, Celtics had eight and bench points. Lakers actually outscore the Boston bench points. It wasn't a big deal, but we still outscored him. Lakers had three.

Gabe Vincent. had the three points. Boston Celtics, they had zero. So the Lakers were led in the quarter. Anthony Davis, he came to play tonight. Anthony Davis had nine points. LeBron James Austin Reeves had eight, and at the same time, we're rolling. Things are looking good. We're getting our superstars involved, and especially with Anthony Davis, he's one of those guys. You have to get him involved early. Otherwise, he seems to waver a little bit. Seems like a lot of big men happen to do that. For the Celtics, they were led by Porzingis, 11 points. Jalen Brown at eight. And Jason Tatum only had one at this point. So through the first quarter, Lakers win the quarter 34, 23,

as we mentioned, the big run that the Lakers had 17 to 5, but the fact that Jason Tatum only had one was a big deal in thinking things are going to go your way. You know he wasn't going to stay quiet the whole night, kind of like when the Lakers played Tray Young and you're going, hey, we're going to keep him in check tonight. You know it's not going to work that way. The 23 points for the Celtics, by the way, tie a season low for a quarter. So Lakers defense, extremely good. We'll talk about the defense also as far as who stepped up. And maybe we have an underrated player, a player who plays defense on this team that isn't nationally known or doesn't get the attention.

And if you're a basketball fan, maybe you're one of those that just looks for the highlights, the three-point shooting, the slam dunks, you don't pay attention to solid defense. But if you're a true basketball fan, you can appreciate really good defense. And the Lakers have a couple guys on the floor that do play good defense, even though their team defense is absolutely terrible. Second quarter, Lakers win that one, too. Lakers win that quarter as well, 33, 25. And so things are looking good for Los Angeles.

And we're feeling pretty good going, okay, Lakers right now, they win two quarters in a row. What does that mean for this team? What does it mean how things are going to go for them? Can they hold on? Because we all know, you know, even though you have a halftime lead, it's not always one of those where you feel comfortable. Well, the Lakers had a 6748 lead at the half against almost any other team in the league. I think you feel comfortable saying it's our night. But you know it's the Boston Celtics.

They aren't going to just sit there and throw it in. They aren't going to throw the towel and say, we aren't playing tonight. We aren't going to play Hardikas. We played last night. We went to overtime against the Clippers. No one expects you to win back-to-back games in the NBA. And for the Lakers, you know it's the Celtics and they want to get that win. And there's so many different reasons why there's so many different connections, of course, to the Lakers on the Celtics side,

including Jason Tatum, who doesn't hide the fact. You grew up a huge Laker fan, disappointed. The Lakers did not drive. drafted him and said drafted ball. Also, we all know that Jason Tatum in his relationship with Kobe Bryant. So whenever he's in Los Angeles, you know he wants to put on the show as well. At the same time, you have Jalen Brown, who's just an outstanding player who was not named to the Olympic team. Look how many guys were on the floor tonight that played on the Olympic team this past summer, but yet the guy who won the NBA Finals MVP was not one of those guys who was asked to play.

So you imagine he comes into crypto and with the idea of I'm going to show everybody that not only did they make a mistake, but the players are on the team, you had the wrong guy. And if you have the wrong guy, what does that, what does that mean as far as my opportunity to show you guys, you made a huge mistake? We're going to look at the halftime stats in just a second again. I'll take your comments. Big night tonight again, 117, 96, Lakers win over Boston. If you're excited as I am, I want to hear what you have to say about the game.

What do the team do well? Also, what can the team to do to get better? I want to hear what you have to think as well. but first, I want to mention the people over at TalkSpace. Now, look, therapy is a game changer. It can help manage stress, improve sleep, and I also help you communicate effectively. But look, finding the right therapist and fitting sessions into a busy schedule, it can be challenging. That's what Talkspace is all about.

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Don't forget about what TalkSpace has because as a listener of this podcast, you'll get $80 off your first month with TalkSpace. Also, when you go to talkspace.com slash locked on MBA and enter the promo code space 80. That's space 80 to match with a licensed therapist today. Go to talkspace.com slash locked on MBA. Enter the promo code space 80 to get $80 off your first month and show your support for the show. That's talkspace.com slash locked on MBA promo code space 80. So again, let's get back to this Laker game and the Lakers, the excitement of the big win, 117.96, a no doubter tonight. One of those we got a chance to rest of your stars. It was big

time for the Lakers. So at the half, catch you up to date. Lakers at the half are up 67, 48. Lakers led in scoring by Anthony Davis. He had 14 points. He also had eight rebounds by LeBron James. He had 12.7 rebounds, two assists. Austin Reeves playing a complete game with the other two guys getting their numbers. Austin Reeves had 13 points and four assists. Things are looking good. We've got a little bit a balance there for the Lakers. Celtics led in scoring by Porzingis. He had 17, Jalen Brown at 12, Jason Tatum, he had eight. So that means he had seven in the quarter due to the simple math from shooting. How did the Lakers look? It was even better than it was in the first quarter. Lakers were 50% from the field, 55% from three point range. I was 11 of 20 shots. They made shooting three

pointers. That's what the Celtics were supposed to do. That's not what happened right there, though, in the first half. Again, the Lakers made 11 to 20, three point shots. It was Jason, Jay Reddick's dream. Celtics shot 39% from the field. They also only shot 30% from behind the arc six of 20. Rebounds. Lakers out rebounded the Celtics, 22 to 13. Assists, Lakers had 28. Celtics had 17. The bench points. Now this is big. This is to me one of the biggest stats of the first half for the Lakers, because we talk about the lack of bench play. Look, Lakers had 17 bench points. Might not seem like a ton to a normal team, but to the Lakers, that is a big deal. That is a really big deal for the Lakers to get 17 bench points. Gabe Vincent with nine, Dalton Connect with

eight, including two, three pointers. Dalton Connect finally found a shot, found his game. And again, this is one of those things that I don't understand about JJ Redick. I don't want to, it seems like you know, harping on JJ Reddick. But JJ Reddick was a shooter and shooters are streaky. And when shooters have the touch, you give him more minutes. And it seemed like Dalton Connect didn't get a chance to continue his ways of the first half into the second half, because, he didn't get the opportunities. I don't understand. I mean, we've all been waiting as Laker fans for Dalton Connect over the last two months to pull it together.

Well, it looked like he was on his A game in the first half, yet it didn't work out in the second half for him as far as opportunities go. Turnovers, each team only had two. So they're playing a clean game. If you notice the Lakers and Celtics, even the way they came out, as we talked about, we all know what it means as fans. The players know too. And when you talk about effort, and he said, it's a long season, it's 82 games,

and there's some games where it seems like the play. players aren't interested. Well, tonight was a night. It seemed like every guy on the Ford, every time was completely out there doing what they could do to win. And as a fan, what else could you ask for? That was good NBA basketball, meaning you weren't just getting guys who were going through the motions. So many different times if you watch a casual NBA game, and it's not your favorite team. It could be anybody. It can be the Indiana Pacers, you know, playing the Pelicans. And you're like, I am bored as can be. Not like that tonight. It felt like it was something. So here's the deal. Lakers lead at the half, as I said, 6748. Now remember,

the Lakers are 17 and 4 were leading at the half. So what is said at halftime? Again, this was a national TV game. This wasn't a regular local Laker game. This was one of those where half seemed like it took a little bit longer. What is said at the half by JJ Redick? How do you get off to a fast start? Well, the Lakers struggled. They didn't get off to a fast start at all. Actually, it was the only quarter of the Lakers lost. Lakers were terrible in third quarter. Celtics were terrible, too. The Lakers were just worse. The Celtics as bad as it were, the Lakers were absolutely worse. Lakers were outscored 20 to 16 in the third quarter, just terrible offense. Lakers actually went five minutes in the quarter without scoring a point.

Jackson Hayes had a couple of big baskets, believe it or not. Max Christie's defense on Jalen Brown was fantastic. That's why I wanted to talk about the defense a little bit because we all know Anthony Davis is one of the best defenders in the league. Max Christie plays really good defense and at the same time probably isn't recognized by his peers on how good he is. You don't hear about him in the media as far as being one of the better defenders, but he is. Just a couple weeks ago, they were Tyler and Michael Cooper's number 21.

Cooper known for being a sixth man and being a fantastic defender. Max Christie is a great defensive player. Doesn't get the credit he deserves, but if you watch him night in and night out, it seems like he's only getting better. Again, going against Jalen Brown, who is extremely tough to stop. Max Christie did a great job.

Through three quarters, Lakers were led by Anthony Davis, is 18. Austin Reeves had 16. LeBron James 12 points, 11 rebounds, four assists for LeBron. So LeBron, again, has played against the Celtics a ton of times. We all know his time, obviously, in the east with the calves and with the heat. But with LeBron, he understands what it means to Laker fans for the Lakers to knock off the Celtics,

especially at home. Lakers, through this point, though, the shooting went down because it was such a bad quarter. Lakers, 42% from the field, 39% from three-point range. They were 12-131. Perzingus led the Celtics with 22. Jason Tatum, 16. Jalen Brown had 15. Celtic shot 37%, and only 31% from three-point range.

So they struggled, and for the Lakers, that was fantastic news. Fantastic that the Celtic struggled with their shot because the Lakers struggled in the third quarter. Lakers turned it on, though. Lakers turned it on in the fourth quarter, and Lakers actually separated the game and put it away early and gave a chance for LeBron, Anthony Davis, those guys to get a break right there. So here's the way it worked in the fourth quarter.

Lakers outscored Boston, 3428, but it felt a lot worse than that because the Lakers put their subs in early. Lakers, again, 3428. So they went three of the four quarters. The only quarter they didn't win was the third quarter. And you have to be extremely pleased. Rob Polinka has to be pleased. It's one of those where you're sitting there scratching your heads.

And if you're going to make a trade, what is the right move? Because if the Lakers can play like this every single night, they're obviously a chance. championship caliber team, but the Lakers don't play like this every night. You heard the quote this week from LeBron James. You heard it from J.J. Reddick. We have to play almost perfect basketball for us to win a game. That is 100% true. That cannot be more true than that statement right there, because we watch the games night in and night out. And unless the Lakers play almost perfect, the Lakers aren't going to win. And good teams like the Boston Celtics can actually not play perfect and still win games. I also play in a much weaker conference in the Eastern

conference. But that being said, if Boston was in the West, they would still be good. For the Lakers, they got to make a move. It's not going to work. This is not basically you can hold on. As Anthony Davis said, this is rival week. You're playing the Boston Celtics tonight. You play the Golden State Warriors on Saturday up in the Bay Area. 530 tip off, by the way, plan on watching that game. It's a 530 tip off Lakers and Warriors. But the Lakers have to do something to make a move. So when you look at the box score, the way it played out tonight and go, well, how many guys were double-digit scores? As we said, that's always a big stat with NBA coaches. Well, you had a bunch.

He had Anthony Davis with 24. He had Rui with 10. LeBron James, again, 20, Austin Reeves, 23. And then Gabe Vincent off the bench. He had 12. Oh, here you go at the bottom. Dalton Connect with 13. So, again, the Lakers had a bunch of them.

And he had two guys off the bench with double digits, just 15 combined with Connect and gave Vincent was big, exciting. We also had at the end of the game, I mean, I mean, nobody wants to be a garbage player, but Cam Reddish went from a guy that was once a starter this season to a guy that's become a garbage player. He's fallen out of favor with JJ Reddick as far as the rotation goes. Only got it in the game at the end,

got in the game in the rotation with guys like Brony and Jake Milton. And you kind of wonder, what would the Lakers do if they make a trade? Can they shed some of those salaries to make things work a little bit better in a trade? Jimmy Butler, as we talked about a few days ago, the rumor is he's going to the sons. things aren't going well at all with Jimmy Butler, who has been suspended again. And so as a Laker fan, do you want Jimmy Butler?

I'm one of those guys saying that Jimmy Butler's not the first guy on my list. I want a guy that's going to honor a contract that's going to play hard night in and night out, I should say. So for the Lakers off the bench, the guys that helped them out actually in minutes, Jackson Hayes, 14 minutes a night. He had five points before he also got eight rebounds, a couple big shots for him. Those eight rebounds were big.

It's always frustrating when Jackson Hays, you look at his box score, and he doesn't seem to get the rebounds that he should get. At the same time, Dalton Connect, only 14 minutes tonight, but he scored 13 points, 5 or 7 shooting from the field, made three or four three-pointers. I would have liked to seen Dalton Connect play a little bit more. So for me, just I would have liked to see it because I've been waiting for him to get in there

and get an opportunity to play a little bit more, but that's not what JJ Reddick decided he was going to do right. they're in that situation. Lakers win, which is the most important thing. I understand, but as I say, it's a long season. We just passed the midway point of the schedule. It would be nice to see more players obviously help these guys out, especially the veterans, Stahl to connect with someone they relied on in November. It would be nice if we can rely on. I'm not only at the end of January, but for the remainder of the season. I want to mention the people over at game time, and then I'm going to get to your comments in just a second.

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I'm looking forward to that trip, even though it might sound very bizarre to sports fans out there. So Lakers win, 117, 96. Exciting. So I see Craig right there. Look, Craig, it's always great to see you, man, you always say something great. Appreciate you in the comments right there.

Lakers control the Celtics from getting too many threes. And that's the key. I mean, when I think about the Boston Celtics right now, I think about they run an, offense that is so unusual, but yet it works. How many times do you see the Boston Celtics doing the five guys outside the arc, yet they scored? They won an NBA championship doing it.

It is a hard offense to defend. And at the same time, you have to be a really good shooter to make it work. Yet Boston was able to do it all season long last year. It's their key to the success this year. Craig, you're absolutely right. The Lakers did a great job keeping the Boston Celtics from making their threes. Held Boston under 100 points, which is big. BC, good to see you.

They see the go Lakers with the flex sign. That's awesome. So here's the deal for the Lakers. They get some good news. Jared Vanderbilt is coming back on Saturday. Now, I'm a Jared Vanderbilt fan. I'm also not the kind of guy that will tell you, Jared Vanderbilt's going to be the reason everything changes.

That's not how it works. Jared Vanderbilt hasn't played in a year. Now, he's going to be cleared to play on Saturday. Doesn't mean he's going to play, but physically he's clear to play. He might get some minutes. I can imagine he's very anxious to play at the same time. his teammates want to see him play. But Jared Vanderbilt's a guy that averages about five points

a game. He's not going to sit there and light up the scoreboard for you. But what he's going to do is he's going to give you another very good defender. So you'd have three guys on the floor if you have Max Christy Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis on the floor at the same time. And the Lakers, you can never have too much defense because right now they struggle to find the offense. It might be boring basketball for a lot of fans out there, but for the Lakers, that's what it takes to win games to keep the score low and you don't score in the in the high 80s and low 90s, fine, that's what it is. But for Jared Vanderbilt coming back, it's going to be a shot in the arm for the Lakers. It's something that the Lakers need. And I think something the Lakers are

excited about is getting them back in. I hope he does get some minutes. I hope he gets at least, you know, 10 to 15 minutes on Saturday. Kind of curious to know who loses minutes in this rotation with the Lakers as well. But again, if Vanderbock can come back and be the player that the Laker fans are used to seeing it at him, their defense will get a big spark on that one. You know, we spoke before also about the Lakers how they hardly ever score at least 30 or more points in a quarter. Tonight, the Lakers did it three times.

So, you know, so many times you see the Lakers with 20, between 20 and 28 points in a quarter, the Lakers tonight did it three times, 34 in the first, 33 in the second, and 34 in the fourth. They gave them their 117. A pitiful third quarter, it was a good thing that the Celtics played a horrible quarter as well. But for the Lakers, they did exactly what we hope they would do the entire season long, which is solid, you know, which it was very solid. Lakers tonight finished in case you're wondering, 47% from the field, 43% from three point range. Free throws were solid tonight. They made 90% of their free throws, pleased with that.

And at the same time, when you look at the Lakers, as far as turnovers go, Lakers only finished with four, only finished with the four turnovers. Incredible, because Lakers never do that. LeBron usually gets five by himself. LeBron only had two tonight, but usually gets five by himself. So as a team, to only have four, just an amazing night, just an amazing night all the way around. So very, very exciting to see that the team can play a complete basketball game,

especially heading on the road. And they've got a bunch of road games coming up as we'll. all know because of the Grammys, the Lakers have to get out of crypto for a while. Happens every year around this time. So for the Lakers, it was solid. There's not a lot of complaints tonight. What does that mean standing wise for the Lakers? As I look up and see that the Clippers won tonight because we know the Lakers and the Clippers, they're right around the same area. Well, we want to be in the top four. That's the magic number. Oklahoma City is still number one. The 36 and 8, really impressive. They won seven of their last 10 games. The Rockets are still

number two. Rockets are six and a half games behind the Thunder. Grizzlies are number three. Denver Nuggets. Everybody watch out. Look at the Joker, man. He is so good. And if you look at his line today and see how good the Joker is, he is one of those guys

if he played in a big market. If he played in New York or played in L.A., he'd probably get the credit he deserves. I always say he's a top five player in NBA history. People argue that. Look at his numbers and see how good he is. and how dominating what player is.

He's something else. But the Lakers are number five right now. So the Lakers with the win tonight, the Lakers are number five. Playing pretty good basketball, at least on the scoreboard side. They're getting wins. Defense can always be a little bit better.

They get a little bit of a push on Saturday with Vanderbilt, but the Lakers are now number five. Not too bad. Lakers are 11 games out behind the Thunder. If you want to know how close they are to the four spot, well, the Nuggets now have, or eight games out. So there's a three-game difference between what the Nuggets are doing

and the Lakers. Nuggets have one. four in a row and eight of their last 10, really playing good basketball right now. Clippers are number six, Dallas Maverick 7, Minnesota 8, Sacramento 9, Phoenix Suns are 10. Guess who's not in the playoffs right now, by the way? It's the Golden State Warriors.

Golden State Warriors who are 500 team, 22 and 22. They did win their last game, but they've only won four of their last 10. And so for the Lakers, hopefully they take advantage of that. If you're like me, you're tired of hearing all the talk that, hey, why don't we get LeBron James in a trade and send him to the Golden State Warriors. When you're hearing that talk, it drives me nuts. I don't want to see LeBron go anywhere. I want to see LeBron to remain a Laker for the remainder of his career.

I don't want to see the Lakers throw the towel in. It's not fair to the fan base, not fair to Anthony Davis. I want to see the Lakers instead of helping another team, I want to see someone come here. All the talk of that happens all the time. And then more and more, it's getting closer. And you get national media guys saying the same thing. Lakers aren't going anywhere. send LeBron to Golden State.

Forget that. Help LeBron out here. We want to help LeBron out here in the Laker uniform. We want to see LeBron get an NBA championship in Los Angeles, and you want to see basically not a season that was like the bubble year. Not saying that didn't count because I hate what people say that because everyone else had a chance to win it and everybody wanted to win it, but I want to see the Lakers help LeBron out. Let's see Rob Polinka, what can you do?

Let's get us some help. Let's turn this season around a little bit. Let's take it up a notch and get LeBron, Anthony, with some help. A superstar would be nice, but if it's not a superstar, it's somebody that fits in perfectly with this team and what they need. I'd love to get a couple shooters, if not just one. Just one guy that can sit there and drain the three-point shot on a consistent basis would be fantastic. All right, so we're going to be back on Saturday. Lakers play Golden State 530 tip-off. Don't forget Lakers are on the road as they travel. Not a bad flight,

spend an hour flight to play the Warriors. And then the Lakers, again, play really well on these national TV game. So let's see if they can do it again. Again, and it's a rivalry with the Warriors. It's a rivalry with the Celtics. If you want to follow Laker basketball all season long every single day, Brian and Andy, you can follow them right there on the Lockdown, Los Angeles Sports Network, right there and see what they do. Also, this show right here, I do the post game. Happy to do it. Talk Laker basketball with you. But if you can't get enough Laker basketball through me, make sure you follow Brian and Andy. You can follow these podcasts anywhere, podcast are found. It's everywhere you want. So again, final score tonight. It was a great night.

Lakers win 117, 96 over the Boston Celtics. I will see you Saturday. Hopefully talking about another Laker win. Have a great night, everybody.