Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LAKERS POSTCAST Lakers beat the Wizards 111-88

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

Anthony Davis scored 29 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and blocked 4 shots, and LeBron James added a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers crushed the visiting Washington Wizards 111-88. The Lakers will look to continue their winning ways Thursday night when they host the hated Boston Celtics. Lakers, LA Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui, Hachimura Austin Reeves, NBA, Lakers Post cast, JJ Redick, Dalton Knecht, Lakers vs Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers vs Washington Wizards, Roki Sasaki  Support Us, By Supporting Our Sponsors!PRIZE PICKSNow’s the perfect time to join. Download the app today and use code LOCKEDONNBA to get $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup! That’s right—no need to win to get the bonus, it’s guaranteed. PrizePicks—Run Your Game!FAN DUEL Get ready to tackle the NFL PLAYOFFS with FanDuel America’s – Number One Sportsbook! Because right now, new customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get THREE HUNDRED in BONUS BETS, if you win!The FanDuel app is easy to navigate, and the variety of bets keeps every game exciting. Plus, when you win, you get paid instantly—no waiting around for your winnings. Whether you’re betting on your favorite team or just looking to add some extra excitement to the playoffs, FanDuel has you covered.Just visit FANDUEL DOT COM to join today and get started with THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS. That’s FANDUEL DOT COM. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You are Locked-on Lakers podcast. Part of Locked-on Sports Los Angeles on the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Well, the Lakers play their perfect opponent. Anthony Davis and LeBron James show why they're all-stars. A new Dodger pitcher, Roki Sasaki, was in attendance. We talk about all that on the Lockdown Lakers Postcast. I'm Dave Pallet.

Again, thanks for joining us tonight. Big Laker win, 1188. The segment's brought to you by Prize, picks now is the perfect time to join download the app and use the code locked on NBA to get $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup that's right no need to win just to get the bonus it's easy it's guaranteed money right there prize picks run your game so the los angeles lakers they get a win and they get the kind of win that we like they get the kind of win we don't have to worry so this is the best kind of show to do i appreciate the comments as well enjoy the

game with me, talk about the game with me, but for the Lakers to win against the Wizards, I understand. It's the Wizards. And for the Lakers, this is the kind of team we have right now where no game is guaranteed. And the Washington Wizards, one of the worst teams in the league. A matter of fact, I don't know about you, but when I see a team like the Wizards, I look at guys like, who do they have that the Lakers could possibly get on their team to make a run for the rest of the season?

Is there anyone on that Wizards lineup that you'd like to say, I'd like to see them in the Laker uniform guys that could help, maybe guys that could. could shoot the three a little bit. We'll talk a little bit more about that. But for the Lakers, after a really disappointing last couple games, even though they beat the Nets on Friday night, it was still a one point win, and the Nets are kind of in the same category as the Wizards. We're not a very good team, not a team that's a postseason team, yet the Lakers struggled to get that win. And then they faced the Clippers on Sunday, complete disaster. Lakers really not in the game. Clippers embarrassed the Lakers when it was a battle, not only in the standings, but also,

of course, the battle in Los Angeles. You want to be the number one team. And the Lakers, of course, have the resume to show. They're the number one team in the city. But at the same time, the Clippers have done a very good job against this franchise for a number of years. And I was hoping with the new building, the Lakers would sit there and get their first win

against the Clippers inside and to it, but it didn't happen. Lakers were embarrassed. And then when I watched the National Championship game last night between Ohio State and Notre Dame, and I see that LeBron James jumped on a private plane, and he flew to Atlanta to watch his team, Ohio State, beat Notre Dame, a little frustrated. Like, they better win and LeBron better play really well because the team isn't playing well.

And so as a fan, he says, everybody focused, is everybody on the same page? And disappointing to see that LeBron's traveling, you know, 2,500 miles each way to see a football game when his basketball team isn't doing very well. This is basketball season. So what happened tonight? Well, the Lakers actually played very well, and LeBron played very well. So everything I was worried about went right out the window. And the big game for the Lakers, of course, is going to come up on Thursday.

We'll talk about that when they face the Celtics. But can you take care of the Wizards first because the Wizards don't win, and they don't win on the road very often at all. So this is the way it started out for the Lakers. Look, the starting lineup for the Lakers was Anthony Davis, who Christy, LeBron James. And remember, the Lakers are 11.1. against teams with a losing record.

That's now 12 and 1 because we know the Lakers won tonight. Lakers in the first quarter, they outscored the Wizards 29, 23. Now, the frustrating part with the Lakers is that number 30. Like, let's have a couple 30-something point quarters because it seems like the Lakers are always stuck in the 20s, and it becomes very frustrating. And if you watch the way the game started tonight, it was frustrating. It was ugly basketball.

It was two and a half minutes of nothing. Just turnover after turnover after turnover. and then at the same time, the Lakers couldn't score. It was really bad basketball. And I knew before the game that Roki was there because if you follow on social media, you saw Roki with LeBron, you saw Roku with Rui.

Roki, for people who don't know, is a huge NBA fan. So for him to go to his first Laker game, I'm thinking he's watching the Lakers, which is a few miles from Dodgers Stadium, going, man, this team stinks. And wait a second, this isn't the Laker basketball

that I've watched in the past. It was embarrassing. And so I know it's just one guy at the stands, but I'm thinking in his mind, this isn't impressive at all. And it wasn't. Lakers defense, it's been horrible lately. Everybody knows they're giving up an average of 119 points a game.

Not good at all. The only two teams worse than the Lakers right now have given up that 119 points a game are the Toronto Raptors and tonight's opponent the Washington Wizards. So in the first quarter, Lakers again, 29, 23, they outscore the Wizards. They shot 48% from the field,

30% from three point range, three of ten shooting. Wizards, though, they struggled as well. 31% from the field, 23% for three point range, only three of 13 for them. Lakers were three of 10 when they shot three pointers. Rebounds. Lakers had 16, Wizards at 14, not a big separation, assist Lakers at eight wizards had six. So every team always wants to see ball movement.

You get everybody involved. And for the bench points was big tonight. And we're going to talk about Dorian Finney Smith probably a lot more than we ever have because Dorian Finney Smith, of course, the new dad, everybody's talking about, you know, what a great week it was for him. And it is. But at the same time, when we talk basketball and that's what we're most concerned about as fans, he has been a disappointment.

The trade with New Jersey has been a disappointment because he hasn't been the player or the production hasn't been there for Laker fans that they thought they were getting when they got Dore and Finney Smith. But again, Lakeer bench, in the first quarter, eight points, very rare for the Lakers to score eight points and a quarter off the bench. Finney Smith had six. He knocked down two, three-pointers. And that's what he was known for in New Jersey, a guy that's a very good three-point shooter.

But we haven't seen a lot of him as far as production goes. Wizards bench, five points. You know, not going to talk about the Wizards a lot as far as what they did as individuals because this really is a Laker team that's in a battle with themselves. Lakers were led in the quarter of Anthony Davis, nine points. He was engaged, and it matter who the opponent was. Anthony Davis, I thought, should have been embarrassed on Sunday night. The fact that you have a former Laker player that has never been an all-star and also got

the Lakers that no problem getting rid of have 21 points and 19 rebounds against Anthony Davis, completely embarrassing for him, one of the best big men in the world and completely outplayed, did not play well at all against the Clippers. So Anthony Davis off to a hot start, 9.6 rebounds. And, you know, correct me if I'm wrong. but I honestly believe that the players that aren't at the caliber of the Anthony Davis or LeBron James, when those guys are engaged, everyone else is engaged, and which means, you know, if they're setting the tone, you better be ready to play with those guys.

If those guys come in just the opposite of not into the game, then those guys, their efforts are going to sink too. And those guys, let's be honest, the reason those guys are superstars, meaning Davis and LeBron are superstars, is because they've done it for a long time. They've been consistent and they've been recognized around the world. and when you ask other players to step up that usually aren't comfortable in that role, especially at this level of basketball, I understand everybody's been a star in high school. Everyone was a star in college, but the NBA is the top of the tops.

And so for LeBron and Anthony, excuse me, LeBron and Anthony Davis to be set ready to go, I think it helps a lot. Wizards are led by Jordan Pool, six points, not a big deal. Second quarter, Lakers, again, they get to that number, though. They get to the number I was talking about. The Lakers get to 30 points, and they outscored. the Wizards in the second half our second quarter 30 26 they lead at the half 59 49 things are looking pretty good for the Lakers Anthony Davis LeBron James each had 10 points in the

second quarter and at the same time that was big because you think 20 of the 30 points were just by those two guys which means again those guys set ready to go and for for Laker fans that's what we want to see we want to see the Lakers always set ready to go and with their foot on the pedal So Lakers, you know, at the half, did a very good job. 59, 49 at the half for the Lakers and things are going in the right direction. What are they going to do in the second half? You know, there's always questions there for the Lakers of what they do in the second half because we have seen this team struggle, you know, out of the gate in the third quarter.

We always see the Lakers that seem to go on a run. But then at the same time, the Lakers always start quarters, start second halves kind of poorly. And it seems like they're always in the mood of playing catch-up, which becomes extremely frustrating when you have a team like that that's playing catch up. We'll look at those halftime stats as well and see how the Lakers came out and what kind of performance they had the rest of the night. But first, got to mention the people over at Fandual. Look from the first whistle to the final drive,

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Are the Lakers doing the things they need to do to be successful, to play winning basketball to keep it going? Lakers were led in the half of scoring Anthony Davis again, continue to pour it on. 19 points, eight rebounds. LeBron James, 14 points, five rebounds, seven assists. We have triple double alert right there for LeBron James. Dorian Finney Smith, big spark.

plug for this team. And again, this is why the Lakers traded for him. This is one of those guys, unless you watch a lot of NBA, maybe you aren't familiar, but he was having the best shooting season of his career. And there's one of the reasons why Rob Polink could pull the trade for Dorian Finney Smith. Now, he finally was the player that the Lakers hoped to be. He shot three, three-pointers in the first half. He made all of them. Fantastic. Wizards led and scored by Jordan Poole's 12. Former Laker Kyle Kuzma, he had eight in the first half. And if you're like me, always look at former Lakers. Like, do we get rid of the guys at the wrong time? Could those guys have helped the team out? But Kyle Kuzma was nothing that we missed. And we saw Kyle Kuzma

tonight. There's nothing about Kyle Kuzma that you missed or said, I wish he was still in a Laker uniform, even though he was part of that 2020 NBA championship team. Of course, we'll always, have good thoughts of them. But since he's with the Wizards, we don't care. It's all long and forgotten. That's kind of the way it goes. Lakers wore 50% from the field, 32% from three point range, six of 19. Wizards, 37% field goals, 32% from behind the arc, 7 to 22. And for the Lakers, again, they did what they needed to do. Bench points, they had 12-9 by Dorian Finney Smith.

They got three from Jackson Hayes, Wizards bench points. They were led by Corey Kisperts, eight. He's one of those guys that I would like to see in a Laker uniform. He's a guy who's a spark off the bench. He's a guy that's a good three-point shooter. he's a JJ Reddick dream. Actually, he's everything Dalton Connect was supposed to be, but we don't know what we're going to get with Dalton Connect

on a night-in-night-out basis. Actually, it feels like with Dalton Connect, it kind of feels like we do know what we're going to get, and it's going to be disappointing. We just need Dalton Connect to be the player he was in, you know, mid-October, November, and we haven't seen it in a long time. So it's frustrating to say, here's a guy that we're expecting big things from quality minutes off the bench

and you aren't getting it. So for the Lakers, again, the big, stat is Lakers were 17 and 4 when leading at the half coming into this game. So now 18 and 4 and leading at the half, good sign. Can the Lakers keep it going? Well, if you watch the third quarter, the Lakers got off to a tremendous start, led by almost 20 points in the quarter, got off to a great start, and then all of a sudden they let the Wizards back in it. And it was very frustrating. The Lakers actually looked in the third quarter the way the Clippers play, where the clippers get off to a hot start and let the other team back in it. The Lakers actually jumped out

to a very hot start, and then they let the Wizards back in it. Wizards went on a 12-3 scoring run. They cut the lead down to 9, and he started getting a little bit nervous. It's still the wizard, so there's no panic where you start pacing the living room, and you're going, oh, man, we're going to lose this game. Never felt like that. Never felt like the Lakers were going to lose the game. But at the same time, you're like, it's the Wizards.

How do you let the Wizards go on a 12-3 scoring run and cut this thing down to nine? And it becomes frustrating. And let's see who's going to step up and what the coaching staff might say. see to make a difference there. But sloppy basketball for the Lakers, transition defense wasn't fantastic. Seems like the Lakers did a kind of a poor job of letting the Wizards continue to get to the basket. And frustrating, that's not championship basketball. And when I'm watching these Laker teams, and I'm sure you're doing the same thing, you're looking at how close are they to being really considered a team that can make a run? And when they play like that,

it becomes frustrating because that's not championship basketball. That's not, you know, as you say, the killers, you know, you get a killer out there. You got a Magic Johnson that puts the game away, a Kobe Bryant that puts the game away. What does it take for this Laker team to do it? Not one guy's going to do it. It's going to take an effort from everybody. And when you look at the Lakers as far as defenders go, the defending is as bad as a team.

As individuals, not exactly terrible. I mean, you have Anthony Davis, it's considered one of the best defenders in the entire sport. Max Chrissy, very underrated national defender. As is Laker fans, we understand Max Chrissy's assignments every night. They're tough. Max Chris is a pretty good defender and everyone else, you know,

let's pick up our game. Let's pick up the game as far as what the Lakers can do. So through three quarters, Lakers were led by Anthony Davis. He had 27 and 13 rebounds, four block shots defensively doing what he was supposed to do. LeBron James through three quarters, 21.7 rebounds, eight assists. And you look at what the Lakers have going on.

Can the Lakers continue to put their foot on the gas? Can the Lakers blow the wizards out? Can we get rest? time for our stars. And tonight was one of those where you're going, we're going to get a chance to get some rest because you have a day off on Wednesday, and then you welcome the Boston Celtics to town on Thursday. The good news for the schedule with the Lakers playing the Celtics is the Celtics have to play on a Wednesday. The Lakers have back-to-back games in Los Angeles, Clippers on a Wednesday, Lakers on Thursday. It's a good

time to play Boston because our guys are arrested. It's even better if you can rest of those guys the entire fourth quarter, not the case at all, actually. Lakers had to most of their guys through about 10 of the 12 minutes in the fourth quarter. The last two minutes of the game, you saw the guys come in off the bench, Bronny James. Everyone is excited to see him come in. And I'll be honest with you. The Bronny James experiment is very interesting to me.

I don't know anyone who dislikes him. There are people that will say he doesn't belong in the league. He's in the league because of his dad. I understand all that. I don't think there are a lot of people that can argue that part of it. But the fact that he's embraced so much has been surprising. not only at home, but on the road as well. Everybody cheers for Brony James.

And it's kind of cool to see just as a father, but at the same time, it's bizarre to me that outside of Los Angeles, when the Lakers on the road, the crowd wants to see LeBron's son get on the court. So with two minutes remaining in the game, LeBron's son finally did get on the court, and that was kind of, you know, an exciting factor,

your father's son moment, kind of a deal. But at the same time, Brony continues to struggle and show that, you know, the NBA is not exactly where he needs to be. So let's look at the Lakers box score here and how things kind of played out for them. 32 minutes tonight. Anthony Davis, we said he was the one Laker that came to play early on,

had a very good night, had an Anthony Davis type of night, finished with 29 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, four blocks, only one turnovers. That's not bad at all.

Did that all in 32 minutes. That's a great night for Anthony Davis, and that's exactly what he should do against a Washington Wizards team like that. Rui, of course, in the starting lineup, Rui had a huge game and a couple games back. You want to see more consistency. You want to see him scoring double digits.

He was one away from that. He had nine points in 26 minutes tonight, five rebounds for Rui, one steel, and no assist. And LeBron, of course, with the triple double, LeBron had to play 36 minutes tonight. A lot of minutes for a night where it felt like this was a team where LeBron should have got some rest.

LeBron to have to play 36 minutes. Kind of disappointing. I'm sure it wasn't in the game plan that the Lakers thought they were going to go through, but 21 points for LeBron in his 36 minutes, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, one block shot, the five turnovers. That's typical for LeBron. The bronze's always going to end up somewhere around five turnovers. That's about where you're going to get.

Shooting wasn't terrible for LeBron, 8 of 18 from the field. He made two of his six three-point attempts, made all of his free throws. That's good. It's frustrating when the Lakers miss free throws. I complain about it all the time. And for LeBron, he hit all of them. Austin Reeves, 16 points, eight assists, and two turnovers. And for Austin Reeves, I bet you the first thing he looks at in that box score are his

turnovers because he's talked about it for a long time of saying, you know what, I want to be a great point guard in this league and I got to cut down on the turnovers. Two's not terrible for someone who handles the ball as well as him. Wasn't a great shooting night for Austin Reeves. In 36 minutes, he was four to 15, one of eight from three points. range. He did make all seven of his free throws, but not the kind of shooting night. I'm sure he expected, especially when he had some wide open threes. And then, of course, the last guy who started at night was Max Christie. Max Christie kind of did his job on the defensive end more than anything

else. Finished with five points in 30 minutes and two of seven shooting, one of five from three point range. So Max Christie defensively, that's where he played well and that's what he's being judged on by the Laker coaching staff. So for for him, fantastic. Lakers get the win. Max Christie always gets the tough guy to guard. And overall for him, things, things work out okay. Where the Lakers get the win, he plays solid defense. That's what he's there for. You got other guys on the team that will be there to fire the ball up. And that's exactly what Max Christie did right now. That's his way in the NBA is being a complete team player. And that's exactly what he was. I want to mention the people over at prize picks.

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That's right. No need to win to get the bonus. It's guaranteed prize picks run your game. All right. So looking at this Laker team right now, Lakers improved. They improved to 23 and 18 on the season. Five games over 500. Lakers are now halfway through the season.

Halfway through the season right now. And what do they have? Do you like the roster that the Lakers have right now? Would you like to see them make a move? A lot of talk right now that Jimmy Butler is about to be traded to the Phoenix Suns. So when you look at the Sons, a team that is struggling, and they have, you know, no bench at all, no supporting cast, but they have major stars.

I mean, you have Hall of Famers. You have Kevin Durant. You have Booker. You have Bradley Beal, and now you're going to add Jimmy Butler to the mix. The Phoenix Suns are all about superstars. You know what you have, though? You have one ball.

You have one ball and you have an aging team. And it's kind of tough when you have an aging team that has to go a long way. And when you're in the postseason and you're in these series and you're going and you're going and you're going. It's a long time. And we all know the season's going to end in April. But if you make it through the NBA finals,

you're going to be playing through June. It's a long time and it's a tough schedule. Now you're asking, big-time veterans to play a lot of minutes and basically be in control of what you're doing and saying the ego is going to be a side and it's team basketball. Who's the guy that gets the ball on the last shot? Is it Durant? Is it Beal?

Is it a booker? Is it now Jimmy Butler? Some guys will say you have a lot of good team players there and some guys will say there are people there that have egos. Everybody has the egos. Everybody wants to make more in that next contract. But the Phoenix Sun is a team that is struggling, kind of interesting that Jimmy, Butler's a guy. A lot of Laker fans will say Jimmy Butler would look great in a

Laker uniform. A lot of Laker fans say, you know what? We don't need a guy like Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler is a tremendous talent, but at the same time, what do you want to see the Lakers do? Kind of curious to see what you think is Laker fans. You follow this team like I do all season long, and I want to see the Lakers get better. This roster right now isn't final to me. Everyone says that Rob Blink's hands are kind of tied, but it always seems like there's a way to move things around. There's certain untouchables, by the way. Right?

You aren't going to trade Austin Reeves. Everybody asked for Austin Reeves in a trade, and we would too if we were a gym of another team. Rui, is Rui a guy that's untouchable? Not so sure. Is Max Christie untouchable? Not so sure. You know, I'd love to see them keep LeBron,

because you hear rumors of LeBron, you know, the Warriors. You don't hear it from LeBron, though. If LeBron said it, LeBron would be moved. But I don't think LeBron's going anywhere. Not only that is kids on the team. Whoever trades for LeBron, you got to take his kid too. And at the same time, Anthony Davis,

LeBron, they're tight. Anthony Davis isn't going anywhere. I don't think LeBron's going anywhere. The Lakers aren't in their rebuild mode. What they are, they're basically put the cherry on top mode. Let's finish this thing out. Let's make this team complete. And for basically Rob Polinka and this Laker team and the Laker fan base,

we want to see them win with basically the superstars they have and add superstars to them, or at least guys that contribute to team basketball. What the Lakers need is they need three-point shooters. They always have. The Lakers have always needed that deadly, reliable three-point shooter. Not guys who are streaky. We don't know we're going to get game in and game out, whether it's Austin Reeves, whether it's Connect, whether it's Dory and Fannie Smith. It's not that situation. You have to have a guy that is a big time shooter you can rely on,

a guy that used to be like a JJ Redick type. And so for the Lakers, where does that move come from? Kind of curious to see what moves are happening. If the Lakers stand pat, I'll be very, very disappointed. Looking at the chat right now, some of you guys, always great to see BC and Craig in here as well. And at the same time, you know, Craig says, hey, look, we've got to get a point guard and a backup center. Backup center, yes. Point guard, not exactly sure. I mean, when you say that, Craig, as far as the point guard goes, do you take the confidence away from Austin Reeves who says he wants the job, knowing that at the same time, LeBron James can do it? Look, the Lakers won in 2020 when LeBron James was playing point guard.

you know, they played very well when LeBron James was the point guard. Did they need to make a move for a point guard? It depends who it is. I mean, if you're able to get someone like Fox from Sacramento, and now that's a whole other story. But at the same time, do you go ahead and do you make that move and say, you know, we've got to get a point guard and we're going to basically, you know, crush someone's spirit like an Austin Reeves who's still growing in this game?

I don't know. Big man, yes, we need help. Jackson Hayes is, you know, great to have on the team. team and I think a lot of people cheer for Jackson Hayes, but he's kind of all over the place. He kind of spazes out a little bit. He doesn't seem in control of his body and his hands aren't great. And so it's always a little frustrating with Jackson Hayes.

I agree they need a, need a big man. They need some guys in there that can help out at a little bit of size. But what I really want is, I want to, I want to shoot her. Craig says a guy like Rondo. Rondo was a perfect backup. You're absolutely right, Craig. And when you talk about a guy who's solid, Austin Reeves goes to the bench, a guy like Rondo, that kind of player, that solid,

you make a great point there. I don't disagree with that as well. Turnovers are a problem, and you get a guy that can handle the ball a little bit that controls things as well. So if that was your point as far as a guy that's a veteran point guard, I think I'm for it. I don't disagree with that at all.

You're looking at guys on this Laker team, by the way, who aren't getting minutes. If you wonder and going, well, what happened all of a sudden? Are there injuries? What's going on? Well, Jake Milton was involved in the Dore and Finney's, Smith trade. It's kind of going down the way I thought it was going to go with Shake Milton is he's not that great of a player. He wasn't shooting bad, but he's known for his defense.

Well, he's not playing, and he's not playing a lot. And then Cam Reddish is a guy that hasn't played in such a long time that you're thinking, is there an injury there? But Cam Reddish has kind of faded out too. What do those two guys have? Not very good offensive players, kind of more of a defensive player type. Yet J.J. Reddick, who preaches defense and preaches good shooting, he's not playing either one of those guys. Shigmilton can shoot the three, did a great job in his very first game, but hasn't done a good job in a Laker uniform since. And Cam Reddish has been really a below average offensive player with the Lakers and very disappointing. Like he'd be a guy wouldn't surprise you if the Lakers made a move where, you know, Cam Reddish is basically not a Laker anymore.

Not saying he'd be traded, but it's time to cut ties with Cam Reddish. And he's, he's, he's, obviously fallen out of favor with JJ Redick and his staff because he's a veteran that's not seen minutes anymore. And over and over again, he's not getting in the games. It's a D&P coach's decision all the time with both Cam Reddish and Shake Milton. So Dalton Connect, in case you're wondering, Dalton Connect, how do you do? We played seven minutes tonight, made one or four shots, including missed, you know, his shot on the arc, wide open three, frustrating. He was one or two from three point range, finished with three points. Brony James played two minutes, zero points for him. Gabe Vincent only shot the ball two times tonight. He was one or two for those. And it was

a three-pointer he made. But Gabe Vincent has been playing better basketball, but it seems like right when Gabe Vincent, like, hey, we're relying on you. There's a reason why the Lakers acquired you. You've been a disappointment in your Laker uniform since they got you. Yet Gabe Vincent, he didn't find his shot tonight, at least an opportunity to shoot it. Jackson Hayes finishes with eight points. That's great, you know, kind of was in control. Jackson Hayes in 18 minutes, only three rebounds, pretty low for a guy that size, that athletic to only get three rebounds. And Dorian Finney Smith was a star off the bench. In 22 minutes, Dorian Finney Smith, again, best game as a Laker, 16 points tonight.

Again, six of eight from field goal range. He made four of a six, three point attempts, two rebounds, always a solid defender. And for the Lakers, that's what you want. Now, when the Lakers played the Celtics on Thursday, you go, this is the guy we need. You know, here's a guy that played in the East. Here's a guy that knows the Celtics seem very well. When you talk about Laker trades, the trade that always jumps out in my mind. And again, I'll date myself right here as a Laker fan was when the Lakers acquired Michael Thompson

just to go against Kevin McHale. And so when I talked about the Lakers Celtics plane, all of a sudden, the Lakers had a guy that could contain Kevin McHale. He was a star for the Lakers, helping win a couple championships. And he was the perfect backup center for Kareem. and he knew Kevin McHale from the University of Minnesota, and he was able to shut him down, and the Lakers made a trade for him.

The next day he's wearing a Laker uniform, wearing that double zero because his 43 with Thompson in the back wasn't ready to go, and that's always the trade I think about. That was a trade that was a difference maker. And for Laker fans, we want to see the Lakers back in this thing. We want to see the Lakers play big-time games against teams like the Boston Celtics and make a run at this thing. So big game on Thursday.

day night. It's a 7 o'clock tip off. It's a national game for the Lakers. And it's one of those where you say, okay, let's see what we're made of. This is a good time to catch the Celtics because they're playing back-to-back games when they have the Clippers on Wednesday. And then they have the Lakers, of course, on Thursday. Real quick, before we get out of here, tell where the Lakers are at in the standings. As I say all the time, want to see the Lakers be a top four team. They aren't a top four team right now. Oklahoma City is still number one. Oklahoma City is playing great basketball, eight and two in their last 10. 35. and seven on the season. Rockets are still the number two seed. Memphis is the number three seed.

Memphis has won three straight games. Denver Nuggets are getting better. Nuggets are the number four seed. They've won three in a row and eight of their last ten. Clippers are the five seed. Clippers, five and five in the last ten. But they did destroy the Lakers. And the Lakers are the six seed right now. Lakers are the six seed. Again, five and five in their last ten, the Lakers are. And right behind them to wrap up the playoff pictures, the Mavericks at seven, kings at eight, Minnesota at nine. Phoenix Suns at 10. As I told you just a couple minutes ago, rumors are that the Phoenix Suns are about to acquire Jimmy Butler as well. So we're going to be back on Thursday.

Lakers host of Boston Celtics. Nothing would make me happier than to talk about the Lakers knocking off the world champions. Can't stand the Boston Celtics. It was pretty cool tonight to see the Lakers not only win but win big time over the Wizards. 1188. Pretty cool to see Roki Sasaki front row talking to LeBron James and Ruiz showing them how to do the L.A. with his hand. It was a good night. Good night for Los Angeles sports. Curby Gates, welcome to the Dodgers as well. So I'm very excited. Again, if you want to follow Laker basketball,

every single day, again, on your podcast, locked on Los Angeles. Again, Brian and Andy do a great job talking Laker basketball. You can find it right there. This show, every show right there on the Lockdown Sports Network can be found anywhere you listen to your podcast. So again, my name is Dave Palais. I will be back with you on Thursday night. Lakers, win 1188 over the Washington Wizards. We'll see you Thursday right after the Lakers host, the Boston Celtics. Good night, everybody.