Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LAKERS POSTCAST Lakers SHOOT THE LIGHTS OUT in OKC

Episode Date: April 6, 2025

Luka Doncic scored a game-high 30 points, Austin Reaves added 20, and LeBron James chipped in with 19 as the Los Angeles Lakers were outstanding in OKC, beating the Thunder 126-99. The Lakers will look to run it back again Tuesday night when the Thunder host the Lakers for round two.Lakers, LA Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Rui, Hachimura Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, Dorian Finney-Smith, NBA, Lakers Post cast, JJ Redick, Dave Palet, Lakers vs Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Support Us, By Supporting Our Sponsors!MONARCH MONEY Ever check your bank account and wonder, Where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment, it’s easy to lose track. That’s where Monarch Money comes in—your personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances.Monarch Money isn’t just a budgeting app—it’s a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place, so you stop just managing your money and start building wealth.Surprising Insights: When I started using Monarch, I realized just how much I was spending on food delivery—now, I budget smarter and save more.All-in-One Convenience: Instead of juggling multiple apps, you can use Monarch to check your finances, track spending, and even plan long-term goals.Easy Collaboration: Managing money with your partner is smoother than ever—you can track shared and personal accounts, set goals, and stay on the same page without the stress.CTA OFFER: Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com, code LOCKEDONNBA, for half off your first year!FAN DUEL Advertiser: FanDuel (4/7-4/30)The NBA Playoffs are almost here, and FanDuel is giving new customers an incredible way to get in on the action!Right now, when you join FanDuel and place your first $5 bet, you’ll get $250 in Bonus Bets—if your bet wins!I love how FanDuel makes betting so easy, whether it's picking my favorite team or diving into player props.From 3-pointers to steals to assists, FanDuel has so many ways to bet your favorite player props.Plus, after the game tips off, you can even combine live prop bets into a Same Game Parlay for a chance to win big.Don’t miss out—head to FANDUEL DOT COM and claim your $250 in Bonus Bets today Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You are a Locked-on Lakers podcast. Part of Locked-on Sports Los Angeles on the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. The Lakers shoot the lights out in OKC, Luca LeBron, Austin, and Dorian Finney Smith shine. And the Lakers make a statement, most importantly, with a playoff win today in OKC. At least it felt like a playoff win because this was a big, big-time game.

When you look at what the standings were coming into today's game, It was so important to see the Lakers at least get one out of two of these games in OKC. The difference between the Lakers having a chance to not play in the playoff game and playing in a playoff game is extremely close. So look, the Lakers now extended that lead, that little bit of a cushion to help them out. Because if you looked at the standings before today's game, you were very concerned to where you were at number three and where you could possibly be in a playoff game. And that's the talk of this season right now. how close the Western Conference is, and the Lakers, when they had a play with urgency, were able to do it today. So this was a big, big win for the Lakers, 126.99.

Want to take your comments, of course, throughout the show. Again, it's a short show when we do these postscasts. My name is Dave Palais. Again, appreciate you joining me not only today, but throughout the season. Many of you have been with me after every single game. And, of course, we're going to ride this thing out through the postseason as well. But again, very exciting time. Want to remind you, Brian and Andy, have your Laker coverage. every single day. I'm just here for the post games. And at the same time, you can get these anywhere you get your podcast. Don't forget, locked on sports, locked on Lakers, locked on Dodgers, you name it. Tough day for the Dodgers, good day for the Lakers today. And we're here to talk about it.

Again, 126-99. Lakers win in OKC on a Sunday. And that was big because we're going to do it again on Tuesday. And we'll talk about that and worry about that all of that when we come into Tuesday's game. but first let's get to what everybody's talking about. This is what you'll be talking about. Your shooting today was unbelievable. The Lakers shooting today was amazing. And look, it started right there from the very beginning. The Lakers in the first quarter shot 73% from the field.

Guess what? 79% from three point range making 7 to 9 and it never stopped. The Lakers were unbelievable the way they started this game. And you could sit there and we have a turning point. segment. I'm not going to play the sounder right back to back, but this is basically the same thing. This is what everyone is talking about. This is what they'll be talking about tomorrow morning when you wake up and you look at those national shows. The Lakers shot the lights out. The Lakers were outstanding and look, the way they finished, extremely successful. If I were to tell you,

the Lakers are going to shoot 55% from not only the field, but 55% from 3 point range, you'd say, I'd take it. Well, the Lakers were shooting in the 70s. Absolutely ridiculous. You could take players off the court and usually you can't get a team to shoot in the 70s. That is amazing. The way the Lakers are able to pull this out on the road and get arguably the biggest win of the season. And I think right now you have to mark this down on how important this was when you look at what the standings war heading into this game. This was the biggest win in the season. The Lakers, of course, led by Luca and Luca had a great game in 37 minutes. He had 30 points, seven rebound, six assists. Austin Reeves, of course, with his 20 points. And he was, of course,

with his 20 points and LeBron James with his 19. But I think you can make an argument that the bench was extremely important as well. Dorian Finney Smith. And if you remember when the Lakers made the trade for Dorian Finney Smith, the talk was, is he going to start for this team? What is the right situation? Ruiz sitting there saying, hey, I've been to start on this team for a couple of years now. What do you mean?

There's a chance I'm going to lose my spot. Well, there was an injury to Hachamora, of course, during the year. And Dorian Finney Smith stepped up into that starting role. They played with it a little bit. But I think this is the best combination for JJ Redick's team, is to bring Dore and Phine Smith off the bench. His 14 points in 30 minutes is exactly what the Lakers need. He also helped the Lakers out with seven rebounds.

We all know he always plays solid defense. His effort is always there. And Gabe Vincent, of course, off the bench was extremely successful as well. And he has been for a while. Gabe Vincent, 12 points in 26 minutes, making four and seven shots. Those four or seven shots were all three pointers. And so that was big. You know, my one complaint is I was like to see more Dalton Connect.

I've been complaining about it for about a week now. Dalton Connect in four minutes. One shot attempt, it was a three-pointer, and yes, it did go in. So Dalton Connect had three. But for the Lakers, this was a big win. This is one of those wins where you're going to wake up tomorrow morning, and it's going to be the first thing you think about is the Lakers winning this game. And how big this was for the Lakers to not only win in OKC at the same time,

score more points in the first quarter. border 42, then the OKC has given up the entire year to give Oklahoma City back-to-back losses. And for if you're a thunder fan, you have to be scratching your head a little bit. We were kind of doing it after the Lakers lost to the Warriors, right, going, how strong is this Laker team compared to what we thought they were when the Warriors came to Los Angeles and knocked them off earlier in the week for the Lakers to go to OKCC again, to gain a split is really big. And I'll take that split. And if they don't win Tuesday night, I'll still leave with a smile on my

face. But if the Lakers can pull this off again on Tuesday and do it twice, if you're the Thunder, Lakers immediately go to the top of the board of teams you did not want to face. Shaggildas, Alexander for the Thunder case you're wondering, and if you joined the game late, he had 26 points, MVP candidate. My opinion, Joker's the MVP of this league. I don't know how you can actually get better when it comes to stats and not when MVP when you were MVP before, but they already took one away from the Joker when they gave it to Embed because it's a big cry, baby. Now here you go. You go with SGA, who's outstanding, and he's a really good player and his team of the best record, not the MVP.

That's a different show. So anyway, I digress on that one. Sorry for taking it on that avenue. It just kind of drives me crazy when you see guys at Kobe who lose awards to Steve Nash for MVP or LeBron James who loses Derek Rose or Car Malone who wins over Michael Jordan. Just ridiculous stuff that you see all the time in pro basketball that I don't understand. Anyway, Lakers win this game. And again, I want to get to your comments as well as far as. why they won, how they won, how impressed are you,

and what are your feelings, can the Lakers go ahead and win a championship? Because I said all along, excuse me, still sick, I said all along, I thought the Lakers have a chance to win. They just got to get these guys together on the court long enough to figure out the rotation, figure out how to gel, and figure out what is the best combination for this team. So again, Lakers with their big win today was awesome.

for if you're if you're obviously a fan of the Dodgers. It was a disappointing day today. But hey, you know, there's always tomorrow. So we'll get to your comments in just a second. Do want to mention a couple sponsors. Again, I want to start off with Monarch Money. Ever check your bank account and wonder where all your money went. Well, between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment,

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Big Laker win. I'm sure there are people that have comments on this. Man, I'm sold on this Laker team, guys. I'm sold that this Laker team, when they can do what they're capable of doing, this Laker team can go and they can face the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals, and they can make a run at another title. Celtics have one more on us. It's time that we even this thing up as soon as possible.

It drives me crazy that the Celtics have one more title than the Lakers. Hey, Craig, good to see you. As always, Craig says, easy victory. You know what, that did feel like an easy victory. Actually, it was one of those where I'm like, cool, we're going to get some of the guys a chance to rest. and it felt like some of the guys were like, you know what, it's OKC. Don't pull me out of this game.

I want to stay in. I need to stay in a little bit longer. And even though it felt like the Lakers were in a situation where it didn't feel like that the Lakers were ever in trouble, it did feel like in a situation that there are guys that were saying, look, I'm part of this team. We're building something here. And it's not about just getting the numbers, whether it's Lucas numbers, Osseys numbers, or LeBron's numbers, guys wanted to make sure there was no chance that OKC could

come back and love to see it. Okay, so there we go right there. BC says 20, 25 champs, BC, man, I'm with you. This team can do it. I'm sold on this team. They can do it. And let's see what the Lakers look like on Tuesday. If you're OKC, you know there's going to be some changes. And if you're the Lakers, you know at the same time, JJ Redick is never satisfied. You know there are going to be some changes there as well on this Laker team and what they're going to possibly throw at Oklahoma City. It makes it so, again, it is can't miss television on Tuesday night when the Lakers run it back against OKC. Again, this is the last week of the regular season.

We'll wrap up the regular season next week, and then the playoffs could go and get an idea where we're at. The good thing is where we're at means that the Lakers are in a situation where we aren't stressing so much about the possibility, I guess, of a playing game. I never thought it was going to be a situation like that for the Lakers. And people kept saying, or the Lakers will be a playing situation. I was like, oh, that sounds quite a situation.

crazy. And then the more I looked at it this morning, I was going, man, we're a lot closer than I anticipated the Lakers being. So I'm going to run over these standings with you, just so you guys understand how close this is. Okay. Oklahoma City, of course, they're running away. They're going to finish with the top record. They've already clinched the top record in the Western Conference at where they're at right now. They've got a giant lead in the Western Conference in Oklahoma City. They've earned it. They've been outstanding. Not the most exciting team for the NBA, They don't want to have them in there, but they're 64 and 14, 13 games over the Rockets. The Lakers are the number three seed.

Lakers are 48 and 30, 16 games back. So three games back behind the Rockets. Lakers do play the Rockets this week. Denver and I guess are the fourth seed. They're now one game behind the Lakers. Golden State is the fifth seed. Golden State's a game and a half behind the Lakers. Minnesota is the sixth seed.

Minnesota's two games back behind the Lakers. And then here we go to the seventh seed. And this is where, of course, it gets tricky. You have the Clippers who are 18 games back. You have Memphis who was also 18 games back. You have Dallas, 26 and a half back. Of course, Lakers will face the Mavericks this week as well. And then you have the Sacramento Kings, they're 26 and a half back.

So that looks like the teams that will be in the postseason. For the Lakers, though, to stay out of course the playoff to the play-in game, the Lakers only have a two-game lead. So it is still pretty close. The deal is it's not two losses, as we know, in Oklahoma City. and I think that's what most of us were afraid of. We expect the Lakers to have a good week, right? We expect the Lakers to go and do well this week,

looking at the schedule right now. The Lakers are in a situation when they face the Mavericks on Wednesday. The Lakers also will face the Rockets on Friday, and then the Lakers will take on the Portland Trailblazers, and that's what we're going to be. And so for this Laker team, we'll get an idea of how things play out. But overall, exciting. It was a big win for the Lakers.

And for Laker fans to say, okay, we got a little bit of a cushion, that's fantastic. I don't see good teams that let off the gas. I don't see this Laker team letting off the gas as well. So overall, fantastic day for the Lakers. I think the Lakers are going to be fine. Eric says the Lakers aren't a good team. Eric, I don't think you're a Laker fan. I don't think you believe.

How can you say this team's not a good team? You have two of the top five players in all the basketball on one team. It makes the Lakers a decent team. Lakers have a solid bench. Lakers have three-point shooting. Lakers have defense. Who's going to give the Lakers a serious run? You can talk about how the Lakers don't have a size and height.

Well, the team that has the most size and height is going to be Memphis, and I'm not worried about Memphis right now. I think the Lakers are going to be okay. I think, look, here's the deal. That trade for Luka put the Lakers in a different bracket. Love Anthony Davis, but I don't think the Lakers were a championship team if they would have stayed where they wore just Anthony Davis. This was a fantastic deal that LeBron knows his backs against the wall,

knowing he's running out of time on his career, and you're going to see Great Laker basketball. So, Eric, I don't buy it. And at the same time, I don't think people in this chat in the comments buy it either. The Lakers, I think, can be fine. The Lakers will be fine. Lou says no one can beat us in a seven-game series. Look, you beat the Lakers in a seven-game series.

That is saying something else that you're talking about two big-time Hall of Famers, and guess who else has stepped up to become just an outstanding player, and it's Austin Reeves. And there's no sneaking around it anymore. Austin Reeves is considered a big-time play. player in this league. He's not a guy that, hey, has an occasional good game. Austin Reeves has a good game every single game. He's outstanding. So let's knock it down. Let's go to the locked on player of the game right here.

This is the locked on player of the game a couple different directions. As I said a little bit earlier, very, very impressive Dorian Finney Smith today. He shot the ball five times. They were all three pointers. He made four of the five of those. He ended up with 14 points for the game. And he made two free throws to give them those extra two. If you're wondering how the math ended up that way, he ended up with 14.7 rebounds. But for me, Luca set the tone in this game. And that's why Luca is the locked on player of the game.

In 37 minutes, Luca had 30 points. Luca also had seven rebounds. He had six assists. Only had two turnovers. He had two steals, though, so he got those back. So for me, the locked on player of the game is Luca and fantastic. And again, I told you guys, and maybe it's because I'm just getting older.

I don't care so much about the individual awards on who your player of the game is, and even your MVP, as much as I just complained a little bit earlier about SGA and the Joker. Look, I'm all about championships. At this stage of my life, it's about filling up that trophy case for the L.A. Lakers. And right now, those championships are what I want most as a fan. And look, it's not like if somebody wins MVP, they let me keep it up my house for a couple days, or let me share in their bonus check. That's not what it's about.

For me, I'm a Laker fan. I'll always be a Laker fan. And when these players are long gone and their new Lakers, I'll still be a Laker fan. So it's all about winning championships and getting that much closer. Let's use this week for the Lakers to polish what they have, get a little bit better. Let's see what they'll be in the postseason. And let's make a run. Let's make a run.

Lakers win today, 126.99 over OKC. Lakers back in action on Tuesday. We're going to do it again. And again, I appreciate everybody joining me on a Sunday. Let's go Lakers. And then, of course, if you're a Dodger friend like me, we'll see the Dodgers clean this thing up a little bit when they go to Washington and take on the nationals.

All right, we'll see you in two days, everybody.