Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LAKERS POSTCAST Luka leads Lakers in his debut

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

Luka Doncic made his Los Angeles Lakers debut, scoring 14 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists in just 24 minutes as the Lakers crushed the visiting Utah Jazz 132-113. LeBron James added 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists while Austin Reeves chipped in with 22 points and 9 rebounds. The red-hot Lakers will look to continue their winning ways Wednesday night when they visit Utah. Lakers, LA Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Rui, Hachimura Austin Reeves, Dalton Knecht, NBA, Lakers Post cast, JJ Redick, Dave Palet, Lakers vs Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz Support Us, By Supporting Our Sponsors!FAN DUEL When the game tips off, the NBA action is just getting started—and there’s no better place to get in on it than FanDuel, America’s Number ONE Sportsbook!With FanDuel, you can place live bets throughout the game, so even if you miss the opening tip-off or want to bet on a fourth-quarter comeback, you can stay in the action. And if you’re looking for a bigger payout, you can even combine your live bets into a Same Game Parlay.Example: I love using FanDuel’s live betting feature because it keeps every moment of the game exciting. Whether I’m backing my team for a late-game rally or picking a player to hit a clutch three, I never feel like I missed my chance. Plus, the app is easy to use, and when you win, you get paid instantly!Right now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins! Just visit FANDUEL DOT COM to join today. That’s FANDUEL DOT COM for your shot at ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets.Make every moment more with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA.SKIMSShop SKIMS Mens at SKIMS.com/LOCKEDONNBA and SKIMS stores.Let them know we sent you! After you place your order, select "podcast" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. 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. Hey, Maluka makes his Lakers debut. We have a new team. We get great effort. So what's next for the Lakers? We talk about it all on the Lockdown Lakers Postcast. I'm Dave Pallet. Thank you so much for joining me tonight.

An exciting game again as the Lakers win. This time by a score of 132 to 113. and talking a bunch of Laker basketball tonight. And what does the future hold for this team? Also, take your comments throughout the show. Really interesting what you thought about Luca tonight. Also, what is the future of this team, especially with storylines that surround Dalton Connect and Mark Williams.

Curious to know as a Laker fan, who do you want? All right. So before we get things started, let's mention a good friend's over at Fandall right now. New Fandall customers can get $150 in bonus bets. If your first $5 bet wins, just visit fandle.com to join today. That's fandle.com for your shot at $150 in bonus bets. Make every moment more with Fandall,

the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right. So for the Los Angeles Lakers, all the talk is Luca. When's Luca going to make his debut? So many people we know bought tickets for this past Saturday when they faced the Pacers. Well, it wasn't the case.

Luca was going to make his debut tonight against the Utah Jazz. Of course, the Lakers have tomorrow off. and the Wednesday they come back and they'll face the jazz again this time in Utah. And for the Lakers, then they'll have the All-Star break. So the Lakers to decide to play Luca now. I think it was one of those where they were 100% sure he could go with that calf injury. If you recall, he has not played an NBA game since Christmas Day when he had the left calf injury. So for the Lakers, they could have given him another week and a half or so of rest.

But Luke obviously was ready to go. Lakers said, let's try him out, especially against a team like the Utah Jazz, a team that was 12 and 39 heading into the game. It's a good time to put him in to see how he would do with his new teammates because it's basically wiggle room for mistakes. Lakers, again, playing great basketball right now. Lakers with a sixth game winning streak after tonight's win. So here's your starting lineup.

And if you wonder what it's going to look like, I think this is going to be your starting lineup for the remainder of the season, unless something changes with a trade that Charlotte's now protesting. Jackson Hayes is your center. Ruiz, your power. Ford if you want to go that route, Austin Reeves, LeBron, James, Luca. This is the NBA. It's changed.

It's not what it used to be. It's not the center, the power forward, you know, the small forward, the shooting guard, the point guard. It doesn't work like that anymore. It's basically the five guys on the floor that are going to play best together. And then you're going to figure out what your bench is. Just a few weeks ago, a lot of Laker fans, including myself, very upset with the way this roster looked because it wasn't a matter of, hey, we're 12 deep.

Who's going to play? It was a matter of, do we have guys that could just play? And, you know, eventually you're going to run out of room. So it wasn't that long ago where LeBron made the comment, we have to play almost perfect basketball just to get a win. They're so deep now, all of a sudden, this team, that's not the case. And so when you add a Luca who's, when he retired, it'll be one of the greatest players of all time.

And right now he is one of the greatest players of all time. But you have LeBron, who's a Hall of Famer as well. Understand that Anthony Davis is a future Hall of Fame or two. But it's different. This is one of those trades where everybody outside of Laker fans are extremely upset that the NBA let this trade go through, that you have Luca come in to be that guy. Now, here's what I thought was very strange from the very beginning. Number one, they showed what it would be like to be at a game at Crypto, where they introduced the players

and they show exactly what's going on with, you know, when you're there, they weren't in a commercial break. It was a situation where you got to see the introductions and to see, you know, the curtains come down and everything the fans see at Crypto a regular basis. But LeBron wasn't the last guy introduced. And I'm sure that was LeBron's idea to say, let's make it real easy. Luca's going to be the last guy to be introduced. And I was wondering, has it ever happened in LeBron's career? I don't know. I can't remember if it happened with the Miami Heat because Dwayne Wade was in Miami before LeBron, even though LeBron was the best player on that team. But LeBron stepped up and said, no, I'm not going to be the last guy, which was very weird for me to see. But it also showed, I think everybody there included.

Luca that he's a complete team player. It's all about championships for LeBron. There's nothing else for him to try and achieve outside of finishing his career with a Hall of Fame career. The guy that is playing extremely high basketball at age 40 or any age. Every time he scores a basket,

he's basically setting a new NBA scoring record. So he's amazing. So this is one of those. I don't know how many of you caught it. Curious to know what you thought. It's not a big deal because it's not us that's been introduced. But I think it was a sign of LeBron saying team first. and I liked it. I kind of liked it a lot.

So here we go. In the first quarter, the way things started out, the Lakers scored the first six points, all off of Alleyoop's. So all the talk that the Lakers don't have a big man, there's no AD, there's no Mark Williams. And you go, okay, well, who's your big man? Jackson Hayes, obviously got him involved early. So many teams are going to focus on what Luke and what LeBron are doing. And Austin Reeves is something that you have to pay attention to, too, because he didn't get lost tonight.

And Austin Reeves had the 45-point day against the Pacers two nights ago. That was awesome. So if you're going to focus on those three guys, and don't forget about Rui, he always gets off to a pretty hot start in the first quarter knocking down a couple three-pointers, then Jackson Hayes is available and he's loose. And the Lakers saw and took advantage of what was there.

And don't forget, the first six points, all Allalu Bunks. I mean, that's a high percentage shot. Six minutes remaining in the first quarter, Lakers take a 20 to 11 lead. LeBron mid-range jump shot. LeBron found his way with plenty of the superstar. He's done it before when he's played with Dwayne Wade in the past,

Kyrie Irving in the past, and of course, Anthony Davis. Five minutes, Lakers went up 22-13. Luca left the court, though. Lakers had a nine-point lead. I wanted to see where the Lakers have a drop-off when Luca left. And we all knew before the game that Luka was going to be on a minute's restriction. Put on by the team, doesn't sound like by him. But at the same time, Lakers had a nine-point lead when he left.

Well, the Lakers turned that nine-point lead into a 12-point lead. So not only did they not miss him, they didn't miss a beat. Everybody was playing with extreme effort tonight. And he had to love what you saw because guys are fighting for minutes. They're fighting for roles on this team, not only for today's game, but for the remainder of the season. And so you're seeing great effort on both ends of the court. You're seeing offensively that guys are getting involved, guys are running down the court to make sure that they get a chance for a shot, but also defensively. And I think with JJ Redick and his staff and even LeBron James, who I thought was doing everything he could have played the best defense of the season tonight is this has to be the goal.

because championships is you hear all the time. They're one-on defense. And scoring is not going to be an issue for this Laker team. Not at all, as you saw tonight. And you can say what you want about Utah Jazz. There's no one that can defend the shooting the Lakers had in the first half. When they needed to play up-tempo basketball and convert before it got sloppy at the end of the game because they had such a big lead, the Lakers are extremely dangerous offensively.

I don't know a team in the NBA that can stop this offense. This offense was extremely fun to watch. If you recall when the Celtics made their championship run last year, their offense was firing on all cylinders. And right now this Laker offense will continue to get better. But man, it was a lot of fun. And anyone who's watched Laker basketball in the good days in the 80s with Magic Kareem worthy, those guys, or you watched it later on with Kobe and Chack and Robert

O'Rey and those guys, it was a lot of fun to watch Laker basketball because not only did you feel your team was going to win before tip off, but you also felt at the same time that this team is a championship style team. And I think this is a championship style team. So again, here's the deal. 251 remaining in the first quarter. Lakers extend their lead to 3221. Gabe Vincent, again, another outstanding game.

He has found his way as a Laker. It wasn't too long ago where I was extremely frustrated going, what is the deal with guys that come to the Lakers that aren't the same players that were before they join the Lakers? Gabe Vincent seems comfortable right now in a Laker uniform, and that's what they need. Lakers went on a 13-2 score and run over the final two-minute stretch, making the score 37-21, did very well.

well, so they go at the end of the first quarter leading 3725 outscore the Utah Jazz by 12. Lakers shooting great, shot 64% from the field, 46% three point range. They also held the Jazz to 42% field goals, 22% from three point range. Lakers led by Austin Reeves, not LeBron, not Luca. Austin Reeves had eight. Austin Roos at eight. LeBron had seven. Luca had five through one. Jazz led by John Collins. Jazz were never a threat in this case. game. And Jazz haven't been a threat all season long as you can see what they're doing. They're trying to build towards the future. But the Lakers are playing not only the Jazz, but they're also playing against themselves. Again, guys are fighting for minutes and their role on this team. Rebounds. Lakers out rebounded the Jazz first quarter, 12-7. Great. Assists. They had more, six-five bench points. Lakers had seven. Gabe Vincent had five of those seven. Jazz had four. So Gabe Vincent outscored the entire Jazz bench by himself. Turnovers, Lakers had two. Jazz head to. So Lakers, again, playing very good basketball. Going into the second quarter,

Lakers continued to play red hot. There was not a drop off. And that's always what you're concerned about. Like, hey, we've got a big lead. This is going to, we're going to cruise tonight. It's the NBA, and we've all learned that's not what happens. So the Lakers have a great second quarter. They outscore the jazz, this time 35, 22, 730 remaining in the first half. Lakers led 52. 231 on the Luca to Rui three-pointer, 346 remaining. The bad news for the Lakers, Ruiz got his fourth foul, and you're worried that he's a little bit in foul trouble. We'll get into Ruiz's rebounding stats because they've improved dramatically over the last week.

There's a little bit more of an effort. Now, you wonder if he was spoken to or he knows that he wasn't pulling his weight, but we've seen over and over again with the Wii this season that Rui isn't a fantastic rebounder, and it comes down to, I think, effort for him, maybe wanting to get out on the break, but so many times, as we've seen, Ruiz finishing the night with one rebound, two rebounds three, and all of a sudden his rebound totals have gone up, which is outstanding. And this team without Anthony Davis, without a big man, so-called big man that you can rely on,

they're going to need everybody to do what they can to rebound. And Ruy looks like he's doing the best he can. Austin Reeves, three-pointer at the end of the quarter, gave the Lakers a 25-point lead going in the half, leading 7247. So at this point, we're extremely excited about what's going on with with Laker basketball and, again, what they're doing. So I'm happy with what's going on. We'll get into the halftime stats and the way they're rolling.

Again, I'll take your comments as well. What did you think of Luca tonight at the same time? Who are the guys that you want to see on the four of the most? What is missing from this team tonight? I have some concerned about what I saw. I'll share those with you as well. But overall, for the Lakers, extremely pleased with what they did and the direction they're going. Again, it's the first game with Lucas, so you know things aren't going to be perfect.

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Well, we know they have a 25 point lead. Shooting was great, 60%. 38% from three point range, made 8 to 21. Big news also is they were making their free throws. And championship teams have to make their free throws. They were perfect 10 for 10 on free throw attempts. Jazz, on the other hand, 40% from the field, 21% three point range. Lakers led at the half by Austin Reeves, who had 15, LeBron at 13, Luke at 11.

Jazz still, it was John Collins. He had 14 rebounds. Lakers did a great job on the boards. Again, the team without so-called big man, they out rebounded the jazz by 11, 26 to 15. Assists, Lakers had more, 14 to 11. Bench points. Lakers had 18. Gabe Vincent had eight of those.

The Jazz had eight bench points. So Gabe Vincent has many bench points as the Jazz through the first half and turnovers. Lakers again high on this number and you expect it. When he put a new player in a superstar like Luca, maybe guys are going to try and force some passes. Maybe guys are trying to show off, say they belong. But got a little bit reckless with the ball. Lakers lose the turnover battle in the first half, eight to five to the Utah Jazz and points scored off the turnovers. Lakers actually scored nine.

The Jazz only scored four off of eight Laker turnovers. and points in the paint, the Lakers win this number two, which is a good sign. Lakers win 30 to 22. Fourth time this week, the Lakers have led about at least 20 points in the first half.

So the Lakers, 25 and 4 when leading at the half, heading into the third quarter, so you move that number up, 26 and 4, because we know the Lakers won. Great news for the Lakers, and things are going in the right direction. Lakers and Jazz, though, in the third quarter, Lakers played kind of sloppy.

Both teams scored 28 points. And so for the Lakers, we want to see them score at least 30 points a quarter. They didn't get to that morak. It was only 28 at the time. Lakers started third quarter the way they started with the first, two lob dunks to Jackson Hayes. Third straight game, again, Lakers have scored 90 points through three quarters.

So that's a good sign right there that Lakers are scoring. Lakers' offense is outstanding and I think it's only going to get better. Through three quarters, Lakers led by LeBron James is 24. Austin Reeves, Rui, both had 17. Luke had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists in 24 minutes. And it was basically that was it. They kind of called it a night for both LeBron and Luca. No reason to keep those guys on the floor.

Again, it's going to be a busy week for those guys in a long season as well. So they have a day off tomorrow. And then the Lakers will obviously play on Wednesday against the Jazz again before the All-Star break. And then they get that time off before, hopefully we're talking about a long stretch. We're talking about this team coming back, you know, mid-February. And all of a sudden, the Lakers are making their playoff run. and that playoff run can last a long time. High intense games that can take you all the way into June.

And if this team's playing the basketball that Rob Polinka thinks that he put together, we're looking at a team that's playing in June. It's a long season. So no problem at all resting those guys. I know there are fans out there that or guys that put money and wagers on the game that will say, I want my superstars to get their stats. It's the last thing these guys are thinking about as players, not when you've been in the league as long as guys like LeBron and Luca have been in the league.

So good sign right there. So again, Lakers win 132, 113. They continue to roll. Lakers have won six straight games, 10 of their last 11, 12 of their last 14. And as a Laker fan, what do you think? There's so many nights I've done this show where I'm extremely frustrated going, the team's not that good. And then now I really feel like this is a really, really good team.

And I want to see how they grow. And I'm fine with the whole trade scenario. if they do not pull off the deal for for for for mark williams i hope i hope that deal that the charlotte is protesting with the nb a doesn't go through i like dalton connect i'm a dalton connect fan and i don't know where dalton connect is going to get his minutes right now because right now everybody's playing extremely well even guys they bring up from the g league all of a sudden are playing extremely well everybody is playing really good basketball but dalton connect is a guy that i was really disappointed when they traded him i was glad it wasn't austin reeves but man i really don't want to

he Dalton Connect leave the Lakers. It was kind of sad to see him on the bench, just wearing, you know, gray sweats, like he wasn't part of the team. He wasn't, you know, he wasn't wearing Laker gear. He wasn't able to play in garbage time. And for him, it has to be uncomfortable. I mean, how many airplanes are you going to get on? And then when you finally gone through this whole trade scenario, remember this happened all the way back, not this past Saturday, the Saturday before of being a no man's land. So you're a young guy that goes into the league going, I'm going to get a chance to play with the L.A. Lakers in their history and play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to all of a sudden you're traded to Charlotte where nobody cares what's going on with the

Hornets and they're years away to all of a sudden the trade gets rejected and you're going back to L.A. But yet you aren't a member of the Lakers officially. So it has to be extremely frustrated for him. But overall as a fan and a guy that watched Dalton Connect in college and I like everything he has in his game and I thought his shots finally coming back and I like the way he attacks the rim. I'd like to see Dalton Connect remain with the Lakers. I hope he's. He remains with the Lakers and whatever the Charlotte Hornets are trying to pull. The trade is unusual because he's always hurt. We were tired, I think, as basketball fans, when you know you need wins that you can't rely on certain players.

We've seen it, unfortunately, even with Anthony Davis, but when you go through a situation where we all know the best ability is availability, and you have a guy that you're trading for that's only played in 22 games and he's only 23. And if you look at his numbers, he's been hurt his entire career. It's a dangerous move for the Lakers. I understand they're desperate, but you hope guys like Jackson Hayes and and everyone else can do their job defensively to rebound and contest. And even the Utah Jazz, as bad as they were, they attacked the basket a few times tonight. We wonder if you had that defensive stopper would have made a difference. Yeah, it probably would have made a difference.

I want to see what this Laker team can do with these guys and kind of roll with it. That's kind of where I'm at right now. And I don't know. Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but I'd love to see Dalta Connection. for Mena Laker. Kind of curious to know, which you guys think you can't make any more trades. The trade deadline has passed. It kind of is what it is.

And how do you bring, let's say, Mark Williams in? And if Mark Williams comes in, do you know that the Laker team doctor said the guy's broken down? That he's dangerous, that he can't rely on his body and everything that he brings you. Real quick, before I get to the comments, I want to mention the people over at Fandul. When the game tips off, the NBA action is just getting started and there's no better place to get in on it than Fandul. America's number one sports book. With Fanduil, you can place live bets throughout the game. So even if you miss the opening tip-off or you want to bet on the fourth quarter comeback,

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a good point. Reeves continues to improve. I think it's kind of tough, right? I mean, Reves, I'm sure, and every NBA player has faith in their abilities, but Luke is a different level. LeBron's a different level. When Austin Reeves goes for 45 and that was an amazing game two nights ago, there was no one else he had to worry about sharing the ball with. So for him, it was one of those where, you know, hey, I got to share the ball, but who am I sharing it with? Because I know I'm the first option out there. Well, tonight was an example of, am I going to find my way on this court? So Austin Reeves continuing to approve a mature basketball player, again, plays better every single day. And I think when you add Luca to this roster, I think it's going to open things up for Austin Reeves.

of his three-point shot falls. He's going to be a big-time dangerous weapon where a lot of NBA fans knew Austin Reeves is, but they don't talk about Austin Reeves. There's a big difference as far as Austin Reeves being an upper echelon player, and I think he's going to get a chance to show that this year with the addition of Luca. Craig, you know, I agree with you.

Lucas debut was good. I mean, it was, you know, limited minutes, and at the same time, they didn't need them, but it was great to see them out there. I don't think it was exactly in basketball shape. I'm not calling him overweight. I'm not pulling him overweight. Mavericks. Here's the deal. When you're in a sport, what do you have to run all the time?

And you have to, basically, you're in control of either getting in position to make a pass, to get your shot, running the court with a ball in your hands. If you haven't done it for six weeks, you are not in NBA shape. You can run all you want. But until you're on the court, there's a big difference of being an NBA game shape. And he's not, I don't think, 100% there. It didn't look like he was struggling a ton, but at the same time, we've all watched Luca for years, seeing him be better than that. You know, great game, Daniel, you were there, man. That's fantastic.

Very excited for you. Nothing like being there. You're never going to forget it. You were there for Lakers, for Lucas debut for a Laker win. That is awesome. Daniel, I agree with you as well, man, 20, 25 champs. I think this is a championship team. I know I'm a big Laker fan, but at the same time, you've heard of me on this show for a long time.

You're very critical of the Lakers of not playing well, even when they win of going, that was ugly. That's not championship basketball. I think this team can progress to be a championship basketball team. I think if you're a Laker fan, you should be as excited as you were back in the days when Kobe had the good teams going. This team is extremely dangerous. It's not a team in the NBA that wants to face off against this Laker team. This team is dangerous and how do you stop them if you're a defense? What is your goal to stop them? Offensively, I understand you're going to sit there and try and go up the middle. That's fine. Those are two points. This NBA game is about three pointers now. So you can sit there and say, we're going to attack Jackson Hayes and try and get him in a

foul trouble all you want, but at the same time, are you going to win at the end? Can you score more points than the L.A. Lakers? I don't think other teams can consistently do that. It's extremely frustrating and dangerous for teams that are going to face this Laker team for the remainder of the year. I don't care which team you are. If you're Oklahoma City, if you're Denver, I think you're a little bit nervous about what the Lakers have in store for you, knowing offensively, how do we stop it? And LeBron James, again, showed tonight he can score. score whenever he wants. Luca can score whenever he wants. Austin Reeves going to be open for shots. Ruiz going to hit his shots. Even if Gabe Vincent's not as good in the future as he was tonight,

there are other guys that can sit there and knock those shots down. Everybody's game basically is elevated tonight. And if you're a Laker fan, you have to be extremely happy and excited about with the future holds for this team. So Lakers win 132-113. When you'll check out the box scoring how it worked out. Lakers, again, every starter on the team, double-digit scores. Rui had 21. He had six rebounds. Great. He got the six. LeBron in 29 minutes. By the Rui, played 29 as well. LeBron in 29 minutes, 24 points, seven rebounds, eight assists. If LeBron plays the fourth quarter, again, glad he didn't. That's a triple double night for him. Jackson Hayes, 12 points in 23 minutes. Jackson Hayes, though, only two rebounds. That's kind of interesting.

in limited time, 24 minutes, 14 points, five rebounds, four assists. Austin Reeves, in 32 minutes, he played the most out of all the starters, 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists. So again, the rebound numbers are one of those where it's an effort deal. It's an effort deal for them. Off the bench, you had two players that scored in double figures. Okay, first of all, we know about Gabe Vincent. In 18 minutes, Gabe Vincent knocked down three, three-pointers.

He had 11 points. Great game for Gabe Vincent. He also had four assists to go along with it. But Jordan Goodwin, how about this? I mean, what a story. You know, comes in with the mask and the mask breaks, rips the mask off, gives those at the side. 21 minutes, he played, 17 points.

17 points, had a great night. He shot 11 shots. He made eight of them. Made a three-pointer. He did very well. Rebounding, he had five. So here's a guy, you know, you have Jordan Goodwin, who has five rebounds.

You look at Jackson Hayes, only had two. Like, how does that happen? Or why does that happen? It's interesting to see how things went to the Lakers. Free throw shooting, Lakers, again, on target. Made 17 of 18. That's winning basketball right there. Turnovers got a little bit ugly for the Lakers.

They finished with 11 turnovers, or it's a little bit high, but that happens in games that are out of hand. So, again, it was a great night. You know, the Dalta Connect situation is going to be interesting to see what happens. Jared Vanderbilt, you know, he's there for defense, 60 minutes tonight, shot the ball three times, didn't make any. He was only Laker that played tonight that didn't score. but he's not there for score.

And Vanderbilt's there for defense. And Dorian Finney Smith, who obviously everybody knows the story about Finney Smith and Luca being very, very close friends. And Lucas said one day I want to play with them again. And sure enough, they're playing with each other again. So Luca has a teammate that he's familiar with at the same time. Dorian Finney Smith loves playing with LeBron. Now he gets to play with two of his favorite guys at the same time.

So really, really exciting to see what's going on with this team. All right. So let's take a look at the stand. Again, Lakers' goal, my goal, again, as a Laker fan, is let's be in the top four spots. They moved up the other day, so let's see where they're at right now. Lakers did not play yesterday. Again, they will not play tomorrow.

They'll play Wednesday before the All-Star break. Oklahoma City Thunder still in first place. They won six games in a row. They're playing great basketball. Again, Chet Holmgrenback, the Thunder are 43 and nine playing fantastic. Memphis Grizzlies, the second place, they're eight games out, though. Denver Nuggets, their third seed, they are nine games. out and then you have the Lakers at four sure enough just what we talked about Lakers at four again

playing great basketball Lakers have won six straight games their last 11 12 or the last 14 and the Lakers of the four seed right now are doing great 32 and 19 13 games over 500 the number one seed's going to be one of those where don't expect it they're 10 and a half games out it's going to be tough to make up 10 and a half games in the remainder of the season that's not important though for the Lakers right now they have to need a top four spot they need that home court advantage as long that can hold on to it. Houston Rockets are behind the Lakers. They continue to fall,

even though they won their last game. They've only won four of their last 10. And the Clippers. Clippers are 14 games out. They're the six seed. Minnesota is 30 and 24. They're the seventh seed. Dallas, again, without Anthony Davis now for a minimum of a few weeks.

As he was injured in the first game, we spoke about it on Saturday. You know, which nothing about the best for Anthony Davis, but he's on another team right now, so we can't worry about it. Sorry, it didn't work out where the injuries have already happened. And Dallas Mavericks are the eighth seed.

Sacramento is the ninth seed. Golden State is the 10th seed. And again, it's kind of gone what we predicted that Golden State will move in. Phoenix Suns, they fell out. San Antonio Spurs, I'm guessing, well, we're replaced eventually the Sacramento King. So you can put Golden State at 10 or 9 and you can put Sacramento or you can put San Antonio in there. But I think San Antonio sneaks in as Sacramento will probably start to fall now that Fox is no longer with the team. But for the Lakers playing really well.

well, 32 and 19. You've got to be extremely pleased of what's happening. It's one of those where the All-Star break is coming. And, yeah, of course, the Lakers are going to need the All-Star break like every team needs it. But at the same time, you know, the Lakers are playing really good basketball.

And you kind of say this isn't the best time for a break because you want to keep the momentum going. But I think for guys like LeBron James, it couldn't come at a better time. Some of the guys who have played a lot of minutes couldn't come out a better time. They come back refreshed. And then they're ready to go to make that run

for another. championship. And so, you know, as soon as the Lakers pulled off the trade for Luca, and before the whole Dalton Connect situation we came down, I thought the Lakers were a team that could compete. And I think the Lakers and Boston Celtics are going to meet again this summer, which is exactly what the NBA wants, especially in the year where people have complained that ratings have been down. So Lakers are playing great. We want to see them continue the winning ways. They will face Utah Jazz on Wednesday. I will be back with you again for the post game. I don't forget Brian and Andy. They talk Laker basketball every single day.

Locked on Lakers, Locked on Los Angeles. Make sure you follow those guys. Every one of the shows that you're here, here, and then at the same time, you can catch any way you get your podcast. So we're always available to you. I'm here for every single post game show. I appreciate the guys that join me every single night in the chat.

But I want to hear what you guys have to think is we continue to ride along. So things should only get better now that Luke is here. Let's sit there and ride this thing out together. I want to get your comments and always curious to know what you guys are thinking. And Adam, appreciate the message, Richie as well. It's going to be great. It's going to be awesome. And I say as a Laker fan, I feel rejuvenated.

Very excited and it's going to be a fun ride. So I'll be back on Wednesday talking Laker Jazz basketball with you one more time. Otherwise, have a great night. And thank you so much for joining me. And again, Luca's debut, Lakers win 132-113. I'm Dave Pallet. You can follow me on social media. Direct message.

I'll answer everything that you have to ask. Take care of everybody.