Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LeBron James Resumes Basketball Activities. What Happens When He Returns?

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

The Lakers released some good news Thursday. LeBron James has resumed full contact basketball activities, and will be re-evaluated in another week or two. Keep in mind, he missed all of training camp,... and the last bit of run up heading into camp, so James is definitely behind in his fitness. He needs to make sure he's fully prepared to play before stepping back on an NBA court. He won't accompany the team on the upcoming road trip, and that's actually a good sign. It means he can really intensify the ramp up. The earliest then he could return is November 18th. So what happens when he comes back? How will he fit in with a group that is playing very well? Will there be disruption? Maybe some. Will there be drama? Not the kind you might be thinking of, at least. What it should do is make the Lakers better, and provide Luka Dončić with a lot more support. His workload should come down a little, and there's less to go around as you move down the pecking order. But we're talking about adding a second team All NBA player from a year ago, the guy who finished 6th in MVP voting. Don't overthink it. LeBron getting close to a return is a very, very good thing. One big reason there won't be drama? Because this team is having a ton of fun. The vibes are quite strong. Lakers fans are enjoying watching them play, and that's in part because the Lakers themselves are enjoying themselves, too. One big reason: They've got the best version of Luka playing in purple and gold.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky  SEGMENT 1: The Lakers give a LeBron update.  SEGMENT 2: What will the Lakers look like when LeBron comes back?  SEGMENT 3: Why are the Lakers having so much fun?  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashNext time someone goes off for 50, use promo code NBA50the next day to get 50% off on DoorDash with DashPass — plus your shot at the Bag Drop.DashPass members only. 50% off up to $10 the day after a 50-point game with promo code. Terms apply.No Purchase Necessary. Ends April 13th. Open to U.S. residents 21 or older. Visit DoorDashInYourBag.com for full details.DoorDash — In your bag all season long.RobinhoodYou expect more from yourself. Expect more from your money. Get started today at robinhood.com/yourmoney. Your money. Your move. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal. Options, futures, and crypto trading carry significant risk and may not suit all investors. Securities offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member SIPC. Futures trading is offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC and not SPIC or FDIC protected. Crypto offered through Robinhood Crypto, LLC (NMLS ID 1702840), not FDIC or SIPC protected. Portfolio management offered by Robinhood Strategies, an SEC-registered advisor.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBAfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.comto get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Lockdown Lakers for Friday. Brian Komenetsky, Andy Kaminetsky, LeBron James. Is he coming back sooner rather than later? We'll explain next. You are Locked-on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks to everybody for making Locked on Lakers first listen of every day,
Starting point is 00:00:31 Monday through Friday, no matter how where you get your podcast, this one's always going to be free, never behind. to pay while locked on Lakers on YouTube is where over 37,000 subscribers to the channel are all wondering, Andy, when LeBron James is going to be back,
Starting point is 00:00:48 the Lakers releasing some information to that, about that, on the Thursday afternoon. And so we'll explain it all there. And, of course, the Lakers heading out onto the road for a big road trip that has some winnable games. on it, a chance for the Lakers to improve their record a little bit more.
Starting point is 00:01:12 So in this positive early season, before we get started, I want to let people know that today's episode is brought to you by Fandual. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, Andy, you get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app, head to fanduel.com to get started. So the Lakers kind of gave everyone a little bit of like a morning joltz. with some releasing some medical information on LeBron James. He has resumed basketball activities, full contact.
Starting point is 00:01:47 So he's out there doing stuff and he'll be evaluated again in one to two weeks. Yeah, and this lines up with some reporting from Champs, Roni and Dave McMediman that he's moving into live five-on-five reps. There's a possibility that while the lake, are on this road trip, which LeBron will not be accompanying them on, which makes sense, because if he's looking to ramp up, make rehab harder, get back on the court, there's no point to getting off and on planes where he will not be able to do that on a regular basis. There's no reason for him to disrupt any type of routines just to travel for games that
Starting point is 00:02:29 he's not going to be participating in. But there's a chance that he might be actually working out some with the G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, just to have the full court access and the ability to get up and down. But since he's not going to be with the team, the earliest LeBron could be back would be November 18th after the five-game road trip. The first home game, it would be against the Utah Jazz, which always feels like a nice soft opening for anybody returning from an injury. It's a nice way to ease your way back in before you start playing NBA teams. So this could work out really well for LeBron. It's like when, you know, your number one ranked college football team schedules North Carolina A&T. When the jazz actually just got a piece of bad news with Walker Kessler being out for the season.
Starting point is 00:03:18 Shoulder injury. We're going to have to put those fake Laker trades on hold for at least a year. Yeah, they were going to, well, I mean, look, I mean, we're already into early November. I mean, they were going to start pulling the plug on things in a couple weeks anyway. So who knows how much Kessler would have ended up playing. You know, you can't start your tank too early when you're the Utah Jazz. Yeah, but he's still could have traded him. Now, let's just say his trade value has been lowered.
Starting point is 00:03:44 That's true. So, you know, I think, you know, he's doing basketball activities. He's all these other things. Why, you know, one to two weeks for reevaluation again, before you would then clear him to playing games? It's important to remember, LeBron did not have a training camp. And so, you know, this time essentially serves as that. And you certainly don't want to rush the guy back with zero training camp and all these other things as if he was, you know, not in his 40s.
Starting point is 00:04:22 So the Lakers, I think rightly being careful with LeBron. And they have a little more space to do that because they're seven and two because they've won, you know, seven of nine without him. They've won three of the four games. They've played without Luca. You know, they've won without Austin. They keep just playing really well. They've won without all three of them. Yes.
Starting point is 00:04:47 They're playing really well, and they're affording themselves a little bit of space and cushion, whether it's to get LeBron on the floor, whether it's to be a little bit more careful with Austin, coming back from that groin problem, whatever it is. The Lakers are giving themselves some cushion by playing as well as they are.
Starting point is 00:05:05 Yeah, it's definitely helpful in terms of reducing any pressure on LeBron to try to get himself back quicker than he really should, given all of the context, or even somebody like Austin, to push that groin injury where it could, you know, hopefully this won't be the case regardless. But if you try to get him back quicker than he really should, you could start turning this new recurring groin injury. And groins are a tricky thing to try to treat. They can flare up at any moment. And it's very easy to all of a sudden get hit with a recurrence. So especially if you have the luxury of now being a, I think in the minds of many a surprise two seed, you afford yourself that luxury and just the, it's ironic.
Starting point is 00:05:54 Because the Lakers have been doing anything but relaxing on the court, they've been playing their asses off, I would say in eight of the nine games they play this year, The opener at this point, you know, you just have to flush that and put in the rearview mirror. But the other eight of the nine games they've played, they've played extremely hard. It allows them ironically to relax a bit in the way this is going to be handled. In the meantime, too, I know that this is an issue because I was filling in for John Ireland. I'm Mason in Ireland today, 710 ESPN.
Starting point is 00:06:24 We had callers about it. I've seen comments in the live shows that we do in the comments section for YouTube. people wondering how LeBron's return is going to affect the team. How are they going to incorporate them? How are they going to incorporate the usage for LeBron in the eye? The ego of LeBron, like the LeBron of it all. And I think also the 7 and 2 record makes it A, easier to make it more of an organic reentry. But also, too, I don't expect.
Starting point is 00:07:02 I mean, there might be hiccups simply because it's been a while since these three guys have played together. There's a few new faces. You know, it's always going to be a little bit clunky when you bring somebody back into the mix. But I don't picture it being an issue of ego or LeBron wanting to reannounce his presence in a way that feels like big footing the team. Because I think he is smart enough to realize, A, the value of having teammates that. can help ease the burden on him at his age, but also if LeBron starts playing and they start losing, even if it has quite literally nothing to do with LeBron, if you're really watching the game, he's going to take the blame and he's smart enough to realize it.
Starting point is 00:07:51 Well, I mean, I guess. I mean, if he starts playing, the only reason, I did the, my first reaction to your question, you know, what is the impact of, you know, what's what's the impact you mean when lebron comes back what you know it's like well they're going to be better that's that's that's right i know you're not arguing but like i because i've seen the same comments or the same comments my reaction is the same how is it going to affect them it's going to affect them by making them better um that's going to be the effect but like to you the point you're making there you know like if lebron comes back like you're describing a scenario there in which LeBron plays in a way that not only upsets the apple cart, but kind of knowingly upsets the
Starting point is 00:08:40 apple cart where he puts himself in front of how the team operates or what's been successful and stuff like that. And then you see them start to lose. You know, I get, it's the premise that people have where he wants to essentially just prove he's still LeBron. Right. Exactly. And I think It's the premise that people have that LeBron can't handle this being someone else's team, for example, or can't handle being out of the spotlight or a number, even a number two, even one as good as he is. And I just don't buy it. I mean, I don't see why it would become a problem this year when it wasn't a problem.
Starting point is 00:09:30 last year. LeBron didn't LeBron, I don't think, struggled with the idea that when the Lakers traded for Luca Donchis, I mean as an on-court product, I don't think LeBron struggled on the floor to give Luca the
Starting point is 00:09:46 space that he needed to be Luka Donchich. I don't think that was an issue. The Lakers and LeBron I guess have off-court stuff that they're, you know, it was always going to be a little bit tenuous and we'll see how that goes going forward but the on-court thing was pretty smooth from the moment it got you know it started and more
Starting point is 00:10:06 than anything the lakers playing in the way they do gives lebron the thing that he said that he wanted over the off season which was to play on a competitive team playing meaningful games in the spring and so why would he why would he do some i i don't see his ego as being the thing that goes out to screw that up. I don't either. I know you though. I'm not talking to yeah you know the people who sure. I just want to make sure that that that part of it because I raise this as a talking point because I know that it is a thing and I've heard it in multiple places, multiple platforms, all that stuff. I agree with you. LeBron's return to this team. While it is going to be interesting to see how the dynamic works just because if we're all being honest, LeBron is in a situation that he's
Starting point is 00:11:05 never been in before. And how this dynamic, it's one, it's one thing to cede some of that ground like LeBron did last year when Luca arrived. And we both said a lot over the, you know, the half season last year with Luca and LeBron that it really was a big thing and a very helpful thing that LeBron made it very clear. Don't worry about step on my toes, I want you to be you. Like, it was really important. The theoretical difference would be that was before not being offered a contract extension, before, you know, the summer of Luca, it really being announced that it's Lucas team,
Starting point is 00:11:44 Austin's Ascension, like all these other things, which again. Well, hold this for a second because I think that's the part that, I think people are differentiating disruption versus drama or maybe confusing those. two things and we'll get into it next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by DoorDash. The NBA season is heating up, just like the Lakers rising up the standings. DoorDash has the perfect way to keep fans in their bag all season long,
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Starting point is 00:13:31 that are going on with a team. People, I think, are assuming any kind of disruption, which is going to happen. You're reintroducing LeBron James into a lineup that's played pretty well. It's going to necessitate a change in the starting lineup. And I think, you know, you talk about Luca. I think the guy who really finds his space and role change the most is Reeves. Because Luca is still going to do Luca stuff.
Starting point is 00:14:04 And, you know, while I think the idea is that he won't have to work as hard, and, you know, you can have LeBron carry some of that burden, which I don't think will bother Luca and I think it will help everybody as they get, you know, into the spring. It's, I think from a game to game standpoint, it's, it's Reeves that changes the most. And I think LeBron will settle into, a place in a role where it's clear he's not quite the you know the the the lead dog because he doesn't have the ball as much. I think he's going to embrace what we saw a lot at times last year where he's moving away from the ball where he's doing a lot of that stuff. A lot of his work early,
Starting point is 00:14:50 you know, it's far less taxing than it is to be the guy handling the ball bringing up. He's going to be finishing plays. Like people, because it's LeBron, people want there to be drama and there's not going to be drama. There will be some disruption. There will not be drama. And I am sorry to disappoint people in that regard. It's not coming. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:18 I think there would only really be drama if there would be a way for that drama to serve LeBron's best interests. And it simply doesn't, especially with in any way. There's no, yeah, truly in any way, the team is playing really well. So like I said earlier, if all of a sudden bringing LeBron back means they struggle, even if, again, anybody actually watching the games recognizes it's not really LeBron's fault. He's going to take the blame in the same way Ron Artesse talked about when he joined the 2010 Lakers, the one that was looking to go back to back.
Starting point is 00:15:53 And it was basically the exact same team except Ron subbing in for Trevor Riza and Sunouet. a.k.a. the Chinese Magic Johnson was gone. But otherwise, exact same team. Our test talked about, I know I'm going to get blamed if we don't end up going back to back. I know it's going to be on me. And even if it really had nothing to do with Ron, same thing with LeBron here. So I think he recognizes that. He also, I think, is probably smart enough to realize getting to another team at this point in the season will be extremely complicated. So there's little that would come from disruption. And also this team right now, we're going to talk about this anyway, is having so much damn fun. Why?
Starting point is 00:16:43 I would he not want to just hop on the SS fun time. Everyone's having a great time. Why wouldn't LeBron just want to join that? All of this is based around an assumption that even if LeBron does the right thing, air quotes, it's begrudgingly because it, There's no other, like, it just doesn't work for him to do the wrong thing in the way that he'd be like, or he might just, you know, be like excited to play basketball with Luca Donchage, Austin Reeves and a team that is, you know, one seven of nine in a brutal conference. Like, there is that possibility. Again, people just want the drama to be something that's there and it's not going to be. and you know, you talk about this, this, you know, the fun and the chemistry and all these things
Starting point is 00:17:36 that the Lakers are clearly having. And it was, you know, it's been obvious with how they play. They play very hard. Not to say they play perfectly, but they play very hard. They play, and I, you know, not to get, you know, steep in cliche here, but they, they play for each other in the, in the way that coaches define that kind of thing. and players define that kind of thing. That's how they play. It's a skillful brand of basketball that is combined with some physicality and grit that hasn't
Starting point is 00:18:15 been really, I think, a consistent presence on this team. But it's not like they play, you know, streetball, you know, super physical, all that stuff because they can't, they don't have any skill. they got plenty of skill too. They're having a good time. The chemistry is really good. The new guys fit in really well. And it's making a tangible difference in how they play.
Starting point is 00:18:46 Yeah, there's been a lot going on off the court. They've been doing this thing. J.J. talked about it after the win against San Antonio. know, it's called Petya Kucha, which is essentially like teammates using slides and visual aids, letting teammates know more about them, like sort of these personal entries. Like I think Luca just did one. And I think he talked about family and his car collection. And, you know, Luca organized the Porsche driving thing, which checks with, you know, car collection.
Starting point is 00:19:22 Like all of these guys seem like they are genuinely enjoyed. enjoying each other. I think when you start playing for each other, it also, it raises organically the accountability on the team. Like, it becomes easier to hold everybody else accountable if everybody's first instincts is to hold themselves accountable. Like Marcus Smart, after, you know, that mistake that he made with 1.2 seconds, stepping on a line, essentially rushing himself for no real reason on an inbound pass that could have cost the Lakers a game. And while Marcus said, like I thought the refs were maybe being a little bit overzealous, which
Starting point is 00:20:00 kept in theme with the entire game that the refs were over officiating, he also said, man, I've been in the league 12 years. I can't make that mistake. Right. Like DeAndre Aitin has talked about in a good way, and this was reinforced by the Dodgers on the heels of their World Series championship going back to back, being in attendance for, I remember as either the heat or the Spurs game. But D'Andre saying like, man, this raises the pressure that I feel in a good way.
Starting point is 00:20:33 Like it gets ratcheted up because you see a city celebrating a championship. You want to be a part of that. And it, again, it raises your accountability and your sense of responsibility, but not in a way that feels overwhelming. It's in a way that I think is inspiring. Like it makes you want to be the best version of yourself. And, you know, no, it is another one of these things. Like you look around the league and it's not a given that it works this way. And JJ talked about it talked about it after the San Antonio game.
Starting point is 00:21:09 Like you can do things that kind of promotes togetherness and connectedness and stuff. It doesn't always work that way. It doesn't mean guys dislike each other. And obviously the on-court results play a big role. But look around the league. They're not having fun in Memphis right now. They are not having fun in Dallas right now. These are not fun places to play basketball.
Starting point is 00:21:42 And you can tell, you know, if there's a really good measurement, I think, to to tell whether or not this sort of culture of joy that the Lakers seem to be touting is genuine. And I will, I'll tell you what my measurement is. I'm curious if you agree. We'll do it next. Walkdown Lakers is brought to you by Fandul. The NBA is back.
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Starting point is 00:24:20 So here's how I look at this because, you know, look, you and I, we've been doing this for a little while. You're on 710 all the time still, and, you know, we pop up on Speck. like for people who follow the lakers in Los Angeles we we appreciate many of them know who we are and you know we're out in the world when people see us love it when it happens they stop they talk to us you know we'd love that you guys listen to the show say hello if you ever see us people stop me I've been stopping me a lot over the last week or two and they're excited and they like this team. They are enjoying watching this team as much as any, you know, sort of first couple weeks of any season that I can remember. And so that to me is a good sign. Like if people are texting us, people are stopping us and being like, hey, this is like really enjoying watching this team. He followed on social. There's a really good chance that the players are enjoying themselves too. And because that comes
Starting point is 00:25:30 through the screen if you're watching in TV. If you're lucky enough to be in the arena, you can feel that when you're watching the Lakers play. And so that to me is what tells me like this is, this is genuine. Now, it's some of its results based. Everybody's having a good time because teams winning. But I don't think all of it is.
Starting point is 00:25:50 There's a style and the set of personalities and all this on this team that really just meshes together nicely. Yeah. It is a likable group, and they're easy to root for, and they're even easier to root for when they're actually winning games. But, you know, the sense of fun, I think, becomes contagious. Like, they are, it's one of those work hard or play hard. It feels like when they're out there, like they, it's, as you mentioned earlier, not always perfect while they're out there, particularly defensively. Like, there is a lot of offsetting some of the weaknesses that they have.
Starting point is 00:26:26 And I think particularly on that side of the ball, game against San Antonio and Wendy, notwithstanding, there's like a certain ceiling that I think will be difficult to break through on a game-in-game-out basis. But it does not ever feel right now. And this is something I think fans always can recognize and they will always appreciate. When they lose, it will not feel like due to a lack of effort. It will not be because they don't care. It will not be because they take playing. for the Lakers for granted. They take the regular season for granted. They take their station
Starting point is 00:27:00 in life as millionaires many times over as professional athletes for granted. Like they seem to give a bleep while they're out there. And if fans see their players give a bleep and want to rep them as fans rooting them on as well as they can, I think they enjoy that. And also, too, I think they're having a good time and they recognize this upcoming road trip, this five game Rody that will be hopefully the longest they go without LeBron, they got a real opportunity to they got a real opportunity to keep pushing their record up. These are the five games. Begins Saturday in Atlanta against the Hawks without Trey Young. They are two and one without Trey, although they did not exactly beat a murder's row of opponents in those two games.
Starting point is 00:27:51 Then they go to Charlotte against a Hornets team that's not good anyway, but won't have Lamello ball or Brandon Miller. OKC, this is obviously the big one. They won't have Jalen Williams, all NBA, Jalen Williams. But the guys who were out during their first loss, Alex Caruso, Chetongerman, Lou Dort, likely will play in that game. The Pelicans, Zion might be back by then, which should be, that might be the Lakers catching a break because they've only won games since Zion
Starting point is 00:28:21 went out. So maybe Zion, yeah, they're terrible. And the vibes there do not seem. particularly good either. Add them to my list of places where they're not having that much fun. No, they are not having fun at all. And then Milwaukee, second end of a back-to-back, that is a tough close. But I think three and two should both be the baseline goal.
Starting point is 00:28:43 And I think imminently doable. You try to split one between OKC and Milwaukee. And it's worth remembering in the two games they played against Milwaukee last year, post-Luca trade, they were really good. good. They beat the thunder once pretty handily and seemed on pace to do it again before Luca got egregiously ejected for a fun back and forth with a fan that a ref thought was about him. But they matched up well against OKC. And I would say they match it better this year than last just because they've added, you know, that legitimate size and DeAndre 8. And so
Starting point is 00:29:21 we'll be able to talk more about the road trip as it goes on. You know, it's obviously a pretty long one. But the other thing to remember, too, when they go to Atlanta, that's a home game. You know, there's more, there are more Lakers fans from the crowd in Atlanta than there are Hawks fans. Charlotte often gets the same kind of thing. Like, they don't go, that's not a hostile building. The greatest player in Hornets history is Kobe. Yeah, I mean, you know, it's obviously a bit of a homecoming for Dalton Connect.
Starting point is 00:29:57 But aside from that, you know, it's just those are not hostile buildings. Then they get to Oklahoma City and it's a hostile building. And it's a kind of hostile building, though, that fires up a guy like Luca and stuff like that. So, I mean, I agree with you. And, you know, I think three and two is realistic. you come back off of that trip and you're still, if they, let's say they did that,
Starting point is 00:30:21 they would be six games over 500. You're starting, you know, with a 10th, you know, an eighth of the season over or something like that would ever be. Like, you're starting to feel like,
Starting point is 00:30:30 okay, what we're doing here is pretty legitimate. You have games at the end of that trip, you know, with Utah. Like, uh, there,
Starting point is 00:30:39 there's some winnable stuff out there. Um, when we, as we close, though, I will say this. Like, the other part of the,
Starting point is 00:30:47 because we mentioned Luca and thriving in this atmosphere in Oklahoma City. The other reason that this team is so much fun to watch, and I think there is what Luke is doing. I realize he's missed some games, but we knew last year that we weren't getting the full Luca experience. We are now. And, you know, what's the averaging? 40, 11 and 9, I think,
Starting point is 00:31:17 it is, 41, 11, and 9. And in doing things in ways that are wildly entertaining. And we are getting that experience now. And it reminds me of other stretches where as a Lakers fan, you just knew you had one of these guys that isn't just good, but really fun to watch and does special things every time he's on the court. and that gets Lakers fans excited, and that gets Lakers players excited
Starting point is 00:31:53 to be on the floor with that guy. I wanted to close with this and correct you when you said that we're getting the full Lakers, Luca experience this year. I would argue we're actually getting the fuller because the full version, you know, the peak seasons with Dallas did not include Luca playing defense.
Starting point is 00:32:14 It's like this. It didn't include Luca in this type of conditioning. And it matters, I think, A, just because it's a better version of Luca. But if you want to talk about the things that inspire these guys to be the best versions of themselves, but also raise the accountability, it's Luca playing defense like this. And Luca just taking ownership of it and taking pride and putting that type of burden on himself. It's similar to what we talked about last year, that stretch where the Lakers were the best defense in the league for like six weeks or something like that. The number one factor above
Starting point is 00:32:51 everything else was LeBron embracing it because the minute LeBron did something like that, there is no excuse. There's no permission structure for anybody else not to play the best version of defense they can. When your star player does certain things or doesn't do certain things. It either creates permission structures or raises the accountability. Luca playing on both sides of the ball like this brings out inspiration, but also a no, seriously, you better raise what you're doing too because that's what our leader does. And to just to wrap it back into where we started with LeBron, I actually think that is going to be the biggest. Like, you know, LeBron will take some of the heat and the burden off of Luca offensively. But I think actually the
Starting point is 00:33:40 biggest place that you know the way that lebron or that luke is playing and the way that reeves is playing and the support they have from aton and you know the the start that ruy's off to as a shooter and all this stuff i actually think what it's really going to do is allow lebron to do significantly less offensively and be able to play defense at a higher level much more uh aligned with what he did in that you know that stretch that you're talking about last year um you And it's, that to me, it's going to be fun to watch him take the pressure off Luca defensively. So we'll see how that goes. Trip starts this weekend.
Starting point is 00:34:19 Locked on Lickers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 37,000 subscribers. Do not forget to subscribe to the audio product, of course, whether that's on Apple iTunes, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. We will see everyone after every game on this trip. Have a good weekend.

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