Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - LeBron Returns, AD Puts up 40 and Lakers Crank Up Defense for 116-110 Win over Grizzlies

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

The Memphis Grizzlies have been a very good team this season, and have been flat-out excellent over the last month or so—one of the best teams in the NBA both offensively and defensively.So for the ...Lakers, who have not exactly set the world on fire over their last 11 games, a visit from Memphis to the Crypt represented a major test. And while it wasn't easy—quite frankly, it got a little hairy in the fourth—the Lakers ultimately passed, winning 116-110. This was truly a team effort, one that had to please JJ Redick greatly. Anthony Davis led the way, dominating on both ends to finish with 40 points and 16 rebounds. But Austin Reaves (19 points) provided some punch (a much better effort than in Friday's loss, where Reaves looked very rusty after five games off).And in his return to the lineup, LeBron finished with 18/8/8.It wasn't the best James game you'll see from a statistical standpoint, but he was a big part of the defensive energy the Lakers put out, particularly in the first half, that pushed the Lakers to a big early lead they never gave up. Cam Reddish and Max Christie (who stayed in the starting lineup) both did enough offensively to keep Memphis honest, while also elevating the team's defensive intensity.So on the heels of a good defensive game Friday, have the Lakers found something? It's hard to say. Memphis, as Redick noted in his halftime interview, doesn't run a lot of pick and roll, meaning they didn't test that hyperswitching strategy the Lakers often deploy. James was a catalyst for the upgraded intensity (he plays too many minutes to ignore the defensive side of the ball). Can he bring that, if not every night, most of them? Especially if the Lakers can get by with fewer points from him? How much consistency is it reasonable to expect from James? Can the Lakers get enough from the supporting cast from night to night to allow LeBron to do 15-20% more defensively?Is Max Christie part of the equation to tie all of this together? As a starter on Sunday, it sure seemed he might be.These are ultimately the types of questions that will determine the team's upside, and how Rob Pelinka might feel in upgrading the roster before the deadline. What the Lakers did defensively, especially in the first half, is a potential game-changer if anything like that can be done with some consistency. They used activity and effort to hold Memphis to 46 points in the first 24 minutes. That effort and activity translated to good movement on the other end, too.So was it one night, or are the Lakers maybe, maybe, just maybe turning the corner a bit?  HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: LeBron James returns, the Lakers crank it up defensively. SEGMENT 2: A badly needed win over a quality team. SEGMENT 3: Can the Lakers repeat a winning formula?  Your favorite podcast now has a newsletter! In One-stop for ultimate team and league coverage delivered right to your in box. Sign up for free now, at lockedondaily.com.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Rocket MoneyCancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com/lockedon today.BILT RewardsStart earning points on rent you're already paying by going to joinbilt.com/lockedonnba. Rocket RXRight now, our listeners can get 40% off your first order when you use code LOCKEDONNBA at RocketRX.com. Terms and Conditions apply. Rocket RX: Better sex, made simple.RobinhoodRobinhood Gold provides the privileges of a high net worth for any net worth. These generous benefits are now available for only $5/month. The new Gold Standard is here with Robinhood Gold. Sign up at robinhood.com/gold.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. FANDUEL 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.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Lockdown Lakers for Monday. Brian Komeneski, Andy Kaminetsky, the Lakers use a huge effort from Anthony Davis. And a lot of good work defensively as LeBron James returns and they win 116-110 over Memphis. All that next. You are Locked-on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcasts network, your team every day. Thanks to everybody for making Lockdown Lakers. your first listen to every day Monday through Friday
Starting point is 00:00:35 no matter how war where you get your podcast. This one's always free, never behind paywall and locked on Lakers on YouTube is where over 26,000 subscribers, Andy, are all excited about what they saw on Sunday night as the Lakers who came into the game losing 8 of 11
Starting point is 00:00:50 against the Grizzlies. They had won 10 of 11. It seemed like nothing had to give, but yet it did. The Lakers win 116 to 110, led by their defense, and that is something we will get into momentarily. First want to let you know that today's episodes were brought to by Robin Hood.
Starting point is 00:01:10 Robin Hood Gold provides the privileges of a high net worth for any net worth. These generous benefits are now available for only $5 a month. The new gold standard is here with Robin Hood. Gold. Sign up at robin hood.com slash gold. So this was a game. LeBron James comes back. We'll get into that a little bit. but the Lakers cranked up the defensive intensity.
Starting point is 00:01:36 I think that actually helped them on offense as well. Held Memphis to 46 points in the first half, held on to win the game. Big victory for the Lakers, 116, 110 over, as I mentioned, Andy, a red-hot Memphis team. You mentioned Memphis having played so well heading into this game. I think last I heard they were four and a half point favorites.
Starting point is 00:02:01 in this game heading in on the roads. It may have been in. Look, I mean, to some degree, I imagine that line was affected by the uncertainty about whether or not LeBron was going to play. He actually had been deemed by JJ to be a game time decision. Like he was going to be warming up to see how he feels. So, you know, between. They weren't even sure he'd be in the building on Friday.
Starting point is 00:02:23 Well, you know, last when they played. So the fact, you know, so there was a lot of uncertainty. Right. So, and that obviously is going to affect the line. beyond the fact that the Lakers have just been playing poorly of late and even against the Timberwolves when their defense was some of the best they played all season, the offense was MIA. But like you said, this was a game where the defense was established early
Starting point is 00:02:49 and Anthony Davis's presence was established very early. I believe he scored the Lakers first four points on back-to-back jumpers, and he was just extremely active and productive on both sides of the ball, finishes with 40 points, 16 rebounds, got the line 12 times, had a block. And it's interesting that the Lakers had been up 20 in this game when they're up 20, 81, 61, when Anthony Davis suffered, JJ said after the game, he's not 100% sure, but thought it was a stinger. it definitely looked like a painful dead arm.
Starting point is 00:03:30 But either way, AD winning the locker room and the lead dissipated with them. They lost 11 points in that lead over five and a half minutes. And AD coming back, I think, I'm not going to say they definitely lose the game if AD doesn't come back, but AD coming back was the thing that cemented and solidified their ability to win. Yeah, it really stabilized what they were trying to. to do. And so, you know, I just, we've talked about this. Like, they are at a place where Anthony Davis needs to provide superstar caliber performances on a night in a night out basis. So, you know, like superstars do. And, you know, that doesn't mean a hundred percent
Starting point is 00:04:19 of the games are going to be amazing. But most of them are. And, you know, his impact needs to be there for the Lakers to really have a chance to win on most nights. That is like step one for the Lakers on most nights to win is Anthony Davis needs to be, you know, first team all NBA caliber Anthony Davis. And he absolutely was in this game all over the floor. And you know, I don't know for sure if this is it, but I would appreciate if somehow the NBA could give away a few more DPO-wise to, like, somebody on every team the Lakers play. Because it does seem like AD really does like these matchups when he gets them, you know, oftentimes.
Starting point is 00:05:04 And Sunday night, Jaron Jackson Jr., he ends up fouling out before the end of the game. And AD just lit him up. ADD. is traditionally owned Jaron Zacken Jr. I mean, for what it is worth, some of his best games, like, you know, as you were saying, he's done really well against Wemayama, who entered this season, considered the favorite to win it. He tends to save some of his best work.
Starting point is 00:05:32 Ironically, some of these guys aren't the ones who can make his case as defensive player of the year because bottling up Rudy Gobert is not going to be like, all right, man, DP O Y, done. But he does like to take it to these guys. So it's a pity when a wing defender, wins, you know, those rare, those rare, Marcus Smart's one year did nothing for 80. What's he supposed to do with that?
Starting point is 00:05:57 But, you know, he comes in and, you know, he's, he is the, obviously the, the core of everything the Lakers are doing defensively. It is interesting to me, like, part of the reason I think the Lakers looked so good in this game, obviously energy effort, Max Christie, who we're going to talk to, really was just fantastic defensively. LeBron played with a lot more intensity in his return defensively, which I certainly want to talk about. It also helps, and this was kind of a funny thing that even JJ Redick pointed out at halftime on the broadcast in his interview before he goes back. You know, the Lakers switched significantly less in this game than they typically have been, in part because, mostly because Memphis doesn't run pick and roll.
Starting point is 00:06:46 Sure. And so when you're not being put in those situations, you don't switch as much. And, you know, they were able to follow their principles really well. Redick was kind of as effusive in his praise of what they did defensively as in any game that they've had this season in terms of doing what it was that they were expected to do and doing it with effort and consistency. but, you know, I don't know how many more, it's a pick and roll league. And so Memphis is certainly the exception to the rule. But, you know, even if they can't do it quite this way every night, if they play with this level of intensity defensively,
Starting point is 00:07:35 and they can figure out ways, you know, to highlight somebody like, like Christie, and they can get 15% more from LeBron. which I want to talk about, if not tonight, this week of what that would look like. That is a formula for them to be good enough defensively to at least get themselves back into a competitive state. I mean, as the everydayers who've heard me bitching on just about every single show about the Lakers switching damn near everything, it's not just the fact that they were switching so automatically that bothered me in terms. terms of strategy, even though I don't think as a strategy, they were always doing it in ways that benefited them, benefited the personnel that they had, stuff like that. It was also because,
Starting point is 00:08:27 and this is something that even after, you know, after I had said this, I'd heard James Worthy say, I'd heard Robert Orie say it, like other people from Spectrum Sportsnet, you know, the Lakers television partner in their postgame coverage, it's the way they were switching. It's the way that they were doing it with so little effort, so little intensity, so little physicality upon any screen, stuff like that that was leading into a, I felt like, complacent and almost submissive attitude in the way they played defense. Like there were times where their switching felt like dance choreography with the players that they were defending. And like everybody's going to their perfectly prearranged stations like really smoothly. And you don't want to.
Starting point is 00:09:14 ruin anything by, I don't know, bumping into the guy that you're guarding. Like there, yeah. And it led to a mentality that I felt like was missing regardless of when they were switching, the execution of it, whatever, it just felt like a mentality of I am not taking responsibility, accountability, or really putting any type of onus on my responsibilities defensively. Right. And so we'll, that's been one of my problems with it. Sure.
Starting point is 00:09:46 I will see what happens when the Lakers, you know, what transfers and what doesn't. Like, you know, they want them to play more physically. They want them to battle harder with those. So maybe a game where you don't have to switch very much and you get that physicality. Helps will transfer over when they, when they play a game where they are going to have to face that and switch more. We'll talk a little bit about LeBron's return and what that looked like. and a little more about AD, sporting cast, and we've got to talk some Max Christie
Starting point is 00:10:16 before it's all over. We'll get to it next. Lockdown Lakers is brought to you by Robin Hood. With Robin Hood Gold, you don't need a silver spoon. To eat up the financial favors of the 1%, Robin Hood Gold allows others to get the rates and perks usually reserved for the high society. Now the resourceful individual with Robin Hood Gold
Starting point is 00:10:37 can earn the very liberal rate of 4.25% APY on uninvested cash and be rewarded with a handsome, 3% retirement boost on IRA account contributions. Robin Hood Gold provides the privileges of a high net worth for any net worth. These generous benefits are now available for just $5 a month. The new gold standard is here with Robin Hood Gold. Sign up at robin hood.com slash gold. Terms apply for specific product-specific disclosures.
Starting point is 00:11:06 Visit robinhood.com slash gold. Investing requires risks. Rates may change. Gold membership is offered by Robin Hood Gold, LLC. see. Locked on Lakers is also brought to you by better help. Look, you know, for some people, the holidays is a great time, family, friends, all kinds of, you know, parties, whatever it might be. But for a lot of people, it can be a very challenging time of the year, you know, whether you're dealing with, you know, certain reminders, you know, a family member has passed. And, you know,
Starting point is 00:11:40 the holidays become challenging there. Or maybe some loneliness. whatever it might be, there are a lot of people for whom the opportunity to talk to somebody, just to get a chance to communicate effectively, share your experiences, share your feelings can be very beneficial. If you've ever benefited from therapy, the holidays can be a real time. I'm sure for a lot of people that it's really come in handy. And so better help. If you're thinking of giving therapy a try, if now is a time that you need a little,
Starting point is 00:12:14 little bit of an extra boost. Give Better Help a try. It's entirely online designed to be convenient, flexible, suited to your schedule. You fill out a brief questionnaire. You get matched for the licensed therapist and you can switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. So if this is a time of year that is maybe filled with some joy, but also a little bit of stress or a little bit of challenge, you can find comfort this December with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash locked on NBA for today to get $10 off for first month. That's BetterHelp, help.com slash locked on NBA. Obviously, Andy, you know, the return of LeBron James is going to make a difference.
Starting point is 00:13:01 His performances this year have been, I think it's fair to say, all over the place. And the performance of the team this year when he's played has been all over the place, more significantly more negative in balance than it has really ever been in LeBron's time with the Lakers. And part of it at least this year is they are, they're in a real difficult spot, offensively generating stuff. But they're also so that obviously you need LeBron. And they're in a challenging spot defensively in part because of LeBron. And I thought in this game, and I want to explore this during the week for sure, and we can do it a little bit now too, this was like a formula that I think can kind of work where he turned the ball over a little bit too much and a little bit of rust is expected given how little he's played actually in the last week or two.
Starting point is 00:14:00 But 18, 8 and 8 from LeBron. Like you're not getting nothing offensively. He is part of your attack. He's moving the ball. he's making some great passes. He's crashing the glass. He's running the floor. He's a significant, but you're not relying on him for 35.
Starting point is 00:14:16 Big difference. And I'm wondering if the Lakers can, I'm not talking about even so much limiting his minutes, but limiting the need for him to score a ton. If that could be what allows them to get 15% more on the other side of the ball, just enough to make it so he goes from, quite frankly, a liability in most games
Starting point is 00:14:38 to neutral in most games. And then you still have, you could see in the first half on Sunday, Andy, he's still got the capacity to become much better than neutral when he needs to be or wants to be. But that's not something you can do for nine games in a row in January.
Starting point is 00:14:58 It's just, that's not practical. That was something actually that I talked about maybe a few weeks ago when we were doing a few shows about LeBron's usage and how much it had gone up during that period where, frankly, he was really struggling. And, you know, his usage had basically flipped with ADs where he, he had the highest usage on the team. It was resembling more and more what we've always seen from LeBron. And during that period, the offense was suffering. LeBron's personal performances were suffering. And one of the things I said was, I want to see that usage get lowered in exchange
Starting point is 00:15:41 for more defense. It'll be interesting, though, to see how and if LeBron can maintain that in games where he doesn't have two weeks off or maybe this gets replicated on Thursday against Sacramento, but where he has three games off. Like once the actual three days, three days, excuse me, restarts. Like once you're back in the swing of how an NBA season actually works and that schedule, can LeBron maintain the type of focus and energy that he had defensively tonight? Because honestly, I thought his defense was better tonight than his offense. I agree. And a lot of his execution, like when you talk about that rust, there were several possessions where LeBron, quite frankly, pounded the crap out of the ball and was just he looked like he was not in the swing of everybody
Starting point is 00:16:37 else, which is understandable. He hasn't played in a while. But where offensively, I thought he was more of a detriment to what they were doing than defensively. Like defensively, I thought he was super engaged and, you know, maybe he saw the way that they played against Minnesota. You don't want to be the guy that returns and ruins something that is not just moving a little bit of better direction, but frankly, has to. Like, if they're going to go anywhere this season, they simply have to be better than. They need to be an average defensive team at the least, and they've been well below that. And so I just, you know, it, I don't know how, I mean, they were better against Portland, Atlanta was not great.
Starting point is 00:17:25 But, you know, like, it's incredible. I thought they were more engaged. If it didn't really excrementally, they were better. But like the thing about it. Timberwolves were they were legitimately good, particularly. I would agree. And the difference between Sunday's game and Friday's game was that the offense was not inept.
Starting point is 00:17:44 It wasn't brilliant. It wasn't going to like remind everyone of the, you know, prime warriors or anything like that. the ball over 21 times. Right. I mean, they, they turn the ball over too much. You know, the shot making wasn't great. Like, you know, like you said, LeBron had too many possessions where he meant to dribble too
Starting point is 00:18:00 much. Sometimes the flow gets messed up. They, they are always putting people out on the floor. You almost always have one or two players in the floor who are not great offensive options. And so it's never going to look, it may not always look great. But when you play with that kind of defensive energy, it raises their movement. To me, what separated the quality of their play offensively on Friday or Sunday versus Friday is the amount of cutting,
Starting point is 00:18:33 the amount of baskets they created in transition just by crashing the last. Being able to set up Cam Reddish for easy dunks and easy back doors because the rest of your offense has enough motion that it's easy to lose. somebody like Reddish. That's how Jared Vanderbilt used to score. It's like you leverage the competence of the offense to your advantage. It doesn't work as well in the playoffs, but fine. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. And when they produce energy defensively, they are much more likely to be able to produce
Starting point is 00:19:14 the kind of motion offensively that's going to get them easier. buckets from more players and the more players who can score Andy that is the other part of this formula about not having to rely on LeBron it's not like it's not about lebron goes from 27 to whatever and Chris and and and uh reves goes from 15 to 26 it's going to be five more points from Reeves and four more from Christy and a couple buckets from Cam Reddish, we had eight on Sunday. It makes a huge difference. And maybe, you know, some nights dealer who wasn't a huge offensive factor night, although he played fine. Maybe some nights he gives you 18. You know, it's like you can,
Starting point is 00:20:05 you can absorb it around the rest of the roster, but other guys have to be able to produce and you need to move for that. Okay. Here's a very simple, succinct way of putting it. and it's not the highest bar that they're going to need to clear on every night. But given what we've seen from the bench this year, it's a start. Five players played off the bench, all five scored. Scored. Yes. Even Christian Coloco scored.
Starting point is 00:20:31 He had a point of the line. But like everybody scored. And again, that may feel like a ridiculously low bar to clear, except it has not always been cleared this season even semi-regularly. No, it is, it is in fact a ridiculously low bar to clear. It's just that the Lakers tend to show up to games with a shovel and dig under the bar and still go under. And like so a big part of this, of this formula of being better defensively and finding of just enough points from from different guys that they're a threat and they need to be guarded and all that is Max Christie. And he was a huge part of Sunday's win. I think a little bit, certainly defensively,
Starting point is 00:21:16 but I think actually a little bit on both sides. We'll talk about it next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Fandul. You can tackle the NFL action with Fandul America's number one sportsbook. Right now, new customers can bet just $5, $5, $5, and you get $150 in bonus bets if you win. So just find something that feels incredibly obvious. Put down just an Abe Lincoln, boom,
Starting point is 00:21:42 if you win $150 in bonus bets. And great news, the fan book. sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place so they can help you along. If you feel like you are anticipating where a game is going, but just want to confirm those hunches, you can check out the latest stats for you, live, play-by-play, and so much more on the same page where you'd place your bets. So it's all streamlined information for you. Just visit fandle.com to join today and you get started again with $150 in bonus bets. If you win your first $5 bet, it's fandle.com. Never waste.
Starting point is 00:22:16 hunch make every moment more with Fandall, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. So we were discussing last week, Andy, different options the Lakers could have off, you know, in terms of who starts, who doesn't, with Dalton Connect seeming to hit a bit of a wall in terms of how he's being defended, the shots cooled off a little bit, and all of that. and with him, if he's not scoring 18 and 20 points a game or a threat to do it, his defensive shortcomings are really noticeable. So what do you do in that case? They have been starting Gabe Vincent, JJ Redick has.
Starting point is 00:23:05 On Sunday, he swapped with LeBron back in the lineup, he swapped Vincent out and put Max Christie in that fifth spot. And he talked before the game real quick, JJ, because he was asked about the starting lineup, assuming LeBron is back, have you decided what you want to do? And JJ said that he had not decided what he wants moving forward or at least wasn't going to commit publicly to it at the very least. But he did say that they were looking to try to find a point of attack defender to be part of that mix in the starting five, which if nothing else, and I don't mean this as shade, it's just obvious,
Starting point is 00:23:45 that's code for DeAngelo Russell is not going to be going back in the starting lineup. We're not going to be using the opening night lineup. You know, the 23 and 5 lineup that Reddick preseason, basically in so many words said that's the obvious way to go. JJ wasn't returning to obvious. And, you know, the idea, your choices, if that's the case, are essentially Reddish and Christy.
Starting point is 00:24:10 I get to some degree like why you would start with Reddish. I mean, he has been in a lot of being. And Cam played well. But he played a great. He played a great game, I thought, on Sunday doing what he's. Really quick with Cam, just because this was something that was being asked of him last year to be this defense first, very disruptive, often on-ball defender as his lane. Last year, I think he accepted it. Like last year, I felt like Cam.
Starting point is 00:24:40 was trying to do whatever the asks were. But for whatever reason, whether lack of comfort, the way Darwin was breaking it down, the other guys on the court with him, whatever, it was, the highs were really high, but the lows could be very low. This year, Cam has been just much more consistent and comfortable with it. And for the most part, I think his role, what he's being asked to do, he's doing it pretty well. Yeah. And it's a role that is a little problematic with his because, you know, he's leaning into the defense.
Starting point is 00:25:15 He's leaning into the activity. But the offensive limitations are there. And, you know, Sunday, his activity was very high. That led to a couple bucks. You were rolling to the basket, get out on the break, and all that kind of stuff. But there was one sequence where Cam got like a, I think, a deflection in a steel. And he started taking the ball up court and decided to dial up a step. Step back three.
Starting point is 00:25:40 That was air balled. I'm guessing that is not what JJ wants for Cam in those situations. Maybe a possession or two later, Cam got another steel, just took it straight to the rack for a dunk, beautiful. Keep it simple, my man. Right.
Starting point is 00:25:57 We're not here for fancy Cam writer. The happy medium here, the biggest, obviously, there's a difference in size. between Reddish and Christie. And so it depends on, to some degree, some of this could depend on who the assignment is.
Starting point is 00:26:18 In this case, it's John Morant, who is a little guy and really quick. And so that was who Max was assigned to, JJ said after the game, like I told him, just make his life as hard as possible. I did an excellent job with that. Yeah. Jah finished 6 of 21 from the floor. And so that is, you know, you're doing great work with that. And he turned the ball over seven times. John Moran is one of the more potent offensive guards in the league.
Starting point is 00:26:53 So, but just, so you could see the defense. You could see the work particularly, again, point of attack, one-on-one, all that kind of stuff. With Christie, there is some versatility there. He can obviously guard point guards. He can really, I think, guard all the way down to small forwards. You know, any bigger bodies are going to give him a little bit of trouble. I floated this last week as a, you know, potentially good option. And I think you didn't mind it somebody, you know, as a Max Christie fan.
Starting point is 00:27:24 I didn't think you'd say last week, you didn't think they'd do it. Oh, no. I didn't object to it at all. Right. I wonder, and I just wonder if they'll stick with it. because this, to me, the lineup that they started tonight, if you're not going to start Delo again, and I don't have a problem with it, they don't.
Starting point is 00:27:43 If this is going to be, you know, if you're choosing starters where Delo isn't one of them, this to me is the lineup that makes the most sense. Yeah. The best combination of defensive versatility with some degree, and you can deploy Reddish more strategically throughout a game a little bit more against second units where the offensive shortcomings aren't quite as problematic. And, you know, really just use him as a 15 minute-in-a-night energy guy, which I think is much more aligned to his,
Starting point is 00:28:21 to the ability to get the most out of him without subjecting him to, you know, having to do things and play a role that really, goes a step beyond him. This is, I think, the most effective way to have Reddish be a useful player on the team. Yeah. Again, he seems to be really settling into this lane very well. And as far as
Starting point is 00:28:46 Christie goes, I mean, first of all, there were so many sequences where he stayed with Jah. It was interesting. Jaws' first real drive against Christy led to a foul. and I think getting to the line,
Starting point is 00:29:04 that was basically as good as it got against Max. Like from there, it was really Max winning this matchup. And he more than any... It's almost as if it took like a second and not to be... Like, Jah is...
Starting point is 00:29:19 NBA point guards are quick human beings. Like these are... And Jha, by that standard, is quicker than most. He is so exploited. And those first step, so I mean, the first couple possessions when you first see, okay, it's easy to get beat on that first one, that second one. But then he adjusted really well.
Starting point is 00:29:38 He recalibrated and he made his life extraordinarily difficult throughout the game. And it was just a really impressive performance. And I also wonder if, and he is not the only player like this, Andy, that if Christie settles into a role where he knows he's going to play 25 minutes a night, possibly more. I think he might be more comfortable being a little more assertive offensively, knowing that he's got to kind of do it some. They're not relying on him for it,
Starting point is 00:30:10 but he's a part of the flow, part of the, and like I think the offense might come around a little more too if he's in a situation where he's playing more. Well, I mean, he came into this season having gotten paid and he looked, I mean,
Starting point is 00:30:27 Max seems like just in general, general, a very earnest, responsible young man. You know what I mean? And he seemed that way since he was a rookie. He has always sounded incredibly mature for his age. Like if you ask him questions, he sounds like somebody who's 32 as opposed to He sounds like your CPA. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:30:48 And because of that, I imagine there was an element of I need to justify this. Like, like from a, you know, a sense of like responsibility. And because of also that nature, Max seems like somebody that when he eventually got benched and was out of the rotation for a handful of games or whatever it was, he seems like somebody that would take the time to study what went wrong and really like take the inventory and try to come at it from a smarter place because he seems like somebody that among other things wants to play smart. Well, I was about to say, I think honestly, I think he was playing too polite at the beginning of the year. He was still trying to like, you know, too, I'm very steady. I'm going to be, you know, and like, that's what I'm talking about with the responsibility. It was just right. I mean, like, I don't think he was trying to, usually when you say players trying to justify, they try to do too much.
Starting point is 00:31:48 I think Max was almost trying to consciously avoid being like, look, I got to take 15 shots now. I got to, like, I think he was being too polite. and he sat down and he came back those first couple games especially, you see it a little bit less now. But like with some of the assertiveness has stayed. But he came back those first couple games we got back in the rotation. He was playing with like an edge that you just didn't see from him at any real point at this point in his career.
Starting point is 00:32:19 And it served him very well. And so I think just capturing a little bit of that, that lack of politeness, that lack of deferring to what's right, like whatever. I'm not saying it means he's going to make the wrong play, but it does translate to me. I think it translates into a little bit more of an attitude of it's okay if I call my number. It's okay if I put the ball on the floor and go to the basket and create a play or make a cut or all that. I don't have to step back and like and feel like that's how like you're really
Starting point is 00:32:57 being a team player. Sometimes being a team player is asserting yourself and being more forceful. I think he was so ticked that he wasn't playing that when he came back, he found that thing. That's how I read it. I could be wrong. I don't know. I mean, I would, I, over the course of the week, if, if there's an availability to both get to practice and also get to talk with Max, like some availability, I'd love to ask them about some of this. But one final thing too that I've noticed with Max that also played into tonight whether you're talking about Jaron Jackson Jr. or Zach Edie, whose elbows kept managing to find Austin Reeves's face. But just I don't, Reeves said afterwards, he didn't think any of it was intentional.
Starting point is 00:33:44 It wasn't intentional. And I agree. But that guy is so big, he's going to need to learn to get a handle on where his body parts are. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. He's going to hurt some people. He's too big and too strong. Yeah. I mean, it's like its elbows are made a. cement or something. He's a huge, enormous man. Christy is the best on this team as far as guys who are like six, seven and under at fronting bigger guys. Like we saw this tonight with Edie and with Jaron's Action Jr. We've seen it with Weminyama. Like Christy is really good at and I think this gets to a defensive mentality, but also his willingness to be physical. Like he is the
Starting point is 00:34:26 best on this team in terms of the wings or smaller guys that when they get matched up against one of these bigger, I mean, like, you're giving up 50 pounds and eight or nine inches in figuring out, okay, what do I do with this? He's just one of their best. He's their best most versatile wing defender, period. Yeah. And when he plays, it makes, you know, it's not surprising that, you know, the defense has improved a little bit with Reeves back because he does, it's again, all relative. He can help them a little bit. And Reeves bumps down and notch. If you can put a better wing defender above him, now he's guarding secondary players instead of the best player all the time. That's going to make a difference. If LeBron is 15 to 20% better, that's going to make the perimeter
Starting point is 00:35:12 defense. I mean, all of it is, there's a ripple effect to all of it, but I just, I feel like if you are trying to find a defender to keep in the lineup, this is the way to do it. And you're getting, even if he can't quite guard the same size as somebody like Reddish can or whatever, you're just, you're going to get more out of it. And so I think that this is what they'll try going forward, at least a little bit. I mean, there's certainly no, Max's last few games. There's been no reason to take him out of the starting lineup. Yeah, to figure out why.
Starting point is 00:35:43 He made his case tonight. So Locked on Linkers and YouTube is we're going to go hang out with over 26,000 subscribers. We get you a lot more, a week with a lot of days off. so plenty of big issues to talk about, including this one. Lakers will certainly have at least one practice, possibly two. Plus December 15th. That's, we've now started. Some players are now available to be traded.
Starting point is 00:36:04 The 15th went and came and went and like Jonas Valenchunis isn't a Laker yet. But Dennis Schroeder is a warrior. And we'll talk about this on for Tuesday's show. The price for that should be encouraging to Lakers fans. So we'll get into that for sure. Quick reminder should have mentioned earlier in the show. Keep an eye out for the postcast with Dave Pele. Hopefully by now you've already heard it or you saw it in your feed.
Starting point is 00:36:32 And do sign up for the newsletter and get all of this stuff delivered right to you. We'll see everyone on Tuesday.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.