Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Luka (32 Points), LeBron (31 Points) and Lakers Grind Out Playoff-Like Win Over Knicks In OT, 113-109.

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey everyone, welcome to Locked-on Lakers for Friday. Brian Komenetsky, Andy Kemeniske, the Lakers grind out a win against the Knicks. In overtime, they've won eight in a row, a true team victory in a playoff setting. Lots to like. We will break it down next. You are Locked-on Lakers. Your daily Los Angeles Lakers podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:36 Thanks to everybody for making Lockdown Lakers. first listen to every day, Monday through Friday, no matter how or where you get your podcasts. You're always going to find this one for free. Gratis. And Locked on Lakers on YouTube is we're over 33,000 subscribers. Some of them are watching right there right now. They can all hang out, ask us questions,

Starting point is 00:00:56 ask each other questions. A great place to talk Lakers basketball, Andy. And they are excited about the Lakers who continue to win, eight in a row. Thursday's 113-109 overtime victory over the visiting New York Knicks. In a lot of ways, I think, Andy, perhaps the most impressive win they've had, or at least among the most impressive. And we can talk about why that may or may not be true.

Starting point is 00:01:24 As the show goes on, do want to let everybody know that today's episodes brought to you by Fandual. Right now, new Fandual customers came to $150 in bonus bets if your first $5. bet wins. So look, Andy, this is a winning streak, a winning stretch for the Lakers where they have for the most part been playing from ahead. They have, you know, gotten off to really good starts. They have not had to claw back from big deficits very often over the last month or two. But in this one, they did. Down as much as 13 in the third quarter of the Lakers, closed with an eight going into the fourth and keep themselves close enough to get it into overtime and win.

Starting point is 00:02:14 I did the 710 ESPN pre and post game radio coverage for the Lakers tonight, the radio affiliate of the team. That's also in part why we're starting late, apologize for that. And appreciate everybody waiting for us to start. But one of the things I talked about heading into this game was I was really looking forward to how the Lakers played against a good team and the Knicks are the three seed in the east at full strength because there have been some questions about whether or not Carl Anthony Towns was going to be available for this game. He had missed the last one for the Knicks with personal reasons, ended up playing. And this, while the Lakers have played very well over this eight game winning streak,

Starting point is 00:02:58 and frankly, they played very well since basically January or mid-January, the absolute latest. This is the first game in a while that they played a good team at full strength. Like maybe, maybe since the 23 point win over Denver. So that in and of itself was something that I wanted to see the Lakers go up against, you know, particularly without Ruihachamara, without Jordan Goodwin. They did get Austin Reeves back. But frankly, to put it generously, Austin looked rusty. He did. But although he did have sort of in a theme that we'll touch on, before the end of the show is sort of everybody contributing in one way or another. Reeves was lower on that list, but he did have a critical three all the time.

Starting point is 00:03:44 I tweeted out during this game. What we'll get into, Gabe Vincent was spectacular in the fourth quarter when the Lakers needed somebody not named LeBron or Luca to step up with some points. Through the first three quarters of this game, the Lakers had 66 points. 41 of them were LeBron and Luca. So that means 20 something from the other seven guys combined. I'm not doing the math there, but it's late. It's not a lot.

Starting point is 00:04:15 It's not a lot. I've been doing the guys all right. And somebody else needed to step up. Gabe hit three threes in the fourth quarter. And when overtime began, it was Austin Reeves out there and Gabe Vincent sitting. I tweeted out at Cam Brothers, depending on the outcome of, this game, JJ's decision to go with Gabe over Austin and overtime, considering how well Gabe played in the fourth, and considering how much Austin was just pretty terrible through

Starting point is 00:04:43 basically everything but overtime, Austin was pretty terrible. It ended up all as well that ends well. Well, I mean, he did talk about that. Reddick talked about that after the game. The goal was to get Vincent back on the floor. But, you know, the lineup arrangements that they were going to use, you just couldn't. A lot of it was just Jackson Hayes was playing really well. One way to get him on the floor would have just been start with him. I'm just telling you what the man said, Andy. I know. I'm saying that doesn't make sense. Okay. You take it up with him the next time you guys talk.

Starting point is 00:05:17 But the, you know, the, you know, the, it was significant, though, I think from a coaching standpoint that, you know, he went with Vincent down the stretch. He recognized who the better player was. on the night, even if, you know, in the hierarchy of the rotation, Reeves is normally going to be the guy who's out on the floor. But, you know, so it's good to see coaches coach the game that they're in rather than, you know, the game that they're expecting were the one that that's on paper or whatever it might be. It, you know, look, I mean, the Lakers, you mentioned Luca and LeBron.

Starting point is 00:05:56 Obviously, they were the catalysts for this game, you know, statistically. as bad as the Lakers were offensively. This was not a good game for the Lakers offensively. You know, they finish with 113 points. 14 of them came in the overtime, which means, again, for the math and magicians out there, they did not crack 100 points in regulation. Fortunately, they kept the Knicks there too,

Starting point is 00:06:19 allowing only 15 fourth quarter points. But, you know, this was 32 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists from Luca, 31, 12, and 8 from LeBron. Only two other players on the roster tonight got into double digits, and it was Vincent that you mentioned with 12. Dalton Connect had 11. So this was not a prolific effort from the Lakers. And you talk about playing a good team at full strength.

Starting point is 00:06:50 I talk in the beginning here about kind of grinding out a game where you're playing from behind as opposed to ahead. This was, you know, Austin Reeves talked about it after the game. This was not, this was not one they felt like they deserved to win in terms of their execution, in terms of how sharp they were and all that. But they earned the victory by staying close. They found just enough offense to keep with, you know, keep 13 points from becoming 18 points.

Starting point is 00:07:26 And then Reeve said, like, you look up and it's four or five minutes left in the game. We're down by six. It's like, oh, we can win this one because they believe if they're close, that they can both get buckets and stops and win games like this. I'll take it a step further because the Lakers spent a lot of the second and third quarter of this game, I think even into some of the fourth down double digits. So it's more than just thinking, if we're close, we can pull this out. It's them actually thinking we're going to fight whether we are close or not.

Starting point is 00:08:04 Like it's one of the- Well, that's what I'm saying. It's like, you know, when you'd get down by 13 and the third, then you get two big buckets from Dalton Connect, including a three to finish the quarter. You know, like that kind of, you know, that cuts it from 11 to 8. Nick's pushed, I think a couple buckets early in the fourth, got it back up into the 10, but like they chipped it generally speaking.

Starting point is 00:08:25 They kind of chipped it down. And then you just, you don't give up on the game. Reddick talked about it. Use the old Eric Spolstra expression, you know, not letting go of the rope. You know, they didn't let go of the rope. And, you know, we some of this is a byproduct, I think, Andy, of having Luca and LeBron. Like when you, if you can stay close enough, you trust those guys. to give you buckets or at least give you the opportunity to get buckets and give wide open

Starting point is 00:08:58 three-pointers to somebody like Gabe Vincent. And I'm starting to get really interested and excited by these games where the two of them not just combined for like 60 points, but they also combine for almost 20 assists. Like that's just good stuff that it's, you know, it puts into scale, like, the, what they've got from a playmaking standpoint and how difficult that is to stop. When you have guys like Luca and LeBron, you always will give yourself at least a theoretical chance, but the theoretical chance doesn't happen unless the resolve is there for the rest of this team.

Starting point is 00:09:40 And that's something, by the way, that's really grown over the course of the season. That was not the identity of this team when the season began like that. just that resolve to constantly fight. That was not there. I think it's obviously helped when you win, win begets more spirit, more energy, more belief, all of that stuff.

Starting point is 00:10:01 But, you know, I think it's helped when they traded for DFS. I think getting Vando back. I think gave Vincent rounding back into form. Like those guys beyond playing well, they play with a certain energy and grit and like an embracing of the dirty work. But just all of the guys, guys on this team now, this collection, they play really hard and they, they treat games like

Starting point is 00:10:27 opportunities. And it's been a long time since it's felt like the Lakers have just decided, you know what, it ain't our night, believe it, it's not worth it. They just treat it like it's worth it. It's, um, there's more to, I think even more to it than that. And you talk about winning, kind of compounding on itself. I think that plays a significant role in the comeback on Thursday night. I'll explain why next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by prize picks basketball season is heating up. Damn right it is.

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Starting point is 00:12:44 The Lakers with this win, this is the 40th win of the season. We are still early in March. I can think it is fair to say. Andy that nobody expected the Lakers to have 40 wins in early March in say late November. That was not in the cards. We didn't think they were a bad team. No, but there's a big difference between, you know, that and this. And I, you know, you talk about the stuff that helps teams in games like this, gives them the spirit to do that.

Starting point is 00:13:18 I think some of it is look at where we are. look at what we're playing for. Eight wins in a row and they are now, you know, with the second seed in the West. Like you, you keep adding on to the incentives to perform. It's no longer just, well, let's get in the top six and,

Starting point is 00:13:41 and avoid the play in. Now it's let's get home court. Now it's let's get home court for two rounds and not just one. The incentives are strong and the winning keeps piling up and feeding that belief that the incentives will matter in the end. You mentioned win number 40 and the Lakers being ahead of what we projected to be their pace for their record. Last year, they did not reach win 40 until March 26. So that puts the Lakers 20 days ahead of that. It was a double overtime win over the bucks.

Starting point is 00:14:23 So I guess thematically it speaks to, even if it's hard, it's still relatively easier than last time because that was double overtime. That's twice as hard. Yeah, versus single overtime. Again, the idea of their willingness to just lay it all out there, there was a lot that was frustrating the Lakers in this game.

Starting point is 00:14:47 beyond just the inability to score, if your name was not LeBron or Luca, the inability to hit outside shots. Even those guys, it sounded like either one of them had highly efficient knights. They just were the only two guys who could score at all. I mean, if your name was not Luca, you were basically struggling from beyond the arc. The Lakers entered halftime, I want to say shooting 18% from behind the arc. they were starting to have difficulties with turnovers. Like they didn't have a lot in the game, but they had several that was like, ugh, like that's ugly.

Starting point is 00:15:25 Like that, it just them not being on the same page. Luca got teed up where there was a sequence where he was going after a loose ball. And he got jacked in the face. And I want to preface this by saying he did. No, but it was sort of after the ball was out of. his hands and well he he got cracked and it wasn't the first time and i want to preface why what i'm about to say with the reason the lakers were trailing for much of this game was not the refs the reason was they were not playing well that being said the refs missed a lot of calls

Starting point is 00:16:02 that could have been in the lakers favor and i think should have been in their favor and that was building up it explained in part why luka got the tia though you know lucca getting a t is let's say does he really do we need an explanation well it's It dawned on me when Luca got teed up in this game. If you were looking for a bright side to him missing about six weeks or so with the calf injury, it's that he is behind his normal pace for T's. And the odds of him getting that 16th T and facing suspension, never say never,

Starting point is 00:16:36 because Luca doesn't even have to put his mind to it to make it happen. But he is, I think he just got either T7 or 8. I will tell you right now, that is well, well beyond, well back from what you expect from Luca in March. But like, you know, Dalton Connect got jacked on a drive where he got hit in the face, then fell backwards, hit his head on the court was like struggling to get up. Like there was there was a lot that didn't get called that was, I think also clearly upsetting the Lakers and they fought through it.

Starting point is 00:17:11 They did. No, they did. I was particularly in the first half. I mean, I didn't think the Kinect play was really a miscall. I just didn't think of the ground really hard. Because he got hit in the face. That's why he went backwards. We don't need to get into the, you know, arguing about verticality or things like that.

Starting point is 00:17:30 The Luka thing is something I think we're all going to need to get used to a little bit because this is kind of part of his jam. Like, you know, this is, you know, the yelling at the refs is for us. as it is as untimely as I'm as it can often be and as they're going to be moments where it's like yeah not right now no no wrong time wrong time um it does seem to be part of his process like if he was jeremy strong we'd be talking about this is how he gets into character um so there with every star there is a certain amount of stuff that you just got to kind of put up with that's like one of the things that they do. And for Luca, it is ref yelling.

Starting point is 00:18:19 I mean, we covered Kobe for 10 years. A lot of ref yelling. No, he was, he occasionally, Andy would voice his displeasure with, uh, with some calls from, from, from the other guys. He mostly limited to every possession. I, you know, the Lakers whole, the big thing about this is that, you know, that, you know, that fourth quarter defense, they struggled all night to contain Jalen Brunson, did catch a break as he went out very late with an ankle injury.

Starting point is 00:18:56 But, you know, in his 41 minutes, he had 39 points, 13 and 26, made his the line 13 times. The only thing he couldn't do was hit a three-pointer. He also had 10 assists. I mean, like Jalen Brunson was insanely good in this game. but in the fourth quarter, the Lakers limited New York to 15 points. And in the O.T, it was 10, 7 of 24 over that 17-minute stretch. This team continues, Andy, to be able to figure out how to defend and get stops when they need to. And I think that is one of the big differences between the Lakers this year and at different points.

Starting point is 00:19:40 whether earlier this year, going into last season, whatever it might be, is when they fall behind in games, sometimes you wonder if they can get enough buckets to get back into it, but you don't doubt anymore that they can get enough stops. And I think from a mental standpoint, most teams believe that they can score, especially if you've got LeBron, you've got stars at the beginning of the year, you have LeBron and AD, you believe you can put points up, whatever it may be. And now you have LeBron and Luca, you really believe you can get buckets when you need them. but you have to, you not only have to believe you can get stops,

Starting point is 00:20:17 you have to be able to back that up. And the Lakers can't. There is not a team in the league that they can't get stops against over a certain stretch of time from game to game. Like that, they are a legitimately high-end defensive team now. And that changes the context of every game that they're going to play in, every deficit that they have, every lead that they're trying to protect,

Starting point is 00:20:43 the ability to defend at a high level changes everything. And it's the complete opposite of what we expected from this team heading into the season. It's also, to be honest, what we weren't quite sure would sustain itself after the AD trade, which also involved Max Christie. It's one of the best defensive players on this team for a lot of this season. And even with the emergence of, you know, Vando and Vincent and DFS, like, and the,

Starting point is 00:21:15 LeBron, I think the dedication LeBron has defensively since around January, I really think was the catalyst in a lot of ways to all of it. Like I think that's what more than any one thing enabled the Lakers defense to be what it is. But you still didn't know for sure whether or not it was something they were, going to be able to maintain they have. And now they've got yet another test coming up for a four-game road trip beginning Saturday in Boston. We can talk about that coming up next. Lockdown Lakers is brought to you by Fandul when the game tips off. The NBA action is just getting started. There's no better

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Starting point is 00:23:19 And I don't want to get into that stuff because honestly, I don't care. But the one thing that I think is exciting, or one of the things that I think is exciting, it is, there's no question. The league likes it when the Lakers are a legitimate title contender. But we are back in a place where it is not a major stretch to daydream. about Lakers Celtics injure. I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm not saying I would make that the likely outcome.

Starting point is 00:23:52 Because until somebody beats Oklahoma City, they are, I think, pretty clearly the best team in the Western Conference. But, you know, and by the way, Cleveland will have something to say about Boston coming out of the east. But like right now, these are the two seeds. Like your Celtics in June? Maybe. If nothing else, we're not forcing the conversation.

Starting point is 00:24:18 We are not. If we frame it in those terms, we're not forcing the conversation. Sorry if Charles Barkley's tired of talking about the Lakers, you're just going to have to keep doing it, Chuck. Just, you know, keep saying they suck. So at least you can have your binky that way. Before also we get to the Celtics, point out a few guys like Jackson Hayes filed out of this game,

Starting point is 00:24:39 but he made some really big plays down the stretch, particularly as a passer. He hit LeBron from the short roll for, I believe, a three that tied the game up at 96. Oh, that was LeBron. I thought I was going to say. I thought it was Vincent, but it was LeBron. And he also hit Austin,

Starting point is 00:24:58 he also hit Austin off the short roll for the, Austin's won three and like, and one of the two shots he made in this game. I will say, as much as I question the wisdom of having Austin out there for overtime instead of Gabe, big shot from Austin, which, I mean, you saw his expression afterwards. He was like, thank God. Like he was just like, thank you.

Starting point is 00:25:23 Finally something. But some nice plays from Jackson Hayes when they needed it. Dalton Connect hit a few big shots. A lot of guys didn't have their best games, but I think everybody found a way to chip at least a little bit. But you and it was it wasn't just that they that different guys found ways

Starting point is 00:25:49 to chip in. You may have, every dayers may have heard me say this a few times. Like there's a long stretch of the course of this season, certainly going into the last season where I always felt like the Lakers were like in the bottom 10th of the league in got to have it shots, got to have it three-pointers, got to have it rebounds, got to, whatever it is.

Starting point is 00:26:16 Like those moments in a game where a shot must go in, it is an open look you've created and it must go in. You get a situation where, you know, like Ananobe missing the free throw at the end, we're like, you got to get that rebound. And the Lakers were beating people. people up. You know, you could see like you watch the replay. Like DFS basically just like like, like it was like an old football blocking sled kind of move. It just drives cat out of the way and LeBron gets that rebound. Like those kinds of plays, the Vincent threes where the, you know, it goes in. Like those are wide open threes and close games that have to go in. The Reeves three pointer was an wide open look that had to go in. And they made them. And I. And I. And I. And I'm a. And I'm a. And I. And I. And I. And. And. And. And. And. I think when you start looking around for little clues that this team is just a good team, that's one of them. And, you know, it's the previous games, guys are out of the lineup. And it doesn't matter sort of who you plug in.

Starting point is 00:27:23 They kind of continue defending and continue doing the game play no matter who is playing. Those are the signs of a good team. And they just keep piling up to now where we're like most of the nights, we have the biggest first world problems and complaints about this team, which is awesome. I mean, you mentioned how the Lakers did catch a bit of a break with Jalen Brunson's injuries. Absolutely ugly ankle roll. I hope he's okay. Like, it looked extremely painful and he was having a difficult time getting back to the locker room.

Starting point is 00:27:55 It is worth mentioning, though, that had the Lakers had Rui and Rui just being a guy that can make shots, and if he had maybe been available just to make shots, perhaps the game isn't as close. Yeah, and every team, you know, very rarely do you get teams that are 100% fully at, you know, everybody's a full set. But you get, you know, the principal actors in this game for both teams were available and except for, I mean, Brunson's, it's not like Brunson hurt himself in the, in the second quarter. It was, you know, deep into the O.T. No, but the O.T, though, is a critical. It's not, it's an important part of the game. Don't get me wrong.

Starting point is 00:28:38 but, you know, that kind of thing happens. But I'm just mentioning, I think this was Lakers versus Nix with everybody available. I think that is, that's, that's fair. Certainly everybody from the Nix. Yeah. You don't need an asterisk. I'm not asterisk at all. No, I'm not saying you are.

Starting point is 00:28:58 I'm saying, you know, just it's close enough. And I'm just, I'm excited for this, for this road trip. I'm excited to see them go play on the road again. really good teams. And I don't know if they're going to win them or lose them or whatever, but like go to Boston and play a good game. Lakers have clearly shown their dominant home team. You know, okay, what about the road? Another signpost of are you a good team or not? Can you go win on the road? So, you know, we'll see starting Saturday. It's going to be really interesting, beyond just the matchups of this game and how much they change with Luca and Boston's health.

Starting point is 00:29:35 Like they've got some guys banged up right now. I don't know who's going to be available for Saturday's game, but just about everybody on the Celtics who matters, like in the top six or seven, is dealing with something right now. And, you know, some of them, I'm sure,

Starting point is 00:29:54 we're sitting Thursday against the Sixers because, you know, the Sixers. And if you're looking to give some guys a break, that's the night to do it. but their top six or seven guys have been dealing with something. But that being said, they've got a lot of wing defenders that you can throw at LeBron and Luca.

Starting point is 00:30:17 They've got interesting matchups in terms of someone like Porzingis who can play inside and out. They've got a lot of guys to cover around the arc. Like, you know, they don't shoot the type of percentage that you might think collectively just for a team that takes that many threes, but they bombed the living bleep out of it while they're out there. And they're going to be looking for some payback because the last game, the Lakers beat them in L.A. pretty handily.

Starting point is 00:30:50 And that was, you know, by definition, a really high-profile game. Then you go to Brooklyn. I don't know if D.Lo is going to be available for a revenge game or not. And then it's Milwaukee, followed by Denver on the second end of a back-to-back. You know, Denver's a hard place to play anyway, much less second end of a back-to-back with that altitude. That is a really good, like you said,

Starting point is 00:31:17 it's a good test, a good framing device to figure out maybe not exactly where the team is because there's still time for them to roll into form, but you're going to be getting more clues. Those clues are going to be informative. And they see the nuggets again on, the 19th at the at the crypt and so

Starting point is 00:31:36 those games become important for that second seat you know if you if you want to hold on to that you certainly don't want to fall behind in the season series so you know at the very least splitting there becomes a in those two games becomes important I just again first world problems we're talking about we know

Starting point is 00:31:56 what do the Lakers need to do to to hold on to the second seed in the case of tiebreakers. Like, I realize people are going to recalibrate and frankly should recalibrate quickly what the expectations are. But we talked about this on Thursday. There's a certain, you know, you and I have been around this team for a long time. We've seen some horrendous seasons, but we've also seen championship seasons. And up close.

Starting point is 00:32:28 Yes. you know, we like covered, you know, cover the team doing this thing in the building and all that stuff. There is, there is, what makes this different and what provides a different kind of energy is the fact that so much has changed after the season started. You know, it started with the trade of DFS,

Starting point is 00:32:54 DLO for DFS. And then obviously the seismic, grade for for Luca but like the the fact that this is all happening so quickly and there are still so many sort of unknowns and it feels like there's still so much upside to this team like defensively I don't think there's necessarily more upside again they hold a team to a hundred points basically in regulation but I just I can't help but feel this team with LeBron Luca and Austin Reeves leading the way has significantly more offensive upside than they've shown. There's an energy difference to this, where this feeling of contention than any other season I can remember,

Starting point is 00:33:43 because in all the other ones, Andy, it was expected. I guess the closest thing would be the Western Conference Finals run, excuse me, a couple years ago. but I don't know I feel like this team feels more title here's the comparison I would ready than that one did here's the comparison I would make 2008 when the season where they got pow gasol and while they had been playing very well before before they got pow I think people forget about that they were tied with phoenix for first in the west when andrew bindham got hurt but the reason it reminds me of that team was the expectations heading into that season were, you know, the, this is, this is fine meme.

Starting point is 00:34:31 You know, people may recall that was the season after Kobe had demanded the trade and went to every single media outlet that would listen, demanding the, you know, demanding the Lakers trade in. They said to play on Pluto, ship Andrew Bynum's ass to New Jersey for Jason Kidd. Like, heading into that year, most of the last. the expectations were like, is Kobe going to blow the whole damn thing up? And then when they got Powell, they were clearly playing well, but they were so untested as a playoff team. Like other than Kobe and Derek Fisher, like a little bit of Lamar, like there was so little playoff experience

Starting point is 00:35:09 between all those guys. You didn't know what they were going to be. And, you know, obviously LeBron has won four titles. Lucas has been to the finals, Western Conference. conference finals. Like there's, there's more playoff experience collectively, I think, on this team than that 2008 one. But I think in terms of pure surprise and also not quite sure what it's going to be, but man, it looks good. 2008's the one that comes to mind. It's an interesting one, for sure. Well, we'll get a taste of 2008, 2010, 2000, you know, and the entire decade of the 1980s on Saturday. Lakers versus Celtics. Of course, we'll be back following that game to break it all down. Locked on Lakers on YouTube as we go hang out. With over 33,000 subscribers,

Starting point is 00:35:58 we'll see you everyone after the game on Saturday.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Luka (32 Points), LeBron (31 Points) and Lakers Grind Out Playoff-Like Win Over Knicks In OT, 113-109.

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