Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Luka Dončić Drops 34, LeBron James Hits Buzzer Beater, Lakers Win 120-119

Episode Date: March 27, 2025

They figured it out. After looking like they couldn't lose, the Lakers looked like they couldn't win. But in the end, they found a way, staging a fourth quarter comeback to beat the Indiana Pacers on... the road, 120-119. Luka Donćić led the way among scorers with 34. Austin Reaves was on fire in the second quarter, and finished with 24 points. LeBron James entered the fourth quarter with three (3) points. Not a typo. He went on a personal run to quickly get up to 11, but saved his best for last. As a potential Luka game-winner trickled off the front of the rim with barely a second to play, LeBron was there to tip it in and beat the buzzer. In the end, it's a huge win for a Lakers team that had to have it. They worked hard—JJ Redick noted that going in, the staff said this would be a game won on multiple effort plays, which turned out to be true. They weathered a lot of storm, and beat back the nervous vibes that can creep in with a team that's not in a great spot. And while the offense periodically lost its way, down the stretch when the Lakers needed points, they generated them consistently, and generally converted.  Especially Rui Hachimura, who had a pair of massive triples down the stretch, despite barely having touched the ball to that point. That level of execution (including some adjustments in how they got into the offense) was great to seeIt looks a lot different than it might had the Lakers lost by a point instead of winning by one, no question. But the way the Lakers were able to celebrate as a team while they waited for the official ruling of a made basket that was very obviously coming, it felt like a major weight being lifted. It's risky to say one game snaps them out of the funk they've been in over the last couple of games, but it's certainly possible for a win like this to change the vibes in important ways. We'll find out fast, because the Lakers are back in action Thursday in Chicago.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: The Lakers get a buzzer beater from LeBron, beat Indiana. SEGMENT 2: Does the win shift the vibes? SEGMENT 3: Adjustments!  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!Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. 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.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.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 Thursday. Brian Kaminetsky, Andy Kaminetsky, 34 points from Luca Donchich and a buzzer beating tip in from LeBron James give the Lakers a 120, 119 win over Indiana. Is that going to be the lift they need to get rolling down the stretch? That's 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 to every day, Monday through Friday, sometimes on weekends, no matter how or where you get your podcast. This one's always going to be free and never behind paywall. Locked on Lakers on YouTube, Andes, we're over 34,000 subscribers are hanging out talking to us, talking to each other, leaving questions, leaving comments. And they're all talking about Wednesday nights, thrilling, strange, totally emotional, 120, 119 win over the Indiana Paceous in Indiana Lakers. break that three-game losing streak,
Starting point is 00:01:09 get a badly needed win on the road. Do want to let everybody know that today's episode brought to you by Fandul. Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets with your first $5 bet wins. You got 34 from Luca Donchich. They got a buzzer-beating tip-in from LeBron James, 24 from Austin Reeves.
Starting point is 00:01:28 When things look good in this game, they looked really good, and when they didn't, they looked really awful. But in the end, Andy, this feels like at least it's one of those wins that has a potential kind of lift some weight off of a team that I think was carrying a little. The things that need to be fixed still are in need of fixing. This was not a game where the Lakers looked entirely like themselves,
Starting point is 00:01:55 but they looked a lot more like themselves more often in this game. And I don't want to interrupt you, but also in critical moments, like down the stretch, the offense operated really well. Yeah, there were definitely some good moments offensively, a couple really big threes from Rui who ended up getting the start in this game that looks like it's going to be the case moving forward. We had talked about how we suspected at least that until Rui was able to play enough minutes that J.J. felt like I can start him without having to screw with the rotation too much.
Starting point is 00:02:35 He was going to be put in there, and that was the case. He didn't get a lot of shots in this game, would still like him to get more, but the ones that he got, he mostly made, and they were really big. But, like, you look at 119 for the Pacers and a couple quarters that were shaky defensively. It is important to remember the Pacers are one of the best offensive teams in the league. They average almost 117 points for the season. Since the All-Star break, they're averaging 118. points a game. They shoot 49% from the field for the season, about 37% from behind the arc.
Starting point is 00:03:15 They get to the line. And because Tyrese Halliburton is so good taking care of the ball and has it in his hands all the time. And his backup, T.J. McConnell also doesn't turn the ball over. They're a team that you don't have many opportunities to capitalize on mistakes and get out in transition. Like the Lakers did find some opportunities to run, but I don't want to excuse some of the breakdowns because there were some that frankly, you know, you're going to go through the film session, be like, bro, can't have that happen again. But this is not a team that you should look to hold to 105 points or else the defense sucked. Yeah, no, I agree with you. I think, you know, we can get into some of the individual elements of the team and how they played and all that.
Starting point is 00:04:05 the course of it because I think like it's like you said the defense had moments where especially when they were able to get into the half court's kind of settled I think for the most part it looked pretty good certainly JJ Redick that's one of the things he talked about after the game the offense I thought there were a lot of things to like but I I mentioned in the open like this was just a weird game you had LeBron James entering the fourth quarter sitting on the three points. That does not happen. Often, the guy has scored 10 points or more every game since 2007. Sitting not just on three points, but zero field goals. Like I don't know. Yeah, I don't know for sure if that is the longest LeBron's ever gone in a game without a basket. But if it's not,
Starting point is 00:05:01 it's got to be pretty damn close. Like, I mean, I don't know how much farther you can go. This does not happen to LeBron particularly often. We'll get into some of the specifics too. This was also a game from LeBron. And he gets the tip, the game winning tip in just barely beating the buzzer of a missed floater by Luca. And by the way, this Wednesday, between announcing his revamped Mind the Game podcast now with Steve Nash, absolutely owning the news cycle after an hourish sit down with Pat McAfee. Very entertaining, sit down, by the way.
Starting point is 00:05:40 He got Stephen A riled up. I thought McAfee actually did a really good job. Yeah, it was a good interview. A really good interview. And then this game winning tip in, really nice little Wednesday for LeBron. But we'll get into this. I loved this game from LeBron, not just the tip-in. obviously the tip-in was amazing, but I love this game from LeBron.
Starting point is 00:06:04 I'm glad you brought, like we spent, and I, before everyone gets upset, I am not trying to draw an equivalence in terms of the importance in terms of the whatever. You know, one of the things about sort of the legendary game seven with Kobe and the Celtics is as bad as he was shooting the ball in that game. Kobe was a train wreck in so many ways. did so many other things to contribute to win it. And LeBron, aside from the low point total and the inefficiency from the, from the, the offense, he was not struggling in quite the same way, but he was phenomenal on the glass. He was, I think, consistently the best defender the Lakers had on the floor.
Starting point is 00:06:53 And, you know, he talked after the game, you know, continuing to find ways to impact how to win. this is a lot of the sort of the platitudes you expect from LeBron in terms of, you know, this is how my game is. And he's stuff he said a million times. And I can, I'm able to contribute even when I'm not scoring. And there are other guys who can do that and so on and so on and so on and so on and so on. Except A, it's true. And B, it mattered in this game significantly.
Starting point is 00:07:23 They don't win if he doesn't do all the other stuff. And I also think it's really. It's something to notice and something to kind of hang, you maybe hang your hat on a little bit. It's like, yeah, we're in this game. Probably should have been up by more. If you're the Lakers, you're thinking of this with LeBron sitting on three points in the fourth quarter. Like there are, like, it shows that they can come up with ways to win.
Starting point is 00:07:49 And they can stay in games and they can compete and do all that stuff without having to lean on LeBron as a score. They're going to need it. Most games, he's going to be able to do that. that stuff and still have 17 heading into the fourth. I'm not saying three points from LeBron after three quarters is ideal. I'm just saying there's a lot of stuff you can look back on if you're the Lakers and say, wow, that's good in terms of not having to rely on his scoring. Well, it also just this was a display of why LeBron,
Starting point is 00:08:24 beyond being one of the greatest players of all time, you know, in the, conversation on the very short list of greatest of all times is one of the reasons why he's one of the most versatile and well-rounded players of all time because like you mentioned going into the fourth quarter he had a near double-double with rebounds and assists i want to say he was sitting on seven apiece for both um but somewhere in that range at least i think he had the seven assists and i think he was at like eight or nine seven or eight or not but like it was close yeah yeah it was in that range so he's looking at a potential double-double heading into the fourth to despite having only three points.
Starting point is 00:09:00 And we mentioned the defense that he played that was often just terrific in this game. And as we've talked about before, LeBron's defensive engagement very often sets the tone for the rest of this team. It often his communication. And LeBron actually talked about after the Orlando, it's either after the Orlando loss or a practice in Indiana, just part of getting his conditioning back is actually the ability to keep talking. defensively like, you know, it's it's the same way like it's difficult for singers who do a two and a half hour concert and also, you know, if they happen to do choreography or whatever, like that, that requires conditioning. That is hard to do with vocalizing. But another piece of
Starting point is 00:09:45 this that I loved with LeBron, zero turnovers after three quarters. He didn't get his fourth, he didn't get his first turn, his first turnover into the fourth quarter. There you go. He, driving, dribble the ball off as a lot. like it was his only turnover of the game, but like things like that help offset a night where you're not scoring, but you have so much control over the game. Again, like, this is not a night that in the grand scheme of things other than the game winner, I think people are going to remember over the course of LeBron's career, but I really loved the game that he had tonight.
Starting point is 00:10:24 Yeah, I agree. And it was coupled with, you know, obviously the, the, the, attention. LeBron had a great start to the fourth quarter. He was integral in in pushing the Lakers at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Obviously, he had the huge tip in at the end off the Luca miss, but it is worth talking both about the way that Luca, you know, 34 points, big contributor to the win on Wednesday night, but also the way he was able to help generate the quality of the offense the Lakers got in crunch time when they badly needed it. So we'll get into that next.
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Starting point is 00:11:57 Quick reminder, Lockdown Lakers is not just a show you can subscribe to on iTunes or Spotify or YouTube on the YouTube channel. It is also a newsletter. Go to Lockdown Daily.com. Click on Lockdown-on Lakers and you can have all of this goodness delivered to your inbox five days a week.
Starting point is 00:12:19 So yeah, go do that. It's good for us. It's good for you. Everyone wins. Plus, we need it after I just lost Fandle. Right. And you landed the plane. you just took it off.
Starting point is 00:12:36 I did. I did land. It was a half hour delayed and taking off. That was the problem. You know, in the grand scheme of air travel these days, that's not bad. It's not bad. So I, you know, look, the Lakers came out moving well, getting good shots. It was a nice start to the game offensively, kind of confirming what we had talked about for Wednesday's show, which is when teams try to trap, when teams try to double. The Lakers generally are very effective against that stuff. They generally are able to create
Starting point is 00:13:11 good shots because you know, you're not just passing out of a double team with a point guard. You're doing it with Luca Donchridge or you're doing it with the LeBron or you're doing it with Austin Reeves. And you're also passing to LeBron or Luca or so like the next pass that follows the one that breaks the press, breaks the trap, whatever it might be is generally a good one. They got kind of bogged down at different points as the game went along. And what I was really worried about, Andy, one of the things that I think is so encouraging about, this isn't directly related also to Luca,
Starting point is 00:13:47 and Luca was huge early in terms of building up that 34 points. You know, the three-pointer was working, the stepback was working. Down the stretch, it looked to me at least, and you can tell me if you disagree, the Lakers made a little bit of an adjustment, moving the ball higher up on the floor, setting screens higher up on the floor, and forcing Indiana,
Starting point is 00:14:09 you're kind of just creating the space that they needed to use to get downhill, get in the lane, whether by the pass or off the dribble, and that opened up a lot of the space the Lakers to create the Rui three-pointers, you know, LeBron moving the ball, you know, the hockey assists and stuff like that.
Starting point is 00:14:26 That all starts with Luca, you know, at the top of the floor. I just, I like the way that the Lakers, made an adjustment to how they were doing their offense, how they were operating it. And then, you know, because they needed a good possession basically every trip for the last five or six minutes that game. And they got it after a stretch where it looked like they were tightening up and going back into that sort of iso mode with guys standing and watching. Yeah, that's a bad habit with this team. And it's, it can be a habit with a lot of teams when things.
Starting point is 00:15:03 start going, when things start going bad, you start missing shots, a couple bad possessions, you will see teams all the time. Everybody tries doing a little too much and often doing a little too much means keeping the ball in your hands too much. But you mentioned the part about setting up higher often with Luca. One of the things I liked about it too, because there were, there were games earlier in the Luca era when everyone was learning how to work with each other, that they would sometimes set these screen, they would be setting screens while they were up really high and unintentionally trapping Luca in a lot of ways. They're kind of trapped, doing the defense's work for them. They were doing this setting up high and spreading out without actually
Starting point is 00:15:47 calling a middle of the floor and calling a defender up and basically doing some of the work where you make these kickouts or passing out of the double that much more difficult. Like they really did do, like you said, a good job spreading out the floor. If they get into the, if you can get, if they can start playing downhill and get into the paint or moving towards it. And it comes again, off of a double, off of a trap, off of something, you know, that they are kind of impossible to guard. You're 90% of the time, the Lakers are going to end up with a good shot in that. So you're not going to make every one of them. Rui's still got to step up and make those late three-pointers,
Starting point is 00:16:35 even having shot the ball, I think, three times until those shots near the end. You know, that requires, you know, some Cajonis to do it. But you've got to generate the look. And first and foremost, are you generating good looks? You go back to the game in Orlando. And, you know, the Lakers had third quarter problems and that one. They had third quarter problems in this one. But they couldn't get it back going and get those clean looks to keep themselves in the game.
Starting point is 00:17:09 Or in the case of the, you know, the Indiana game, Indiana took a, I think it was a four point lead. Lakers had to come back. Like they genuinely needed to execute to create the kind of looks that they were getting at the beginning of the game. And they did it. And I was, I'm not going to lie, Andy. I was not confident that they were going to be able to continue. consistently do that down the stretch. Well, they did a much better job throughout this game, moving the ball,
Starting point is 00:17:35 and not having anybody monopolize it too much, whether you're talking about handling the ball or just the shot distribution. You know, I mentioned earlier, I would have liked Rui to get more shots in this game, but Luca led with 21 and then Reeves had 16, LeBron, 12, DFS, Jackson Hayes, 6 is 6 from the field. Hayes, by the way, had a running dunk in this game that after it was an and one dunk that afterwards, like, he looked possessed.
Starting point is 00:18:08 Like, he actually looked like bringing an exorcist. The dudes done lost his mind. The devil's taken over. But, like, they did a better job in this game setting up Hayes with lobs that didn't feel forced. Jared Vanderbilt, we talked about the last couple games leading up to this was starting to get really shaky with the ball in his hands, period. Like just bad things were happening whenever he touched the ball.
Starting point is 00:18:34 I thought he had some really nice reads in this game. He had three assists, but also just helped move the ball nicely. There was a lot more just cohesion between everyone. And I think also that tone gets set when you see LeBron, Luca, and Austin very obviously looking to move the ball more. and being a part of creating a flow, and that flow gets everybody on the same page on both sides of the ball. For all the issues they had in the third quarter defensively,
Starting point is 00:19:08 and there were some breakdowns at times in the fourth, particularly down the stretch of the fourth. There were three possessions in a row that defensively, I can promise Luca would like to have back. They still held Indiana to 22 points in the second quarter. Like that is not easy to do. I, you know, to your point about, you know, Vando and the three assists and guys, a lot, again, I think so much of that is built on how, like, what's the situation in which those guys get the ball? Are they getting it with a chance, you know, with a player right up in their face where they have to generate something, create something, put the ball on the floor and then make a pass?
Starting point is 00:19:46 Are they getting it in, in open space off of a role, you know, because again, the Lakers are ahead of. of the defense. The ball is moving faster than the defense. If you give Jackson Hayes, if you give Vanderbilt, you know, with those guys an opportunity to make reads in those conditions,
Starting point is 00:20:05 they will make the right play. I mean, I think, you know, Vando, you know, just, he's had a couple really bad games in a row. He helped them. That big second quarter run they made was,
Starting point is 00:20:15 it was in part fueled by some big, really big defensive rebounds that Vanderbilt went up and got. Like boxout rebounds. It's really strong work. Great plays. And, you know, so I really do feel like the key to unlocking those guys and keeping everybody. It really is how they operate on offense and the ability to get the ball moving, players
Starting point is 00:20:42 moving, and keep the ball ahead of defenses. So, you know, you're not getting guys stuck. But, and I think that helps on the other end, too. But it's interesting that Vando was. even in that situation, because we're also talking about Jackson Hayes. This game was one, I think, that reinforced that Hayes is playing well, but also the problem with Hayes being really the only functional center that you have on your team.
Starting point is 00:21:10 And so I want to get to that next. Andy, I don't know if we have the disclaimer button ready to go that plus minus is not a, not always a great reflection of everything happening in a game. Please do not use it as the gospel. but Jackson Hayes with 13 points in 18 minutes, two rebounds and assists, a block. Played hard, as he always does, was a minus 13 in this game. Jared Vanderbilt, he played 16 minutes. He was a plus 24.
Starting point is 00:21:46 Obviously, game flow, all this, that, and whatever. Luca was a minus 16. Take it for what you will. I understand. We get a lot of this in the chat. Why doesn't Hayes play more of this? I get why he doesn't play more. I mean, it is they are limited in certain things that they can do when Hayes is on the floor.
Starting point is 00:22:06 He does provide some of that spacing, the vertical spacing and lob threat and all that stuff. So I would, you know, I think I'd love to see him play a little bit more than 18 minutes. But I don't think you can play him 26, 27, 28. It's hard to finish games with him. And he doesn't really provide tremendous rim protection. He just provides significantly better rim protection than anybody else can. I actually thought in this game, Jackson had some pretty nice defensive plays around the rim. I think the larger problem is just, I mean, beyond the fact that he's not a perfect player,
Starting point is 00:22:44 I think in most worlds, you would prefer him to be your high quality backup as opposed to your starter. In this game, I actually thought he had some really nice defensive possessions. but the larger point is it's either him or nobody. You are committed to playing small at that point. And, you know, so you're going to need, you know, to tie it back to the last second, you need Vando to play some of those minutes. Like you just, you know, he's going to have to function as a center. LeBron's going to have to function as a center.
Starting point is 00:23:21 It's why it's so important that Rui is back and playing effectively because not that you, want to play Rui as a center. They do it, but he needs to be playing at a pretty good level, especially offensively, to help balance some of the defense. He's got to be able to move well enough defensively to mitigate some of his natural, sort of weaker points on that side of the ball. It is a tight spot for JJ. The spacing is harder to maintain. with haze on the floor. You get a little bit of extra vertical stuff or whatever, but it can be hard to do certain things.
Starting point is 00:24:05 And so this is going to be one of these push-pulls. They can't solve it between now and the end of the year, is kind of hitting the right button of when do we lean a little bit more into Jackson? When do we go small? If we go small, how are we going to keep the integrity inside? What are we willing to give up? Like those plays you mentioned with Luca where he was out in space on Halliburton with no rim protection behind him. You might as well just, and I don't mean this as like a dig on Luca.
Starting point is 00:24:37 There are a lot of six foot six guys at his size that can guard Tyrese Halliburton in space. You might as well put two points on the board and just keep going. That's not a fair ask of Luca. And this is also a tough, it's a tough matchup for Jackson in the sense that there's, to whatever, degree you want him protecting the lane against a very specific matchup. Indiana doesn't have that. Like they have drivers, but they don't have a big that necessarily operates around the rim. Miles Turner, who really came alive in the second half of this game. He was super quiet in the first half, but all of a sudden, I think he hit three threes on either three or four.
Starting point is 00:25:18 Went on a personal 10-0 run, I think. Yeah. I mean, he went from extremely quiet to go in nuts. and Indiana has enough shooters that you either have to pull Jackson away to some degree and start doing some rotating it. I said before, I actually like Jackson defending a lot in space, but some very quick guys to ask that of him. I think this is a difficult map. This game like the Pacers is a difficult one for Jackson period as a matchup. But that question of how the Lakers. can get by with one center they feel confident in has been a recurring question ever since, I mean, Anthony Davis was traded or the Mark Williams trade was rescinded.
Starting point is 00:26:07 And it's very clear that regardless of whether Christian Coloco and or Trey Jemison the third eventually has their two-way contract converted. And side note, this is actually the last game for Jordan Goodwin. So they're going to have to convert his contract to a full NBA contract if he's going to play Thursday in Chicago. Which they will. One would think. Or if it doesn't happen immediately, it will happen pretty quick. But like, I was going to say real quick, regardless of whether it's Coloco, whether it's Jemison, or I guess the same effect, if it's neither.
Starting point is 00:26:49 JJ's, JJ in the playoffs is only going to play one of those guys if he absolutely has to. And it's very clear. The standard for absolutely has to is no, really, I absolutely have to. And that is the right approach because those guys are not your best players. And, you know, for the most part, as a coach, you are going to do better when you put better players on the floor. And the matchups may not be ideal and all of this stuff. And I get it.
Starting point is 00:27:23 Like it creates problems. But the, you know, Jared Vanderbilt, you know, even when he's not playing, he's a better player than Christian Koloko. He's a better player than Trey Jemison. And, you know, you can get a minute or two, three minutes, five minutes, short shifts. You might be able to do it. But you're not getting far with those other guys. And it's not a knock on them.
Starting point is 00:27:42 It's, you know, it's just, it's, it is what it is. I do think, I want to mention we haven't talked. much about him. Austin Reeves in this game. You want to talk about weird weird game. Austin was eight of 16 from the floor. Not bad. One of eight from three. That's terrible, meaning he was seven of eight from two and hit all seven of his three of his free throws. He, Lakers go on this huge run in the second quarter. It's basically in Austin. all him. And one of the things I don't actually know if I texted it to you, but I certainly thought about
Starting point is 00:28:25 it. And it's like, I should, you know, I almost did. I love when Reeves, Reeves game tonight, it was the difference between some of these other games where he's always aggressive and he'll always take contact. This to me felt like one of those games where he would absorb it when it happened, but he wasn't looking for it. He was playing aggressively. He was getting into the pain.
Starting point is 00:28:48 He was using space and change of speeds and all that kind of stuff. And he got a lot of contact with the line seven times. But he didn't, he wasn't playing to me like he was looking for fouls. Like he was looking for whistles. And there's a difference in just the dynamism with which he plays and the control with which he plays offensively when he plays without looking for fouls. You know, it's funny you say that. And I wasn't thinking about it in real. time, but now that you mention it, neither was Luca. And for that matter, neither was LeBron.
Starting point is 00:29:25 Like all of them, you know, LeBron got the line five times Luca and Austin seven apiece. Like that's neither nothing nor just continual trips to the line. But I think all three of them were not doing anything that even detractors would say was just foul grifting. And if they're not doing that. I think, again, thinking about this in real time, that is something that will also lead to the offense being more cohesive, because sometimes foul grifting leads to a lot of dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, trying to eventually force the refs to do something or putting your head down, not looking for a basket, but looking for a whistle. And then at that point, you're dependent on the mood of the ref. Yeah. And just,
Starting point is 00:30:18 It takes the team out. It's one thing when they get ISO heavy, which is not great. But sometimes the other team is going to force that. You know, they made an interesting point on the broadcast just about, you know, the way, you know, they can be defended out of a lot of called plays, depending on how switches happen, depending on, you know, all these other things. And, you know, I think everybody who watches these games would love to see a higher level of organized offense and, and things like that. But if when that becomes difficult, if the other team is sort of daring them to play one-on-one and look, I mean, if I got to play one-on-one, doing it with Luca Donchish, LeBron James, and Austin Reeves isn't the worst thing in the world.
Starting point is 00:31:05 But you still, there's a difference between it does get people standing around when that happens. But even then the quality of the shot that those guys are able to generate or what they can then make off. that one kickout that you might get before the end of the shot clock is still better than if they go in there with that feeling of seeking with the mission of getting to the free throw line as opposed to, you know, Luke is great at this. Reeves is great at this, recognizing when the defender has made a mistake getting them in the air and then, you know, throw it up, get to the line foul. I don't, you know, that's fine. But that's the reaction to the play rather than the goal when you end up. the lane. And I think that seems to me to be the distinction you're making, right? Yeah, absolutely. Like, it's what's just essentially on every single possession, what is the intention and how are you going about meeting your intention? Also, we didn't mention it just because
Starting point is 00:32:05 in the grand scheme of the game, both he seemed okay and so much else happened. But Austin during the game left for a little bit because he had tweaked an ankle. It wasn't super specific what happened, but he ended up finishing the game. He said afterwards that he's fine. He would be, quote, back at it tomorrow, tomorrow being Thursday in Chicago. So for the time being, it doesn't seem to be anything to worry about along the health lines. Rui playing 28 minutes, the most that he's played since returning from his knee strain, again, reentering the starting lineup.
Starting point is 00:32:37 LeBron played 38 minutes in this game. And for whatever issues he had hitting baskets, it was definitely not. What a low energy, that's for sure. No, no. So these are good trends, hopefully as the Lakers close out the next two games of this road trip and try to get themselves in the best form with the playoffs approaching. Yeah, you know, they, this was a big win. We'll see how they play in Chicago, whether or not it really changes the nature.
Starting point is 00:33:10 But it seems to me like a big weight kind of came off of them over the course of that game. They didn't get a lot of help. You know, the Clippers won, Denver won. You know, so they needed this game. And they need the game in Chicago as well. So we'll see. Locked-on Lakers on YouTube is where you can hang out with 34,000 subscribers. All of them love the Lakers, love LeBron and Luca and the gang, just like you do.
Starting point is 00:33:36 We, of course, will be back following the game in Chicago. So it doesn't stop, Andy. We are marching towards the playoffs for you. tomorrow.

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