Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - POSTCAST Lakers beat Blazers 107-98

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

Anthony Davis scored 30 points, grabbed 11 boards, and blocked 5 shots as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their 3-game losing streak, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 107-98. LeBron James missed his first game of the season with a foot injury, but Rui Hachimura scored 23 and D’Angelo Russell added 28 points in his absence.Lakers, LA Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui, Austin Reeves, NBA, Lakers Post cast, JJ Redick, Dalton Knecht, Lakers vs Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trailblazers Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You are a Locked-on Lakers podcast. Part of Locked-on Sports Los Angeles on the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, everyone, I'm Dave Palais. Don't forget, Lakers rally tonight. So tonight's a good night. Lakers win. They snap that three-game losing streak. No LeBron James, no Austin Reeves.

At the same time, it's the Anthony Davis show, Osiruie, and DeAngelo Russell. We talk about all that as the Lakers try to get back on the winning side of things. find their identity as well. We'll start the show off by mentioning the good people over at FanDil. Don't forget, get ready to tackle the NFL action with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because right now new customers can bet $5 and get $150 and bonus bets. If you win, don't forget to check out the people over at FanDul.

So the Lakers, they win tonight 107-98 over the Portland Trailblazers. They return home after a disappointing road trip. and for the Lakers to go on that road trip and finish with only one win. And that one win that they got was only by one point. It was against the Utah Jazz, one of the lonely teams in the league. And then they head to Miami and it's a disaster. Arguably one of the worst games of the year, if not the worst game of the year, for the Lakers because there's so much questions was what was the effort like?

Outside of the game that LeBron James played, you could question almost every single person on that team. And then they go to Atlanta and they play their tails off. problem is they did everything right except get the win. They fell apart at the end of the game. They went to overtime and Trey Young hits a wide open three-pointer. Lakers lose. They come back on the long flight to Los Angeles. They get one day off before opening up a big game against the Portland Trailblazers. And then the way the schedule will work out, we'll talk about that about how there's benefits to the Lakers and how important this win tonight against Portland was. Again, Lakers win 107-98.

And for the Lakers to figure out what they were going to do, because when I said, what were they going to do, you were missing two of your top three scores. You're missing LeBron James and you're missing Austin Reeves. And so you're missing those two guys. Of course, Austin Reeves has been gone for a long time now with the pelvic injury. LeBron James, he misses because of a foot injury. Kind of disappointing because, if you recall,

LeBron James had the goal set for himself of playing all 82 games. as great as that sounds, and as fans, as we say, we want to basically know when we buy a ticket to a game that we're going to see possibly the best to ever do it. And then when he doesn't play, you say, man, I spent a lot of money to come to watch the Lakers play. And I don't even get a chance to see the king. Well, the foot injury obviously is beenagin him.

At the same time, I don't know how much he needed the rest, but I'm sure he did. It is tough. And if you listen to JJ Reddick, he says, we've been on the road for two weeks. We've been on the road for two weeks, even though they came back to play that one game. He goes, it was honestly like a two-week road trip.

When you're losing, the road trip seemed even longer. All of a sudden, you aren't sleeping as well, you're on eating as well, and he just want to get home. So to come back and play the Portland Trailblazers, even though you're short-handed, it was very, very important that this team was able to go out and get a win. And for the Lakers, that's what they're able to do. Again, 107-98 Lakers, they win over the Trailblazers.

How did they do it? Do it without LeBron, do it without Austin Reeves? What was the plan? Well, the plan was basically what you think would have happened. If you were coaching this team and they said, hey, J.J. Redick's sick tonight. We need you to be the coach. What you have done? You would have done exactly what the Lakers did.

And that was to run everything through Anthony Davis. And so Anthony Davis started off hot, all right? Anthony Davis, again, had a great night the way he finished, but he started off just red hot. And that's what the Lakers needed. Lakers, though, were out, scored 2822 in the first quarter. It wasn't working. So even though this team's 7 and 3 at home and they've struggled on the road,

This Laker team needed a big win. The starting five tonight, if you wonder, without LeBron James and Austin Reeves, in case he missed it, it was Anthony Davis, Rui, Dalton Connect, Gabe Vincent, Max Christie, they get the start. So the Lakers, again, first quarter, not having two of your top three guys. Anthony Davis against the Blazers comes in, and he finished with 14 points in the first quarter and six rebounds. Danilo Russell was the second leading scorer on the team.

We go, well, what did he get? Only had four points. So your top score is doing fine, but no one else was there to help. It was basically one against five for the Lakers, and this wasn't going to work throughout the game. I mean, obviously you're outscored by one of the worst teams in the league in the Portland Trailblazers in the first quarter, but it can't just be Anthony Davis. Other guys have to find their role on this team. They have to find the reason why they're getting a paycheck, why they're on the roster,

and why at the same time, Rob Plink is going to keep these guys at the end of the year when he's talked about the threat of making a trade. Lakers got a little bit better in the second quarter, though. Don't forget, Lakers outscored the Blazers by 20 points. So things were looking good and going, okay, the Lakers are figuring this thing out. So first quarter, Lakers get outscored 2822. Second quarter, Lakers outscored the Blazers, 37, 17. They go into the half up 59, 45, and this is going to be a cakewalk.

This is going to be the exact kind of game the Lakers need. Lakers fans need Laker basketball. This is what the Lakers do, especially at home. Not only do you win, but you win by a lot. And you give your starters, as we've spoken about in the past, guys like Anthony Davis and LeBron James, as they're older, give them a chance to rest even while the game is going on. You can't let teams back in and you're playing your best guys at the end of every single game because you have to, because you're sitting there fighting for your lives. And so for the Lakers to go about it, it's one of those things where they need to figure out this identity. And we talk about this all the time.

Now, it's early on in the season. And for the Lakers to figure out their identity, again, they start off in October, not so sure what we have, new coach, new players, a rookie that's playing a lot in November. You have Dalton Connect, the rookie that's making a name for himself. People are talking about them around the league. And then all of a sudden, you look at the situation where Dalton Connect's not doing great. So LeBron James is out, and Alston Reeves is out, and you don't know which player you're going to get in Dalta Connect. also which players you're going to get in a bunch of guys.

You don't know what you're going to get from Max Christie. He's hit and miss. You don't know what you're going to get from DeAngelo Russell. You don't know what you're going to get from a lot of these guys. And it's frustrating, I think, for everybody involved. And for Laker fans who can't do anything but root on their favorite team, it's one of those where you just shake your head and say, okay, what are we?

And do we have the right coach and we have the right players and look within yourself, meaning everybody, meaning Jeannie Buss and Rob Polinka and J.J. Redick on what this team is. At the half, Anthony Davis had 18 points, eight rebounds, five blocks. He made all eight of his free throws, which is a plus. Rui at 16 points, four rebounds. Also, he made both three-point attempts, which is great. It was great to see Rui back in the game and doing something offensively to help his team. Rui, in my opinion, one of the best team players in the NBA, never going to be an all-star in this league.

But Rui would fit in with every single team in this league. You could put him on the Thunder, you could put him on the Celtics, two of the better teams, and he'd fit right in. He'd find a place for himself where he's going to be a positive. Lakers are lucky to have him. He's one of those guys that you can't see Rob Polinkas saying, I'm thinking of trading him, but you never know. When teams don't play well, anybody can be shown the door, but he's not the problem.

Rui is not the problem. At the half, Rui, he had 16 points, four rebounds again, made both three-point attempts. He's doing his thing. Daniela Russell, by the way, coming off the bench, was doing well. He had four in the first quarter. He had five in the second quarter, and he's going, okay, that's what you expect off the bench.

You need some kind of spark. For the Blazers, Sharp had 12 at the quarter. DeAndre Aiton, who's known as one of the most lazy guys in the league, and it really has a bad rap. One of the reasons the Phoenix Suns gave up on him, even though it was the number one overall pick. He was awful in the first quarter. Everything you heard from Stu Lance telling you that the rep on him

is that he doesn't always care. Well, he showed up in the second quarter. He ended a half with 10 points, nine rebounds, and he showed why he's supposed to be one of the better big men in this league. But overall, he's had a disappointing career. He's going against one of the better players in Anthony Davis. And let's be honest, when you're playing in Los Angeles and you're playing against the Lakers at crypto, and he got the celebrities there and everyone knows it's the Lakers, you get up for this game.

It's a little bit different playing the Lakers on a Sunday night than playing, let's say, the Sacramento Kings. DeAndre Ate knows that as well. So Anthony Davis realized all of a sudden the guy that has the reputation of not trying, all of a sudden he was going to be out there doing his thing. at the half bench points for the Lakers, they actually outscored the Blazers 15 to 12 turnovers. Lakers only had four Blazers had five. So as a fan, you're going,

Lakers only had four turnovers. That's a great sign. Well, I know a lot of people are sitting and saying, they only had four turnovers because LeBron wasn't playing. This team is a better team, in my opinion, when LeBron James is on the court. So for the people that say we're better off without LeBron, that's just not the case.

LeBron, you saw what he did in the Olympics this summer, You saw what he does with talented players. He elevates his game. He has Anthony Davis is really the only Hall of Famer on that roster. And I know other teams don't have any Hall of Famers, and yet they have better records than what the Lakers have. But at the same time, LeBron James is a guy. It's way too early to say LeBron James has hit the wall.

We saw what he's done in the last few games. We saw what he did against Miami. We saw what he did against Lanna. You're talking triple doubles. You're talking about hitting clutch threes. Guy that mentally knows how to play this game. He sees the game so much different than everyone else. because it's been thrown at them from every different angle his entire life.

It's like, as Tom Brady says, there's nothing you can throw at me as a defense that I haven't already seen. LeBron James is the same way. He knows exactly what's going to happen. I think the thing that probably frustrates him the most is the other players don't see what he sees, especially when you have young players or guys who came from franchises that weren't that great. Lakers shot 48% from the field.

Blazers shot 40%. Lakers made 6 of 14 from behind the arc for 43% in the first half. That's outstanding. For the Lakers, that's not what the Lakers do. Lakers are a team that's been shooting in the 20s. So for the Lakers shoot 43% from three-point range, really good sign. Blazers, on the other hand, look just like the Lakers have looked the entire season. They're 4-17, 24% from three-point range. Lakers, again, doing their thing and showing them, showing the fans, showing their teammates that, hey, we can figure this out. We can figure this out. And that's a big deal for the Lakers. They got to figure this thing out. direction they're going moving forward. So for the Lakers, everything that's going on moving forward

for them, it's really, really important that the Lakers are doing the right thing and winning games and playing as a team and getting everybody involved, I think is basically what's going to put them in a position to succeed. We'll talk more about AD and how he stepped up and how the other guys stepped up in just a minute. But when I mention the people over at MIP Mobile, don't forget with the big wireless providers, what you see is never what you get. somewhere between the store and your first month's bill. The price you thought you were paying magically skyrockets. With Mint Mobile, you'll never have to worry about the gotchas ever again.

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Also speeds slower above 40GB on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees, restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details. So for the Lakers, again, tonight was a great night for Anthony Davis. And I think it was not only a good night for them, not only the win, but Anthony Davis to know, that I can carry a team when I need to be. I can be that guy that carries the franchise.

And so for Anthony Davis, again, 107.98, they win. 30 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. So he finishes the night. Fantastic night. Played 32 minutes. 32 out of 48. That's what we're talking about right there. That's where you give your superstars a chance to rest.

He made 10 of 21 shots from the field. He even shot a three-pointer and made one of four of them. That's a lot. You know, for Anthony Davis, he's not the joker. He's not that guy that's going to hit the consistent three-pointers. That's not what the Lakers need. Made all of his free throws, which for me is always a plus. I'm a big free throw guy.

I was look at teams when they lose by a few and go. What did we shoot from the free throw line? Those are free shots. We should make all those. Lakers on the night shot 86% from the free throw line, turn the ball over total of 11 times. Things that you need to do to win games. And so they played well as a team.

Certain guys played really well with them. Rui played really well with them. Rui with 23 points tonight in 39 minutes. Nine to 13 shots fell in. It's great. Made three of five for Rui. Rui fantastic. Now five rebounds.

Four steals. All that stuff right there goes a long way. And so I always think with Rui, you know, the way the game usually starts for the Lakers, he gets one open shot early because teams do their homework on the Lakers and they go, you got to worry about 23 and you got to worry about number three. But Rui usually is able to get a shot early. and when it drops in, great. But the Lakers don't go back to him consistently.

He's just there. He's just kind of that guy that can knock down your mid-range shot. He's a guy that's going to bang under the boards a little bit. He's going to play the best he can defensively. There's not one Laker fan that can ever say, you know, watch the Lakers play in. I always have to question Rui's effort. Never do you have to question his effort.

He's the ultimate team player that would thrive on any single team. And tonight when he had a chance to play a little bit more offense, without LeBron taking, obviously the shots that would normally be there, 23 points. Now is he normally a guy that you could say is going to average more than 20 points a game? Probably not. But for what the Lakers needed tonight, he was able to step up as a veteran like he is and he was huge for them. He was really big for them to step up. The Lakers started the lineup when he had Anthony Davis, Rui, gave Vincent, Max Christie, and Delta Connect. How do those other guys do? Well, not well. And that's the disappointing thing. Gabe Vincent, what is his role on this team?

When the Lakers acquired Gabe Vincent, I thought I was getting a lot. more as a fan. I'm sure they thought they're getting a lot more as a player, but Gabe Vincent finished the night on not a great night. 25 minutes, one of four shooting. Three steals, fantastic, but two turnovers at the same time. So you're giving two of those three right back to them. Finishes with three points. So for a starter in the NBA to finish three points, that's not exactly the spark the Lakers are looking for. Max Christie has to be one of the more frustrating Lakers as well, because you never know what you're getting with the Max Christie. It's a coin flip with him. Remember, Max Christie was someone they talked about all summer.

or long that, boy, when Max Christie comes back after last year, we're going to put him in the starting lineup, and he's going to be something for this team. Well, he didn't last in the starting lineup long. And then there are plenty of games where Max Christie wasn't playing. Then all of a sudden Max Christie is showing that he's a better player, he's figuring out more of what Jay J.J. Redick wants from him, and he started playing well off the bench here on to start tonight with the opening, of course, of LeBron and Austin Reeves been going out. And Max Christie didn't play well. And I'm sure he's disappointed as well, but we worry about it as fans going. and here's a guy with 26 points, one and six shooting, or 26 minutes, one and six shooting

for four points. And that's it. And missed a free throw even. So as Max Christie is missing layups and free throws and you're going, what is he? What is he to this Laker team? Is he a guy that's expendable when he talked about possible trade talks? Yeah, he's a guy that probably could be on the block. He's a guy that maybe other teams say, you know what, there's an athlete there that can help them out because right now the Lakers aren't getting at a Max Christi what they thought they were going to get at a Mexico Christie. And it's disappointing for everybody involved. Dalton Connect tonight, you wanted to see,

hopefully the home cooking, that Dalton Connect would get a shot back because the shot hasn't been consistent for two weeks. Well, Dalton Connect in 22 minutes as a starter, makes three and nine shots. None of those were three-pointers. You go to his three-point shooting, O for three. And he's going, man, that's not what the Lakers need.

The Lakers need that shooter. So Dalton Connect, never one of those guys, or any of these guys that say you could call out in the starting five saying it's a lack of effort guy because that's always the worst like coaches don't want to coach effort and fans don't want to see guys who aren't give an effort but dalton connect again not making a three-pointer pulling down seveners pulling down eight rebounds excuse me seven of them defensive and you're saying six points from dalton connect what happened to the three pointers he should feel comfortable at home it's the same arc everywhere you travel in the NBA but dalton connect not playing up to his

capabilities becomes very very frustrating so again six points for him eight rebounds was a positive, but that's not what the Lakers have him in the lineup for. That's not what he's there for. He's there to hit the wide open three is to stretch the defense, to make things easier for guys underneath the basket and good teams in basketball. That's what they do. They're able to stretch the defense and they're able to make things easy for the guys who are talented underneath the basket. It will make Anthony Davis's game that much better. And that's where Delta Connect let the team down tonight and has, you know, be honest, for about two weeks. Bench play, Lakers bench play.

not 100% outstanding. You're right. The Lakers bench play. There's one guy, and he came through in a huge way tonight. Honestly, you can make an argument. Yeah,

it was one of it, probably D'Angelo Russell's top three games of all time. 28 points off the bench for D'Angelo Russell. You got a plus 29 and the plus minus, which is great. So 28 points, but here's the deal with D'Angelo Russell. 14 assists.

28 points, 14 assists, 5 rebounds. In 34 minutes, he made 9 to 17 shots, made five. three-pointers at a 10 attempts. So he's shooting 50% from three. Great, that's what we want to see. It's a beautiful shot.

There's nothing like watching DeAngelo Russell shoot a three and seeing it hit the bottom of the net. When DeAngelo Russell seems like he's not interested is when it becomes frustrating for Laker fans, I think for Laker teammates as well. That's why you hear his name so often mentioned in trade talks that DeAngelo Russell could be a guy that moves. And let's be honest, Daniel Russell has changed a lot of teams

in the short time that he's been in the league, or I guess it's not a short time. around a while. He's just still young. But, you know, D'Angelo Russell, I always laugh at when you look at Daniel Russell that when he came out of Ohio State, he wore number zero. And he said he wore number zero because that's the amount of people that could guard me. Well, Dantle Russell hasn't played up to what they thought. I think he's a one-time all-star. I think he did that when he was with the Nets. And D'Angelo Russell hasn't been that complete player. Well, tonight he was a complete player. And I know it's not easy to be told, hey, look, you've been a starter your entire life,

but you're going to come off the bench and provide a spark. Today, if he could stay in that role like he did today, the Lakers are going to be in great shape. Cam Reddish hit a big three-pointer when it mattered. In 26 minutes, Cam Reddish is there, as we know, for defense and basically just being a team guy, Cam Reddish has never relied on for his offense, not on this team at least, six points in 26 minutes, only shot the ball three times, but he did hit a big three-pointer, which is great. And Cam is Cam is that guy for JJ Redick that was a guy that basically will help facilitate the ball around, play good defense, and it's worth having them on the court.

And that's why tonight ends up with a plus 13. So all positives right there for the Lakers. You know, those are good signs. And so for the Lakers, again, 107.98 over the Blazers. And he say, well, it's the Blazers. Look, right now the Lakers have been playing so poor that anyone against any team is a big win. This is what this franchise needs. And for the franchise to come back to L.A.,

especially when you're going to have almost the entire week off before playing Minnesota on Friday. they needed this win bad. You're riding a three game losing streak off the road. You needed this win bad. And you had no LeBron James. So you have to figure out a way for this team to get back on track instead of sitting there dwelling in it for the entire week of what are we and how do we fix what we're doing wrong. I want to mention people over at Fandle, don't forget Fandle, get ready to tackle the NFL action with Fandul America's number one sports book.

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your first $5 bet. That's fandle.com. So the Lakers, as far as moving forward from here, what direction do they go? Where do the Lakers go from here? you saw they get the win today, but that's against a lesser team. They have to show that they're more consistent against the better teams. And for this Laker team, what are the better teams out there that you're worried about? You're saying, well, you're worried about where your standings are in the postseason. Where does this team need to be? You can't just say, hey, as long as we're our top 10 team, we're going to be in good shape.

For the Lakers, for me, they've got to be a top four team. If they're going to go into the postseason, you want to be a top four team and have an easier road than you would if You're one of those teams that's just hanging in there, a team that's a, you don't want to be that seven, eighth, ninth, tenth seed. We've seen the Lakers go through that. You want to be one of those teams that not exactly a forward about being talked about, but as actual threat. And so for the Lakers right now, they find themselves in the A spot.

A spot. So I'll give you the teams in front of the Lakers right now. Oklahoma City Thunder. They're in first place at 18 and 5. They're still riding well. Without Chet Holbegren, it's amazing how well the Thunder's playing. Also, how young they are. Don't forget they've won three straight, seven of their last 10.

They're doing extremely well. Memphis Grizzlies, when John Moran's on the floor, man, he is a problem for almost every team. The Lakers always seem to play well against certain teams, and Memphis is one of them. If you're the Memphis Grizzlies, the Lakers are a team you don't want to see in the postseason. You've seen the Lakers before. You've seen the Lakers eliminate you as well. And for the Lakers, they match up well with Memphis in the past. The problem is Memphis has changed things around a little bit this year,

where Memphis is a team that has gone very big. They have a lot of size. And so when the Lakers faced Memphis earlier in the year, it was a different Memphis team than they've seen. This is why when you're talking about all the moves that Rob Polinka could be making, you're saying, we need some size for teams like Memphis. Absolutely. If it's not one big guy, then yet is another big guy.

But Anthony Davis is not the kind of guy that likes to bang around. He's obviously, you know, he don't want to hear this word if you're an athlete. He's fragile. He's a guy that doesn't exactly have to play outside of the Arctic, but he does like to play 15 feet away from the beach. basket. And Anthony Davis, if you put him against Memphis in a series and he's the only big guy you actually have, it's going to take a beating on his body. He's not going to be effective. And Memphis is going to do what they plan to do a lot of teams. And that's basically,

you knock them around, knock him around, bruise them up a little bit and see if you can last the five to seven games. It's going to be tough. And this is, I think, where Rob Polinka has to start looking and saying, you know, how much time are we going to go with this? Because Rob Polinket has said for a long time, he's willing to pull a trade in December instead of, uh, the premium cost of pulling the trade in February. Houston Rockets are number three. I say at every single show, not sold on the Rockets. They're 16 and 8.

Rockets have won six of the last 10 games. Dallas Mavericks, 16 and 8. You have guys on that team that not only have NBA finals experience, but you have guys that have won championships. They know what it takes to get to that next level. Mavericks feel they're basically one step away from being NBA champions. I think a lot of people would think a little bit different, but also are they a team in your mind?

or the Lakers better than. Every one of these teams ask the question, the Lakers are better than. Right now the Houston Rockets, I think they're better than Golden State Warriors, man, they kind of reload a little bit. They get rid of Clay Thompson, they bring in guys like Buddy Heald.

And of course, Steve Kerr knows that a win. Steph Curry knows how to win. They also know that time is running out. People say the Lakers think that time's running out when you have LeBron James, who's 40 and Anthony Davis, who's 31 as a big guy, how much time do they have left? Well, the Dallas, excuse me,

the Golden State Warriors in that same situation. LA Clippers is disappointing that the Clippers are in front of the Lakers. They're currently to succeed. Clippers are playing a little bit better, even though they've lost their last two straight. The Clippers look terrible against Minnesota, just like the Lakers look terrible against Minnesota. Denver Nuggets, that's the one team that scares me more than any other. The Nuggets seem to struggle against a bunch of teams in the league. And the Joker says all the time, we aren't that good of a team.

But when they play the Lakers, and they talk a lot of trash, and the coach talks a lot of trash, it's frustrating to lose to the Nuggets. The Nuggets are one seat ahead of the Lakers at number seven. Lakers are eight at 13 and 11. Minnesota's 9 at 12 and 11, Phoenix, 12 and 11, and the 10 spot. Those would be the 10 teams in the West that would be in the playoffs right now. Just so, you know, the teams that don't qualify would be San Antonio, Sacramento, Portland, Utah, New Orleans. And, of course, the Lakers knocked off Portland tonight.

So they took care of business tonight, and that's what you have to do. You have to take care of business if you're the Lakers, and they're able to do that tonight against the trailblazers. The Trailblazers, you know, they're in kind of a rebuilding mode. The Trailblazers, they get rid of Damien Lillard, and he'd say, you know what, we couldn't win with them. So what we're going to do is we're going to get rid of CJ and we're going to get rid of Damien and we're going to do a better job as far as building up kind of like what Oklahoma City did and we're going to figure this thing out.

Portland's not one of the better teams in the league. They're 8 and 16 after tonight's lost, 3 and 10 on the road. But the Lakers, even though they struggled at the beginning of the game, they were able to figure things out. The third quarter was a little bit frustrating for the Lakers where they come out of the half and you expect the Lakers to continue to pour it on like they did in the second quarter. And then the Portland Trailblazers outscored the Lakers by 11, 29 to 18. And you're frustrated as a fan, especially when you're seeing Henderson hit the big three-pointer from half court.

And you're like, man, it's tonight, not our night. For the Lakers, they're able to rally and they're able to do it. But again, how many guys do you know off that Portland Trailblazers team? I'm guessing to say the average NBA fan knows one. It's DeAndre Aiton. He's the only guy. And Aiton, again, 35 minutes, 14 points, 19 rebounds, 19 rebounds for Aiton tonight. And I think a lot of that has to do with playing in L.A., as I said before.

So looking at this Laker team, man, a win's a win, and you've got to take it against the guys that are on your schedule. The schedule always gets tough, right? You have Minnesota that's going to show up on Friday. So what are the Lakers going to do for the next week? How is it going to play out for the Lakers? The Lakers are in a situation where they have. have almost the entire week off before heading to Minnesota, but how much time does J.J. Reddick give these guys off? And I think that's important for the Lakers, not only to rest, get back on track,

your East Coast time, and you're not West Coast time, get your bodies right, get enough rest, you know, but then J.J. Reddick talks about, you know, there aren't enough practice days and there's not enough shoot around days. This is a week here where the Lakers could get right. The Lakers could figure things out and I expect LeBron James to be back on Friday, and I expect Altonar Reeves to be back on Friday. But this is a situation and a place where the Lakers can get right, which is exactly what they need. You run a couple practices. J.J. Reddick tries to tie up some of the loose ends, talks about the stuff that he doesn't like. Maybe it's one of those where the players kind of clear the air a little bit of what's going on. Let's see Dalta Connect, who all of a sudden looks like he's hit the wall in

December and when you aren't supposed to as a rookie that's not supposed to come until February or March. Let's see Daltz Connect come back and being able to knock down those three. So I like to see what happens there. But you're facing a Minnesota team that's obviously very talented. And a Minnesota team that as a franchise feels they've never had a better chance to win an NBA championship. They destroyed the Lakers the last time they faced each other. Lakers won on opening night. Last week, Minnesota destroyed them in Minnesota, the game on Fridays in Minnesota. It's going to be a big test for both teams. As I mentioned, Minnesota is behind the Lakers and the standings. You know, there's nothing more than Minnesota would like than to knock off the Lakers in front of their fans. So it's going to be great. It's

going to be excited to see what happens, but we'll be talking about it here. Again, talking Lockdown Lakers postcast. Don't forget to follow Brian and Andy on every single day where they do Lockdown Lakers. They do a great job. If you're a Laker fan like me and you want to get more and more Laker talk, don't forget Brian and Andy do a great job with Lockdown Lakers. But we will be back again on Friday talking Laker basketball with you doing the postcast

and looking forward to it, looking forward to hopefully another Laker win. hopefully the time off, the practice time goes a long way for JJ Redick. Don't forget, locked on Lakers postcast, locked on sports, Los Angeles. Again, here with you every single day following Los Angeles sports and a lot going on with every single one of the team. So we'll talk to you on Friday after the Laker game. Don't forget next Laker game is going to be Friday at Minnesota, 5 o'clock tip off, and then we'll be back with you right after the game.

Have a good night, everybody.