Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Reaves (30 PTS), Luka Dončić (14 AST) Help Lakers Cruise to 125-109 Win Over Spurs

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Tuesday. Brian Kemenetsky, Andy Keminetsky, 30 points from Austin Reeves, 14 dimes from Luca Donchich and the Lakers cruise past San Antonio at the Crypt on Tuesday. Things are looking good. 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 Lockdown Lakers. First listen to every day Monday through Friday, sometimes. times on weekends, no matter how, Rage podcast, this one's always free.

Starting point is 00:00:40 And of course, Locked on Lakers on YouTube, where many people are watching right this very second. It's where over 34, or about 34,000 subscribers. Andy, are all very pleased, I think, with what happened on the floor at the Crypt. Monday night, 125, 109, the final score there. And I think given what we saw on Sunday, followed up with what we saw on Monday, 30 points from Austin Reeves. He's 14 dimes from Luca Donchich, who found a way to contribute despite a very bad shooting night,

Starting point is 00:01:13 five of 20 from the floor, contributions up and down the roster yet again. If there was any question, Andy, that the Lakers' four-game losing streak was really due to personnel and the lack thereof, as opposed to something fundamentally flawed with the team, that they got back, Doreen Finney Smith, Luca, Jackson, Hayes, and Gabe Vincent, immediately started playing like they were before, even with LeBron out, even with Rui out. I think that should settle anybody down.

Starting point is 00:01:50 And, you know, just a very professional effort Monday night, low turnover, high assists, control the game. I was impressed. I'll be honest. I actually think a lot of those worries, should have been subsided by the way they played against Denver that short-handed because they really pushed the nuggets in that game. I know Denver started out for maybe the first, you know, 12 to 15 minutes in F-around and find out mode. And then all of a sudden it's like, oh, man,

Starting point is 00:02:21 we're finding out. And from there, they were playing much harder, but the Lakers were largely staying with them punch for punch, and that was missing six at minimum playoff rotation players and Trey Jemison the third. Those are really difficult circumstances other than Milwaukee where just the matchup killed them again because of who they were missing. And Brooklyn was a bad night. Like Brooklyn was a genuinely disappointing night. But even quality teams, have disappointing nights. You and I have covered up close three championship teams between 2009 and now. Those teams were all exceptional, hence they won a title.

Starting point is 00:03:13 They all had stinkers of knights too. I mean, this happens, I don't care, other than maybe like the 72 and 10 warriors. They all have off nights. But it's been pretty clear for a while. this team is very good. And other than one element of it that we will get into over the course of the show, the professionalism of this game jumped out at me. Just like they, it felt like they were very aware of.

Starting point is 00:03:42 It's the second end of a back-to-back. We've had a long road trip. We've got another back-to-back coming up that's going to be very difficult starting Wednesday. We're still down a few guys. San Antonio is missing their two best players, no women. and Yama, no deer and Fox. We're going to control this game, and we're mostly going to be on our P's and Q's with a couple of exceptions, but we are not going to bust our ass in this game if we don't

Starting point is 00:04:12 have to, and we're going to do mostly the right things to prevent us from having to. I think, and I want to get to in the next segment, I want to get into what I'm seeing kind of in regards in regards to what you're talking about. They're like what became apparent to me over these last couple of games. I mean, the Denver game to some degree, but really over these last two, when more players were back and more guys were kind. I think you learned about the character of the team in significant ways in Denver. In terms of the day-to-day functioning of like guys in their roles,

Starting point is 00:04:49 the last two games have been much more instructive with more players back and everyone getting closer to what they're being asked to do with guys at full strength. But let's talk first about Reeves and Luca because it's one of these games. We talked about it Sunday where JJ may I say, like don't look at the box, just the box score and decide how people play. Because Jordan Goodwin, for example, put up very little and by way of counting stats, but was instrumental in limiting Devin Booker in Sunday's game. I'm not trying to sugarcoat this and say this was like a refrigerator,

Starting point is 00:05:34 you know, put the box score up on your refrigerator kind of game for him because clearly it wasn't. But five of 20 shooting, you look at that and you might say Luca had a terrible game. And that to me would, it wouldn't quite show the influence. they had in terms of getting the Lakers so many open shots. I mean, so many open shots. He did not shoot the ball well. He took some ill-advised threes, whatever, but his impact on the offense was still very positive. So we'll talk about Luca first, then we'll get to Reeves.

Starting point is 00:06:10 Yeah, there was a moment. I want to say it was in the third quarter where Kelden Johnson soft-dubled over to Luca around the arc and he ended up leaving Austin Reeves who was beyond playing well in this game. He was shooting well in this game. The 30 points that he had, 12 of 21 from the field, 5 of 13 from behind the arc. And Austin's been in a groove lately. And this is a game where Luca was not shooting well, but was playmaking at a high level that Kelden Johnson still doubled essentially off Austin to put another body on Luca, which led to Luca easily getting the ball to Austin,

Starting point is 00:06:59 Austin having a wide open three, which he buried. There was a point during the broadcast where Stu Lance pointed out that, you know, the spurs weren't seemingly aware that this was a night Luca wasn't shooting well, or I was thinking, or they are aware, but that's just the power of a player like Luca. Like, you know, this happens with LeBron. We covered Kobe for 10 years. There would be games or hell, even times post-Akillies with Kobe,

Starting point is 00:07:28 where Kobe was at that point a shell of himself physically, he would still draw doubles in muscle memory. But also, what do you do? Particularly with Luca, to some degree, like if you want to keep him shooting poorly, those doubles kind of make sense because they, prevent him from getting the basket. It might be the thing that keeps him from just putting the ball on the floor, getting the line.

Starting point is 00:07:53 Because, I mean, it took him, you know, almost all of his offense on Monday night came with the free throw line because, you know, he was still able to get there. I'm looking back up. I think it was 13. 13. So, yeah, it was 10 of 13 from the line. One of seven from three point range, five of 20 from the floor. But how did he finish with 21 points?

Starting point is 00:08:12 Well, he got the line 13 times. And if you don't send those doubles, that's where he goes. He goes there anyway, but he's really going to go there if you don't send a double. But I think this is part of the confidence that the team has is they've struggled without LeBron over the last couple seasons because not only does he perform certain functions in terms of just organizing the offense, opening up shots, creating things for other people, there is a. confidence that you play with when you have one of those dudes. And there are, I don't know, seven or eight of them around the league that every, like, you know that, okay, like, it's, it's him, it's Shea now. It's, it's, I think Durant is still one of those guys and Curry and whatever.

Starting point is 00:09:03 Yokish. Yeah. And I mean, I mean, I'd name all of it, but like you have that like, well, lift. But here's the thing, though. One of those dudes. I, Luca is one of those dudes. LeBron is one of those dudes and all the guys that we named, they all start possessions with the ball. And like this is a big difference between Luca and AD.

Starting point is 00:09:24 And like AD is an elite center in the league. Like he is, I've said many, many, many times. Power forward in the league. Well, now that he's in Dallas, obviously. But like he is one of the elite players in the league. And I said last year many times, I thought Anthony Davis was the best two-way player in the league last year. But he does not have the same fear factor in all spots all over the floor. Like, he'll still have gravity.

Starting point is 00:09:57 I mean, like Anthony Davis has never been a particularly good three-point shooter. But he, because he's Anthony Davis, he'll never be just left alone to take those shots. Like, you're going to guard him. But he also moves. gravity on the interior. He moves, he moves players around the floor in terms of defenses. Sure. But it's not the same way, though, that all of these other guys who start possessions do. Like the point I was getting at with AD is even if you guard him for no other reason out of muscle memory when he's out in the corner or he's above the break, you may guard him, but you don't fear him taking that shot. You just you can't leave him alone because in your

Starting point is 00:10:42 He's Anthony Davis. Correct. With Luca and LeBron, Steph, Yokid, Shea, like those, Janus, those level of players, they scare the living bleep out of you whenever you have the ball. And that's, that, again, that's the power of Luca in that one possession. Because, again, you're leaving Austin Reeves, who has been on one for like a week and was on one in this game. And they left him wide open.

Starting point is 00:11:08 So let's, I want to talk more about this. I want to talk more about what I'm seeing and see, get your feeling about the way the rotation looks and why I think it should make Lakers fans extremely confident going forward. So we'll get to all of that stuff. And of course, Austin's great night. We'll get that next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Hungry Route. When it comes to grocery shopping, meal planning, got an ongoing problem. Time between work, life, child care, trying to.

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Starting point is 00:14:45 It's almost always going to look better. home than it will on the road and stuff like that. But the level of confidence that those guys are playing with. And I think Jackson Hayes is like the best example of it, but you see it with Vincent. You see it with DFS when he's going right. Everybody, they all feel from the outside looking in, like a bunch of guys who understand exactly what they're supposed to be doing and are very, very confident in being able to execute on those things. It doesn't seem like anybody's being stretched outside their comfort zone. And it also seems like everybody really understands their assignment. And I think that is a testament to the way the coaching staff has been able to work

Starting point is 00:15:35 things over the course of the year. It's also a roster that has increasingly over the course of this year felt more like the one JJ Reddick once, like that he envisions for winning basketball basketball. We talked more earlier in the season at times about JJ seemingly playing the system that he wanted or the style that he wanted as opposed to at least at times the players that he had and how sometimes it wasn't always conducive. This feels exactly like the roster that JJ wants. You mentioned DFS, four of eight from behind the arc, five of 12 overall for 15 points. Jordan Goodwin also had 15 points. The two of them combined for seven threes, but when DFS is hitting shots, like this is before even Rui gets back or, you know, much less

Starting point is 00:16:28 LeBron, but when DFS is hitting shots, the offense opens up just in and of itself. Like, he's supposed to be like the best three and the player on the team. And, you know, he's been starting to pick up a little bit, but there's been a pronounced slump going. going on for a while. Tonight you saw a much better version of it and also why it matters. Like it's important for all of those guys to be doing the things they're supposed to, their responsibilities because all of it affects each other. You know, we've talked about the difference Jackson Hayes being back provides.

Starting point is 00:17:07 Like there are things that other guys on this roster cannot do that Jackson does. and until you have him available to do it, things just don't fire on all cylinders. But just the ability for Jackson to create cheap points, for lack of a better way of putting it, easy points. And just somebody that you have to account for rolling, it opens up so many other things in this offense. He's, he's, he's, look, I think he's improved.

Starting point is 00:17:42 I think it is a lot. It is, it diminishes what he does, just say, oh, he's being coached, in a perfect situation. You know, the Lakers have tailored their coaching. You know, all of that is true. Or to reduce it to just Luca arrived and all of a sudden he turned Jackson into Derek Lively the second. Hayes was playing well, well before Luca arrived.

Starting point is 00:18:12 He has improved, you know, Redick talked about it after Sunday's game, talking about length talking about Jackson, about his improved decision making, his improved understanding. And again, I think some of this is coaching. I think it's giving him steadiness and a context and regularity in what he's being asked to do and finding a role that really is well suited. The guy has not had a ton of stability over the course of his career. He came from New Orleans.

Starting point is 00:18:40 It's not exactly. a bastion of basketball stability. It diminishes what... Post-A-D. New Orleans. Like, he was drafted with one of the picks that the Lakers sent to New Orleans. Like, just, I'm saying that just so you know, like, he didn't even have the benefit of playing with AD during that time in New Orleans. And so I don't want to say that he hasn't improved because he has.

Starting point is 00:19:07 You saw there were a couple really nice plays where, you know, Sunday and today where he finishes around the rim with a little bit more touch. Still not, you know, Hakeem Elijah on around there, but there's a little bit more touch, but more importantly, making the right read, the right pass, you know, little stuff like that. He just does better than he did before.

Starting point is 00:19:27 But when you take guys like him and you play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses, not only do you obviously get better performances out of them it elevates their confidence guys particularly role guys want to be want to know that they're going to be put in the like lebron lucca austin reves the three best players in the team you know they're going to be asked to do everything and you better be able to do it but you shouldn't do that with your role players and i just i i feel like guys have improved and when they walk

Starting point is 00:20:11 out on the floor, they just look like players who know what it is they're supposed to be doing. And on a night like Monday, when the ball is really moving around, particularly in the first half, ball really moving around, turnovers are limited. I thought the energy was good. I thought the energy defensively was good. You know, you said it in the first segment. They came out and I mean, I think they worked pretty hard. I think they played hard, but I think they really understood the assignment. And like all season long you keep looking for these clues of, oh, good team. Is this a good team? Understanding the assignment, part of a good team, players showing up on the floor with a palpable sense of knowing what it is they're supposed to be doing,

Starting point is 00:20:56 which is not always been the case over the last couple seasons. I think these are all boxes that you check on your, is this a good deal? team checklist. Absolutely. I mean, we'll get into in the next segment. There's a couple things the Lakers did in this game that, you know, didn't hurt them ultimately. They won this game by 16. But did the lead ever drop below 10 in the second half? Now at the top of my head.

Starting point is 00:21:28 I don't think so. But like there, there are a couple things that jumped out at me just because, like you said, the standards of race. So we can get into that coming up next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by prize picks Andy basketball season is heating up and there's no better way to get in on the action than with prize picks the best place for daily fantasy sports with prize picks you just pick more or less on at least two player projections for a shot up to 1,000 times your cash 1,000 X your cash. It's easy to use available in over 30 states and it lets you mix and match projections across different sports like for this week. I am selecting Luca Donchich for more than 25 points, and Jason Tatum for more than eight rebounds. Look, I'm trying to make money here.

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Starting point is 00:23:20 You go to LockdownDaily.com. Click on Lockdown-Lakers. You're doing us a solid and you're doing yourself a solid at the same time. Solids back and forth for everyone. So, yeah, Lockedon Lakers, Lockedondaley. com. Get this newsletter. In addition to subscribing and all the other ways you can stay connected to the show.

Starting point is 00:23:39 At some point we'll get to Reeves because we really do need to talk about how well he's playing. But you had a couple more points just to show about how first world we're getting here. Towards the end of the third quarter and the top of the fourth quarter, the Lakers got very three point happy. And it wasn't even that the shots were bad or forced. Like a lot of them were actually set up pretty well. The problem is the Lakers were up, I think, at 1.28. and there was no need for them to be seeking out threes. Like in all honesty, I mean, it wasn't really even too early to start prioritizing bleed in the clock

Starting point is 00:24:17 as opposed to even the shot that you would be looking for. But it felt like they were just seeking out threes, whether because those are in some respects the easiest shots to put up, or they were just trying to absolutely knock out San Antonio, get the lead up to like 35, 37, and then everybody can have an even shorter night. And the problem is they were missing them. San Antonio started running out those misses. They went on a 9-0 run to close the third quarter.

Starting point is 00:24:53 Then they scored five points quickly to open the fourth. JJ called time out. I mean, the Lakers got back on track, push the lead back up to, again, eventually 16. And there was never any point in this game where I was worried about the Lakers losing. But really what stood out to me is my expectations that they would play smarter because the bar for them has raised over the course of the last month or so. And I'm just watching this going like, this is not necessary.

Starting point is 00:25:29 I'm not worried you're going to lose the game other than the idea of a guy playing longer than he should and turning an ankle or something. I'm not even worried about anything disastrous happening. I'm just wondering why you're doing this. You don't need to do this. And I expect more from you. When you see what they're doing and how Redick talks about it in post-game interviews, in on-court interviews, you know, when they're doing the national TV, games he's asked about what are we doing well what are we not all they i mean the level of detail in terms of specificity about the little stuff keeps going up you know early in the season it's like

Starting point is 00:26:15 you know we're playing hard we're doing this whatever now it's like we're not you know we're missing a few of our coverages on x y and z and they didn't love the way that we ran this coming out of the you know, the first quarter where we got to, it's, it's, you can tell they're ramping up to the stuff that matters in the postseason, like the, you know, the, where little mistakes matter, two or three possessions can tilt a game, all that kind of stuff. Because, I mean, I wrote about it for, you know, teasing tomorrow's newsletter. Like, the West is looking really brutal again. I mean, the Lakers got a little bit of break in the sense that Minnesota lost.

Starting point is 00:26:53 and on on Monday you know gives the Lakers a little bit more breathing room Golden State I think lost as well they get to a short-handed Denver gives the Laker yeah no no Yokic no Jemal Murray gives the Lakers a little bit more wiggle room to keep

Starting point is 00:27:11 going to go out and predict those guys are going to play the Lakers Wednesday oh they are absolutely going to there's no play yeah but you know it gives the Lakers a little bit more wiggle room to make sure they avoid that that play in game. But I mean, three game, two through five are essentially tied in the Western Conference. Houston started playing well again. They had a remarkable comeback on Monday night. Denver is obviously looking more like themselves and the Lakers are playing well.

Starting point is 00:27:43 And Memphis is a good team. Like, it's really brutal. The Lakers can play very well in the postseason and not get as far as kind of we're all starting to hope that they could. They could still play well and just not get there. It's not hard. But, yeah, go ahead. No, no. I was just going to say, like, there, the, there's just these little things. You can tell they are prepping because they know what's coming.

Starting point is 00:28:08 Like if you're going to beat Denver in a series, if you're going to beat Oklahoma City or Houston or the Warriors with Jimmy Butler and all this stuff, like those three possessions at the end of the third quarter that you can kind of blow off in November. At this point of the season, now you start talking about those things. Now you have to tighten all that stuff up because that could be the difference between losing and winning a series. Well, this gets to the other thing that happened in this game, which was not smart. And that was Jared Vanderbilt getting ejected.

Starting point is 00:28:42 There was a possession where he was guarding Jeremy Sohan. And he shoved Sohan a couple times during. the play itself. Then foul is called, he does a little more shoving and jawing at Sohan. Sohan throws the ball at Vando, at which point Vando gives him

Starting point is 00:29:03 a two-handed shove in the chest. He actually quite literally flexed at Sohan. And look, and the two of them ended up the double ejection. On one hand, I'm not going to lie. This was hilarious. Like this was actually

Starting point is 00:29:18 very funny. Like the full range of theatricality from Vando in this moment was in a vacuum, spectacular. The problem is, though, until we know for a fact, Vando will not get suspended because he got ejected. And I don't think he will, but we don't know yet. I don't think he will. I'd be very surprised. I don't think that was suspension worthy, but he did.

Starting point is 00:29:46 I don't either. He did two-hand shove directly into Soan's chest. I don't think he will get suspended or Sohan for that matter, because neither of them threw a punch. And I agree with you, it is not suspension worthy. But once you get ejected, you put yourself in a position to potentially get suspended. And the Lakers need Vando for this game that certainly will not have LeBron,

Starting point is 00:30:15 Wednesday against Denver, and in all likelihood will not have Rui. two of the, not even two of the most, the two most important guys on this team with guarding Yokic. And you want to try to keep this momentum going. Like, and every day or no, I have been as big a Vando proponent. Like I was talking about his importance on this team well before it was fashionable. Like, I'm a big Vando fan. But like, it just wasn't smart. Like, in the end, I don't think anything disastrous like him getting suspended is going to happen and I don't think it's deserved but it wasn't smart.

Starting point is 00:30:56 Yeah. Before we go and we'll talk more about this tomorrow. Austin Reeves, I believe you use the John Wick line, Andy. I'm thinking I'm back. I'm thinking I'm back. He is playing with like the swagger that you get from Reeves when he feels really good about himself. And I laughed.

Starting point is 00:31:22 During the game, I, I, I was thinking, like, there was that spin move where he kind of wriggled through, got the and one. And he reminds me sometimes of like a hamster or a mouse or a gerbill. You know how like, because their bodies can collapse, they can like, go on. Those, they can squeeze, like a mouse can squeeze through a hole in your wall the size of a pencil. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. It's like they can just, and suddenly they're through and like whatever.

Starting point is 00:31:53 Reeves kind of reminds me of that sometimes. Like he comes out the other end through these tangles of human beings and, you know, with a shot or a foul call or whatever and unconventional, unorthodox looking ball handling. And the results when he's going well really speak for themselves. And then the shot is falling as well. I just, you know, he has, and I mean this in the best way, an arrogance about how he plays when things are going well where, yes, I know he's never made an all-star team. A lot of people don't think he's an all-star, he's never, whatever, he may never make one. I have no idea, but he damn well thinks he is one.

Starting point is 00:32:35 He believes in himself in that way. And, you know, I, the one of the things I, one of the things, maybe maybe the only thing that I was really looking forward to, with LeBron out was an opportunity for Reeves to really establish himself, get comfortable with Luca, and then have this confidence down the stretch into the playoffs when LeBron is back. Well, both the confidence that you're talking about, and I've said before, the word I have not used to describe Austin is arrogance as much as recklessness. You've also never called him a gerbil or a hamster.

Starting point is 00:33:12 No, that's all you, baby. I have never. It made sense. It made sense. No, it did make sense. You landed the plane. I did not know where you were. But it worked.

Starting point is 00:33:21 But like there's a recklessness with the way Austin plays. And also the physicality in that herky jerky style that he plays that makes him a very difficult cover just because it's hard to predict exactly what he's going to do. These are the things that I've talked about where I've said like he's got a Manu Genoobli style. to him and where the comparisons I think are apt. He is not as good of a player as Manu Genoobli before people start twisting this into a comp between the two who's better. Like, Genobley's better. But Genobley was a difficult cover for a lot of the same reasons that Austin is a difficult

Starting point is 00:34:06 cover. And Genobley was a thrilling, unpredictable player in the same way that Austin. at his best can be a thrilling, unpredictable, occasionally, dude, don't do that. Hey, he did it. You know, like, I mean, Popovich talked all the time about how the first couple years of coaching Manu, he was pulling out the hair that he still had. And then he eventually just realized this is who the dude is. The good is going to outweigh the bad.

Starting point is 00:34:39 I am going to have to allow some bleep that I think is frankly insane. and irresponsible. And there are times where Austin does things that walk the line of irresponsible. But like he's got that, you know, sort of all shucks persona that I think a lot of, you know, oh, shirry, goofy, cherubic looking white boy. Like, he's really reckless when he's out there. He really is. He plays with a, with an arrogance that most players around the league can't match, which I get.

Starting point is 00:35:12 Like, you know, we're talking about a guy with a chip, a well-earned, tip on his shoulder. You know, a lot of NBA players, you can't always, it's like, come on. Now, he's actually earned the chip. So plenty to talk about going into the week. It's obviously a big win for the Lakers. Great turnaround over these last couple of games to put, to write the ship, to keep themselves squarely in that conversation for the top four.

Starting point is 00:35:37 Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 30, almost, we're going to call it 34,000 subscribers at this point. Plenty to talk about. Leave us questions. Leave us comments. We'll wrap them into the show. We'll see everyone tomorrow.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Reaves (30 PTS), Luka Dončić (14 AST) Help Lakers Cruise to 125-109 Win Over Spurs

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