Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - What will we Learn from the Lakers' Final Preseason Game? Plus, Is Marcus Smart a Big Risk?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Friday. Brian Komenesky, Andy Kaminetsky. It's Dress Rehearsal Night, the final preseason game before things kick off for real on Tuesday. What to watch for 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 your very first listen of every day, Monday through Friday, as you'll see once the season gets going, especially on weekends, postgame recaps, all that

Starting point is 00:00:39 kind of stuff. We always appreciate you guys connecting with us, whether you're getting the show via iTunes or Spotify, however you get your podcast or maybe you're one of the 36,000 plus people who subscribe to the YouTube channel. Or maybe you do all of those things. We appreciate it. Leave us questions. Leave us comments.

Starting point is 00:01:02 Reach out at Cambrothers on Twitter. We love to use your feedback to inform what we talk about on the show. So, Andy, you were a theater major. I was. And so you understand the significance of a dress rehearsal. They are important, actually. The last dress rehearsal, the only dress rehearsal for the labels ahead of the season opener on Tuesday. Yeah, they are actually important.

Starting point is 00:01:28 They're your last opportunity to work out whatever kinks, try to iron out any questions. before you actually start getting, in theater terms, to the shows that count with an actual audience. In this particular case, a season where the games start to begin. And in the case of the Lakers, a season that we know is going to begin at minimum without LeBron. So you need to make sure you've got everything else, you know, wrapped up as neat and tight as possible

Starting point is 00:01:58 because offsetting LeBron's absence, I don't think is insurmountable for a team with Luca Donchich looking the way he does. Austin Reeves looking the way he does. Aitin looking the way he does. DeAndre Aitens had a strong preseason. Ruiz looked pretty good. Like down the line, if everybody plays at the top of their game combined with an opening 15-ish games that by realistic Western conference standards are not brutal, they're not easy,

Starting point is 00:02:29 but it could be way the hell harder than it actually. actually is. They are theoretically in about as good of a position as they could be, all things considered and realistic, but nights like Friday, assuming that they actually use it the way they are talking about, and I suspect that they will. For all of my criticisms of how they've handled the preseason as a whole, I do suspect they are going to treat today's game like it matters unless there is a legitimate reason not to like somebody's actually hurting.

Starting point is 00:03:04 I think this game actually matters. Yeah, of course, the game is 7.30 at the crypt, the final preseason game. This one will come against the Sacramento Kings, one of the more strangely composed teams in all of the NBA. They're not bad in the sense that like the Kings don't have good players. They do, in fact, have actually a pretty decent amount of good. They'd be a great fantasy team. They would be a fan.

Starting point is 00:03:34 Like, if you happen to draft just by intention or through pure happenstance, like the top six or seven Sacramento Kings, your team's not bad. No, no. It's not Kings aren't a team filled with decent players, although they lost by 18 to the Clippers on. But that was before they brought in Russell Westbrook, Brian. That's true. they did lose big to the clippers earlier.

Starting point is 00:04:02 What they really need is one more guy who needs the ball and doesn't play defense. Exactly. But, you know, Damar de Rosen, DeMontas, a bonus, our old friend Dennis Schroeder, Zach Levine. I mean, you know, Keon Ellis is a pretty good defender. Like, they've got some decent players on this. Egan Murray will not be available. He has a thumb injury that's going to keep him out a month and change.

Starting point is 00:04:25 Yeah, they just signed him to a huge contract. Good player. Yes. And so like this is not a terrible team, but my God, are they just composed and put together in a very, very, very strong. They are the Western Conference Isle of Misfit Toys. Yes. And they are going to struggle to get into the playoffs in a very, very difficult conference. So I want to talk about what to look for in this dress rehearsal in a moment.

Starting point is 00:04:50 Before that, need to let people know of today's episode is brought to you by Fanduel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Head to fendule.com to get started. So you mentioned Andy a few guys who have looked good. Luca in his one game, AR has had a really strong preseason. DeAndre 8 has played well. I think Jackson Hayes has played well over the course of the preseason.

Starting point is 00:05:17 Jake LaRavia has certainly shown, I think, why the Lakers like him, enough of the skill set of what he could potentially bring over the course of the season. So as you look at this game, presumably with everyone who is available playing as if they would on Tuesday night, what exactly are you looking for? What rotation JJ goes with in terms of starters and whoever else fills out, what will presumably be a nine or ten man rotation? for what it is worth, I am predicting that the starting five is going to be Luca, Austin, Rui, Aten, and Vando.

Starting point is 00:06:01 I agree. And a rotation that fills out Gabe, Marcus Smart, Jake Laravia, Jackson Hayes. And then a 10th man that is probably Dalton. If it's not Dalton, I guess it could be Brony. There's really nobody else. And to be perfectly honest, neither Dalton nor Brony has. played well in the preseason at all. So the answer really might be they're waiting for a due thiro to be healthy enough to try to see if they can do something with him at all.

Starting point is 00:06:35 Or just you're obviously that one of those slots eventually becomes LeBron. But for the time being, the only question I really have would be that 10th spot. Some of it gets dictated by, unless JJ wants like a longer look at an RJ Davis or Nick Smith, which by the way, I don't think is out of the question. But as far as the guys that are guaranteed to be on this roster, that's the way I predict it's going to shake out. Yeah, it's interesting. For the Lakers to keep a guy like Davis. And this question of two ways, it's not something we need to get into right to this very moment, but the question of two ways is kind of an interesting one just because RJ Davis,

Starting point is 00:07:15 who is not signed to one of the three two-way deals has been their best other guy, like camp guy where you go, huh, like that guy is playing pretty well. And he had a good summer league too. So it's not just like a couple weeks in preseason where things are clicking. I realize summer league, summer league,

Starting point is 00:07:34 but you can only play the games in front of you. RJ Davis played well there too. And so for people who don't know, the Lakers have Coloco on a two-way deal. I would be very surprised if they let him go. If for one another reason, then, you know, Max CLABA is not healthy yet. You need the positional depth. And Nick Smith, Jr., who they just signed to that two-way deal,

Starting point is 00:08:00 and has had moments, I would say, in the preseason. Davis has outplayed him. Yes, he does. But I think that Nick Smith, is particularly as a young prospect for a team that doesn't have very many of them, has shown at least some. potential there. And then Chris Mannion is the other guy. He has not played in the preseason because of an ankle injury, 6-5 guard from Vanderbilt. So, you know, that's where I went to school. Everything I've understood, they really have liked Mannion and they, they've been disappointed

Starting point is 00:08:34 that he has not been able to get out there. So, you know, to keep, to ensure that you keep Davis, you would have to give him one of those deals. And I don't know if that's going to happen. But it is an interesting thing. And certainly a lot of people have been talking about that sort of in Lakers' online communities. That 10th guy to me is kind of interesting just because it's become clear in the preseason

Starting point is 00:09:00 that they really, you know, they went from 10, then LeBron got hurt. And now it's kind of nine. And you don't really love any of the 10th options. Because even when Claibah gets back, the third. You're not going to play three centers. Right. That's not where the 10th guy is going to come from.

Starting point is 00:09:23 And so you look at Dalton, who we've spoken about extensively in the preseason, he has not played well. He has certainly not made it obvious that he needs to be in an NBA rotation right now. Brani, I think, has improved from last year to, this year, but does not belong in a rotation. I think he is, I think Brony has improved in terms of his confidence and his comfort level and just seeming like he understands what's going on more on the floor. He's more aggressive or whatever.

Starting point is 00:09:56 It has not, though, I think translated to actually playing better. I don't think LeBron, I mean, he's better than last year. But if you're asking me if I think he's played well, the answer is no. I certainly don't think he's played well enough against. You know, rotation level, NBA rotation level competition. That I would completely agree. Needs more seasoning. So what else is there in terms of the rotation?

Starting point is 00:10:24 Are there any other candidates for that starting spot? What are we thinking about Marcus Smart right now? All questions that we will look into next. Lockdown Lakers is brought to you by Wayfar. The holidays are going to be here before you know. We are already planning Thanksgiving. our house, which is, it's exciting and it's fun, but getting your home ready for guests and celebrations can feel like a lot. Sometimes your serverware needs an update or the guest room

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Starting point is 00:11:58 I want to touch on a couple guys, particularly the centers here in a second. But it's interesting to note. I came across them. We've had, we've had, Lakers, social media has had, a lot of people are discussing this question of, are the Lakers taking advantage of the preseason? One of the things that I've wondered is if all coaches just look at these games very differently now, like that the games are in some ways almost a nuisance to the building of continuity and really understanding your players, much more of an NFL-style model where coaches clearly,

Starting point is 00:12:37 other than we need to figure out who the last 10 guys in the roster are going to be, clearly think the games are inconvenience. The Lakers had six preseason games this year. I wonder if going forward there are a couple things that could cut this down. First of all, the revenue needs might be a little bit different with Mark Walter versus the bus family. Maybe you just have fewer games at the crypt. If that's something you can do, you know, maybe you don't go to Vegas. maybe you don't go to Palm Springs.

Starting point is 00:13:09 I don't know what the alternatives are because traditionally those have been like pay it off for your fan games. But if JJ Reddick and the basketball ops folks feel that practice is more valuable than these extra games, the extra games not only kind of tick off your fans as you've made this point, Andy,

Starting point is 00:13:32 because you're not really putting the team out there. You're robbing your own program of four days of practice over the course of, you know, by the time you travel, days off because of the games, days off because of back to backs. I wonder if going forward

Starting point is 00:13:47 they'll just do this differently. We'll see. I mean, the Lakers had the maximum amount of preseason games you can have, and that was by their choice. It was not league mandated. You can have zero preseason games

Starting point is 00:13:58 if you actually want, although no team... That would be my vote. No, but no team actually chooses it, but just for listeners and viewers unaware, there is no. no mandated minimum. There's only a maximum. I would just like to see something in, I mean, I don't want to go too far down this rabbit hole just because we've spent a lot of time in this

Starting point is 00:14:17 preseason talking about and the preseason is almost over. I would just like to have whatever approach just feel more cohesive and intentional. And just in terms of what they are doing, easier to pick up on from the outside looking in. I realize issues like injuries, those are variables outside their control. I'm just saying even when I take into account those variables, it hasn't always felt like it's a clear A to B, and it's something that's been pretty consistent with this organization. And that's what I was to say.

Starting point is 00:14:53 I feel like some of these things are, how do you communicate to the people who are interested in what you're doing inside the building, who are interested in the progress of the team, you know, invested emotionally, certainly for a lot of people invested financially, buying tickets to games, you know, paying for, you know, special cable packages, whatever it might be to make sure you can stay connected to your team, gear, all that stuff. Like the Luca plan for all of this, because, you know, the

Starting point is 00:15:23 Lakers have been practicing, you know, a normal load, but like Luca stopped playing all of a sudden. And it looked really weird. Like this level of the, they need to do a better job finding balance between not everybody needs to know everything. And sometimes it helps for people to know something. Yeah, absolutely. Again, just something that feels more clear. The center rotation, you know, with DeAndre Aiton and Jackson Hayes, to me, has been a bright spot of the preseason.

Starting point is 00:15:58 What have you thought about it? Well, first of all, I mean, you and I, when we were prepping for the show, one of the categories you threw out a potential thing to talk about is, biggest camp surprise. And I guess beyond just broadly what we've seen from Jared Vanderbilt, just because it's been so long that we've actually seen him healthy playing this type of sustainable minutes. I had not gotten the sense, and some of this may have been health related from last season, that JJ fully bought into Vando as a player, which was something that I made very clear last year. Disagreed with J.J. on. But Vando's had an excellent training camp. But

Starting point is 00:16:36 beyond that piece of it, Jackson Hayes to me has arguably been the biggest surprise of training camp. And I say that in part because I wasn't quite sure the headspace he would enter just because he got pretty loudly benched during the playoffs. I know he returned this year, but that felt to some degree like some agent maneuvering, horse trading. I think Jackson would have gotten a contract somewhere, but it's not like the bidding war for Jackson's services would have been that strong around the league. So I was, and, you know, the last bit of evidence that we saw with JJ and centers was him actually playing Maxi Claibah.

Starting point is 00:17:23 So I wasn't exactly sure how Jackson would both physically and mentally enter camp. He clearly, the extra. muscle that he put on, I think it's not slowing him down. I think it's allowing him a little more physicality. He's been really good. He doesn't look even a tiny bit slower. No, no. And I think he deserves credit just for coming in with the right attitude. He's played really well. What I like about Jackson, too, is it's a great example of how like you need to put a player in the right slot on your roster. It was unfair. Like, it's unfair. It's, it's a great example of how, like, it's not unfair to evaluate how the Lakers look with Hayes.

Starting point is 00:18:07 Was Hayes playable or unplayable, good or bad? For a while, he played quite well for a while. For a while. I mean, especially when the season went on and you get into the postseason, did Jackson Hayes perform well enough as your starting center that you could feel confident in giving him minutes? I think it is, no, I don't think he did. The context, not the counter, but the context of that is, though,

Starting point is 00:18:33 that he shouldn't have been doing it. Like the Lakers put themselves, they left themselves in a position because of the Dantage trade and like something you say yes to a million times over and then the voided Mark Williams deal. They left themselves in a position

Starting point is 00:18:49 where he was the only person who could do it. And he didn't perform at a high enough level. But when you drop him into a backup rule and you talk about some of the the improvement confidence. I agree with you that strength seems to be helping. We'll see how it helps him particularly as a rebounder because that has not been his strong suit over the course of his career for his size.

Starting point is 00:19:18 I feel pretty confident with Jackson Hayes as a backup center, as a guy who, you know, let's just assume Aiton's going to miss 15 games this season at one at somewhere because that's his pattern, who can spot start those games, especially when you have Vanderbilt and you have presumably at some point Claibah and just more bigs to fill it out so Jackson isn't the only guy you can turn to in some of those situations. Especially good about that. Especially too. Like Jackson is the backup.

Starting point is 00:19:58 And you know that that backup role is in all likelihood. going to be about 15 minutes max because D'Andre Aiton is a legit, no questions asked starting center who you want playing low 30s a night. Like that's the role that you have slated for him. So it's not like as an example when there had been some rumors about the Lakers having an interest in Daniel Gafford. And I know we talked a lot about, you know, what would be a fair price for Gafford, all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:20:28 But like Daniel Gafford, he's an excellent backup. up and he's good to have on your team, but he's not like, he's not at the level of Aiton insofar as a, you know that is a starting center. Like he's not starting for the Mavericks right now. They just locked them up to an extension and it makes sense, but he's behind Derek lively. If say the Lakers had been able to trade for Daniel Gafford, there becomes the potential of Jackson having a larger role because there's only so many minutes you want to play Gafford. But like D'Andre Aiton is somebody that you play, starters minutes because he is a starter, which means Jackson playing 12 to 15 minutes a night.

Starting point is 00:21:12 That is a perfectly suitable role for him. And that combo of Luca with DeAndre Aiton is something I think I, along with a lot of people are looking for in this dress rehearsal game just because there were moments where you could see it. But in the game they played on Tuesday, but there were also the connection wasn't perfect, as you would expect. And I feel like both of them were trying to sort of force these lob moments, the really strong pick and roll finishes. And just getting to that place where everybody feels comfortable letting it kind of happen, I think will help. But I think overall, a center who sets strong screens and is good in that has a mid-range game. I am more optimistic now having seen Aiton play and seem pretty committed to doing the right stuff.

Starting point is 00:22:08 I was pretty optimistic anyway. I'm more optimistic about that pairing now than I was when Camp Start. Yeah, absolutely. We can get into anything else that we're going to be looking for. And then that question of Marcus Smart. We were left an interesting comment on the chat board on the live show on Wednesday night. that wanted to bring up for today. So we'll do all that next.

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Starting point is 00:23:16 So you're ready to play? Download the Fandul app now by visiting Fandul.com to get started. That's fandul.com to place your first $5 bet. Certainly the Lakers are going to need the Aiton thing to work out. You know, his role on this team, Andy, is significantly larger over these first 15 or 16 games. You know, maybe it's 20 games, whatever it turns out to be. Like, they're going to need him now to be not just a defensive background and a rebounder, but really step up with some of the offensive capabilities he have. They're going to need Jared Vanderbilt to be the guy that he's been in the preseason

Starting point is 00:23:58 in terms of his athleticism and his activity with LeBron out. we talked about Rui as another guy who's offensively going to have to step up and get some of these points back. They're also going to need Marcus Smart to help with the backcourt defense. And if anything has been a disappointment in this camp other than, you know, LeBron hasn't been able to participate because of the injury, I would say next on that list is they just haven't really, it doesn't seem like they've been able to get smart going in a way that you would design it if you could. Yeah, we'll see how it looks tonight. Marcus will definitely get minutes, and they're definitely going to be looking to find more of a comfort zone. You know, JJ said after Tuesday night's game that Marcus had zero field goal attempts,

Starting point is 00:24:52 and, you know, it was basically all zeros across the line except I think one assist and two files. And JJ was unhappy about that. And it sounded more like he was unhappy that. that others were preventing Marcus from being as involved as he wanted, as opposed to being unhappy with Marcus Smart himself. We'll see. The reason I say that is just because he happened to talk a lot about lacking ball movement as the game went along, and it feels like there's a bit of a correlation.

Starting point is 00:25:26 Like Marcus's usage rate in that game, I imagine, was somewhere around negative 1.3. So, like, they need to find more utility for him. He's an important addition to this team because on paper, he brings some utility that they don't have a lot of. Along those lines, in terms of something I'm also going to be looking for on Friday, assuming all hands are on deck. How, if we get any signs of how some of these defensive assignments are going to be doled out, you would assume that Jared Vanderbilt, if he's starting, is going to get the toughest wing or guard assignment to begin a game. But where does it go from there? And I think this is also especially interesting because without LeBron, you lose some degree of defensive optionality.

Starting point is 00:26:16 Because even taking into account that LeBron may need to pick his spots defensively over the course of the season, there's a lot that he can do. and you lose some of that without him there. You also lose some of that communication. So I'm just going to be, I'm going to be interested to see, okay, who gets put on the second most potent, you know, wing player in this game? Is it Austin, you know, depending on the type of player it is? Like, you know, is it more of a chaser type guy that you might have Austin on? Is it someone like Luca, you know, Rui at times last year out of necessity was often guarding guards? So I'm curious to see how that looks.

Starting point is 00:26:57 Yeah, and it's funny with LeBron. To me, it's obviously LeBron as I wouldn't go so far as to a two-way player at this point in his career. But we saw it in that stretch after the Miami game last year where LeBron cranked it up defensively. And with Luca on board, with Austin Reeves there, with really like the need for LeBron to basically do the Luca role. offensively is much lower. So he can certainly at times offer you more defensively while still giving you what he is, most of what he is offensively.

Starting point is 00:27:37 And the optionality that you're talking about comes to me at least from losing two-way-ish guys. Vanderbilt is clearly a much more of a defensive asset than he is an offensive asset. La Ravia at this point is more of an offensive asset than he is a defensive one. We'll see how that goes over the course of the year. There aren't many of those players that bridge that gap. And those are the guys that really give a coach a lot of flexibility in what they can do with their line.

Starting point is 00:28:08 That's why Oklahoma City is a fun roster to coach because you've got two or three guys, four guys that you don't have to take off the floor if you need defense or if you need offense. and you can build the other players and the other three spots around it. Honestly, I mean, you go up and down their roster. Like there may be some guys that you have to take off. Like an Isaiah Hartinstein, you may have to take him off the floor because a matchup dictates it. But he is somebody who contributes in tangible ways on both sides of the ball. I mean, like, of their key players, the guy that maybe you'd look at as more one and a half way might be Caruso,

Starting point is 00:28:49 but even Alex, they've found ways to find offensive utility with him. But he's not right. He's not a black hole offensively. You know, Kason Wallace is not a great offensive player, but he's not a black hole. You know, so like, you know, Lou Dort can be inefficient, but he's averaged, you know. He's a very good outside shooter and he's a lockdown defensive player. I consider him a two-way player. He's like a prototype three-and-d player.

Starting point is 00:29:13 He's right, exactly. Like he's just, he there's, you can, you start looking for, you know, J-Lan, Williams is obviously two-ways. Chet is obviously a two-way player. And so the Lakers, it's not that they don't have anybody who can defend, and it's not that there are plenty of people who can score. They don't have a lot of people who bridge that. And LeBron is even at 40, 41 years old, kind of one of those guys.

Starting point is 00:29:37 You know, it's funny, like, and this is why finding that utility for Marcus Smart really matters. Relatively speaking, Marcus Smart is one of the more two-way players on this team. not necessarily as a score, but somebody that you can give the ball, he can help run an offense. He will take shots at times. He'll is going to take more than you want, but he is a one-and-a-half-way player

Starting point is 00:30:02 on this team that kind of rounds up to two. He's almost a three-way player. So to get to the point of this comment that we got, part of, I think, the disappointment in what they've had to do. Like, they've had to, I don't want to say, baby but treat smart incredibly carefully in this camp he started injured they brought him along he's stayed in street clothes a lot of days he's only played the one preseason game they've been extremely careful with him because it's like vanderbilt if you if he can't be you know 90% 100% like

Starting point is 00:30:38 of whatever he's capable of athletically and health-wise and all that kind of stuff his utility drops significantly if he's not going to be able to be a big defense contributor, he isn't going to be nearly as effective a signing as the Lakers certainly would hope. And so the comment that was left in the in the chat on the live show Wednesday night, and this is again, mind you after Jordan Goodwin, who's now with Phoenix, lit up the Lakers in that game, was that like, you know, Marcus Smart is, you know, they let Goodwin go to facilitate the smart signing. and, you know, that this commenter, and I forgot who it was, said that, you know, they let the better player go so they could bring in the name. And I don't agree with that.

Starting point is 00:31:24 I think overall, I think it's Mark Smart's a better player. And it's worth noting Jordan Goodwin has never, never been a 20 minute a night regular in the NBA, like ever. And so a lot of this, I think, is kind of falling in love with the concept of Goodwin. I think good player, though. say this, if smart isn't healthy, if they can't keep him healthy, if they can't get him out on the floor as the most fully realized version of himself, there actually is more than a couple of universes in which Jordan Goodwin actually would have been a better player than smart. I'll tell you, and this is sort of big picture thinking on it, but it reflects my big reaction

Starting point is 00:32:12 in the moment to drafting brawny and i don't mean to kick a kid that i've said before i really like brawny in terms of just the person and the way he clearly wants to work i think he takes this seriously you know he he he's got a nepo baby route to the league but i don't think he treats himself or conducts himself like a nepo baby at all and i really root for him but this is an area where drafting brawny that particular year, when in any other year you likely just either trade that pick or draft a stash guy because you needed the roster spot, had brawny not had a guaranteed contract,

Starting point is 00:32:55 you can likely have Jordan Goodwin and Marcus Smart. And Jordan Goodwin is an NBA player, or if nothing else, he is more of an NBA player than Brony. he's much more of an NBA conversation we had in the first segment about do they have a right now 10th guy Jordan Goodwin could be that guy absolutely look I railed on a lot last year particularly in the playoffs I think JJ should have played goodwin more but again even if you think he is a 10th man level NBA player which I guess makes you fringy fringe adjacent whatever like he has business being in the NBA he's proven that whether he can stick in it or not

Starting point is 00:33:35 You could end up having that prototypical journeyman career. There's nothing wrong with it. If you can carve it out for five, seven-ish years, the jury is very, very open on Brony with that. And again, I'm rooting for it. It's not about. But this is an area where Brony's presence complicates things because had Brony not been on the roster, they can have both. And I'm not saying this with Dalton Connect because Dalton's a first round pick. maybe he doesn't end up being what they want to be, but teams typically use their first

Starting point is 00:34:08 round picks. That's the difference. And Dalton, even acknowledging, Dalton's got a lot to pick up, there's a big difference between Dalton's station in the NBA and Bronnies. For sure. No question. Lock on Lakers on YouTube is where you can go hang out with over 36,000 subscribers to the channel.

Starting point is 00:34:27 We, of course, will be on live after the game Friday night with a mini show to take you into the weekend, let you know what happens with this dress rehearsal. We'll get you ready for Tuesday's opener. We are real close, Andy, to the real games beginning. It is super exciting. We appreciate all of you starting the season with us. And so we will see everyone after the game. Enjoy your weekend.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - What will we Learn from the Lakers' Final Preseason Game? Plus, Is Marcus Smart a Big Risk?

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