Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - Yes, the Lakers are Watching the Standings, and Why the Offense Can Still Improve

Episode Date: April 2, 2025

At this time of year, you'll often hear players talk about how they don't pay attention to what's happening around them in the standings. We just focus on ourselves. We keep it tight, inside the building. We're controlling what we control. And, yeah, sure. Control what you control. That's always sound strategy. But the idea these guys don't pay attention to the standings? To how teams around them are doing? It is, and has always been, a crock of... well, you get it. The Lakers aren't playing that game. Following Monday's win against Houston, everyone in the locker room asked about the Western Conference standings made it very clear that they know what's going on. Why? Because it would be insane not to. The West is insanely competitive, and every possible advantage matters when it comes to maximizing the team's potential. Along those lines, the Lakers are still seeking the type of consistent performance you'd expect (at least on the surface) from an offense featuring Luka, LeBron and Austin Reaves. We're starting to get clues as to how that might change, thanks to LeBron's newly re-launched podcast, of all things. Talking to new host Steve Nash (former Laker!), the Hall of Fame point guard marveled at the acceptance of roles since Luka arrived, and the possibilities available to Lakers with LeBron starting so many possessions away from the ball. LeBron, Nash said, is screening. Running the short roll. Spacing. Cutting. All the stuff guys can do when they don't have the ball in their hands. Some examples of how LeBron responded: "...it's a switch league, you know, but to be able to pick and slip or pick and hit the short roll, now what I do best is even more unlocked. So you're giving me a pocket pass, and now I'm playing the 4 on 3 game.""I'm playing the 4 on 3 game where I've gotten the ball from Luka in the pocket or AR in the pocket. Now I get to read and decide what these three defenders are going to guard. Me with the ball, two guys in the corner and a big in the dunker or small in the dunker.  I'm going to pick you apart, you know, instead of always having to be at the head of the play and now all eyes are on me...""...(with) Luka's ability to manipulate a defense… If you put two on him and now when the ball is swung to me and I’m going against a closeout? …  To get eyes on someone else for a change and then I’m catching it on the backside?"When the Lakers acquired Luka, more than a few voices who figured it wouldn't/couldn't work because LeBron and Luka wouldn't be work together. It would just be "your turn, my turn" because neither guy would take a step back. Of course, they were really talking about LeBron, essentially saying his ego wouldn't let him cede control of LA's offense to its new superstar. None of it made sense. He's been looking for someone to help carry this burden for a few seasons. It's part of why the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook. (Just because it should have been really obvious that wasn't going to work doesn't mean the purpose was to make things easier for James.) This season, LeBron had already given up some responsibility to Reaves. If he was willing to do it for AR, why on earth wouldn't he make concessions for Luka Freaking Dončić? The path hasn't been smooth, and there will continue to be bumps along the way. But the ups and downs are because NBA basketball is really hard. Some nights things won't work the way you want. But broadly speaking, the Lakers are all pulling in the same direction, and more than that, LeBron seems to really enjoy this new style. He's not always drawing the best defender. He gets to attack closeouts, or cut because defenses aren't watching him. This is all stuff that has almost never happened over the course of his 22 years in the league. And because there's no power struggle, the Lakers are more likely to hit this season's ceiling... which still has the potential to be very, very high.  HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: The Lakers know what's happening in the standings.  SEGMENT 2: What should they be doing?  SEGMENT 3: The most dangerous matchup.  Your favorite podcast now has a newsletter! In One-stop for ultimate team and league coverage delivered right to your in box. Sign up for free now, at lockedondaily.com.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYHead to 5-hourENERGY.com to find over 15 flavors to choose from, including Watermelon, Blue Raspberry, and Peach-Mango. Need one now? 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Hey, everyone, welcome to Locked on Lakers for Wednesday, Brian Kaminetsky, Andy Kaminetsky. The Lakers are watching the standings, you bet. Who should they want to play in the first round? 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 on weekends,

no matter how you get your podcast. This one, this one is always going to be free, never behind a paywall. Locked on Lakers on YouTube is where you can hang out with over 34,000 subscribers, Andy, all of whom like the Lakers are paying keen attention to the standings, trying to figure out where exactly the Lakers are going to end up. It could be as high as second. It could be as low as seventh. There is still a lot of variety there,

and the Lakers have admitted that they are the players and everyone alike. They all admitted that they're paying attention to the standing. So we will get to that momentarily telling you how we think they should try to finish out which opponents and all that kind of stuff they should aim for, who they should try to avoid and whatnot. But the JJ Reddick-Lebron James Mind the Game podcast, Andy, it had to die when the Lakers hired JJ Reddick, but now it's back. And we've seen some really interesting clips.

You and I were talking about LeBron and Luca and Reeves earlier in the week. And it just so happens that that is one of the clips that's been out and circulating from the Steve Nash now version hosted version of Mind the Game podcast. And LeBron is getting into how he functions differently in the offense and what the potential for that is going forward. We talk about playoff position. A lot of where they end up is going to depend on how well the Lakers can do the stunt.

LeBron's talking about in this in his podcast with Steve Nash. Yeah, there's a clip in particular that's been circulating a lot on social media where it begins with Steve Nash saying that he was, he's been impressed with LeBron's willingness to be a screener, short roll or cutter, spaceer, like doing things that doesn't, that doesn't mean LeBron on the ball at all times controlling the offense. And LeBron said, you know, I'm smart when it comes to this game and, you know, that he's recognized like Luca is great. Austin, as he said, is on the rise and giving them more responsibilities, more reps on ball, more control of that offense. When you've got two other guys that maybe all of these guys in their hearts of hearts trust themselves the most.

But Luca and Austin, LeBron, certainly trusts more than enough, like, well more than enough. Oh, yeah. And it's like, if I have two other guys that I trust well more than enough, it opens up so many possibilities for me that have not always been there in terms of operating off ball, screening, spacing, as he points out, like the ability to actually attack a closeout, because he is typically the guy that swings the pass to the guy that will be attacking a closeout, as opposed to being that guy. He's like, that rarely has happened to me, my whole career.

It opens up all these different options for LeBron that can make him more dangerous, make the team more dangerous. And, oh, by the way, make his life easier in season 22. It was, it's a fascinating little clip. And it gets to, first of all, why that was a fun podcast to begin with. because it really is, it's a, you and I have been covering basketball for a long time. I love stuff like this because I learn like a lot. I'm not like one of these guys.

I can't sit back. I mean, I know what's happening in the league. I, you know, personalities. I follow news. But like I can't necessarily dissect X's and O's and stuff, certainly not at the level of, you know, a coach or, I don't know, LeBron. So, you know, when you watch these shows and they break it down, they have. the film and they have the, you know, the, it's every basketball fan should find stuff like this to be able to, to watch. Because it just, it helps you understand what's happening in the game.

But like, one of the things that he talks about, too, is when he gets the ball off the, the short roll and settles into the high post or something like that. And listening to LeBron break down now what he's able to see and do. And the supreme confidence, that he feels that he knows that if he can get to that spot, he owns that possession at that point, either with the pass, either by continuing to sort of break down a player if he wants to post up, or by, you know, putting the ball on the floor and either finishing at the rent, whatever he wants to do, he can because it started the possession

where he wasn't the recipient of five sets of eyes. those five sets of eyes, or at least three of the five, are watching Luca Donchich because they have to. And I don't think they've gotten it perfect yet. Like there are times, Nash reference sort of the your turn, my turn thing that can happen in situations like these. And there have been times when the Lakers, LeBron and Luca have kind of devolved into that.

That Orlando game in particular was one that really jumped out. And some of that, sometimes your offense gets out of rhythm. You don't hit the right spot. You don't quite get the right calls. The switches don't work the way you want. Whatever it might be. It's never going to work perfectly. But it's not just hearing how LeBron understands that he's got these incredible matchups and advantages.

He's never really been able to take advantage of. Certainly not in the Lakers era because even with AD, again, LeBron is the one initiating the offense. But the excitement, you know, he's like, you can tell he's excited about being able to do things differently in his 22nd year than he has been basically in the other ones. And it's funny because when people, when the Lakers, you know, when we learn that they got Luca, there was a, at least from our perspective, a surprising amount of skepticism about Luca and LeBron being able to learn to play off each. other, which again, you and I raised certain questions about this new incarnation of the Lakers, because I think there were questions that were worth raising in terms of, like, did they lose too much defense with AD and Max Christie out the door? Will there be enough time for everyone

to get on the same page? Like, all of that stuff. But the LeBron-Luca dynamic, there's only one ball. How are they going to work out these egos? That was something you and I from the beginning were like, that's not going to be a thing. And what was funny to me, when a lot of people, the skeptics, they would bring up, you know, LeBron and Wade, they took a while to make it work. And it's like, okay, A, that team still went to the finals. They won 58 games. Like, clearly they managed to make something worse.

Right. And a while in this case was like, what were, it was like 16 and they were like 16 and 16, something like that. They were 9 and 8 when you were that infamous meeting. Right. The infamous meeting where LeBron, Wade, and Bosch went to Pat Riley. wanting them to fire, wanting him to fire Spalster and Spalz, and Riley said no, Spalster stays.

But like, they figured it out relatively. Yes, quickly. Again, they won 58 games and went to the finals. Like something, it's kind of like the 04 Lakers team with Kobe, Shaq, Malone, and Peyton. There was a bleep ton of drama with that team. And the disintegration was ugly. and the stuff was out of control, and it was the season where Kobe was dealing with the trial in Colorado

and all sorts of stuff was happening. Phil Jackson was very transparently on the way out, but again, team went to the finals. B, LeBron and Wade were dealing with the dynamic of being very good friends and peers who arrived in the league at the same time. And, you know, how do we do this dynamic of? It's Wade's team, and they've already won a championship with Wade, and LeBron doesn't want to step on too many toes, but he's actually the better player.

But then also see, and I think this is so important that people forget about, that was 15 years ago. Like, do you think LeBron learned nothing from that experience, nothing from the experience of teaming up with Kyrie? He wanted Russell Westbrook because he thought this would help him out. Like he was wrong about the way it was going to work. Oh, yeah. Very wrong.

But the reasons it didn't work wasn't because, oh, only one ball, too much ego. It was, they were a terrible fit. But it was not an ego problem. The time passing is a reminder that when that happened, the major change difference in the dynamic versus now is two players both in their prime. The issue wasn't that Wade wasn't in his prime anymore or wasn't dominant. It was just that LeBron was one of the handful of players in the league who was better. And so, but like there's not, there isn't that, you know, is LeBron still an elite player in the league? Absolutely.

But in year 22, 40 years old, it's like, it's such an, it's such an obvious and natural thing to seed more ground. And like, I think people confused too. Like there's a difference between it will work perfectly from the beginning. And there are hiccups and learning curves and all that stuff just because there are, as opposed to people won't do the stuff that's needed in order to make it work. That's never been the, and then you just got to figure it out. But as long as everybody's willing, and like I mentioned on Tuesday show, I think there's an

opportunity for Luca because he's got these. honeymoon in L.A. He can kind of take us. He doesn't have to take 35 shots a game. Everybody can kind of ease into roles that work really well while still kind of reaping the benefits of being, you know, first team, second team, all NBA star talents. Who are these first team, second team, all NBA star talents hoping to see in the postseason? That's the question we'll ask next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by prize picks. Basketball season is heating up.

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It's guaranteed. Prize picks. Run your game. So I don't want to get, I don't want to get too far afield from the topics at hand, Andy. But we are already, everybody knows, like, for example, the Lakers are going to give Luca whatever extension,

at whatever years, whatever. However Luca wants to do his setup going forward, the Lakers will happily accommodate him. But we have all, it's just April. And we are already into my favorite part of, off-season, the off-season rumor mill. Anthony Slater covers the Warriors for the Athletic is reporting that Jonathan Cominga is seeking a five,

we'll seek a five-year, $224 million extension this off-season. Max contract. Sure. Why not? I mean, okay. I would too. Oh, my. I just, I love this.

You know, Jonathan Kamenga reportedly seeking a five-year, $224 million max contract this offseason. The Warriors, of their part, are hesitant to commit and might explore trade options. But I just love that. Like player X wants is seeking the most amount of money possible. You know what? My favorite headline related to the NBA. And then we'll get back to the regular topics. But I love the huevos of a player like Kaminga who has seen a team.

clearly, like transparently, hesitant to commit to him, putting it out there. I want five years, 224 mil. And they keep trying to like, they're trying. They've tried, like they wouldn't trade him. They wouldn't do anything. And now he's not even starting. I know. I just, I love, I love when you just shoot your shot, man.

Shoot your shot. I'm telling David Locke, I want my five-year, $224 million for this offseason as well. I'll give you some. Don't worry. Well, no, no, no, dude. We're a packaged deal. That's 10 for 448. That's money well spent.

It's five days a week. We do this. And sometimes on weekends, did you not hear the open? What's an anger of a newsletter. You know what? I'll do the news thoughts in the newsletter for free. Locked on Daily.com. It'll help us in our quest to get a lot.

It'll help us in our quest to get $448 million. We really need the subscribers to make our case. David, in place for itself with the newsletter. Oh, all right. We'll see how this goes. Anyway, we obviously have been watching the standings. Laker fans have been watching the standings forever. And the Lakers have, to a man,

admitted that they are doing the same. It's interesting, like they haven't talked about opponents. We will, but they haven't. What they have talked about, Andy, and made very clear is understanding the stakes here. They badly want to stay out of the play-in. Like home court, this, that whatever, fine. They are like us.

Avoiding the play-in is absolutely priority number one. Lakers, they're just like us. Here's some of the quotes from Dorian Finney Smith after the win over Houston. Everybody is paying attention. I can't lie. Let's be honest. Come on, man.

Everybody be looking at the standings. We don't want to be in the play-in. So every game matters. And LeBron said this year in particular, it's so close. People are jumping each other, falling behind, whatever the case may be. It's not like I look at it every day, but it's talked about pretty much all the time. You kind of see where you're at. For us, obviously, our mission is to lock in a playoffs spot.

We don't want to play in the play in. so we understand what's at stake and gave Vincent added just it's more that we're just aware of it. I wouldn't say that we walk in the building and have a post on the wall by any means. We understand what's at stake. We understand what we got to do. And we're just trying to take it on a take it one game at a time. I love, Brian, that they are not trying to pull some, you know, we only worry about ourselves. We're not watching the rest of the league platitude because like at best, you're unconvincingly lying.

and at worst, it would reflect a team sincerely unconcerned about avoiding the play in, which quite frankly would worry the bleep out of me. Like, have you people learned nothing from the last couple years? Yeah, it's really quite amazing. And every team, particularly in the Western Conference, like the Clippers, I think, are 11 games over five. They're their nine or 11. I forget there's like a three and a two in there. They are 11 games.

Them in Minnesota are both 11 games over 500. in the seven and the eight. Yep. And so, and that's without playing with a Kauai Leonard for a massive part of the season. And so, you know, Norman Powell has heard for a little while too. Like, and yet they are still 11 games over 500. This is an absurdly deep conference. And the notion that you are can just sort of glide through, you know, we've made it out of the

play in a couple times. We'll do it again. Most teams would benefit from the extra week that you. goes with watching another team play in those things. The Lakers, other than maybe I could say the Clippers, probably benefit more than anybody because they are built around guys. LeBron, we've talked about his age, all that stuff, still playing really well,

but a week off for LeBron, that changes him in the first round. Luca, between you and me, looks like a week off could help. I mean, the guy's banged up. By his own admission, 70 to 80% with that knee, he could use the time. off. Dorian Finney Smith has been dealing with that ankle back in Brooklyn, much less since joining the Lakers. Austin has looked tired at times. It hit in the face 14 times a day. Like, you know.

Jackson Hayes missed a bunch of games. Gabe has had to sit occasionally on the second end of a back-to-backer have some type of maintenance. They could all, you know, Vando has, to put it generously, his availability has been in flux during his time with the lake. everyone could use it. And I, you know, so, okay, if you're a locked on Nuggets fan, you could argue like, every, team has guys. But just when you just look at the profile, it obviously benefits the Lakers as much as any team, as much as it could benefit any team.

And I think it changes their fortunes in terms of their capacity to go deep into the playoffs to, to get there as well, not because it's going to, if everything goes well between now and the end of the season. It will not impact, probably will not impact their first round opponent because they are, if things go well, going to probably play the six seed or they're probably going to play the five seed. They'll be somewhere in there. Chances of getting up to two, even by beating Houston on Monday. Yeah, are still lower. And I'd like to think they're not yet in a position to fall down to the play in. So that's likely where they end up.

But if you are, and you're going to be playing a good team, but if you're set up with that week, not only are you more likely to win that first round series if you're the Lakers, you're more likely to win it faster and make it more likely that you can win your second. Because, I mean, Oklahoma City, and we'll get to them in a second, The Lakers are 17 games over 500.

They are 17 games behind Oklahoma City. It's ridiculous. It's insane. But, you know, I go back to it. The Clippers are and the Timberwolves who have had their share of problems. No, don't get me wrong. That is a, those are really strong seven and eight seats. Like you don't normally get a potential eight.

seed that's going to run at you with James Harden, Kauai Leonard, and Norman Powell. It is such a brutal conference and any little advantage that you can give yourself, whether it's an extra home game in a first round, whether it's definitely whether it's sitting while other teams have to play their way into the playoffs. I also liked how DFS talked about it where he didn't refer to the play in as the playoffs because that's always been a question that I've had. like if you make the play in, are you technically in the playoffs or not? According to Dorian Finney Smith, you are not.

Well, you're in the playoffs. Once you punch your ticket, you got to get out of the play in first, right? No, if you were a 10 seed in the play in and got eliminated in your game against the nine, no, you did not make the playoffs. All right.

You made the play in the same language here. Otherwise, they would call it like playoffs junior or something. It's not like the weak-ass playoffs or whatever. They would call it some form of the playoffs. They don't. They call it the play in. The in is for the ins is inside the off.

Yes. Got it. Should the Lakers be thinking about an opponent, though? Is it that a needle that you can thread? So finally, that is my question for you, Andy, next. Locked on Lakers is brought to you by Monarch Money. You ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all the money go? Like, but between all the time, but between dining out online shopping, entertainment, taking care of loved ones, children, they're just leeches.

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That's Monarch Money Code Locked on NBA for half off your first year. One important piece, and I don't know how this is impacted by the game on the 11th with Houston, but for the time being at least, the Lakers currently have the tiebreaker over every Western conference playoff team, not Oklahoma City, but that is not relevant. No. Doesn't matter. I mean, they could sweep OKC see this season. do they do get the tie breaker.

They ain't going to be no tie. No. But that is a, you know, when you think about where they are in the standings and, you know, that could definitely come into play. You get that last game against Portland, the idea that, you know, it would be nice if that game didn't mean anything. And if it doesn't, the idea that you could sit guys for an extra game or a half or whatever it be, because you know the worst you can do is tie for fourth or tie for third,

whatever it might be, and then you'll win. The little stuff like that, their record against the Western conferences here has been outstanding. And so that is an advantage that they'll carry in. The conference is super tight. They're two games basically outside of the two. They're also like two, two and a half games outside the seven.

Not a lot of wiggle room in either direction. Do you have, I'm not even talking about trying to manipulate wins and losses to finish in a certain spot to try to draw a certain opponent. It's too tight to try to figure that out, at least right now. That is some serious F-AFO territory right there. I mean, if you start messing with, let's say, the six, because I mean, moving down to the five makes no sense, because then you're just getting the same opponent with no home court. Right.

Why would you do that? That's some galaxy brain bleep. I need to hear the rationale for that. Unless you're playing the hawks in the first round, where Atlanta is essentially a home game as well. I guess so. I don't really even know if it's a thing for the Lakers, to be honest. There's no manipulation to be done because you would only try to move up anyway.

And honestly, I don't really have a preference between opponents. Like I really don't. I don't think the psychological thing with Denver exists anymore between the way the Lakers have played them recently and the fact that Luca and DFS and JJ, they don't carry that baggage. Everyone else, like the Lakers, they've played really well this year. They have the tiebreakers over all of them. Like, I think all of these teams will pose a challenge. Like, don't get me wrong. But I think the Lakers could fare very well against any of them.

Maybe other than maybe my preference could be opening round versus the clippers just because you eliminate travel. Like if the clippers somehow got up. Yeah. Although I somehow got up to five. But I don't. I don't. I don't.

Or the six. They could certainly get to the six of Lakers with a three. Sure. If it somehow works that way just so you don't have any travel in that first round. I don't like that. I don't want to play. There are teams that I sort of scare me more than others. I put Minnesota a little bit lower

just because I feel like they're just kind of a train wreck this year. They're winning a lot of games, but they don't feel, they don't have the vibe of a team that's going to, I don't, I'm not as frightened by Golden State just because I think that matchup

really now, especially favors the Lakers. I think the Denver vibe is gone. But at the same time, they still have the best player on the planet. All of these teams, be a challenge. Right. The clippers, right.

The clippers are actually one of the teams that I think are most threatening to me, just from a matchup standpoint. But I agree with you. It's less about which opponent, because you're going to get somebody hard in the first round, you're going to get somebody hard in the second round. It's about trying to finish two or three and getting yourself on the other side of the bracket from Oklahoma City.

because, yes, I get it. They are technically have not been all the way there yet. They still haven't gotten to the finals. They still have steps to take according to the traditional official steps that you're supposed to do before you declared a winner. I don't, they're so much better than everybody in the conference and have been all year long. And it's not like they haven't had their own injuries. You know, Jalen Williams has missed time and Chet has missed a ton of time.

Like guys. So's been out. Caruso's been out. Kason Wallace has been in and out of the lineup. Guys have been in and out of that lineup all season long. Shea's been healthy. Hardin's done in some time. Yeah, but basically everybody's been in and out of lineup except Shea,

who's been pretty reliable all year. I mentioned it before. The Lakers are 17 games over 500. That's really good. They are 17 games behind Oklahoma City. Yeah. 17 games over 500, 17 games behind the conference leader. You don't want to play that team.

And we'll find out. I think the Lakers can be competitive with them. I think the matchup is so different from last year that I don't even want to guess as to what it looks like until the team start to play. It's way different from the early season matchup. I mean, like we have no real information to go on at all. But Oklahoma, because Hartnstein was hurt for that one, if I remember correctly, they didn't play in that game. I have to check, but I don't think he did. But either way, you know, the size thing was where the Lakers used to really have a massive advantage over Oklahoma City.

That is completely reversed, if anything, in terms of, you know, Chet and Hartenstein and guys like that in the middle. Even, you know, other Jalen Williams, pretty good, pretty good backup, you know, if you want to throw a body out there. He said two triple doubles this year. Whenever he starts, he gets a triple double. He just doesn't play that much because they've got so many other, so much more talent. I think that's all the matter. It's not about avoiding. The only team you're trying to avoid is Oklahoma City, I think, for as long as possible.

And the good thing about that is it doesn't require you to tank games or this or that or try to be tricky. It actually requires you and encourages you to win as many games as possible because you avoid Oklahoma City by reaching the two or the three. you could, I guess, fall back to the six, but that's playing with fire, to say the very least. So I like where they are owning tiebreakers and having an incentive to win as many games down the stretch as possible and not even have to entertain like it was last year. Look, maybe in hindsight they should have tried to arrange it so they played the thunder. I think they'd have lost that series anyway. but that's just me.

They certainly didn't beat the Nuggets. But this year, there's none of that. There's none of that try to arrange the table, because I don't think there's any Western Conference opponent that is obviously better. Memphis is not playing well right now, relatively speaking of they're a good team. And I like that matchup.

I think the Lakers are better or certainly as good as most of these teams. They're only a couple that kind of scare me. So don't play Oklahoma City. That's basically my take. Also, I took a look. The game that you're talking about, about earlier in this season.

The Lakers lost, I believe, by, it was, I think, 101, 93. Hardinstein did play in that game. Oh, he did. Chet did not. Alex Caruso did not. The Lakers had their full squad. I knew one of the two wasn't there. Funderer are really good.

Yeah. All right. So more to talk about. We'll get ready for a very big Thursday night game where the Warriors can take revenge on me discounting them. So cavalierly earlier in this segment, but we'll see how that goes. Lock the Lakers on YouTube is where you can leave questions, leave comments for us. We will be back tomorrow.