Mind the Game - LeBron James Breaks Down Round 1 of the 2026 NBA Playoffs

Episode Date: May 5, 2026

Welcome to a very special episode of Mind the Game with LeBron James and Steve Nash. In this episode, LeBron takes us through Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs, specifically his series between The Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets. We get into the unprecedented natured of him leading a playoff team to victory at age 41 and what it was like being such underdogs in the series. LeBron also provides insight into how he used his mind to outsmart his opponents during the series. Of course, we had to shout out his teammates Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Deandre Ayton, Austin Reaves and more. And finally, we look ahead to the second round match-up between The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers.Thanks for joining us on Mind the Game. Be sure to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up on this episode of Mind the Game. We probably shot our last pod together in that room you're in now before you guys played OKC a month ago or whatever. And we were talking about your adjustment to being the third option. A few weeks later, you're the number one option again, carrying the loan. Talk to me about walking that back. We got to walk that back quick, man. You know, at the end of the day, you know,

it doesn't matter what the bookmaking are saying or, you know, the experts, so-called experts are saying the game is always won in between the four lines and we had to prepare. You know, I knew I still had a lot left in the tank when I came to this franchise in 18. But to say that, you know, at 41, I would be leading the team into the postseason and then, you know, coming out with a series win,

I wouldn't have guessed that, and I wouldn't have bet on that. To share with your son what it takes to be a pro and you were rewarded by playing meaningful playoff men as with Bronie. I kind of, I've always, like, always been locked in. That moment right there, throwing him to lob, seeing him make the three, we kind of going back and forth.

I kind of blanked out for a little bit and just like really just accepted and relished in that moment. OK, Steve, coming up on tap here. What's your approach? Mind the game. I mean, episode whatever, season, whatever. The man is in the second round.

Man, without Luca, AR, you still got your team to the second round, man. Congratulations. Thanks, Steve. Appreciate it, man. Yeah, it was tough for sure. Yeah, fun to watch. I mean, you guys were underdogs going in.

like literally 15 out of 16 ESPN analysts had you guys going out. All the bookmakers had you guys going out. What was the approach going in? What gave you that belief and allowed you to lead the team through? I felt like I had to start with our preparation and our belief. You know, at the end of the day, you know, it doesn't matter what the bookmaking are saying or, you know, the experts, so-called experts are saying the game is always won in between the four lines

and we had to prepare. And obviously we know we was going against, you know, a different circumstance and against the odds, obviously, without Luca, without AR to start the series. And, you know, them being, you know, super well equipped and ready for whatever, you know, that we will bring to the table. But the game is, like I said, the game is always one in between the four lines. And if we could prepare ourselves, you know, we could play well. We could compete at a high level. We could bring the physicality that Houston brought to the table. then we felt like we had a good chance of trying to, you know, win each game.

And that's all that mattered. It wasn't about the series. We was like, how can we win one game at a time, you know? And I think we started building confidence and guys just played well. And, you know, we was able to win it in six versus, you know, a very good team. So you guys, you guys had a historic comeback in game three. You know, you had that steel, you had the big three. other guys made some big plays.

Essentially, that was the series right there. Have you ever been a part of a game finished like that? Yeah, I mean, of the top of my head, Steve, I can't really like think of, oh yeah, you know, actually I can. I think the last time or the one that clicks in my head right now, I think it was the 2011 playoffs, Easter Conference Finals versus Chicago. We made a comeback late in that game as well and was able to steal that game to,

to close that series in advance to the NBA finals, you know, in 2011. So definitely had a moment there. So that was, that was a big time, you know, a moment I think it started with Mark is getting to steal. You know, they filed him on a three-point play. He made three free throws. We were still down three. And then I was able to, you know, not file,

try to get a trap in the back court, but also I was able to tip the ball away from Reed Shepard. and make the game tying three to basically send it over overtime and guys made plays in the overtime session and was able to win that game. Like you said, that basically was a big time moment for us and helped us win that series. It's funny, right? Like you think about a series, how it twists and turns. And obviously they played a little better after you guys went up 3-0, but that's the game,

right? Like in a sense, that's too much for them to come back. No one's ever done it. Did you think for a second, though, like how was your team with them getting back to three two, you know, knowing no one's ever gone that far, were you guys full of confidence? Did that add to the nerves or anxiety? How did you guys approach it? Well, I mean, if you're a human being, of course, it adds to the nerves and anxiety, of course. You know, you come home, you're up 3-1, you know, and, you know, the sense of the human being, I believe sometimes you're like, okay,

we can kind of relax a little bit, even though you know you can't because at the end of the day, the series is never over until four games is one. And that is always the hardest game. The hardest game is always the close-out game. So, you know, they beat us up pretty bad in game four on their home floor. So they had a little confidence coming into game five. And we played well in the first quarter. We had a 10-point lead, gave up a three-point play to end the quarter. You know, and then, you know, they just started playing better and better as the quarters went on. And excuse me, was able to beat us. And obviously, they felt, you know, super confident, you know, they felt like they were their better team. They felt like them going back home would give them the

upper edge, you know, and for me, you know, as a leader of the team, I felt like, you know, it was about, you know, what team can kind of just hold their composure and stay even kill and understand the assignment. And that was kind of like my whole mindset going into game six, like, you know, breathing confidence into my guys, understanding like, lesson, we're here for a reason and we can close this thing out if we just limit our, limit our mistakes, both offensively and defensively. And that was one of the first times in the whole series that we finally put together a complete game. Even though we was up 3-0, we hadn't put up a complete game yet.

And in game 6, we finally did that to close it out. When you say breed life into your teammates, is that just your demeanor, your approach, or is that in film sessions, walk-throughs, individual conversations, all the above? Like, how do you breed that life into them? Because you can see it's happening. Yeah, yeah. I mean, Steve, it starts from the moment that we arrive on that plane. You know, none of us wanted to get back on the plane to go to Houston.

We all wanted to close out at home and get some extra rest, especially my ass. You know, I can use as many days as possible. So, you know, it starts from the moment that we're all walking on the plane. It's our demeanor when we get on the plane. It's how we feel about the moment, you know, and not shying away from it. And it goes down, like you said, to the film sessions, to whatever we're preparing for, all up into, you know, the moment of the ball tips, you know, that game. So, yeah, it started way before we even got to Houston.

Are you, do you jump in in film sessions a lot? Like is your nature to like speak up in film sessions or do you kind of take it all in and then let it talk it out on the floor? A little bit of both. You know, I kind of take it all in early on, you know, kind of, especially if it's the beginning of the series, just to kind of, you know, calibrate and see, you know, everything a team wants to do. They're pros, their cons, how great they are or something. Some of the things we may be able to limit, you know, and I kind of just, you know, put all of that information into the database and let it just kind of work his way through there

and then start, you know, kind of deciphering it and picking through it or whatever the case may be. So as the series goes on and on or whatever the case may be, I kind of kind of implement, you know, once we have kind of, you know, some minutes played, you know, and throughout the series where I felt like, okay, we could have been better here or, you know,

let's not make that mistake there or we can exploit that. So, you know, I think it's more, the vocal part comes as the series goes on, you know, before the series starts or leading up to a series, I kind of just taking it all in and just letting it calibrate. Yeah, it's funny because I think

sometimes when a casual fan here's adjustments, they think, oh, they went from blitzing to pick and roll to switching, to dummy, but often the adjustments were just within your scheme. Like, no, your feet have to be here. You have to be here early. You have to be here on time. You have to, whatever it is.

So like, how much of that, I can imagine with your experience, you're like, That, you know, like if you are here on time, we don't have a problem. If you have your feet here, if you can make contact here, do you feel like you can help your team a lot from all that experience about just not necessarily adjustments of scheme, but adjustments within scheme of how you can be more efficient? No, no, absolutely.

I mean, listen, you know, there's not one team that's built, you know, eight, nine months of habits. And then all of a sudden the playoffs start. And they're like, oh, we got to make adjustments. We've got to scrap that and do something else. It's like, you know, you have your foundation and you're going to figure out ways how you can be better at things and the midst of what you've already done. You know, so how can we be better at what we already do? And those are like small little tweaks. And how many times can you do it over and over and over, you know, throughout the course of a playoff game, throughout the course of a series.

And you start to learn, you know, the person that you're playing against, your opposition. You start to learn their tendencies. You start to see the flow of it. So, yeah, you know, there are some minor adjustments. Sometimes there's a lineup change. Sometimes there's a shift in defensively or how you play offensively. But nobody's coming into a playoff series is saying we make an adjustment in game four. And it's completely different from what we did to 82 games and the preseason and all the training.

Like there's a foundation built over the course of the season. So we met. We probably shot our last pod together in that room you're in now before you guys playing OKC a month ago or whatever. And we were talking about your adjustment to being the third option, to allowing and helping. Obviously, Lucas is, you know, one of the grades. And then Austin's, like, taking this all-NVA level. All right. And now a few weeks later, you're the number one option again, carrying the loan.

Talk to me about walking that back. Quick. We got to walk that back quick, man. It's definitely not the situation, you know, that I would want to be in under the circumstances, obviously. I understand that I can always tap back into this role and it's something I've done for the majority, if not my entire career. But I wouldn't want to do it under the circumstances that we're in

when we're losing an MVP caliber player and Luca, you know, to start the playoffs and we're losing a 25 plus point score, rising, you know, player in Austin Reeves to start a series. You don't never want to go into the postseason and not have your guys, your soldiers. Like, you know, like I said, said, we built things over the course of the season, and we were, you know, up into that point before we came to Oklahoma City, we were rolling. We were playing a great ball. I think we were

13 and 2 or something like that. We had, you know, made some strides. We were playing, you know, exception to basketball. Everybody kind of knew their role. We were starting to finally get healthy. And then obviously the OKC game happens. We go off to Dallas. You know, we lose that game and everything just kind of all the momentum that we had built that month and a half, two months, three months, just quickly shifted in three weeks. So, Yeah, it's definitely been challenging, but I've just tried to, I guess, weather the storm and just, you know, just rise to the occasion as much as I could. Well, it allowed us to see you playing 4D chess in full effects. But before we get to, like, some of that stuff, there's never been a 41-year-old who's been the best player in a playoff series.

Like, what's that like for you? Like, when you're 35, did you think, yeah, 41, I'll still be. playing. I'll still be the best player in a playoff series. Is this normal? Or you're like, wow, I'm still here doing it. No, I definitely didn't. I didn't believe that. I mean, listen, I came to the Lakers in 2018 at 33. And there's no way if someone to say, would you be playing in 2026 in the postseason? Like, you know, just playing. Like, I don't know if I would have been able to answer that question. Just playing. And then let alone saying, hey, but now you're the number one option on a playoff team and you're helping to win a series.

like you're the number one option on that 10. I just, I wouldn't have believed that. I mean, you know, I knew I still had a lot left in the tank when I came to this franchise in 18. But to say that, you know, eight years later, you know, at 41 I would be leading the team into the postseason and them, you know, coming out with a series win. I wouldn't have guessed that.

And I wouldn't have bet on that. And now over to our producer Jason for a word from one of our partners. Thanks to Draft King's Sportsbook for sponsoring the show. We're deep into playoffs now and the action on the court isn't letting up. With just a few weeks of hoops left, every shot, every possession carries real weight. Stars are being pushed to their limits,

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We had you on Nightcap on NBA, Amazon Prime, NBA covers after the series, after the win. And I think Taylor asked you, you know, how's it going against Father time? I already passed him. I already passed him. But seriously, though, tell me, like, what inspires you? Like, where's the motivation to stay at this level, this long? Like, is there other athletes? Is there something about the sport, you're the game yourself? Like, what is it where you can continually find the motivation and inspiration to rise at this stage of your career in life?

Yeah, I think it's definitely the sport. And it's the, you know, I have the ability to still inspire and I have the ability to still play this game at a, at, at a high level, you know. And I still love the process of getting up and putting my body through rigorous rehabs and training sessions and whatever the case may be to try to find the results. And I think the result of what you saw, what guys have seen in the first round or, you know, since I came back from injury or whatever the case may be. You know, and I also have, you know, to be able to, you know, have Brony in the locker

room has definitely helped out a lot as well. Just I have a job and a responsibility to share. show him what it means to be a professional, you know, and yes, he's seen it from the outside looking in throughout the course of his life, but now being in the locker room, being in film sessions, being on the plane, being, you know, in the everything that surrounds how to be a professional and, you know, the results that come with it. I have a responsibility in that. So those are, you know, a couple of ways for me in a couple ways that's giving me inspiration and giving me motivation to still do this.

And yeah, it's paid off. I hope so. I hope it's paid off, you know, in a sense for Brony and in the sense of my teammates that, you know, they get to see, you know, how I approach the game. And it comes way before, you know, the lights come on and the popcorn is, you know, the popcorn is popping and everyone is filled in their seats and whatever the case may be.

What an answer. I mean, obviously you probably get motivation and inspiration from a lot of places. But to say, like, to show you. share with your son what it takes to be a pro and to take those steps every day and build those habits. It's amazing. And you were rewarded by playing meaningful playoff minutes for Ronnie. Not only that's throwing him a lob. Like talk to me. That's crazy. 41 leading your team in the second round and getting to play with your son meaningful minutes. Yeah. One of the things that I came into this season obviously last year was challenging for everybody and he was learning his

his ways on, you know, being a professional, whatever case may be his rookie year. But, you know, he's made so many strides in his second year. And, you know, it resulted in him, you know, taking, you know, the moment. Obviously, without AR, without Luca, you know, he was next man up. He was one of the guys that had to step up in his absence. And to share that moment in game three, I believe we scored 10 straight points between the two of us. I think we both had a three and we both had a layup, whatever the case. to be I was able to throw him a lob and we had that that many run between the two of us and that was just

something that I would never ever forget something that I've learned obviously at the you know my elder stage and being 41 years old to kind of like appreciate the the small wins in the moment and that was one of the moments where I I kind of I've always like always been locked in and those that moment right there throwing him to lob seeing him make the three we kind of going back back and forth, I kind of blanked out for a little bit and just like really just accepted and relished in that moment. And that's pretty cool for me as a dad. And then us as colleagues and then our whole family, like I think I mentioned at

one point, like my mom being at the game and her being able to watch her son and grandson in the postseason game at the same time. Like, you know, and it's the same time my wife was there. Yeah, it was like my wife was there. His sister was there. I think Bryce was back home from college. that she was at the playoff. Like, it was like, you can't, you can't even, you know,

you can't, you can't even write that script in Hollywood better than what's going on. So just being super appreciative of it. That's incredible. But let's be real. Does Brunney actually listen to you? No. Does any kid? No.

No. I was going to say. Yeah, does any kid, I mean, he's 21 years old. Does any kid that's a, he's a great dad. He's a great kid. I don't even try to, I don't give him too much. Listen, I'll try to leave. example when when my voice is needed you know I feel like he'll reach out and he wants it

and other than that I just I just you know hope that I'm you know doing my part you know doing my part by leaving by example leading by my voice and you know he take take what he want yeah well we can talk about father time but that is an angel story fathers and sons and how much they actually you know listen to you I remember trying to teach my son like to get his elbow in on his shot and he's like well that's not the only way you can do right right I was like well it might just I get let me save you some time here. Right, right. You'll have to fix it later on in life. If you just do it right now, we'll have to come here. Let alone, like, I might have shot about 10 million of

these. Right, right, right. But that's father and son. What a great moment to watch you guys playing together and him having some success and adapting to a new environment of the playoffs was fantastic. There's a clip I want to watch with you because I think it's just indicative of your impact on this series where you were just offering Houston the advanced placement test and seeing what they were ready for. So this one is like not even so much reading and reacting. This is just guile and gamesmanship. So let's run this tape here. You know, it's obviously coming to the end of a corner of you guys going to slow it down and set up and you tell Smarty here, hold on, hold on, and just kind of give the oaky-donk. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He just relaxes. But you and Smarty have

eyes and you told him like hold on and then you gave him the the stare yeah yeah you know just that's just playing possum you know um you know i feel like you know the game is you know you i mean which we saw in in game three in houston the game is never over until you know those zero is on the clock so even though we had momentum we had got to stop we have momentum you still have to execute you still have to score and i felt you know at that time they had got a little they had got a little deflated They didn't make some of the shots that they made or wanted to make. And we were getting stops. And they were kind of lagging a little bit, you know, maybe thinking about the previous

play and I kind of noticed that walking down the court. So, you know, I kind of told Smarty like, hold up. And they all kind of was watching me do that. And at that moment when I saw Taris and kind of, you know, just take a little beat like, okay, I can breathe. That's when I was able to make eye contact with Smart and get that back door. and pretty much sealed the game after that. It's interesting because, you know, we become accustomed to, you know,

all the things you've done on the court. And it started out with incredible athleticism, size, strength, speed, explosiveness. You know, then you developed your shooting. You develop that. I mean, you always had great vision, but that processing power. You know, at your stage, there's got to be times where you can't rely on all those factors, you know, whether it's just slight difference in athleticism, fatigue, whatever it is.

Like, it's just different being 41 than being 35 or 30. When do you feel at most your age? Is there a scenario or a time when you're like, yeah, I can't do that anymore? Because you always adapt. You make up for it in other ways. Is there a moment or a scenario where you're like, yeah, that's one where I hold back or I avoid? Yeah.

You know, I'm trying to push the limit, Steve, as much as possible. Well, you clearly are. Yeah. You know, there's times out on the floor where you know, like, okay. you know, you have to maybe scale back a little bit, you know, you have to maybe, I don't want to say preserve any energy because definitely in the postseason, it's so much harder to do that. But there's times where, you know, now, you know, you get off the ball, you know, more than you would do when you were, you know, 28, you know, 32. You know, you know, I could run 10, 12 straight picking rolls and make all the plays and pretty much not be tired after the end of that or not felt worn down in the fourth quarter. you know, so now, you know, I understand that, you know, at this point in my career,

that that's not probably going to be beneficial to the long term of that game or, you know, even the next game, especially in the postseason of me running 10 straight picking rolls or me having a ball in my hands for 10, 12 straight possessions. That's just not beneficial to not only myself. And then it won't be beneficial to the team. So just kind of picking your spots, understanding like when the team may need this or need that. So playing off the ball, playing on the ball, you know, spotting up in the course. or just trying to diversify my portfolio out on the floor,

you know, in order for me to have the maximum energy that I can produce still at this point in my career. Yeah, I mean, you, what I, the way I, you know, going off, that's that clip where you played possum, but you were able to dominate in so many different types of actions where you didn't need to take the ball and go coast to coast. So, yeah. Your man, you're running, they're running back in defense and transition,

and you get a feel that he's got his head turned. and doesn't realize, and you just beat him down the weak side and get the ball layup. Like, a guy jams you off the ball to try to be physical, and you allow the first jam, and then you, like, show him, oh, let him think he's winning the next one, next bump, backcut, layup. You know, double team in the post, like making sure your guys are spaced, the timing of your reads, which one's the right one? They might two be open, but which one sequentially puts them in a difficult position. So pick on game, like, you know, cutting, all those things you are able to do to find ways to win a game.

It doesn't matter if the ball was in your hand to start the possession. No, not at all. I mean, you said it, not at all. You know, how can we, you know, get the most out of this possession, either like you said, me off the ball or on the ball. Or, you know, I know that, you know, for the minutes that I'm on the floor, I'm always a threat and the defense eyes. They're always kind of accounting for me. Where is he? You know, is he in the post? Is he on a perimeter?

Is he going to cut back door? Is he going to set a pick and roll here? So, you know, I understand that the threat that I still possess on the floor. So I have the ability to be in multiple positions and multiple spots on the floor for the benefit of our ball club. Playoff season is here. And in playoff basketball, perspective is key. As a former player and coach, I'd be right there watching every drive, every shot, and every block. And I can say from experience,

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the more you're right there in the moment to enjoy it. I'd call that a win. With an array of premium travel, dining, entertainment benefits, all backed by American Express's award-winning service, there's nothing like platinum. Terms apply. Learn more at Americanexpress.com slash with platinum. How about some of these role players? Let's start with Luke Conard. He's not had a lot of playoff moments. He's been out of the rotation a little bit in Atlanta and different times with the clips. Clearly one of the best shooters in the game. I think numerically, maybe even all time. But he's found a role.

here, how to JJ, the coaching staff and yourself empower him, you know, averaging 12 and a half. He always creates gravity, but he's been able to play in Blender, to be more empowered to make plays off the dribble. Have you helped? Have you been very vocal with him about his ability to be aggressive? No, no. Actually, I mean, it all happened by fault, unfortunately. It's not saying that he's never been able to do that, but when you lose, you know, our team lost so much in Luca and are, we had to rely on Marcus and Luke. And at times, Bronte, to be able, we have to create a blender. How can we create us getting into the paint, you know, where we can get the defense shifted from one side to the other side?

And we noticed, you know, early on, even before the injuries happened, that Luke had that ability, that he could, because his ability to shoot so well, a lot of teams run him off the line, but they don't also realize that he can also play. in the blender where he can make plays not only himself with his pull-up jumpers and his step-throughs, but he can also make plays where he's spraying out for other guys, and now they're playing against close-outs and things of that nature. So we kind of saw that a little sample size of it when, you know, AR and Luca were playing.

And then when the injuries happened, we knew we was going to need more. We had to. We had no choice. We needed that more from him. And listen, he stepped up to the plate. And like I said, I said before, I said, damn, I mean, you know, Atlanta and, you know, you know, other places in Memphis where he was or the clips, you know, I don't know if it was because of the, you know, at what point his career was, but I just never seen them utilize him as much in that position, but we've taken full advantage of it.

And I got to give a lot of credit to the coaches staff to empower him. And then all of us try to just, hey, just stand on him. Like, listen, man, do what you do. Be a ball player. You're not just a great shooter, the best shooter in our league as far as percentage wise. And one of the best shooters in our league, period. but just be a ball player too, and he's taking that full responsibility. For sure. And what about DA?

I mean, DeAndre Hayden's had like, you know, it feels like a little up and down. You know, he made the Clint Capella comments. You know, he's said a few things over the course of time. But 12, 10 in a block, a game in the series. And it feels like he's embraced his role. Tell me a little bit about that journey and how he's starting to, for me, like, looking to be more active, looking to protect the rim, second efforts. Have you noticed a shift in his mentality?

Yeah, it's just about empowering DA. You know, you know, D.A. understanding he's the biggest, strongest, one of the most athletic guys on the court every night we hit the floor. But empowering him to, you know, rim run. We want to, you know, look for him when he gets early rim runs and seals,

he does an unbelievable job of setting screens and getting, you know, defenders off our bodies. And if teams are switching, you know, we want him to bury inside. And he's great in the pocket with that, you know, with that 12 to 15 mid-range shot, He's great in that.

He's unbelievable. He had, even in the game that we lost, I think it was game four against Houston. He had 10 offense to rebounds. Like, you know, he was such a present presence in that game, even though we lost that game. It was either game four or game five, maybe game five at home. He was just such a presence.

And we need that from him. We need his ability to, you know, like you said, block a shot or two, you know, but he also changed shots. We need him to have the ability to switch off on guards. Sometimes we go one through five, but we switch and we feel like he has the lateral quickness. he has the ability to guard some of our guards in our league.

And he's been great for, especially in the postseason. Yeah, such a weapon to your defense. And then if he's filling holes offensively, I mean, it just gives the team a boost. What about AR? I mean, obviously, very difficult to miss four or five weeks and they come back right in the playoffs. Looking more comfortable each night out. But maybe just tell the fans out there what that's like to hit playoff intensity with, you know, oh, man.

Yeah, I've never had to go through that. And I can only imagine, like, I did it from preseason to the regular season. I have so much more time to get back into game shape, you know, even with the regular season. But to have to be four or five weeks out and then have to jump back into a series, especially versus a Thompson twin and Houston and their physicality and their athleticism, you know, it's challenging. And, you know, he came back in game five at home, gave us a spark offensive. obviously didn't shoot the ball well, but that just came from just, I just didn't have any legs,

you know, especially late in the game. And I mean, it don't matter how much training, how much rehab and how much, you know, court work you're doing. There's no substitution for game fatigue, you know, so. But I thought in six, he did a great job of like attacking the paint, you know, just giving us that presence. We need another guy that can get in the paint and create the blender. And that's one guy that can do that. And also, you know, he can get us into the bonus with his ability to create contact and create free throws and files and things of that nature. So it's just great to have them back. That's for sure.

He gives us another presence. Yeah, constant pressure on the defense. Constant pressure. Shooting is penetration. He's still skilled. So it's great to see him. Hopefully for game one, he feels like almost back to his best. And shout out to the Thompson Twins.

Those kids are everywhere. Oh, man. Those dudes are everywhere. They're so damn good, man. They are so good. They should sneak in a swap one day. when they show. See if anybody recognizes.

Yeah, just see like, how you feeling today, brother? I'm a little banged up, man. Okay, don't even worry about it. I'll take, I'll take this game. Yeah, I'll come out to Detroit and get a chance. To Detroit, yeah, yeah, exactly. Talk a little bit about JJ and the coaches.

You know, I just thought the game plan was so solid throughout the series. You guys, adherence and discipline of the game plan was fantastic. You know, you obviously undermatched and going against a physical athletic team. but it helps to have you out there processing leading. But tell me a little bit about that process. But there are any adjustments you felt like or details that became more and more apparent throughout the series where they honed in on?

Yeah, I think like we just preached on, we understand it like the team that we were playing. And we knew it to take a little time to get into the fight of it. And, you know, we had two main keys. It was protect the ball and block out. Like, you know, we were playing against a team in Houston who was the best offensive rebounded team

in the last 25 years. You know, so, you know, when they miss shots, you know, they're getting second and third chances, and it's just too hard, especially in the postseason to give teams multiple opportunities. And then if you're turning the ball over, and they're too fast, they're too affidated, they're too quick, and you're giving them pick sixes.

And we saw, you know, what can happen, you know, in that game five, you know, in that game four, where we turned the ball over and, you know, we didn't clean glass as much. So they were very strategic. and very on point about how we wanted to execute against Houston. And yeah, so, you know, throughout the course of the series, you make minor adjustments, but we had a staple on how we wanted to play

and how we wanted to execute versus them offensively, how we wanted to execute versus them defensively. And we did a good job as far as the guys, just kind of, you know, I want to say buying in, because of course we're going to buy in. It's the postseason. But guys understanding how we can get the best out of what they're giving us, the information that they're giving us, in order to be able to accomplish a goal.

And I was to, you know, win a playoff series. Yeah, it's just like we talked about a little bit earlier, but it's not, you start the series maybe with a game plan. It doesn't always mean you adjust. You play better. I mean, as silly as that sound, it's like, let's get our details back. Let's make sure we don't give up on it. It doesn't change.

It's just like they outplayed us in these areas. And so sometimes I think through a series, it's like you might throw in an adjustment, but you come back often to what you originally did let's do it better. Let's do it more meaningfully. Let's do it with better detail. So it sounds like you guys just, you know, other than those two games, you got back to like winning those little battles, those things you started the series doing. Yeah, that was just our main focus. Our main focus on how we can, you know, win the small details, the small battles that's ultimately the big battles, you know, and, you know, boxing out. Like that's one of the first, you know, drills that you do when you first start playing basketball.

But, you know, some of the things that gets lost in detail, it gets lost in the fundamentals. of the game as we get bigger and stronger and faster and more athletic. You try to out leap everybody and you lose some of those details. So we got back to that. Our first practice to begin the series, we literally started with a boxout drill. That was literally our first thing. And we didn't do a great job at it in game one and game two, but we got better and better and better as a series went on.

And I think up to a game all the way up until we played in game six, I think they only had seven offense rebounds, you know. And we just was very detailed oriented. Understanding our best possible chance for us to win is to control the controllables. And, you know, and that's defensive cleaning glass. You're going to have some wild bounces where guys get offensive rebounds. You're going to have some where might have any of your hand and, you know, got fumbled around. And then offensively, you're going to have some turnovers.

But if this turnover is out of aggression and not being passive, you can live with those. All right. Well, we know you're in the playoffs. So let's make this the last thing. OKC, coming up on tap here. I mean, this is an incredible team with a chance to start building some historic profile. What's your approach? You know, obviously, Lucas, who knows?

probably unlikely at all. So what's the approach? What's the reward here going into OKC for games? Yeah, I mean, it's the same approach as last series. I mean, we're under man and we're the underdog and we understand that. But it's even so you heighten that even more by like five, you know, because of, you know, their ability and what they bring to the table. They're one of the most historic basketball teams offensively and defensively

that our league has seen. And they got one of the most, you know, efficient players and, our league history and probably is going to be the MVP again. You know, so we have to, we cannot shortcut the details, you know, in order for us to give ourselves a chance to win games, we cannot shortcut the details in the game plan. And we know we can't stop everything. It's impossible. They're that great.

But if we can control the controllables, which is another one of not turn the ball over, because we know how great they are when it comes to pick sixes and how handsy they are and athleticism and speed that they play with, then we can give ourselves a chance. And that's all you can ask for in the postseason is a chance to compete and compete to win games. And I think that the Rocket Series, the way you guys, like, detail-oriented, game plan,

how well you guys did under those things and got better probably from the start of the series in the series. That's going to give you some confidence and some, like, you know, purpose going to this series, like, hey, look, those controllables are out there for us just like they were in the Houston series. Let's take another step.

You feel like that gave you guys some motivation. and some confidence going. Yeah, I think so. I mean, we know we have the ability to win. And, you know, when you come into a series for the first time with a new group, you know, you don't know what to expect. And, you know, we had a bunch of guys that, you know, that hadn't won a playoff series.

We had something to have, but we also have guys that hadn't played in the playoffs before that played meaningful minutes, you know? So, you know, now that they have that experience, I think it can help us. Well, kudos to you and the Lakers. Moving on to Round 2. Yes, sir. That's the OKC Thunders.

Super fun to watch. Keep it going, man. Stay healthy. And have fun. All right. I appreciate it, babe. Appreciate it. See you soon, all right.

All right, man. Good luck. All right, Steve. Thanks for watching, Mind the Game. New episodes drop every other Tuesday. Remember to like, subscribe, or follow wherever you're watching.