LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma and Big Lessons from the Bubble Games with Mo Dakhil
playlist_add
Mo Dakhil of Bleacher Report and The Athletic joins! The Lakers have finished their eight tune up games before the playoffs start on Tuesday. Does it matter they only won three of them? Does it matter that LeBron wasn’t all that great? What about Kyle Kuzma, one of the team’s few bubble bright spots? As … (https://kambrothers.blubrry.net/2020/08/14/lebron-james-kyle-kuzma-and-big-lessons-from-the-bubble-games-with-mo-dakhil/)
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
More episodes from The Land O'Lakers Podcast by the Kamenetzky Brothers
Apr 5, 2021
Andre Drummond loses a toe nail, Marc Gasol loses his starting gig, Kevin Durant loses 50K
The Lakers had a busy week, and lost two of the three games they played. So why do we declare it a success? And what exactly does success look like on the upcoming road trip? We explain. Because while LeBron and Anthony Davis are still out, Andre Drummond is nursing his nail-less big toe and so on, success is a relative term, with a very specific meaning.
From there, it's on to Drummond. How hard is it to play without a toenail? How long might he be out? What did we see in the one half he played (last week vs. Milwaukee) that might hint at how he'll fit in? What do the Lakers do now until he returns? And with the Drummond question comes others about Marc Gasol, who made it clear last week he doesn't like being bumped from his starting gig. The assumpton is that he'd be upset - who wants to be benched? - but it's rare to hear an athlete speak as candidly as Gasol did following Friday's win over Sacramento.
From there... SPACE JAM! We react to the first full length trailer. And then wrap things up with a dive into the very, very strange feud between Michael Rapaport and Kevin Durant.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
playlist_add
Mar 29, 2021
How Andre Drummond impacts the Lakers, more names for the buyout market, and Harden as MVP?
The Lakers played, and won, two games this weekend, one against a conventionally bad team (Cleveland), and the other against a catastrophically awful group (Orlando). Even shorthanded, they might not seem like much, but it can be argued these were the most important wins of the season. Without LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the lineup, the team is poised to lose a lot of games. They're rarely going to have the best player available in any game, and often won't have any of the top three. So dropping games against low talent squads like the Magic, when better groups await (Milwaukee, Brooklyn, Miami, New York, etc.) would have been a disaster in the standings as the Lakers try to keep themselves out of any play-in scenarios for the postseason.
So after noting the significance, we get to the big news of the week - Andre Drummond is a Laker. He's a good player, but just how good is a matter of debate. Are his numbers just empty calories? Finally given a chance to play for something meaningful, will his game prove to be a little more versatile and efficient than he's shown? Will his defensive effort and attention to detail improve?
So what can he help the Lakers with now? Before LeBron and AD return? What about after? The rotation does get a lot more crowded... so who sits? And who else might be available for the Lakers, and the last roster spot? If it's Orlando's Otto Porter, L.A. should jump at the chance.
Finally... what do you make of the MVP case for James Harden? On the one hand, he's been spectacular in Brooklyn. On the other, he didn't cover himself in glory on the way out of Houston.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
playlist_add
Mar 22, 2021
LeBron James joins Anthony Davis on the injury list... How can the Lakers hang on?
The news is big, and it ain't good.
Saturday against the Hawks, LeBron James suffered a very nasty looking high ankle sprain, and has been declared "out indefinitely" by the Lakers. Whether that means seven, 10, 15 or more games remains to be seen, but with only 29 remaining following Sunday's loss to the Suns in Phoenix, the Lakers don't have much time to get their house in order before the playoffs begin.
The margin for error, if it's still there, is shrinking.
And just where might they be when those playoffs roll around? The schedule gets harder, and the shorthandedLakers, light on front end talent (if you were told an NBA team's best players were Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder, you'd say "This is not a playoff team.") are unlikely to win much until at least one of their stars return. So could they fall as low as the play-in tournament? It's not as crazy as it might sound.
LeBron's injury, by the way, is a bad example for anyone looking to pin a badge of irresponsibility and greed on the NBA for having these guys play a compressed schedule. Maybe other injuries are, but even then the conversation is hardly simple.
What can they do to win games, now? It starts with impeccable decision making. Can't afford turnovers. Can't blow easy rotations, defensively. The Lakers could end up the underdog in every game they play - even Orlando - over the next couple weeks, at least. Underdogs can't make mistakes.
Finally... Snyder Cut. You in?
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
playlist_add