LeBron Under Pressure + Who Has the Most to Prove on the Lakers? | Lakeshow

LeBron Under Pressure + Who Has the Most to Prove on the Lakers? | Lakeshow

Welcome to the Lake Show podcast is brought to you by Morango Casino Resort and Spa. Play responsibly. You must be 21 years or older. Good times. Good times. I’m Alec Clifton. He’s Chris McGee and he’s Mike Breznan. We are excited to be here. We’re excited for all the good times ahead. Hi. As we dive in. Hello. Feeling good? Temperature check. Good. Yeah. I mean, news flash. the week we’ve been waiting for, right? I mean, we always talk about, oh, the preseason’s too long and Y, this is it. It’s been a few weeks since training camp started. It’s time to uh time to get the real stuff underway. Games that matter. Ready, Ali? Yes. Games that matter. Results that count. Before the last exhibition game, there was a question mark surrounding the fifth starter. JJ Reic has revealed that it will be Gabe Vincent alongside Luca, Austin Reeves, Ru Hachimura, and DeAndre Aon. How do we feel about it? Many were shocked. Yeah, that’s a surprise. Is that the word to use? I I I thought Gabe was that good in the preseason. I mean, why not? I mean, he he I thought he he scored well. I thought he was a good setup guy. I’ve always liked Gabe as a person. I feel bad for his first year here for sure. Second year, he he got a lot more games in, but not quite maybe had his feet completely under him after missing an entire year. GE, I mean, what what do you expect? And I really like the start he’s off to in his third season with the Lakers. And uh I’m predicting good things for him. I said on one of our shows, GE, maybe he’ll get some uh some some attention for the uh sixman of the year award. Obviously, when you’re starting, that’s not going to happen, but there’s a formula. I think it’s if you sit more games than you start, if you come off the bench for more games than you start, it’s not a real big formula. You’re you’re eligible for the six man of the year award. It’s a little early to say that, but I want I want to see him get some votes for it. Keep I think he’s playing that well. Yeah. I mean, I’m super happy for him and I think he’s earned it. I think the big question we all just assumed maybe coming into the season that it would be Marcus Smart, right? Maybe he would start even with LeBron in the lineup. Where would Ruie go? How would that look like? You got to kind of see where you got to pick your poison, right? If they go with Vando, maybe you’re getting more rebounding. You’re getting that defense. But with Gabe, you do add that offensive ability as well. You’re playing the Golden State Warriors on opening night. Van uh excuse me, Gabe is going to be needed defensively uh in that game. you’re going to be chasing around all those guys, Pods and Steph, and and he’s kind of a good fit, I think, in that game. So, it’ll be interesting to see, you know, how long JJ, it depends how the Lakers start. Yep. You know, um again, we don’t know who’s going to finish or close the game. We’ll find out. But I think Gabe, he’s had a great preeason. He’s also been in the system now three years. He’s been with JJ for a year. Marcus Smart, let’s be honest, kind of just got back. He has not played a lot of basketball. I’m really happy with how he looked on Friday night against Sacramento in the final preseason game. But Gabe makes sense for continuity and chemistry and what you’re trying to, you know, come out of the gate with. And he’s shooting well, too. His three-point accuracy in the preseason, it was amazing. I mean, he had that one stretch in that first quarter of that that one game. Hit five in a row. I mean, so yeah, let let them let him run. Golden State, you know what they’re going to want to do? Score a lot of points. One thing the Lakers didn’t do a lot during the preseason, Ally, they average only 104 points. That’s not going to win a lot of games in the new NBA. You’ve got to get up to 114, 124 uh just to be safe these days. 104. They need some points. They need some some setup uh people. And Gabe Gabe fills that bill for sure. Sorry, I was just going to say I feel like he’s going to be off ball too, right? If if AR and Luca are your primary ball handlers and shot shot creators, feel it makes sense that Gabe is is a guy that’s spotting up for you. I think to having played the way he did in Las Vegas, right, was Las Vegas, the the five threes or the quick threes, short amount of time to then run it back with Luca and Austin to show that he could do it in another sense because he mentioned after that that Vegas game that he had the ball in his hands a lot. He wanted to show you he could be aggressive, right? But then can you do that when the ball’s not in your hands and to be able to kind of showcase that? I also think it’s been what three weeks they’ve probably been working on lineups and with Marcus also uh having a first what week and a half where he was slowly ramping up. Gabe was there from the start. So obviously those lineups have been worked on without us knowing in in practice and all that stuff. If and for JJ to reveal it, you know, a day ahead of time, it’s like, oh, okay. You know, usually he likes most coaches, including JJ, like to keep that kind of close to the vest until it was about half hour, 45 minutes. I always forget exactly when it is when they have to declare their starting five before an NBA tip off. And I like him sharing with us a little bit. You know what it means? Honestly, like it’s great when you’re a team like when you’re a very good team, everyone knows who’s starting for you and everyone knows their roles unless there are injuries. when you have to always kind of like right figure it out and we’re making a change and keep it a little hush like I think you’re not an elite team. It’s nice to be able to go here’s our starters and here’s what we’re doing and here’s who’s coming off the bench. Yeah. Yeah. And I think the biggest thing here obviously is the silver lining. You have to find something without LeBron James but you know how long he’s going to be out. So are you able to do this? Also I think just a minor question here because I would argue that he can sustain it because Gabe has shown that it’s a make or miss league, right? you’re not going to hit your shots every single time, but are you able to do enough other things as well to keep you on the floor? And he’s proven that. Honestly, guys, he’s proven it. But the biggest challenge for me going into this first week, and obviously it’s going to be continue until LeBron comes back, do the Lakers rebound well enough? Do they rebound well enough to win games? Do they defend well enough at the right time to win games? Like, obviously they’re going to win games, but you know what I’m saying? Like to be the upper echelon of this league, that’s what they’re going to have to show to me. So opening night of course Lakers versus Warriors. A guy who has thrived versus the Lakers. Moses Mosy. Moses Moody. I just pulled a Kendrick. Moses Moody is good too. Moses Moody. Shout out perk. He will be out versus the Lakers dealing with a calf strain. But how do you see the matchup going come Tuesday night? I feel like this matchup has been so much fun for the last few years. Unfortunately, we have seen it too many times when it used to be AD and LeBron. one of them out. Sometimes Steph was out and when everyone was there and there was always epic battles, but when everyone was there for both teams, it’s always just been so much fun. I think anytime Steph comes into your building, anytime you’re opening a NBA season and the Warriors are on the other side with Steve Cerr on the bench, Draymond Green and Steph Curry, it’s it’s going to be a great matchup. I I mean, Luca has a lot to prove this year. He’s coming out. He’s looking to, you know, have like he was in the preseason, his great starts. Um, you know, I I expect it to be a super fun matchup. I think everyone’s gonna be excited about it. Yeah, it’s funny. Moody, no baseball either on uh Yeah, there you go. Yeah, no baseball till Friday, right? Friday. Um, when the Lakers played the Warriors early in the preseason, Moody was in that starting five and it’s like I could see this happening. Yeah. So, he’s not back yet. Um, the Warriors are kind of a team in flux. They added so many pieces so late while they’re waiting for the Jonathan Kaminga thing to figure itself out. And it kind of did. He got a two-year deal. It’s It’s something, obviously. Meanwhile, they had to sign Al Horford pretty late. Uh they brought back DeAnthony Melton. He’s He’s not healthy enough to play. Um Gary Payton. A lot a lot of late additions for the Warriors. Probably one starter and they’re in Horford. We’ll see. But anytime teams do something really massively uh quickly before the season starts, it’s always a little bit like whiplash. Remember the Knicks and and the Timberwolves did that last season? Those are much bigger pieces than what I’m talking about. But I’m curious to see are the Warriors ready with all these these new acquisitions. You know, that’s a great point, Brett. I I I think one thing one thing we just know for sure no matter what, and we’ve been through this with the Warriors so many times, they will test you in a lot of ways when Steph is on that floor. the way they play, their pace of play, the ball movement, the open shots, are they shooting the three well? They’re just that kind of a team where you can never really relax on the defensive end. Um the counter to that is the Lakers can attack them as well when they’re on offense. So that’s where I think it’s, you know, we’ve always been able to we the Lakers have always been able to have success against the Warriors offensively. So it’s it’s going to be a great game. It always is. Yeah. The Warriors, they’re not going to change their system even though their players are getting a little older. You know, Draymond and Steph now in their mid to late 30s. It’s they’re still looking to do exactly what they’ve been doing the last 10-15 years. Ally, let’s have a little fun with this one as we prepare to kick off the season. Which Laker has the most to prove in your mind? Good question. I mean, all of them. I I would say DeAndre. That’s what I was going to go. Yeah. I mean, the last two years complete wash out for him up in Portland. um the NBA, the NBA pundits lost track of him. You know, the NBA, the people that matter in the NBA who who write about important players and and trends, he was kind of a forgotten guy up to to those people. And now it’s like, okay, he’s back in LA. He’s with the Lakers, no less. He’s in a pretty favorable for the team deal salary-wise. It’s a two-year deal, but he can opt out if this year goes great for him and sign for more either with the Lakers or someone else. He’s got a little onc court rehab to to do. He’s got some I don’t want to say image rehab. It’s not like he’s a bad guy, but he’s got some game rehab to show all the people who forgot about him, frankly, over the last couple years. This was a guy. We’ve talked about it. He helped get Phoenix to that finals a few years back and he was rewarded with a really nice contract. Listen, I think Brez nailed it. It’s it’s DeAndre Aton for sure if you’re going to go all season because he has to be that guy that they know he can be for them to win a lot of games and for them to be successful. Everyone knows DeAndre Aton’s got to have a good year. But since you picked him, I’m going to go with Luka Donic. The talk all summer. Yep. Luca is healthy in mind and body. Yep. Luca 2.0. Luca’s worked out tremendously hard. Luca’s in a great place. Um it’s his turn to lead this franchise. I mean, honestly, he’s been here before. He was like this all of his years in Dallas where he had to be the guy. He’s that way for Slovenian Euro Basket. So, this isn’t a new place for Luca to be. But when you wear that Laker uniform and he’s well aware um and you are the guy, there is a different set of expectations and a different set of pressure I think that comes with that. And who better to to to wear that with LeBron out than Luca? You know what he reminds me of G a little bit? After Shaq was traded to Miami, this is 20 plus years ago. Kobe took it upon himself to show everybody I can win. Trust me, I can win. I don’t need Shaq. Now, that’s not quite the case here because that team didn’t have a lot of talent on it. Lamar Odin was still figuring his way out in the NBA. Karan Butler was great, but he was traded a year later. It took and then Palasol arrived a few years later. So, that team took some time to get to where Kobe was happy with it. This is not that team. This team should be in it, very well should be in the top six, if not the playin tournament for sure. And there’s some talent on this team. Just got to wait for LeBron. And so, Luca, I I do think he wants to prove things. It could be worse. You could be in a situation that Kobe was in in 2004, but he’s got some he wants to he wants to put wins on the board to show all the people in Dallas who doubted him, whether it’s the fans, the front office, whoever he’s carrying a chip on their shoulder about, he wants to stick them with a lot of Laker wins. That’s exactly what he wants to do. Might just be one individual, Dallas. Um, all right. Which Laker has the most pressure on them? Did we just No. Most approve. Oh, you know why do they why do they think LeBron thought they were the same thing? Why do they think LeBron Here’s why. He comes to mind right away. There shouldn’t be any pressure on him. There isn’t from like an individual accolade standpoint, but how many more years are we going to see of him and how how much does he want to add to the four championships that he’s won? Yeah. You know, he wants to get five, catch up the magic. you know, you know, he wants to get six cap catch up to MJ. And, you know, I think pressure is too strong of a word. I don’t know if there’s a lot of pressure on any Laker player on this team, but I I do feel like he he he wants to he wants one more ring, if not two more rings. And hey, when you turn 41 in two months, these are things that probably go through your mind. I’ll I’ll say Austin Reeves. Yeah, it’s good because he’s counted on to be number two. Yeah. I mean, number three when LeBron’s there, but a big three. Like, he’s got to be a lot of times those number threes are guys that win you championships, right? And you know, obviously the contract that he’s been through this before and betting on himself, so there’s some pressure that is out there. Um, he he he he’s going to face it. He’s going to face it because he is counted on right now without LeBron there to be that guy on offense and defense. He’s got to, you know, he’s got to average over 20. Mhm. He’s got to get buckets. He’s got to still get everyone involved. The assists got to go up. Um, so I think it’s Austin for for for a number of reasons, not just personal, but also for the team. Yeah. Yeah. Who’s a team’s biggest X factor? Go ahead, G. So, there’s so many. That’s a good one. Um, I just don’t know why DeAndre Aiden pops into my mind for every question. Like, literally, he could be most approve, most pressure, right? X Factor. I I I’ll do something different because we’ve talked about DeAndre a lot already. I’m gonna say Marcus Smart. It’s a good one because he has the ability to change your team on the defensive end. He has the ability to give your team an identity that wasn’t there before. Like he’s got that ability. the toughness, the tenacity, the defense, the scrap in him. He’s gonna be a crowd favorite, especially if he balls out. And you saw it in the Sacramento game a little bit, just things that he did. People get excited. So, he’s an X-factor for me because number one, he’s got to stay healthy. Yeah. And and he hasn’t played a lot of basketball over the last two years. He has a lot to prove to himself and to this league that he can be that guy that he once was. Um, if he’s good, like really good this year, the Lakers are above the line and they’re in the playoffs. To me, it’s that simple. If he’s a six-man or a starter, whatever it is, if he is delivering for this Laker team, Lakers are good. And DeAndre, yeah, I was going to say I’ve been saying Marcus Smart a lot on our show. So, I’m going to steal your DeAndre Aen. And you’re right. I think for him, the key is defense. Ally, you lost AD uh eight months ago. He He’s not coming back. Very very good shot blocker. Always a top five, maybe top 10 shot blocker in the league. That’s not DeAndre Eaton’s forte. He blocks one shot a game in his career. That’s a little light for today’s 7-footer, 611 guys. I like to see him realize I’m the only guy down here. You know, you can bring in Koko. He’s a good shot blocker. That’s not really Jackson Hayes game either. So I I want to see if if Hayden says, “All right, I’m going to block more shots this year.” kind of like LeBron sometimes says, I’m going to set my personal best for assists this season or, you know, I’m gonna I’m gonna set my personal best for threes made in the season. I feel like Aon it’s it’s hard to improve defensively. That’s hard to work on. That’s hard to practice. I want to see if he can get up to one and a half to two blocked shots a game. That’d be a nice jump for him. To me, that’s the X factor. DeAndre Aton’s defense. I love that. All right, quickly we can get to this one. Candidate for most improved. That’s a three-player race for me. Oh, Jake Laravia. Jared Vanderbilt. Love that. Enk Vincent. Love that. Wow. I’m going to go with Jared Vanderbilt on this one because I feel like he for the last few years we’ve always talked about him being this X factor type of guy, but on this team if he has improved offensively and he can stay on the court and he can provide what we’ve always seen defensively, the energy, the intangibles, the extra possessions, uh the ability to defend a team’s best player on the wing. If he does those kind of things and he has improved in all those areas, again, Lakers are in a good place. I’m going to take this on the league level. I feel like Austin Reeves could be a a potential most improved player in the NBA. And here here’s the problem with that award. I feel like that award jumped the shark a couple years ago. And you know, the year Kate Cunningham won it, I think it was Kate Cunningham. It’s like he’s already really good. So, it’s no longer a guy who goes from averaging eight points a game to 19 points a game. Lately, it’s been a guy who’s really good, like allstar level almost to, okay, he’s an all-star now. Am I saying Austin Reeves is going to be an all-star? No. The West the West backcourt all-star candidates. There’s too many of them. It’s going to be really hard for Austin Reeves to crack that to crack that list simply because his teammate is for sure Luca Don. It’s going to be an all-star selection. Bottom line, um I I feel like I feel like Reeves could get some some most improved attention if he goes from like 20 to 25 or 26 points a game, which he might have to if LeBron is going to miss some some some major time this season. We’ll see. You are right. It is that kind of a player. Yeah, it’s already good and becomes great. Yeah, it’s no longer the guy he’s a backup point guard and now he’s starting averaging 19 and N. That that doesn’t happen anymore with that award. Cool thing is is when we make these predictions, we don’t have to wait to see them come to fruition because the time is now. We’re going to take a quick break, but when we return, we’re playing a little bucket or brick. It’s next. Hoops fans, Morango Casino Resort and Spa is a great place to catch all the action. They’ve got great bars with incredible beers and cocktails. Fantastic food, too. From snacks to seafood to steaks, and big screens everywhere showing all the big games. Endless slots and table games. I never want to leave. Don’t forget the great deals at Desert Hills premium outlets. Can’t wait to show you what I got. That’s why I love Morano. A slam dunk of good times every time. Morango Casino Resort and Spa is a California licensed gambling facility. You must be 18 or older to gamble. Gambling Problem. Call 1800 gambler. Welcome back to the Lake Show podcast. If you’re enjoying the show, you can check out more original podcasts from our Spectrum News journalists on the Spectrum News app. Just head to the podcast section to listen to the latest episodes. You can download the Spectrum News app on the App Store or Google Play. It’s time for a round of bucket or brick presented by Morango Casino Resort and Spa. Play responsibly. You must be 21 years or older. Good times. Good times. JJ Reick stated he hasn’t committed to a starting lineup past opening night. Bucket brick gave Vincent will be the starter for at least the first five games. This is a bucket, G. You know, I feel like JJ won some continuity with this team. Yeah. In fact, he even mentioned about a week ago after a practice, we had too many starting lineups last year. And you know, of course, there’s always going to be injuries. You’re not going to roll out the same guys eight for 82 games, but I think he’s looking for consistency, continuity. I’d be shocked if if if Gabe is is yanked after like game three or four. We’re going to try someone different. I I think it’s he’s here for not all say it’s 15 games that LeBron misses, but most of those 15, I would say. I was going to get cute and say brick, but Brez is right. It’s a bucket. You’re right. He does want some continuity and you hope they’re off to a good start and they stay with that. I was kind of going to get cute and go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, match up dependent, but you know what? I’m done. What’s cute about a brick? I just thought I was going to like really drop some knowledge, but nope. Resurrect. Spicy. With LeBron James missing the first part of the season in a competitive Western Conference. Bucket Brick, lack of depth is the Lakers biggest concern with LBJ. Yeah, I will bucket that because you can’t just plug someone in without to take LeBron James’ place. So, you’re tested right away with your depth. And I’ve already mentioned it. I mean, to me, the biggest challenge they are going to face is rebounding defensively, some size, and that’s what LeBron James, he checks every single box offensively and defensively. So, yeah, it’s going to be tested, and it’s definitely going to be uh the biggest issue. And by the way, you got to stay healthy during that time. you got to stay out of foul trouble. Like your A’s got to play like A’s. Like without LeBron, it it creates just a whole big challenge that’s tough to tough to deal with. I really want to bucket this because one of the things that Rob Planka mentioned a few weeks ago at media day um or maybe the press conference before media day, he said he really likes this team’s depth. That’s a big change from last season. He feels like there’s really good depth. But you got you you got to you got to actually bucket this. You can’t break this. Um and you’re right. I mean, it’s LeBron we’re talking about. Who who who steps in for him, you know? Yeah. It’s it’s it’s really it’s it’s gonna be interesting to see how JJ does it. I like the Gabe Vincent. Learning how to play without LeBron early in the year and not having a choice and finding ways to win games is going to be great for them and it will test your depth and you will see. But you can’t just It’s just hard to It’s a challenge. I agree. Yeah. Number three. Bucket Rick Lakers will be a top seven offense this season. I’m going to break that because again, LeBron’s going to miss almost 20% of the season based on the the reports that are out there. If he’s back in mid- November and I didn’t love the Laker offense in the preseason, it’s preseason. I know. I I get it. But they shot, you know what, 33% from three, 43% from the field. You know, I I don’t know if that top seven’s going to happen. If this was top 10, I’m bucketing it for sure, but I’ll I’ll I’ll be positive. Top seven’s pretty good. I I know it’s like legit. I I’ll I’ll go this offense. Okay. I’ll go bucket. Okay. I’ll go buck it because I think with with Luca, it’s hard not to be in the top 10 at least. And seven’s, you know, right there. So, I’m going to go bucket. Clip and save this. We’ll talk about this in six months if I’m wrong. Right. Your most improved Jared Vanderbilt. I want him to be the most improved player on the team. David, wow. Jared Vanderbelt played only 14 minutes in last preseason game. He averaged 16 minutes last season. Vando is an important piece to setting a defensive tone. Bucket or brick? A healthy Vando plays at least 20 minutes a game this season. Bucket. Yep. To the first part, yes, for sure. He is an important part to this team. It’s not even a question. 20 minutes a game. It kind of goes to what I I I would be contradicting myself. I mean, I think they’re going to need 20 minutes from Vando, especially the first part of the season. Now, with LeBron back, we’ll see. You might not need to run Vando out there. You know, he’s going to have you’re going to have to watch and manage his minutes, but he’s healthy to go. I Yeah, we’re going to need him for 20 minutes. It’s a bucket for me. Yeah. Look, we’re going to see what we saw a little bit a couple years ago before he got hurt. He was a huge part of this team and they got hurt in that Boston game and in like uh right around the midpoint of the season before the All-Star break and he just hadn’t been the same I feel like until this preseason. It’s like oh he’s back and I I I’m with G 100% on this. He’s going to need to play a good 20 maybe even 25 minutes and his number his his average minutes will be up the first month or so without LeBron. This is a fun one. Large didn’t know this. Luca Donuch hasn’t played more than 70 games since his rookie season in which he played 72. Right. Bucket or brick, Luca plays at least 75 games this year. Uh, not 70 75 75. At least 75. I’m going to bucket this. It’s all because of men’s health. You know, when when you read that article, you’re like, “This guy’s this guy’s going pretty deep on on his fitness, on his nutrition.” Look, it’s not like he sat down with the LA Times to talk about that or ESPN or even the Wall Street Journal, which he did sit down with for for a different story. But the fact that Men’s Health is doing a feature on Luca Donuch, I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure Men’s Health is never going to be calling me up to do a feature. And uh you are fit and fiddle. They should. That’s pretty impressive that he’s getting right up to I’m going to bucket it, too. Brez. I was hoping Alli was going to say 70 because I feel so much better about that. Um, I feel like he’s going to play 70 to 72, but you know what? You’re going to throw 75 at me. Try to be cute and funny. I’ll go 75. Yeah, he’s going to play 75. He’s got a lot to prove to everybody. He’s going to show Dallas that I play every game. I’m tough. I’m strong. Like Bre said, I’m in great shape. We’re winning games and I want him to play every game. This is a bonus question regarding Brez’s hot take bold prediction that we just had on the show. Bucket or brick, the Lakers will be a top four seed. Bucket in the West. Bucket. They got some competition now. I got Denver. Yeah. OKC. Whatever order you want. I got T-Wolves in the Lakers. No, Houston. Rockets in Houston are right around 56. Souring Warriors, too. They’re all in there. Warriors are in there, too. Houston’s got the bold take for it for this edition of Access or of Lake Show Podcast presented by Casino Resort and Spa. See you next week.

The Lakers are all squared away with preseason and are ready for the regular season to start and games to count. This week Allie Clifton, Chris McGee, and Mike Bresnahan preview the Laker’s opening night matchup against the Golden State Warriors. They’ll also dive into Gabe Vincent on getting the starting nod from JJ Redick as the Lakers 5th starter. Plus, the team will break down burning questions such as – who’s has the most to prove? Who is the biggest x-factor? The crew will also play a little Bucket or Brick. Catch all the Lakers action this season on Spectrum SportsNet+ with the NBA app when you add Spectrum Internet and at least one Mobile line. Plus, get a free Xumo Stream Box for six months! This offer is a slam dunk(total value of $194.99). Learn more: spectrum.com/getlakers ​

—
*About the Show*
Want to know everything happening day in and day out with the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers? Spectrum SportsNet’s Lakers hosts Allie Clifton and Chris McGee, along with Lakers Insider, Mike Bresnahan, have covered the team for a combined 30+ years and give you all the details on the Lakeshow podcast. Our hosts bring you an entertaining weekly discussion about all things purple and gold. Stay on top of the latest Lakers news, hear in-depth conversations about the latest team stories, and get your questions answered by our hosts every week, only on the Lakeshow podcast!

Join the conversation by submitting your comments and questions using the hashtag #LakeshowPodcast on Twitter, and by phone at 661-7-LA-LINE.