Lakers-Suns Reaction: LA Struggles On Both Ends Without Luka, LeBron In Preseason Opener

Lakers-Suns Reaction: LA Struggles On Both Ends Without Luka, LeBron In Preseason Opener

Yoan Buha Buha. Yo yo, I’m Yoan Buha, NBA reporter for Boohha’s Block and welcome to the first postgame reaction of the season. Lakers basketball is finally back. We finally have some actual basketball to discuss. not media day, not training camp, not uh whatever we’re hearing in the postgame, you know, postpractice stuff. This is actual basketball. We we have actual stuff to talk about. Uh very exciting. Despite the result tonight was uh not what uh I think not the best start to the preseason for the Lakers, though. Uh I think we’ve become accustomed to them getting out to some slow starts. Uh especially once we saw who was going to be out tonight. No Luca Donuch, no LeBron James, no Marcus Smart, no Gabe Vincent, which flew under the radar. JJ Reic had said Gabe Vincent was going to play in this game and he did not mention him uh pregame that Gabe was going to be out. So no Gabe Vincent as well. Uh no Maxi Cleba, no Adu. If you guys can tell, uh I am not in Palm Springs. I decided last minute to Audible and uh I’m going to save the the trip for a regular season game. Uh so we’re going to be adding another regular season game instead of heading out to Palm Springs. How but shout out to everybody in the chat. Jot Black Mamba BC Lego T uh tortoise Brian Farmer Connor Phillips not around Danica Gog BC I think I said everybody. Um, all right. So, it’s been a minute. It’s been a little over 5 months since we’ve done one of these. Uh, before we get into the postgame categories, a quick reminder, just launched memberships a few days ago. We’re having a bunch of people sign up. So, uh, just wanted to give a quick plug for that and we’ll have it in the show notes. Also, the Discord channel. uh was connecting with some people on that yesterday and uh we’ll be checking that daily and and trying to respond to as many people as possible including the uh people who sign up for the memberships and there’s going to be a tier one, tier 2, tier three uh lounge for each tier. Uh so want to get that out of the way. And of course for those who are watching who have not yet subscribed, please consider subscribing. We’re on the road to 50K subscribers. Uh hit 30K right before the season. want to hit 50K before the end of the season. Also put out three takeaways that I’m going to be getting into more in depth during the show on social media, but I wanted to get something out quickly right after the game. So, let’s get into the postgame analysis. Lakers lose 103 to 81. Uh, as a forementioned, no Luca, no LeBron, no Marcus, no Gabe. So it’s your two best players, two starters, potentially three starters depending on what happens with Marcus and at a minimum four of your top nine guys and then also no Maxi or Adoo. So Lakers were short-handed. I expected them to lose this game. What I did not expect, and this is going to get into my overarching thought from this game, was the I would say inconsistent competitiveness and the overall uh disorganized nature to the Lakers on both sides of the ball. They just look very rusty and I expect that to improve throughout the course of the preseason. And one thing I need to say with all the analysis tonight, process over results and and the typical preseason caveats apply. So, I do not want to overreact. I think there are some things we can uh properly react to. I think there are some things that confirm some of our suspicions with certain players or or certain strengths and weaknesses with this team. And I’m going to get into all of that, but I just want to be clear, preseason game number one, Lakers didn’t have their two best players, at least two starters, and four of the top nine players on this team. So, again, factor that all into all of this. But JJ said after the game, I watched his postgame media availability. He said he told the guys he wanted them to run, to compete, and to communicate. And that continues the mantra of training camp and the preseason, which has been championship, championship habits, and championship communication. And I don’t think the Lakers did any of those things particularly well. And it’s one thing to, okay, you don’t have Luca, you don’t have LeBron. They’re going to be stretches like I thought the stretches when Austin was off the floor were particularly rough offensively. And it was Nick Smith Jr. and Bronny James running the offense. And those guys are I don’t think right now uh rotation level point guard like floor generals running the show. So the offense is going to sputter a bit. They’re struggling defensively. They’re getting killed in transition. They’re getting killed off the ball. They’re giving up a bunch of offensive rebounds. So, like I I get that they’re they’re short-handed and that’s going to affect the the actual performance here, but the running I I don’t think we saw a lot of uh consistent runouts from this team and and hit ahead passes and execution in transition. I thought the running defensively was particularly bad and they just got ran on by Phoenix. Like they made Phoenix look like a playoff team, which uh just it was not good from a a running standpoint on either side. like they need to do whatever conditioning drill they did after day three of camp, they need to do that now after every practice because they did not look to be in the championship shape that they’ve been hyping up throughout the first few days of camp. Uh the competition JJ said he liked that. I I think they’re like giving up some of the offensive rebounds, some of the the getting lost off the ball. Uh maybe that part of that’s like communication, but I I just felt like in in all three regards. Um my my quick read on this team is like they’re behind schedule with where I think they should be up to this point. Now they have the rest of the preseason. They have five more games. They have uh three more weeks until the season starts. They have time to get on track and potentially even ahead of schedule. I just think right now for as glowingly as some of the reviews have been in camp, uh we saw some of the positives and I’m going to get into those. But overall, I thought this team looked like a a group that had not practiced much together that was fresh into a lot of this and like that is partly true, but several like Austin, Brewy, uh Vando, uh Dalton, like the some of these guys have played together for multiple years. Some of these guys have played together dating back to last season. I could throw Jackson in that mix. So, like it’s not like this is an entirely brand new group. And and again, the offensive stuff I give them a lot of grace because no Luca, no LeBron, I don’t expect this offense to look that good. But I expect honestly, you know, given some of the guy like point of attack stuff, no Smart, no Gabe Vincent that’s going to affect that. Uh no LeBron as helper, but like this group just did not look good at all defensively. There were some highlights, but it was pretty rough defensively. And this confirms some of my priors with just my concerns with their ability to match up with even a team on paper. I I think the Suns are going to be a below average offense and and they really struggled to contain their shooters and and guys coming off weak side pindowns and it was just some basic stuff that they really botched tonight. Uh notable performers, we we got to start with Austin. He led the Lakers with 20 points in 21 minutes. Uh I I thought like I’m I’m going to touch on him with one of my takeaways, so I don’t want to spoil that, but 20 points, three uh three rebounds, two assists, couple uh turnovers, six of 11 shooting, seven to seven free throws. Ruy had 11 points, three rebounds, just three for 12 shooting, struggled to finish around the basket, but otherwise was solid on both sides of the ball. Uh RJ Davis was the standout among the bench guys. had 14 points and I thought was the garbage time guy who came in and he was running the show and he was making plays and and he was actually playing with some urgency. It was kind of reminiscent of what Quincy Oliv was able to do last preseason with the Lakers. U I thought Bronny looked more comfortable but obviously really struggle with his shot 1 for 12 and I I think was pushing and rushing things with his shot selection. Dalton continues to be uh very concerning wi-i with his play and uh everyone you some of these other guys I will touch on in a little bit so I’m not going to spoil their I guess worth mentioning had eight rebounds a couple blocks had seven points five rebounds but I’ll be touching on those guys in a second stats on the night I’m going to go with like I don’t know where we begin uh so overall the Lakers had a 79.8 8 offensive rating. I have these advanced this uh advanced stats plug in to the ESPN box score. So 79.8 offensive rate rating is like that’s just mind-bogglingly bad. Uh they shot 31% overall, 17% on threes. They were saved by the free throw line 29 of 37 there. But I look at 27 points conceded off of turnovers which is ridiculous. They had 22 turnovers. Uh part of that’s the sloppiness not having Luca and LeBron. So again, I I will give them some grace there. But they were outscored 19 to6 in transition, which that to me is uh emblematic of of them not running and them not getting out in transition because the Suns had 16 turnovers, but the Lakers only scored 11 points off of those 16 turnovers. Uh so you see the the you giant gap there and then 48 to 22 points in the paint. And this to me was arguably the biggest thing of outside of Austin, no one was getting to the rim off the dribble. He was the only guy capable of beating his man off the dribble, getting into the paint, and then a lot of times they were collapsing. He was kicking out and sometimes those guys would miss or sometimes it’d be a, you know, swing, swing, and then that player misses like the Lakers didn’t shoot well at all. Um, and it’s just th that part to me was and and Hayes and and Aiden missed some point blank looks that they should make. Ruy, I I thought he can sometimes struggle to finish through contact, but he was particularly bad tonight. I think that’s probably more of a rust and rhythm thing with Ruie, but 48 to 22 in the paint is inexcusable in my opinion. And then I think that is it for stats. So, let’s just get into the three takeaways and then we’ll get into the Q&A. Uh, takeaway number one for me, uh, I’m going to start positive before I get into the negative. I thought Austin was exceptional tonight and I I mentioned his stats. 20 points, six uh of 11 shooting, one for five on threes, didn’t shoot the ball particularly well from deep, missed some pull-up threes, but got to the free throw line, got downhill, and I thought the offense looked dramatically better with Austin on the floor, which makes sense because it wasn’t just missing Luca and LeBron. was also missing the I would say fourth and fifth best ball handler uh you know floor generals in Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent guys who are going to be more secondary ball handlers but will be handling the ball some. So LA did not have a lot of ball handling tonight and I think that showed with the offensive performance. They had a 7minute stretch in the first quarter where they did not make a shot that like it was just uh it was really rough. So, uh, but Austin I I thought really stood out as like JJ talked about him being in great shape and really working on his body. Uh, him having the heaviest workload in camp and I thought that translated where Austin was to me arguably the only guy that looked like ready for regular season basketball. I thought you could make maybe make the case for Vando defensively. Although I’ll get into some of the offensive stuff a little later, but like Austin was the one guy who I I felt like you could plop into a regular season game right now and he would hold his own. Everyone else uh I mean Lava I also thought was solid there, but but everyone else had like these elements of rust and still figuring out a rhythm together that I thought Austin really the only knock I thought he overdribbled at times and I think the playmaking could be like a little bit better. But I also think you you look at the assist numbers and to me several pick and roll reads where guys aren’t finishing as the rollmen, several kickout passes where guys aren’t finishing because the Lakers just couldn’t hit anything. So I think I I would like to see Austin’s assist opportunities and what that actually looks like because my guesstimation would be uh you know he finishes with two assists but it probably could have been five or six and and then we’re viewing his playmaking a little bit differently tonight. though. I think like that that is the ne like I thought there were some reads off of the dribble in the paint that he made that were pretty good. But I think continuing to get better with that, but like he just got to his spots and and dominated the offense in a way that I thought was encouraging and in a way we’ve seen him do when LeBron and Luca are out. But to me, he didn’t miss a beat from the end of of like he looked like the second half of last regular season’s Austin and maybe even a little bit better in terms of his first step and and just getting by guys. He had Ryan Dunn on him who’s one of the better young defenders in the league. That’s a guy who has given or the the player archetype who’s given Austin uh uh problems in the past. So, I thought he handled that pressure well, got off the ball when he needed to. And uh so I I thought Austin was the biggest bright spot of all by far. Like clearly the Lakers best player, second best player in the game behind Deon Booker. And for the all the people that want him to come off the bench, uh it was already not going to happen. But after a performance like this, I just don’t see how you like the talent gap between him and everyone else. Like DeAndre Aton um excuse me, DeAndre Aton was right there as as you know potential third best player on the team. Ruiz right there in that mix for you know those guys are probably more in the fourth fifth range but like they were not anywhere close to Austin Reeves in my opinion. Uh takeaway number two is the Lakers defense is a serious work in progress and we already knew this and we’ve talked about this. This is the biggest concern with this group. I think they project as a likely below average defense. Maybe they could get into that 141 13 range defensively as constructed, but there were some bright spots to be sure. I thought Jared Vanderbilt’s uh Jared Vanderbilt’s excuse me on ball defense like he looked like 2023 Vando and I think that might be the most encouraging thing of all defensively for LA was he was getting into Devin Booker uh on and off the ball and I thought he did a really good job of you know he he was pressuring 94 feet. He was making he had a couple of deflections and and steals and and just causing guys to give the ball up early and just getting them out of their rhythm offensively. So, that was great to see from Vando. Uh, needs to get better with his screen navigation on and off the ball. He died on too many screens, and that’s something that has that’s like the the biggest argument against him being a point of attack guy is he he does struggle navigating screens, but that, you know, and when he was able to stick on the ball, he was really, really effective. DeAndre’s rim protection I thought was encouraging. He had a couple blocks uh disrupted or, you know, broke up in a lob. uh and Lakers were playing with Drop uh playing him and Drop, which I thought is what we expected, made sense. But it was good to see JJ actually reduced the switching in this game. I’m curious to see if that changes with Smart and LeBron and Gabe moving forward in the preseason, but with the current personnel, they were far more in drop coverage, and I thought that was a better uh defensive scheme. And then Ruy’s offball activity. He did get lost a little bit off the ball in terms of rotations and and helping and uh closing out to shooters, but he had a couple steals, a couple deflections, and I thought his anticipation in the passing lanes and and making certain reads was at a higher level than it’s been. Uh now, that was all the good defensively. The bad was basically everything else I’ve I’ve already gone through where they got killed on the offensive glass, they got killed in points in the paint, they got killed in transition. uh they had far too many turnovers that led to uncontested points the other way and really it was just some basic offball stuff where there’d be like some sort of split action on the other side or or pin down action on the other side and the Lakers just don’t have the athleticism to like like and maybe some of this is like the switching less and being a little bit more selective with that and that’s like its own learning curve but I thought this group just looked very below average athletically uh the awareness, the communication were not there. And adding LeBron is going to help as a helper and just with the athleticism and and physicality. Adding Marcus Smart is going to help with the point of attack and and some of the wing defense. adding Gabe Vincent’s going to help, but there was too many holes within the defense consistently that it was like I think this will be better than this, but this like I mean there there were large stretches there where they look like the league’s worst defense. And again, it’s the preseason. I don’t want to overreact and and I don’t think they’re like I think they’re going to be better than that, but that did not look like a a group to me that’s capable like regardless of whatever schematics JJ wants to implement. I just did not like there was too many times they were getting beat on simple things and when it became a matter of foot speed and athleticism they just were we’re losing that battle time after time. So that is a big concern for me. It continues to be the biggest reason why I think Marcus Smart should start to try to balance out the starting group a little bit w with the defense. But the I I thought that was like my biggest concern that there maybe is some confirmation bias with this and and confirming my priors of of I was already concerned with the defense and again I think also when your offense is better it has an impact on your defense you could get back and I think there will be a compounding effect with that. I just I I am a little concerned with what I saw defensively from this group overall where again some bright spots with with some playmaking and and some individuals but the team defense the collective overall was getting beat basically everywhere and and that that is concerning to to be clear. Uh and then final takeaway first impressions of the new guys. So mentioned Jake Laravia, seven points, five rebounds, including a couple of offensive rebounds. Loravia was exactly what I expected. He is a connecting piece offensively. He’s a glue guy. Uh he had a couple times he dove or or you know ran out of bounds for loose balls. He was crashing the offensive glass. He’s making the extra pass. He’s not forcing things offensively. Uh he I think hit 13. Yeah, one for two on from deep. So would like to see him get a little bit more comfortable in terms of just launching it because he is such a good shooter. But offensively, I thought he played within the confines of his skill set and was just a again a player who’s greasing the wheels and side to side actions and and whatnot. Defensively, I thought there were some stretches I I liked his defense against Booker. I I think he’s a guy who relies more on his footwork than anything and, you know, footwork and IQ. So there’s times where he’s chasing around screens or uh closing out or switching on to guys and and he’s holding his own. Uh so I thought defensively he was solid. The athleticism in certain matchups is is going to be a bit of an issue, but to me he just was pretty much solid in like every aspect of the game. Not necessarily great in any aspect, but I’ve said he’s a jack of all trades type. And I I thought we saw that on both sides of the ball tonight. And he’s just a useful two-way rotation player. And then DeAndre Aton, uh, only one point, 0 for two, both, uh, I think one might have been a short jumper, one was point blank at the rim. He missed the layup, but eight rebounds, including a couple of offensive rebounds, uh, an assist, a steal, two blocks, four turnovers, and the turnovers are, I’ve talked about this before, he actually averages more uh, turnovers than assists for his career. And, and that is a concern with him is the decision-m the ball control. I thought he got out of sorts offensively a little bit too much and was getting stripped and and was trying to put the ball down in traffic and there’s some rest and and I mean rest uh rust and rhythm stuff with that that he will work through. But I thought the like there were several times he drew fouls that one of them he went like his his two free throws were because he drew a foul when they were in the bonus and you saw the ability to try to punish mismatches. The Lakers continue to struggle with their inbound passes or or you know entry passes to the post and I think they need to do a better job of highlighting him and and featuring him and JJ talked about that pregame and they didn’t really do that. So that’s another thing that they can work on. But with DeAndre, uh, like the offensive end, I I’m not too concerned. This guy has the track record of being a 15 16 point a night guy. First game of the preseason, they didn’t have Luca. They didn’t have LeBron. I think Luca especially is going to unlock DeAndre at a different level. The clearly the Austin DeAndre uh chemistry is is still developing. But I I think for DeAndre like he was screen he was involved in in basically every action whether it was a high pick and roll with Austin or some type of stack action or some type of horns action. He was always screening near the elbows or or the top of the ark and he was involved in a lot. So I thought that was a positive sign. He was rolling. Uh, again, the the timing is still being figured out, but I thought DeAndre like the the finishing and the turnovers were, you know, yellow flags, but I I don’t think long term these are going to be serious concerns with him. The turnovers may be a little bit, especially compared to his assists, but he’s going to have better days offensively, but I thought he made an impact on the glass clearly, you know, in comparison to Jackson Hayes. And then also just a as a a player who can just the threat of him in the post, the threat of him rolling, the threat of him diving, the threat of him sealing. I think that is going to uh do wonders for the Lakers offense. So those are my thoughts. Uh let’s get into the Q&A portion here. Braden, thank you for the super chat. Yoyo Brat, it’s good to be back. Rough game, but some bright spots for sure. Like I I I think that there was certainly some things to be encouraged by and again I would say Austin’s play. I thought Ruie continues to find ways to be effective offensively and I think had better stretches defensively particularly off the ball. Vando’s on ball defense. Laavia I thought fit in seamlessly. DeAndre Aton’s rebounding and rim protection and the bench was a little bit more concerning, but you’re also talking about third string guys who were forced into bench roles like Jackson Hayes. Uh he had the the highlight of the night with the the lob on on Deon Booker, but he also picked up two just just ridiculous fouls that he did not like he just can’t help himself. if he’s a foul magnet and he also had a um a point blank miss that you know I just I don’t know I he drew a couple fouls and he had a couple of nice um contests around the rim and you know verticality plays but he continues to to I mean he was what Lakers were minus 18 with him on the floor which was second worst mark on the team behind Nick Smith at n you know – 19 so I thought there was a big difference in the Lakers defense when Jackson Hayes was in there versus DeAndre Aton. Uh, you know, comparing those two. And then Dalton rebounded the ball well. So, I I will give him that uh like I I thought he rebounded well and and he deserves that uh acknowledgement. But two for 10, one for seven on threes, I I just thought it was to some extent a continuation of summer league. I I thought the the defense was not good. Once again, Bronny was forcing and I think he’s got to find a better way to to pick his spots. Nick Smith uh needs to not inbound the ball. He he had a couple of very scary inbounds passes and he probably should not be the the full-time inbounder with whatever unit he’s in. Uh and then Koko, I thought had some some good stretches defensively, but did have four turnovers as well. Uh, so yeah, that that was my general thoughts on on most of the rotation. Ken says Dalton looks lost. Yeah, I mean I it’s it’s been interesting to see the regression because he had such a promising start to the season and I don’t know what happened cuz I I mean of like I think a lot of people will point to the Knicks trade and and him coming back to LA but like it started to happen a little bit even before then where he had the opening like a month month and a half where he has the 37 point performance against Utah and we’re talking about him as one of these steals of the draft and one of the most promising and encouraging rookies or, you know, rookie debuts of that class. And it’s just basically been downhill from there. And even now, like he he hit, you know, he hit a three late in the game where I I feel like sometimes he’ll kind of pat his numbers a little bit in crunch time to to make them look a little bit better. like this was not I mean this was already bad regardless of that three but it’s hard to find the the kernels of of optimism with him right now. Rod says glad to see the chat is not overreacting to one preseason game. I mean to be clear like I you know I I don’t know it’s it’s tough not to overreact to the first like glimpse of basketball you get right like uh for those I’ve talked about playing fantasy football and like the the you know most consistent thing in fantasy football is you overreact to week one in positive or negative directions. I’m trying to ground a lot of my analysis or or opinions from this game in reality of um like I I think the defensive stuff will be better when they’re at full strength, but I I also think you can make a case like that there’s a version of the group that was present that should have defended much better than they did. And like I thought that starting group should have defended better overall than than they did. and and I don’t like they basically let go of the rope and and gave up to open the third quarter. So I think that the spirit of this group based like the first three days of camp were just so encouraging and and everyone was talking about how competitive it was and and how just like I don’t know it just didn’t match up with what we saw. And I don’t know if there was some loss of of steam because Luca didn’t play and then Gabe also didn’t play and it was like they just knew they were under manned and and didn’t have the full squad together. But it it just I I I feel like it it was a little dispiriting based on what we had heard leading up into this game and based on what JJ said he had three goals for the game. Run, compete, communicate and they I wouldn’t say did any of those at even like an average, you know, rate. So, that was where I think things are like a little But to be clear, I I think this team is going to like I expect them to look much better on October 17th, the final preseason game than they do right now. And if they don’t, then that’s a different conversation. But they still need to there’s a lot more, I guess, rust that they have to knock off than I was expecting. Denica says, “I did see a Suns player hesitate to take a layup because we finally had a seven-footer out there.” Yeah, I thought Aton’s uh rim protection was really impressive, and his rim protection numbers in Phoenix and Portland were good as well. So, it’s not necessarily a surprise, but it was nice to see. And I I thought there was a real difference between when he was the rim protector versus Jackson. Some of these comments are are amazing. We we are in mid-season form. Ryan says, “Uh, transition defense was a concern.” Yeah, I mean, cuz that that was one of the things I touched on with the conditioning portion that JJ’s really harped on the conditioning. That’s been the the biggest point of emphasis through the first few days of camp. And I thought certainly like again I’ll say this this group is below average athletically. I I don’t think that is something that is like groundbreaking. I I don’t think that’s an observation that we just realized after this game that that’s been a thing that the Lakers typically their rosters over the last few years have not been as athletic as they probably need to be. But it was clear when there was some foot races and I don’t know if it was just an urgency thing. I don’t know if it was a preseason thing, maybe it was, but I believe if you’re out there for the preseason, you should be playing as hard as you can within reason. And it felt like there were some stretches with that, but it also felt like there were some stretches where they were coasting. And I do expect them to have a much better performance and and showing on Sunday in Golden State. I think JJ’s going to have plenty of stuff to review and and show them. And I think tomorrow they’ll they’ll probably have a film session or at least a a shootaround film session on Sunday. And I think that there’s definitely something they can uh or not something a lot of things they can be better with. Harry Chinani, what’s up Harry? Uh yo yo, it’s been a while. Hope you’re well. Can you predict how many minutes per game the top nine to 10 guys will play this season? Good question. So let’s look at So just with the starters, and JJ had said he wasn’t going to play them past the third quarter. You had Austin at 21, Ruby at 23, Vando at 21, Loravia at 19, Aton at 18. Looking at the bench, Hayes at 17. So, it’s almost a perfectly even split between Aon and Hayes through the first three quarters. Uh, Bronny at 24, Dalton at 26. I do not expect those guys to play more than Ruie and Austin. Obviously, those guys played well into the fourth. I mean, so I I think I think that the starting lineup is going to be, if we map this out quickly here, uh, DeAndre Aton, LeBron, Ruie, Austin, and Luca. And I think Aon will probably be in like the 32 minute range. I think LeBron, they’ll probably reduce it a little bit. Let’s just say he’s at around 32 as well. I think Ruie will be at around 30. I think Austin will be at around 34 and with Luca, let’s say 35. Uh that is is sort of in line with their minutes post Luca trade last year. Obviously, Hayes was starting instead of Eightton, so it was a much lower number, but that’s in line with what has done for most of his career. LeBron, I suspect they’ll shave off a few minutes. Rui is going to be in that 30-ish, might play a little bit more, but Austin and Luca were both 34 and 35 post trade last year. I expect that to continue. Then we got to Smart, I think, as a six-man. I think Lorravia will be the seventh man. I think Vando will be the eighth man. And I think Gabe will be the ninth man. Let’s just stick with the top nine. Uh, so quick math. Let’s do Sorry, this is this is riveting. I know. I I mean I I think Smart will probably be in the the low to mid 20s. I think Larabia is going to be at around 20 or or low 20s. I think Vando will probably be high teens and I think Gabe will probably be mid- teens. That that would be my tentative breakdown. and Hayes or I’ll say Hayes really left the door open for KBA. If Clebba can get healthy in time and be a versatile defender and and get back to shooting the way he shot before, I think Hayes that like 8 to 10 minutes of being the 10th man in the backup center, I I think that’s really in play for KBA. Ken says, “Appreciate your objective and honest views of Lakers performance and roster.” Thank you. I I appreciate it. Johnny never mind says, “We look like we hadn’t even practiced together. So awful.” Agreed. Agreed. Kane Carter, you think of Vando on a second for Royce O’Neal trade can be done. Phoenix mentioned they wanted a grit and grind style team. He fits their culture. They’re trying to build. Royce would be a nice fit. I think the issue with Vando continues to be the contract length that he’s got three years left on that deal. I I just I I think it’s it’s going to take more than a second at least right now if Vando has plays like I I think there’s a chance that he can play a healthy season, get back to being the old Vando and rehab his value for next summer. But I don’t think just a few quotes about how his shot looks better and then he comes in and airballs or or nearly airballs his first shot like that that that’s not fooling anybody like that the offense is still a real concern with Vando like nothing I saw to he was maybe a little bit more confident in like shooting which is a positive I that’s a real thing but and he had a drive where I I think he got to the free throw line but he’s still like a a glaring minus on the offensive Brian says, “Uh, Daltton Daltton’s minutes should increase his preseason. Need to know what he’s made of.” I mean, he did play 26 minutes tonight, which led the team. So, I I think they will increase in some games. Like, I think when this team’s fully healthy and and they’re doing a dress rehearsal, JJ said he wants to have two games with a dress rehearsal. though he did say that he’s not sure if LeBron will play. He said he doesn’t know if LeBron’s playing at all in the preseason yet and that has not been established and that the dress rehearsal as of right now, like they’d love LeBron to take part in that, but it’s not for certain that he will. But I think what with this group at full strength in the preseason, if there is one or two games where they do that, you’re going to play the top 10, I think, which does not include Dalton, at least like everyone’s going to play at least like 12, 15 minutes just to see what that group looks like. So, I think that will impact Dalton’s minutes. But him being in the mid to high 20s for a lot of these games I I do agree is good for his confidence and and good to just see what if you are giving up on him and trading him at some point or you are just burying him on the bench like it’s good to at least give him a chance in the preseason to shoot his way and play his way out of it. But we’ll see. Sarah, I think Aidton’s offense is going to start looking impressive when Luka and Braun are facilitating for him. 100% agree. I I think work in progress with him and Austin and that’s an area that I think Austin needs to get better at, but also eight like they just need to work on their timing. But I think with Luca, it’s going to be uh it’s going to be um like we saw what he did with Jackson last year with Aton who’s a better roller, better finisher, better hands. It’s going to be at a different level. Conor Phillips, if Vando’s defense maintains at the level we saw tonight, do you think he will play a bigger role in the rotation than you initially thought? Yes. Um I I think so. I think the I still think the offensive end is going to limit like I could see him cracking 20 minutes tonight or or even, you know, 22 23. I I I just think that there’s a real if if I mean it depends how you want to characterize him in terms of position, but I assume that the Lakers are going to use him either as like a wing stopper or a point of attack guy and probably more of a one through three defender. It sounds like JJ wants to do. There just are not many. I mean, you could correct me if I’m wrong, and I’m I’d be happy to change th this like viewpoint, but if you go through most of the top like pick your top eight to 10 teams in the league, wherever you want to draw that line, how many highlevel rotation players are have the same level of offensive limit, high level perimeter rotation players to to be clear, have the same level of offensive limitations as Vando. It’s very few if any he like again if if we’re putting the Lakers in the top eight to 10 teams in the league which I would do if you go through OKC and Minnesota and Denver and uh Houston and New York and Cleveland and Orlando like I I there are not very many perimeter guys who are statistically minuses at the rim in the mid-range like at all three levels at the rim in in the mid-range and behind the the three-point line. That’s just it’s hard to play a player against really good teams that that is that has that type of offensive limitations. Like that’s that’s just been the issue with Vando is he’s very clearly a one-way player and they’re trying to work on him being more like a one and a halfway player, but it was not a an encouraging preseason debut in that regard. I would say clearly defensively though like I think he’s too good like he’s too good defensively and this team doesn’t have enough defensive talent to the point where I do think he’ll probably play more than I I was previously projecting because I didn’t know where he was at defensively and now that we saw it and now that we’ve heard how they view it. I think his role will be bigger. I just is it you know I was expecting more in like the 14 15 minute range. I think it could bump up to 20 to 22. I don’t think it goes much higher than that unless there’s an injury. Uh Mac Roblox 94. Looks like Jackson Hayes improved that dunk though on Booker. Uh uh he well the dunk was incredible. He’s the play of the game and Jackson is one of the best finishers in the league and and he gets to a a level in the elevator that very few can can get. And that was also on on Booker who’s one of I don’t know top 20ish player in the league. So that was an impressive play. Uh I I thought there was a mixed bag with Jackson. I did like some of the rim protection. I did not like some of the the cheap fouls that he just can’t help himself with and then the complaining to the refs. And I think that stuff needs to be better. But he did draw up several fouls and and get to the free throw line a bit and again the rim protection was was better. Hey Chinani, thank you for the super chat. DK continues to struggle. It’s been like this since the trade last season. Preseason is the only chance to prove himself. If he doesn’t perform, trade him. The one issue with this, although this is uh like I guess the the sunk cost fallacy is that if he doesn’t perform well in the preseason, his trade value is really just going to be in the gutter and it’s going to be hard to trade him and you’re really just selling low on him. Ideally, he could build it back up and then you trade him with it rehabbed a little bit, but it it did not get higher after this game, right? Like it I don’t know if he could get much lower than it currently is compared to where it used to be, but yeah, it was not not a good one. Daily uh daily meditation’s best season was with CP3. Yeah. And now he’s got I mean it very few players have ever been on CP3’s level as a pick and roll uh practitioner, but I think Luca is his own like they’re so different because CP3 is always more he’s like a pure point guard who who is looking to set up the role guy or the pick, you know, um find the big or get to his little midi. With Luca, he could do so many things like he’s just he’s bigger. is more skilled and and talented and gifted overall, especially as a scorer. But yeah, I mean that’s I want to see the Luca Eight and pick and roll that, you know, long story short. Kane Carter, do you feel part of the reason the front office thinks very highly of Ruie is the Japanese market booming in LA coupled with his friendship with Luca? I don’t I don’t think that doesn’t play any role whatsoever, but I don’t think they’re going to keep that important of a piece and that important of a cap slot because he is Ruy’s the Lakers third highest paid player. Uh like that maybe doesn’t get talked about enough, but it goes LeBron, Luca, Ruie. That is the Lakers cap sheet right now. So, I I I think that’s probably like an ancillary benefit to having Ruie. Uh, and I I actually think between the two, him having a good relationship with Luca probably matters more because if you have a good relationship with a star player, you are less likely to be traded. That’s just how these things work. So, that can help. And that also, I think, impacted to some extent uh Marke Morris staying on the roster last year. he had a good relationship with LeBron and Luca and then also Maxi Kleba coming over with Luca although Luca wasn’t consulted on that but like them also keeping Maxi I think partly to to some extent has to do with he has a good relationship with Luca so I think that actually carries more weight than the the market but I’m sure that like you can’t deny that that’s not a benefit John Gist Luca being more skilled in CP3 is kind of subject uh subjective. Yeah. I mean it it’s it’s subjective. Uh and I I’ve covered like I covered prime CP3 and he was I thought for stretches of in New Orleans and with the Clippers, he was arguably the third best player in the league at times behind just LeBron and KD. So, you’re not going to find many people who are higher on CP3 than me. Uh, but it’s just Luca can do more because of the size. That that’s just what it comes down to. Like, you know, but in terms of like I guess pound-for-pound maybe you could argue CP3. I don’t know. It’s like obviously Luca is more of a skilled scorer. I don’t think that’s debatable. in terms of passing in their prime that that’s you could go either way probably with that. But uh I think overall Luca has more opt like if we’re treating this almost like a video game like a first person video game and you have all your pick and roll options with scoring and with passing Luca’s menu is just it’s just deeper is is you know the the the buttons on the screen there’s just more with Luca. Adam can R.J. Davis get a two-way. I mean, look, with the way he played today, you got to at least think about it. I think the biggest concern with him is he’s 6 feet and he didn’t he really looked like I I haven’t seen him yet in person. I again, I wasn’t at the game tonight, but he looked even smaller than that. He looked probably like 510, 5’11. So there’s just a limitation to how like you have to be so good offensively to offset being that small. That that’s probably the biggest thing. But but that that’s more so like an NBA conversation, I think, in terms of him being with South Bay or or him having a potential two-way role. I think like that that was a really impressive debut for him to make a case to to be a two-way player. Macro Roblox 94. What if the Lakers did a Thank you for the super chat. What if the Lakers did a trade with the Kings? Maybe seek out Keon Ellis, Malik Monk, or Keegan Murray, or all of them. Thi, this has been a popular one in the chat. And uh among these three, I my preference would be Keon Ellis, Keegan Murray, Malik Monk. Obviously, Keegan Murray is a better player than Keon Ellis, but just in terms of cost, I think Keon would be much more attainable and a much lower cost than than Keegan. Malik. I think the the only way I would entertain Malik if I’m the Lakers is if you’re moving Austin and let’s say you’re moving Austin for Herb Jones or something like that. Then you want to replace like and then that guy starts and then now you you need to replace Austin’s offense to some extent. So you go out and get a Malik Monk to be your sixth man, then that’s a different conversation. But if you’re just keeping the same group, I don’t think you can play Austin, Malik Monk, Luca, and LeBron together, that’s just going to be too problematic on the perimeter defensively. And I I again, I don’t think they just have enough collective perimeter talent defensively to to figure out a way to put someone like Monk, who’s a pretty limited defender, into the rotation. So, I’m pretty out on Monk with the current group, but if you’re just adding an Ellis or a Keegan Murray, yeah, sign me up. Harry Chinani, uh, chances, thank you for the super chat. Chances of Luca winning MVP and AR being an all-star. I think Luca at worst has the third best odds to win MVP. I think the only thing that could potentially hold him back would just be the Lakers record of if the Lakers are a five or six seed. Let’s just say they deal with injuries or whatever. Like Luca could put up other worldly numbers, but it will probably be similar to 2024 where he averaged 349 and 10 and he still didn’t win MVP. So I I I expect Denver and and OKC to be the two best seeds in the West. OKC for sure. Denver likely. They’ve basically been a 5-1 team every year. They’re relatively healthy over the last few years. So I I think the the like point like to be clear I think Shay it’s Shay Joic and Luca are the three guys that that are likely like if I if I had to pick any three players in the league to bet my life on and I could only pick three like and it has to be one of those guys it’s obviously Yokic and Luca. Uh I I don’t think Milwaukee is going to be good enough for for Giannis to win. So, people like narratives. We We got the physical transformation, the revenge season, skinny Luca, all that stuff going. He’s the new face of the Lakers, passing of the torch from LeBron to Luca. I think there’s a lot of narrative things in his favor in addition to just him being a top three or four player in the world and likely having an insane season statistically. But uh I I would tentatively probably put him third if I was setting the line just because I think I I just think Jokic and Shay are are I think those teams floors are higher than the Lakers floor and I see more scenarios in which those guys are 50 plus win seasons and that typically leads to MVP success. But Luca I think like outside of those two by far has the the best odds of of winning MVP. AR being an all-star, I think it’s gonna be tough. The the West is just so loaded. I think going through like OKC is going to have two to three all-stars. Denver likely just one. Houston will have one to two allstars, maybe three depending on what happens with Thompson. You just go down the list and it’s that I just mentioned three teams and that’s like potentially seven or eight all-stars off of three teams. Ant is going to be in the M like Steph like the Wemby right there that’s 11 guys potentially. So I I I think the West is too deep for Austin to make the feels in the east. I think he could have kind of similar to like a Tyler Herro season where where he’s an all-star. But I think as constructed unless unless they really load manage LeBron or he suffers an injury, I I don’t see I I just think Austin I could see him being like an honorable mention, but I I don’t see top 12 Daily meditation. Luca and Braun will be an all-star. Yeah, I I agree. I expect both of them and they’ll probably be starters, too. Generational hater narrative should have nothing to do with MVP vote whatsoever. It should be about how the players perform on the basketball court. Sucks how we have biased media media members voting on these things. Uh, I agree. I I think the the most egregious one well actually I’m not I’m not I’m not going to go down this this road I’m not going to go down the road of of some of the more egregious ones but I think there are some clear MVP narratives uh that if you just go through last like 1015 years I think there’s a couple of MVPs that clearly were narrative based Glenn S late night gang what’s up what’s up Glenn welcome All right, I’m going to go about 10ish more minutes here and then I will wrap try to stick to 10. Connor Phillips Embiid stealing an MVP from Jokic is why Jokic stole Luca’s MVP the year after. There’s some truth to this. Uh, I hadn’t a vote the Embiid year and I voted for Yokic and I thought he was clearly I mean it yeah it it became that really became a narrative thing because then it became more than uh yeah some some the the terms of the voting were were kind of set. I’ll just leave it at that. And then it was kind of like you know but I was just like Joic is the best player. Hey Chinani, thank you for the super chat. Do you plan to travel for road games this season? Yes. Uh I said it earlier. I was actually going to be there tonight and then I got word that Luca wasn’t going to be there so I decided to cancel get a refund and Audible to just watching the game from home and the money like I’ve already started to look into travel and I have several road games that uh as of right now it’s looking like maybe 8 to 10 but might push that up depending on how things are going. uh with the channel and show and whatnot. But uh yeah, definitely I think San Francisco will be at both games. Boston will be there, New York both games, Miami. Uh yes, I am picking some of my favorite cities in to go to, but also some of the biggest games of the season on the road. probably we’ll go to Sacramento, the first one, which is the the first road game of the season, and then figuring out maybe a Denver, maybe a Dallas, trying to figure out what makes sense. Connor Phillips, I’m sure your family will appreciate having you home more. Yeah, I think so. I’ll be able to see my son more. I’ll definitely see my wife more. I’ll probably drive her crazy more, but uh yeah, you might have to ask her about that one. Rip Van Winkle Embiid didn’t steal anything. He deserved it. He certainly deserved it. Like I I think he had an MVP caliber season. I still think Joic had a better season. And it’s also it reminds me of the Derrick Rose MVP where that one in my opinion w was partly narrative based because people were so against LeBron because that was right after the the decision. And then in that one at least they faced up in the playoffs. So you had a direct comparison of who was better and and who was the MVP or whatever and LeBron outplayed him. And I think that made that one age not as well with Embiid. I think it was just the playoff performance compared to Jokic’s that was the season Jokic went on to win the championship and finals MVP and I think people had like I think it was kind of a conversation and then after that it was like well this it was sort of like Chris Paul Darren Williams back in the day. Uh but yeah, Colby asks Cleveland in case it’s LeBron’s last year. I don’t think it’s LeBron’s last year. I think LeBron’s going to announce his last year before whenever that is. I think he’s playing at least one more season. Rip Van Winkle. Most anticipated regular season game. Uh I’ll give you two answers and I I’ve I’ve shared these before. They’re both against OKC because I still think the West and the league runs through OKC until proven otherwise. November 12th at OKC. I think it’s the the Lakers first like real test of the season. That’s about a month in, a little less than a month in, but I think like their schedule’s relatively easy at least by like previous starts to the season and that’s I think kicks off a pretty tough stretch. And then late in the season, they play OKC actually twice, April 2nd and April 7th. But the April 7th one, fourth to last game of the season and I think that’s going to be a big game just in like barometer sense measuring stick where the Lakers at compared to OKC who theoretically will be 60 plus wins going for the title defense and the Lakers will likely be fighting for seating some I you know probably homec court advantage or or just the pecking order you know with seating. So I think that’s going to be a really big game really big couple of games. So, I I would say really the the OKC matchups because they just won 68 games. They won the title. They had one of the best net differentials of all time. They look like a budding dynasty right now. And I think how the Lakers fare against them, whether they play them in round one or round two or round three. I think they’re probably going through OKC at some point. And I want to see what that looks like. Ken Carter, would you do a Rooie for Obi-Wan trade? No. I I find Obi-Wan a little overrated. I I like him in his bench role with Indiana, but I think Ruie can start in certain contexts. Uh despite me thinking Ruie should come off the bench for Marcus Smart, I actually do think there are certain teams and situations Ruy makes a lot of sense to start in. I don’t think the Lakers have the requisite defensive talent to start Ruie, but I think Ruie is overall better than than Um, King Carter Glenn says, “Saving my money for my Booha Bratz subscription.” Yeah. Uh, appreciate that. Yeah, I know that one is he’s referencing the the tier three price, which is uh let’s say um it is a a high price for that tier. I I wanted to set it so it wasn’t a tier that got oversaturated and and it became something that I just couldn’t do. But, uh, that tier, the the big perk is we’re going to be doing a monthly hangout where we just shoot the for like an hour or so. Uh, knowing me, we’ll go over. Uh, but yeah, that that I got the idea from doing the survey uh, you know, couple months ago and and then having a hangout with the survey people and it just felt like if I could do it in like a small group, it would be fun to hang out on video and and talk to people, answer their questions. So that’s what we’re doing. Kane Carter, you want to take me back to your reaction when the LeBron decision in 2010 happened. Where were you? What were your thoughts? Also, what uh what were your memories from Insanity 2010? So, I was actually at some like art thing with my mom and I was really upset because I wanted to be home to watch the decision. So, I was following it on Twitter and like I I don’t think I was live streaming it because I don’t even think that was a really a thing back then, but I was getting like video updates on it and I think I ended up finding a way to to watch it on my phone or it might have been on I don’t remember exactly where I was watching it, but but I did get to watch it live ultimately and I was as in shock as anybody. I I will say that Stephen A. Smith and I forget who else were on the Miami part and and they called that. So uh that that was a big uh you know decision. I I I will always like I get the backlash to some extent. I think doing a show to leave and and break up with your you know then I guess now like ex-girlfriend at the time technically right you’re breaking up publicly it’s not the best thing to do. But he did raise, I believe, like $2 million for a children’s foundation. Uh he was a 25-year-old with like if that’s the worst thing LeBron’s done in his career in the public eye, being in the public eye for 25 years, I I think that that’s a pretty good like worst thing to do. So, I’ve always thought that the reaction to the decision was a bit overblown. But yeah, I think it gave LeBron his villain arc that he needed to get over the hump and win a championship. Uh, won four. Uh, and Lynsanity, I think I was in so I went to the Sloan conference in Boston, the MIT Sports Sloan conference back I think it was when it was like during the peak of LSanity. So I I was I think he might have played in Boston around that time. So, like it was kind of crazy just the the the vibes with that and I was talking to NBA people at the time and everyone was just in shock about what was happening with with that situation. Like we’ve just never seen he ended up being like a solid role player but we’ve never seen a player go on a run like that that was clear like clearly not a star but just had this out-of- body experience where he was dropping 30 plus at any given night and he had the big game against Kobe and the Lakers and just so like the gamewinners and and just he he had this out-of- body experience and it was it’s really something we we’ve never seen it before. Philip pass. I love LeBron, but I thought it was cheesy. Yeah, for sure. I’m not I’m not saying it’s inscrutable. Like I I think you can have your criticism of it. I just think, for example, I think it’s very different than what Kevin Durant did, which was going to a 73-1 team that just beat you in the playoffs. And because even when people say like, yes, they teamed up, right? But because they teamed up and because of the nature of the cap situation that first like you go back and actually look at the Heat roster the first year, it was a god-awful roster. like that was a a they did not have any depth and really any money to uh do anything with that group and they were playing like Eric Dampier and Zjun Ogowskis and Mike Bby and it was just not a good like all those guys. It was basically like the the 202122 Lakers uh just they had a third star instead of two although I guess that team technically had Russ but uh yeah John Xaring pound that like button people. Yes. I I can’t I can’t see the likes live right now but let’s get those likes up. Rod, were you able to watch the young man in a three pod with AR Jake and Fleet? I’ve not watched it yet. I’ve seen some clips. I haven’t actually like I have a tab of things I got to do. It’s on that tab, but I haven’t haven’t seen it yet. Ken Carter, in your eyes, why do you think fans are so split on Wiggins? In my opinion, he’s a flatout better player than Ruie in every aspect of the game. Would be the perfect starter, plus has championship pedigree. I think Wiggins has just been a polarizing player ever since he entered the league. And I also think when you’re a number one pick and you have certain expectations and you don’t live up to those expectations, I think that that kind of follows you. There’s also been some reporting or just kind of behind the scenes stuff with like how much does he actually love basketball, which I think maybe earlier in his career was fair or or valid, but I thought after what he did in Golden State that put that to rest and um excuse me, that 2022 title and and just how important he was. like there were stretches of that playoff run he was their second best player or second most important player and he w he defended Luca uh for like I remember watching that series that was some of the best defense I’ve ever seen against Luca and I don’t think he’s defended quite like that was was I also think like his best stretch of his career up to this point so he hasn’t quite been at the same level but I agree with you and with most of what you said I don’t think he’s better than Ruie at every aspect of the game I think Ruy’s probably a better cutter. Though I do think Wiggins is a a respectable cutter as well. Ruy’s a better catch and shoot spot up. Like you he’s a better three-point shooter overall than Wiggins, but I think Wiggins is much better at creating his own shot. He’s much better attacking closeouts. He’s a more athletic player. I think he’s a better finisher around the basket. Uh more dynamic finisher around the basket. And I mean, he just averaged 18 last year. Uh, but defensively I think there’s a versatility there. And I I I retweeted this and and actually I’ll I’ll pull this up just for arguments sake. But I thought this was really good from Crangis earlier in the day. Uh I will show you guys. This to me is one of the most uh like the biggest things in in Marcus Smart’s favor in terms of why he should start. But you have this graphic here from Crangis and this is by the Bball index um the Bball index defensive roles. And the green is like the ideal fit for each player and the red is the you know least ideal fit and then yellow is like they can kind of do it. But you see for point of attack and wing stopper, the Lakers have one player who could do both of those things and that’s smart. And that’s it. Vando is wing stopper and helper. He has a yellow and point of attack. And I thought tonight when he can just guard a guy straight up, he can do it. When he has to navigate when it’s a pick and roll situation, I think he’s less effective and and can struggle. So I think he’s kind of more of like a greenish yellow than just a yellow. But I I do think that’s something smart is a much better screen navigator than Vando. So I just think like like looking at Ruy here, Wingtopper and Helper. Well, like the Wingstopper part is nice and I think he’s improved in that regard, but Ruie is not a point of attack guy. And now you’re forcing Austin to be a point of attack guy. And as you see here, Austin is a yellow in point of attack. And this is a very basic, you know, rudimentary breakdown in terms of just color coding it red, green, yellow to simplify it so it’s easier to digest. But I pretty much agree with every breakdown here of each player. I might uh like I I don’t know if I view I’ll say like Hayes to me is more of a yellow as an anchor big versus a green. Like I might nitpick a couple of these things, but I think this is largely in line with what guys are good at and what they’re bad at. And I think the Lakers need both a wing stopper and a point of attack guy in the starting group. And only one player on this roster does that at a green level and also does chasing at a green level. So ideally, you have Smart as your point of attack or wing stopper depending on whoever’s the best opposing scorer in that starting group. And then you have Austin as the chaser. And then you have uh ideally LeBron and Luca both as helpers and then Aiden as uh an anchor big or a mobile big depending on the matchup. So I think this is a pretty good breakdown, but but that was in in reference to uh the Wiggins thing of like I I think Wiggins probably would be similar to Smart. Maybe he’s I’m not quite as familiar with his chasing, but I think he would probably rate out similarly to Smart and and that is where I think Wiggins would bring a lot of value and more value than Ruie on the defensive end. Uh let’s get back into the chat and then go five more minutes here. Craig Osterberg says, “Lakers need shooting.” Yeah, I mean, this is this is the the the this is the catch with all this, right? Like, they have a bunch of imperfect options. Like, Smart is not the level of shooter you want. And I think the shot selection and the turnovers can be issues. He’s also injuryprone. Ruie is not the level of defender you want, I think, either as a wing stopper or a point of attack guy and can’t really slide down and guard like secondary guards. So, Ruiz just has some defensive limitations. I think offensively he’s as close to a perfect fit as you can get next to Luca Lebron and Austin. And maybe that just makes him the full-time starter who plays 30 plus minutes and like Ruy’s the answer. But you are really, I think, limiting your defensive ceiling if you’re going with Austin, Luca, LeBron, Ruie, Aton. I just don’t see a world in which that team against competitive teams is like a good defense. I I just do not see that universe. Um, Vando is too limited offensively. We we know how good he is defensively, but far too limited offensively. Lorravia I don’t know is good enough on either end to ideally check that starting box though I we’ll continue to to monitor that. Gabe’s too small not consistent enough as a shooter. Then you know Wiggins I don’t think is as good enough of a shooter as you probably want. So yeah, I mean I don’t know who that perfect player is, but but they ideally need someone who can defend at like a smart Vando level, but also maybe not score at a Ruby level, but at least shoot at a RUI level. And that’s just a tough player to find. Kane Carter, hot take shooting is important, but two-way ability in today’s game means so much more than pure shooting. Would you rather have a team full of OG and Obies or Kyle Corvers? I think about that. 100% OG Anobies. Philip Pass, do we do we have one truly two-way player? Seems like a bunch of one and a halfway players. Yeah, I mean I think it depends like how we classify because I I think Jake honestly might be the closest in terms of I think he’s probably a net positive on both sides of the ball. But ideally, when we’re talking about a two-way guy, you’re probably wanting a guy who’s like 75th to 80th percentile on both sides of the ball. And I don’t know if Jake I don’t know where he’s at like where I would put him yet in like I probably I’ll say I would not put him in the 75th or 80th percentile defensively. Is he there offensively? Probably not based on what we’ve seen. So, I think he’s an above average offensive player and an above average defender, but he might be closer to that 60th percentile or whatever. So, yeah, I guess like if you’re saying like clear two-way players, I don’t know that they have even one. I guess LeBron is LeBron when he’s locked in defensively and and even LeBron’s like floor defensively is pretty high. So, I guess he’ll bra technically, but there are nights when he takes stretches off, possessions off, games off. I mean, he’s taken games off before. So, I Yeah, I I mean, this this is one of the biggest concerns with with the roster still. Hotline blink. Sadly, it’s Aon. Yeah, I mean, Eightton’s in the mix. Smarts in the mix depending on what you get from the shooting with him offensively. It’s not Vando. I don’t think Ruie is good enough defensively. Like Ruie is close too, but I think his his like Ruie to me is a 45 to 55 guy defensively where there are nights in matchups he’s slightly below average, there’s nights he’s about average, there’s nights he’s slightly above average. Like that’s that’s his range to me. So, yeah. I mean, but but I don’t think there’s anybody you can definitively say is like a clear like we’ll even say like B on both sides of the ball. I I I don’t know. Uh it’s a relative scale though, too. So, Bino wondering if the offensive gap versus smart or larvia closes considering Ruy’s had the advantage of being wide open since all defensive attention is on Luca, Braun, and AR. That’s partly like again I I people know where I stand with the whole Smart versus Ruy thing and I do think Lavia maybe ends up being an interesting middle option. I think my my contention would be I think there’s actually a bigger gap and probably a bigger impact with Smart Vers Ruy on the defensive end than the offensive end because I I think and I’ll shout out the LFR pod was just listening to they had a nice fit starter debate and it was uh Mike Garcia and Raj debating Pete Pete and Darius about Pete and Darius are in the smart camp. Mike and Raj are in the Ruy camp. And one thing that stood out and sometimes when you’re listening to a pod, you just want to like insert it, especially now that like I’ve I’ve talked, you know, I know all those guys. have had them all on the pod like and I wanted to insert myself like they both stated their cases for Ruie and not once did either of them mention defense and I was like this is the issue with starting Ruie is that you guys are making these cases which they were sound cases smart cases especially like factoring in he wants to start the the continuity the the cutting the three-point shooting the offensive ceiling like I get all those things but there was not once a mention of defense and I’m If you look at if if we are con you creating a perfect player for that starting group, they need to have a certain level of defense that I just don’t think Ruie has. Like if you’re if you’re saying the locks are eight and LeBron, Luca, and Austin, which I believe those are four of the locks. I I believe all four of those guys are playing are starting. The fifth guy needs to be like ideally like a freak crazy athlete defender who plays with a lot of like honestly Vando’s defense would be perfect. It’s just the the offensive end. I really have a tough time seeing JJ having him leapfrog Ruie, Jake, and Marcus in the starting battle. Maybe it happens in the preseason, but I would be pretty surprised by that. So I think that like to me there’s a bigger gap between the two on defense than there was on offense. Like yes, Ruy’s a better cutter than Smart and Ruy’s a better shooter than Smart, but Smart’s actual like points per game and and stuff has been similar to Ruie throughout most of his career. He’s a better ball handler, better passer. I think that’s an underrated part of of adding Smart to the starting group. So, I actually think they’re much closer offensively despite Smart’s turnovers and shooting inefficiency than they are in defensively. I don’t think it’s close really at all. like Smart has graded out as a really really good defender despite being injured and and being on crappy teams. Jake from State Farm listening to Booha two times speed. Now that I caught up, he sounds drunk. Um I probably sound drunk at two times speed too. All right. Uh, about to wrap here unless we have any final questions. Colobby S30, have you seen One Battle After Another? Yes, I really enjoyed it. I think it’s right there with Sinners for best movie of the year. I’m actually going to see it again tomorrow. I saw it with a buddy and then I’m going to see it with my wife tomorrow. So, uh, Bowen, uh, check the YouTube description. My Discord link is in there. Uh, I mean, it should just be Buha’s block if you search it. But yeah, I like this one from Connor, but we’ll end on this one. Uh, anything specific you want to see in the next preseason game? Yes, I would I would like to see in general some of the things that JJ’s been talking about consistently, like championship habits, championship shapes, uh, shape, championship communication. I want to see that stuff come to life. And it doesn’t matter like again process over results. The Lakers could play Golden State and and have the same group and lose by 20. And if they do those things that like to me it was it was more so the process is what I had the issue with. The result I expected them to lose this game once I saw who was out. Uh I thought it would be more competitive. But I would like to see the running, getting out, the hit aheads, playing with a certain pace offensively, getting out in transition, getting back. If you miss a shot, turn over, get back in transition. Uh, defensively, got to figure out what they’re doing off the ball with a lot of their communication and and switching and coverages. I thought they botched they had too many just easy just obvious mistakes that you got to clean up. Uh, I think that the fight on the glass needs to be better offensively. I I think this is just so far away from like what they’re going to be when they add in Luca and LeBron that I would like to see Austin get off the ball quicker. I would like to see the Austin Eightton pick and roll a little bit more and also that chemistry continue to build. Offensively, it’s just more so like cleaning stuff up and being a little bit more intentional, maybe a little bit more organized on that end. But I think there are just limitations. Like if I I said you’re taking away four of their five best ball handlers with who’s out right now. So I expect the offense to take a big hit. But that side I’m less concerned with. It’s the defensive side. It’s the communication. It’s the running. They just got outran and out executed and out hustled. And I just I would like to see some just kind of basic improvement honestly in the process with this group and a lot of stuff they talked about all week translating over. So again, if they lose by 20 but the process if they lose by 20 on Sunday but the process is better and there’s some tangible things of like, okay, they cleaned up the turnovers, they cleaned up the transition defense, they’re not mixing up their offball coverages. like if that stuff’s cleaned up and they still lose, then they lose and and I’m happier with the process. But tonight, people are going to focus on the result. I’m not the result didn’t ultimately matter. Although I I thought it should have been more competitive, but it was really the process of like there was just so many things I didn’t like or or were disappointed with that again though opener. It was a stinker. We’ll see how they bounce back on Sunday, but that’ll do it. Michael D says, “Night Yoan, night Michael, night two, the late night gang. Appreciate you all for rocking with me for almost an hour and a half. I’ll be back on Sunday after Lakers Warriors.” So, I’ll be covering that one from home as well. I’m also dropping three takeaways from every game. Basically, a condensed version of the three takeaways that I talk about after the game. just getting out a quick like minute minute and a uh minute and a half video uh for you guys just to to have something to digest quickly and then get into the postgame lives. But uh for those watching on YouTube, please be sure to hit that subscribe button, turn on channel notifications, and like and comment on this video. Let’s get those likes up. Let’s get those subs up on the road to 50K before the end of the calendar year. And for those listening on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your podcast platform of choice, please be sure to follow, download, and leave a fivestar review. I’ll talk to you guys in a couple of days. Uh, enjoy your weekend.

Jovan Buha reacts to the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-81 preseason-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
2:57 Overarching thought: LA is behind schedule to begin the preseason
7:37 Notable performers
8:47 Stats of the night: Most of them were bad
10:43 Takeaway No. 1: Austin Reaves was exceptional
14:11 Takeaway No. 2: LA’s defense is a … work in progress
18:32 Takeaway No. 3: First impressions of Jake LaRavia and Deandre Ayton
22:41 Q&A
1:17:11 Outro

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