158. Klay Thompson takes down the Lakers and solving the Westbrook problem

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so far. That was definitely a much more competitive basketball game than I think any of us really expected that. Said, there have been a few times this season, namely that early season game when Lebron was out when they beat the Miami Heat, or that Utah Jazz game from about a month ago, and then tonight, where when you would have expect acted this team, after everything that's happened to this point in the season, to fold or to fracture rather than to show a little bit of competitive spirit.

And I don't think that that's a coincidence, because regardless of how you feel about the way this team has performed, and regardless of how you feel about the roster, there's still a gap there. Even though the roster is nowhere near what it needs to be in order to win a championship, which we're gonna talk more about later. Even though it's not to that level, it's certainly not as

bad as it has looked often this season. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that there have been scapegoats for people to point that and to make excuses for and to take the responsibility off of themselves for one reason or another. Right, it's really easy to be like, it's Frank's fault, he doesn't run the right, deep sense of scheme with what we're doing. It's real easy to say it's Rob Polinka's fault he didn't give us good enough veteran minimum players.

It's easy to say it's Genie Buss's fault she let Alex Caruso go. It's easy to blame the Russell Westbrook trade or to blame Russell Westbrook himself. But the fact of the matter is the talent that has actually been on the court for the Lakers for the most part this season has underachieved, even relative to what that standard should have been. And I think that that was a subtle message that Rob Polinka and Genie Buss tried to

send to this team at the deadline. I don't think those two are blameless, so I'm certainly not lifting them up as some sort of you know, uh, you know lighthouse here that is the one leading the way, because they both have made absolutely inexcusable mistakes over the course of the last couple of years. So they are not

off the hook by any stretch. But Rob Polincoln decided not to make any moves at this deadline, and he had a quote in the press conference this weird little proxy war that took place between Clutch and the front office immediately after the deadline, where Rob says, there's you know an understand He basically implied that Lebron and a D agreed with their decision to not move make any moves, used the word alignment, and then Robin a D, Lebron and a D immediately go through Dave McMenamin to the

press to be like, heck, no, there wasn't. We did not agree with this. We wanted there to be moves. And I think that it's funny because Rob's quote that he had in that press conference, he says, when it comes to finding success when a team is not winning, I think the most important action is for everyone to look in the mirror and be better. That includes the front office, it includes the coaches, it includes the players.

And I think one of the things that Bob did by not making a move is he took away the excuse. The dirty little secret is is even if the Lakers had made a trade, would it have improved them. Yes, if they would have brought in two NBA level starters to help slot players further down than they are right now,

it absolutely would have helped the team. But the truth of the matter is it would not have fixed all their problems, because they have a boatload of problems with their basketball character, their willingness to buy into rolls, their willingness to do the dirty work, their willingness to take responsibility for the outcome rather than to blame other people, and Rob essentially at the deadline says, this is on you, guys. I'm not going to make a panic trade here to

bring something in. This is on you, guys. That I disagree with that strategy. I think Rob should have made a move, or at least a move anything to mix things up. The reason being is that Lebron and a D are so good. You have to capitalize on these handful of years they have together, and punting one of those years is terrible management when you factor in the

limited window that they have here. But that said, even though I disagree with that strategy, I understand the message that Rob Plinker was trying to send because this team that went into Golden State tonight and nearly one, they literally would have one if they got anything out of Lebron in that fourth quarter. Lebron had an absolute horrific fourth quarter, and if they get anything out of him,

they probably win the game. But that team that went up to Golden State tonight and nearly beat Golden State, that team is not four games under five. That team is not a playing team. That's a team that's right up there with the Utah Jazz in the Memphis Cruizlies. Maybe they're not a bona fide contender, but they're a heck of a lot better than that where they are right now. But the bottom line is that team that we saw tonight has been an exception to the rule.

It's been a rare occurrence. It hasn't been the consistent product that we've seen from this team. And I like, I do like that Rob took that blame game out of the picture and said, it's on you guys to figure this out. Like, here's the thing, Lebron. You can blame the role players all you want, and we're all gonna sympathize with you in the sense that we know that there's not enough talent on this team to win the title. But you have to be better. Your role

players tonight played well enough to beat Golden State. Your role players tonight played well enough to give you a chance to win on the road against one of the top tier championship contenders in the league, and you fell apart in the fourth quarter. Sloppiness, sloppie passes, throwing the ball away, inability to finish around the rim with all the length, a couple of miss defensive assignments as well. You how to be better, man. That's on you. Now,

We're gonna cut you some slack. You're not Russell Westbrook. This hasn't been what you've done for the most part this season. You've been very reliable all season. But I like that. I like that the accountability is being shifted back to the players. Lebron can't go up to the podium tonight and blame the role players. Lebron can't go to the podium tonight and blame Rob Polinka. It was him that didn't hold up his end of the bark.

And the same thing with Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis was as had one of the most dominant defensive performances that I've ever seen from a player in the first half, but just did not bring enough offensively in this game. You are a player that has been compared to honest Antenna Coompo. You have to be able to score at will against the Golden State Warriors team that doesn't have dreamon Green. The accountability is on you guys as well.

Does Rob have a responsibility? Yes, he has to in the next month hit two or three home runs in the buyout market. He has to. That's his job. Frank Vogel has to be better. He has to play Reeves more than Avery Bradley, which he did tonight but very much did not do in the UH in the game against the Blazers when he played Reeves fifteen minutes and Bradley thirty five minutes. So franc has to be better. Francast to find defensive schemes and offensive schemes that actually

fit his personnel. He has a job. The role players have to be better, but Lebron and Anthony Davis also have to be better. They also have not been good enough on a day in and day out basis this season to propel this team to where they need to go. And so as much as I've had problems with Rob and what he's done this season, kudos to him for making everybody look in the mirror and be like, you

guys are gonna have to figure this out. Our best chance to use this that he thinks their best chance to use the assets is in the off season, and I get that. I disagree, but I get that. But he's right in the sense that this team needed to look inward before they looked anywhere else. From the standpoint of Russ, I thought we saw an interesting dynamic tonight

at play with Russ. That is interesting projecting forward for this team because once again after our trade deadline special Russ had a comment shortly after when the Lakers had practice where he took a pot shot at Frank Vogel, saying, Hey, the reason why my back is flaring up is I'm sitting down for too long, which is ridiculous, completely ridiculous, and an obvious shot at the head coach. And if you're going to actually make a run at this an attempt to win the championship via the plan, and I

don't care whatever the route is. If you're gonna if you're gonna really make a run at it, you can't have him out content on the team. You can't have a player who is deliberately going out of his way to complain or to be a source of negative energy.

Any of you guys out there who have ever played competitive sports at a serious level, you Guys under stand when I'm talking about You've been in locker rooms where everybody messages and has the same goal, and you've been in locker rooms where there's that one guy who doesn't like what his specific role is or what his specific circumstances is, and he starts to talk, and he starts to try to form a click in the locker room, he tries to find supporters, and it becomes an issue

that can't happen with Russ. So the question becomes, do you send him home or do you keep him around and try to make it work. And I do think you send him home if he continues to be a malcontent. But Russ, at this point in his career is still capable of having a positive impact in basketball games. So you have to try to communicate with him and convince him to buy in. And I think that role is

as a bench player. So tonight, as has been the case in throughout this entire season, when Russ is playing with the first unit alongside Lebron James and Anthony Davis and against the best defensive players on the other team, especially against the top tier teams, he's been ineffective, to

say the least, that's me being nice, okay. But in specific settings, for instance, against limited defensive teams or specifically with bench groups when Lebron or Anthony Davis are off the floor and he's also going against the lesser defensive players that come off the bench for the other team, he can be impactful. And you saw that again tonight. His first shift was awful. He had to basically pick

six turnovers. One was a turnover and the other one was a miss layout where he didn't get back either in they scored, and wasn't really offering anything on either

end of the floor. But in the second quarter and in the third quarter, he had two short stints with each in each case with either Lebron or Anthony Davis off the floor and for the most part with step off the floor and going against the other teams lesser players that came off the bench, and he had some success getting to the rim, making things happen in transition, creating shots for his teammates, and just being a positive force.

And that's not a surprise. We had this conversation last week, like Russ is not a Russ is not so bad that he doesn't belong in the n B A he's just going through the NBA's version of a midlife crisis. He's just struggling adapting to his waning physical skills. There's still in in in Russ's bag that he brings to the arena every night. There is enough to be a productive basketball player. He's your textbook off the bench point guard, in my opinion, who attacks the other teams lesser defenders.

Almost every bench guard in the league is a bad defensive player. That's usually why they're bench cards. That's why Malik Monk comes off the bench for the Lakers. So let Russ feast against those guys. And then you established with Russ in a conversation that depending on how focused you are on those little details of the game, that we might not play you with the closers. And so the idea there is you have to sit down with us and be like, here's the situation. Man. We wanted

to move you at the deadline and we couldn't. We are going to move you in July. That's going to happen. This was a bad fit. There's too much bad blood. This thing is over. This partnership that we have here is over in July. But we have this four or

five months stretch here where we have two decisions. You can either buy in to this smaller role that we have for you as someone who primarily operates with bench lineups and closes when you're bought in, or you can go home, because if you're going to be a mount content, we can't have you around that kind of honesty upfront with Russ. At least you put the ball in his court to make that decision. I believe that as a competitor, Russ would rather play, and that Russ would rather try

to make this work. So I expect him to respond well to something like that. But you have to have that conversation. And you know, I thought Austin Reeves, who played amazing tonight, showed so much and demonstrated what I've been talking about that we need from Russ. You know, there's been a lot of talk starting with the Utah Jazz game. Russ had about a ten game stretch where he put up decent numbers. He average about eighteen points and shot about from the field and somewhere right around

like thirty six percent from three. He had an okay stretch of offensive basketball, but I didn't think he was very good in that stretch that he was okay, I thought he was less harmful than usual, but he wasn't very good in that stretch. And the reason why is because statistical output alongside Lebron and Anthony Davis doesn't carry the same value that statistical statistical output brings when he's

the focal point. So, for instance, Austin reeves only at thirteen points tonight, only had three rebounds and only had to assists, But he was all over the place on both ends of the floor, did an amazing job moving his feet and competing on defense, had a handful of just outrageous defensive place how to chase down block on Clay Thompson. And then on offense, just a majestic performance

attacking closeouts. Every time he caught the ball after attention was devoted to Lebron or devoted to Anthony Davis, he just made the right play every single time. It was a magnificent performance from him. Thirteen three and two, No one, No. If you were looking at the box score, it's the

most indiscriminate performance that you'll see. But all of us who watched the game saw what Austin brought to the table, and that's what I'm talking about with Russ as the third guy, as the guy alongside Lebron and Anthony Davis. It's not about doing Russ stuff. It's about doing basketball stuff that the third, fourth, and fifth guy on the floor usually have to do alongside the best players in

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Gambling problem call one eight hundred, next step or text next step to five three three four two in Arizona one eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org slash chat in Connecticut one eight hundred gambler or visit FanDuel dot com slash RG in Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, or Virginia one eight seven and seven seven seven zero stop in Louisiana one

two seven zero seven seven for confidential help. In Michigan one eight seven seven eight hope and why or text hope and why two four six, seven, three six nine in New York, Tennessee redline one eight eight nine nine seven eight nine. In Tennessee, visit www dot hundred gambler dot Net in West Virginia. And so that's the conversation you have with Russ. Hey Man, you've been in out content. I'm willing to let it all slide. Let's let Frank have the conversation. I'm willing to let it all slide.

I'll look forget about everything you said about me in the media. But let's make a run of this thing in this different role because either way, you're gone in July, so let's try to make it work. I think you have to have those that those types of conversations, especially now in light of everything that's been going on in recent weeks, because this team is close to fracturing, and the only way to avoid the fracturing is to have the tough conversations and to make sure that everybody in

the locker room is bought it. Because you could have that same conversation with Lebron James and Anthony Davis, like, hey man, we don't think we have enough talent to win the championship this year. So are we gonna make a run at this thing, like really try for this or are we gonna b s through the end of the season, get the nine or ten seed and get blown out or swept by the Phoenix Suns like, because if we b s through the end of the season,

that's what's gonna happen. So from that standpoint, it's like, Hey, if that's what's gonna happen, why even put the wear and tear on your knee, Lebron, your fluid filled knee, your thirty seven year old knee, your most mileage in NBA history knee. That's the conversation that you have to have on that run. Russ has to buy into the role. But Lebron and a d have to decide if they really want to go for this or not. Because if they don't want to go for it, what's the point.

There's if there's if they don't want to go for it, packet it. If you think you can flip us with two first round picks for some good stuff this summer, and if you think you can flip th h t and Kendrick Nunne for some good stuff this summer, and you guys think you have no chance and you plan on mailing it in on a nightly basis through the end of the season, send Lebron and a Dye home too. That's my thing. Because I think all of those guys, I think russ Lebron and a D would respond to

that conversation insulted. I think they would look you in the face and be like, hell, no, I'm not going home. Let's go get this thing. Appeal to their competitive nature, try to get that part of them to drive them across the finish line here. I think that needs to be the goal. The last thing I wanted to hit it on. The hit on the Lakers front was the

this buyout situation. So one of the stories that came out today was from the Athletic having to do with this idea that Boston is likely to buy out Dennis Schroder and that the Lakers would want it now. As is always the case around this time year, you have conflicting reporting, because then David Benneman came out shortly after and was like, actually I heard that they're not going to buy at the Dennis Shroudder. So who knows what's

gonna happen. But the names that have been thrown out most frequently have been at the point guard position, Dennis Schroder and then Gore and Drojic who Adrian Morganowski reported today that the Lakers are gonna make a significant attempt to get and then on the wing, you'r hair in names like DeAndre Bembry is like a six five to

guard who does dirty work pretty well. And Gary Harris Jr. More or less the same player, better athlete, better shooter, but more or less the same type archetype of player. And what I would say is this, I like Dennis Schroder. He was fine, he competed while he was here. I thought he was a better defensive player than Russ. He was less volatile than Russ, didn't have the ups side that Russ had, wasn't as good as a switching defender rust as well when you get him on an island

against bigger offensive players. But one of the biggest problems for the Lakers all season has been size and athleticism. So bringing in a six foot tall, very skinny Dennis Schroeder doesn't help you on that front. So my thing is like, look, if if Russ doesn't respond well to the conversation and he goes, get me out of here. I'd rather hang out with my wife and kids and not get lacerated by the Lakers Twitter fan base NonStop every day. Okay, fine, then you can look at somebody

like Schroeder to fill into that role. But if you're looking for more off ball guys to play around lebron A d and Russ, they can't be small. That has to be completely off the table in terms of options. That's what's so hilarious about people saying, no, Kendrick Nunn can come back and bring a big boost. Kendrick Nunn is a good player. He's going to help them, but he doesn't solve their problems. He's too small. They need

size and athleticism. So from that standpoint, that's where I would look at the guys like DeAndre Bembry or like Gary Harris Jr. You need to get athletic, talented, skilled guys between six five and six eight that can guard multiple positions, that can operate in Frank's switching scheme, and that can shoot and attack close outs. That's what those two guys can do. So those are the direction. That's the direction that the Lakers need to look. You need

Trevor Ariza was awful tonight. He got caught on every screen. He's a big part of why Clay Thompson got going. He lost him a bunch of times he looked really, really as washed as I've seen him. Look, those are the types of swaps that you're looking to make get

somebody like DeAndre Benbury playing Trevor reasas minutes. You know, find a way to make it so that Avery Bradley doesn't play twenty six minutes a night, but maybe he plays a shift in each half, so he's right around fifteen and you need to give those minutes to a better player. That's where the guy, guy like Gary Harris comes in. I was very intrigued by the Gore on dragage thing. You know, I think the only way that the Lakers could get him is by missing him a

starting spot. But I I that that type of negotiation from the Lakers has not gone well in recent years. The there was reporting that the Javaial McGee was intent on starting per his contract in the championship season, and that ended up being an issue as Javail really struggled in the playoffs in particular, and the Lakers kept him in the starting line up pretty much until their back was against the wall. Like that. I don't like that.

And then the same thing happened with Andre Drummond. Andre Drummond was clearly bogging things down for the Lakers because a D at the four just wasn't good for their spacing. Yet they repeatedly played Andre Drummond because there was some under the table promise of playing time to Andre Drummond. So I don't love that idea. But Gore on Dragic isn't actually actually actually fits the mold of a basketball player that Lebron would like playing with. I think he

thought Russ was that kind of guy. I think Lebron thought Russ was more cerebral than he actually was, and I think that's been big part of why this hasn't worked. But Gore and Dragic is very much a cerebral basketball player. He's a guy who plays with pace, and I don't

mean speed. I mean he can slow himself down. He can come off the screen and pin the defender on his back and wait for a play to develop and make a read rather than pulling a China shop down the lane, just throw it up there and hope for the best. And so I actually like that fit. And then if the team is going towards switching, which they've been doing most of the season, that's where Gore and drag it's being a little bit bigger, gives you just

a better weapon on that front. But you know, the bottom line is that I think coming into this season, Laker fan, all of us massively underestimated how important the role players are. You know, I used to joke with Raj that in season, if the role players played okay, and Lebron and a D, we're out there being Lebron and n a D. You were gonna win. Would be ugly, but you were gonna win. And if they played good, then you were gonna blow the other team out. That

was the anatomy of that team. And the reason why is because even when the role players struggled offensively, they all competed their ass off on the defensive end of the floor. That's what that group did. What you've seen with this group is that if they're not absolutely making everything on the offensive end of the floor, so if they're not playing great, the Lakers will lose because they're not giving you much on the defensive end of the floor in all of the hustle areas of the game.

And so that that's where you know, Lebron after the Milwaukee Bucks game, he got asked, you know, do you think you can ever get to the level that the Milwaukee Bucks are at. And he said no, and I agree with him. I think all of us need to come to terms with the reality that this is not

a championship team. However, that it's still worth going for if Rob Polinka hits an absolute home run in the buyo buyout market and finds three functional pieces that can send guys like Trevor Aresa out of the rotation, send guys like Avery Bradley to the bench, send Russell Westbrook to the bench. If you can do that, you change a lot of things with slotting, and you give this team a chance. But no matter what, Lebron and A d have to be absolute world beaters in order for

this to work. And that's why I appreciated what Rob Polinka did in that press conference. Put there put the responsibility on Lebron and Anthony Davis. Alright, So the last thing I want to hit to night before we get out of here really quick, is just Lebron passing crying up Buil Jabbar on the all time scoring list for regular season in playoffs. Now, this is a debate that you have with everybody because do you count the playoffs

with stuff like this, I think you should. I thought it was ridiculous when Barry Bonds was hit seven fifty five, how they completely discounted postseason home runs. I don't understand that dynamic and sports like the playoffs are the most important games. Why do we discount with those things what that all means. But I think Lebron is starting to build an unbelievable case for being the best basketball player that ever lived. He'll never be able to match Michael

Jordan's dominance. When you're talking about Michael Jordan's case, it always centers around dominance. When you win six titles and eight tries in eight years, there's just there. It's just impossible and for for Lebron to ever have a stretch that can match that at this point in his career.

But you start to work down the line and it's like, Okay, he scored more than anybody ever already, in addition to being one of the best playmakers to ever play the game, in addition to being one of the most versatile defensive players to ever play the game. Then you combine that with the versatility of his success, you have him getting all the way to the finals. With Larry Hughes and

Drew Gooden inside Journe Sogaskis. Then you have him getting sixty, having sixty win seasons and making it to the Eastern Conference finals with Delante West and Moe Williams and Shaquille O'Neil right, And then you go into Miami and he wins two titles with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Then you go into Cleveland and he wins the title and makes four finals with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. He actually made it to the finals again without Kyrie Irving.

Then he gets into uh To with the Lakers and he's playing with Brandon Ingram and a Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma, and they're always hurt and they still won over half their games when he played. Then he wins a title playing with Anthony Davis. There's all of this variety to Lebron's success that has started to frame his career. As you know, when we're trying to talk about circumstances, right,

the things that differentiate between these two guys. Circumstances are always you know, they're debatable, they're what ifs, they're hypotheticals. It's impossible to draw the line between those two, right, But Lebron has so much variety to his success that it's unassailable. I can't I can't doubt whether or not with Lebron would succeed in one era or one environment with one co star, with one coach, with one system. I can never debate that because he's done it in

every situation. And and we're we haven't even gotten to a half dozen other things that are huge hallmarks of Lebron's MVP case or his goat case, like his longevity, for instance. We can get we can go on for days and days, but it's crazy because that that dominance piece he may never be able to touch. But everything else, I think he's got it. And that's where it becomes one of those things where it's it's it's all in

the eye of the beholder. But Lebron is starting to give you a lot of stuff to look at, if that makes sense. All right, That's all I had for you guys tonight. Thank you guys so much for coming to hang out. We have no show tomorrow because of the super Bowl, but we will be back Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next week. As always, I appreciate the support and I'll see you guys in a couple of days, and the volume