Episode 50: Lakers/Clippers Postgame Spaces

I don't know about you, rog. Yeah, I mean that's what we're here for, to look for the silver linings. I guess there's not that many, but yeah, we can try to find some, I guess. So immediately off the bad one of the things I noticed with that game was the Lakers were just not quite as sharp defensively. The clip Is are a really good jump shooting team.

In fact, I'm not sure exactly the best way to measure this because there's so many different types of jump shooting, but I think they're the I think they're the very best off the dribble jump shooting team in the league. And then they're one of the best catch and shoot jump shooting teams in the league, if I remember correctly, and just all sorts of open shots all over the floor.

I remember at one point I even tweeted about it, and then immediately out of the time out, they gave up back to back wide open threes uh uh, just just right out of the time out, after whatever it was that they talked about. And I think it's just one of those things where I think I think that

there was a little bit of lack of belief. I don't know if you felt that today, but it kind of felt like the Lakers didn't think they could win, and I think it kind of sucked the wind out of their sales a little bit when it came to like the sharpness and the extra effort plays and stuff. Yeah, for sure. I mean the Clippers make it tough. I think they're like the best shooting team ever by like percentage.

I think just as a full team, they have a bunch of dudes who take high volume and hit him at um and like just our plan wasn't right, Like they were having a d post up against MARKI Morris with Andre Drummond uh also in the game, right, and there's just no room for a D to drive, and they're they're loading that strong side and just daring our shooters to make shots. And like my problem with this game, I guess we can kind of get into it. I have no issue with being down like we have no

shot creation. And we talked about this all the time. The Clippers are a team that ball pressure you, that make it really tough. Um you saw you saw the first catch for a D was at half court, which I thought was kind of ominous of how the game was. It was gonna go right Markey Morris was really denying the basketball and he made a D catch it three ft behind the three point line where he had to try to make a shot, and I just thought that

was like a really bad sign early on. M My issue was like just the un serious nous of like the lineups and just our approaches to this game, Like there was no reason for Tress to be up against Cousins for that long, like and and just even though Tress couldn't even score them in on the other end, which is another issue, but Cousins bullied him downlow. And then we're doing weird things like they were trapping Kauai at the top with with a D with a D on him and it just led to easy kickouts. I

thought Cousins got into rhythm early. Reggie Jackson got a bunch of wide open three's early that got him in a rhythm, and by that time the game was over. I think a d um reactive or he got back spasms in the middle of the second that kind of ended the game. So that's my issue with this. There was a lot of un serious, a lot of lineups that like, I don't think we'll play when it matters, Like we had Ben mclimore, Markey Moore, Is Montrez Harrold

out there with no shock creation. That's like our worst offenders. I just it's it's a it's a tough game. But what did you see? What else did you see from tonight? Yeah, well, I agree to like that that lineup with Tres was setting him up to fail, Like it's it's like a nightmare for all of his weakness is kind of wrapped up into one like you can't he wasn't able to physically match up with the person and he had the box out on one end and they guy he had to guard in the post on the other end. It

just it just was a nightmare. But we've seen that all season with Montres. That's not been his strength playing against traditional centers. Where Montrez has a lot of success is playing against one of the more modern iterations of the basketball team, where you have like a thin rim running five who does who's primarily out there to screen and roll and to to play like kind of like a Clint Cappella type of role. That's where Montrez can have a lot of success in that type of matchup.

But when you put him against the big, bruising center, he's just gonna get physically manhandled. I mean, the guy's literally as tall as I am. It's just it's just not a good it's just not a good matchup for him. Um. I liked what you said about the ball pressure. That was immediately what stood out to me when when the game started, like, uh, Anthony Davis has a huge physical advantage against Marcus Morris, but he can never catch the

ball within fifteen ft of the rim. There were a lot of times where and you know, I tweeted this earlier, and I know it's not the best night to try to have some sort of sweeping referendum about Anthony davis career. But he's he's kind of limited as a primary initiator. He's not a great ball handler. He's great for what he is. He's great for a center, you know, but he's not He's not a dude who's gonna break the d fence down off the dribble against a wing defender.

That's just that's just not he's not sharp enough in that role. And then when he would get to the point where he had a little bit more of a decent positioning on the floor, the Clippers would load up the floor, which is partially Vogel's fault because he's playing drummond and crushing his spacing. But you know, Lebron in that same position is gonna have a little bit more success finding those little openings when they pop open and

and eighties. It's just not his strength. And you know, he's he's kind of more of a tip of a spear kind of guy. Like if you could put all the necessary pieces around him, he can elevate your ceiling through the like like two enormous heights. But this, this type of game tonight is never the type of game where he was gonna have a great deal of success, which for the record, which was why I was, okay, they took him out when he got banged up. Now, we don't know if it was the ankle or the

back spasms. That whole thing was weird. He's like smirking and smiling and tying up his shoe and You're like, oh, he's just like kind of had a mild ankle spraying next thing, you know. I mean, I don't know if it was when he tumbled over Kuzma or what happened, but you know, for the fact that I just hope that they kind of saw the writing on the wall there that that game was over and that there was really nothing to gain there and then just took him

out for safety. That's what I'm hoping. Yeah, that's what I thought it was too. I mean, he went he was in the locker room for quite a while, right, I think almost that the whole second quarter he was in the locker room, and TNT broadcast said they didn't

know what it was. They try to do some things right, like even with him, he's not a percent you could tell, like he's not moving, So him being out there with a guy like Drummond, they try to make him put him in screen roll actions right as the ball handler, and the Clippers are just too good, like too good defensively for that, and they don't respect Drummond as a

roller as all. And Drummond had a pretty bad game as well, And so you put him next to and his jumper has to be going for it to work, right. I think it was two for nine tonight. Um he had. I think he had like one jumper early, but other than his jumper wasn't going, so like it was gonna be a tough night for him and he just wasn't ready. But like, just for some positive I thought Mark starting, not Mark ye West Matthews, I thought I had a really good game, Like he seemed really spry, mobile, yeah,

lips really mobile. Yeah, his defense was good. I remember in the beginning of the year he got cooked by Kauai a few times. I thought he had a few good possessions on him, a few good possessions on Paul George, Like, I thought they played him pretty well as well as you could. And then Kuzma I thought was a really good game. He was the only one that could really bring anything offensively, who was comfortable Um coming off screens and shooting and creating shots so there's the sliver lining

for me. I thought, are two wings, Like, are two wing guys who are gonna play big minutes in the playoffs. I thought they played well and then Mark came in, and I thought I had a media impact again, Like he came in and you could just tell the floor opened up. He found like k CP on a cut right away, West Matthews on a cut right away. I think they blow both blew the lay up. But I thought he came in. So there's my silver linings, I guess for tonight. Yeah, I really liked that lineup they

started the second half with. I think it was Kuzma, West, Matthews, Contagious called well, Pope, Alex Crusso and Drummond, And it was just because those four guys are really good defensive players, and Drummond can be good when he's when he's paying attention properly. But that it just goes to show you that when when the Lakers play a traditional four out one in um, you know, defense with a bunch of mobile guys, that they can still be pretty uh successful.

Mind you, the Clippers were probably floating through a little bit at that point. Um what made me upset? About the Marcus All Minutes is you know, like like you said, he found a couple of backcuts. And then there was that play where Alex Cruso drove and de Marcus Cousins was standing at the three point line because he's guarding marcusol and and and Crusoe gets all the way into the lane, gets in and one uh and it just you can see the geometry of the floor change when

he's out there. But then immediately after that, it was like Mark Keith Morris telegraphed to swing pass, said marcusol I got stolen, and then like the very next possession, Alex Cruiser ran like a pick and pop with marcosol In. Alex Cruso through like a terrible pocket pass that just went right to the clippers. And it was one of those things where like even then I was like, oh, like we can't even properly evaluate the Marcus Alo Minutes because of how much of a ship show this is.

Like it was just that it was that kind of night where at that point, you know, that's when I read around Then in the middle of that, you know, around halftime, is when I texted you and I was like, yeah, we might need to start early tonight. There's just not a whole lot to learn from this, yeah, for sure. And the Clippers are like really long at every position, right, they have a bunch of wings and they were just in all the passing lanes and some of those turnos

run for us. But like we have Caruso trying to throw like over the over the back passes back to Marcasoul and people are saying he was slow, Like, yes, he is slow, but I mean, like that's not really a pass for him to go get right way out of his like catch area. So like it, I don't know, it feels like it feels like these aren't playoff level

lineups yet, and that's I guess my issue. But I mean that can also be looked as a silver lining, right, Like these aren't the playoff level lineups that were going to and you could just tell. I mean, like PhD got ruled out for tomorrow and Friday's game, for today and Friday's game, it just seems like if a player was gonna miss tonight, they're gonna miss tomorrow as well. Um, that's why I don't think, like just I don't believe it he's gonna play tomorrow either that's that's just how

it feels. They ruled Lebron out as well, right for these two games, Um that he's ruled out again, I think for Sunday too. So like just this like um seriousness of these games, which like I think that's the process that they're going with, is just about getting healthy, and I think that's the right look in some way. It's just I feel like you have to build some kind of reps here um going into the playoffs. That Denver win was a big one, really got them I think,

some confidence. And at the end tonight it was just another game where I don't think we learned much. Right, we're starting this space in the before the fourth quarters even at eight minutes yet, so like you could tell, there's just nothing really to learn from these from these games, and I think that's the issue. That's my biggest issue

with this. I think we're healthy, we'll be fine. It's just that I'm not sure how much Boggle or any of anyone's learning from like these Montrez at five with Marquis at the four minutes, like it's just clear those don't work, Like you just can't defend at a high NUK level with that and we're doing that with like Ben Malclimore on the floor, and I think that's the line about there right now as well, which is funny. But yeah, I'm just not sure what we can learn

from here. Yeah, and you know, they they're prioritizing health and like it's basically just the lesser of two evils here, Like they're they have two options. They can chase some sort of continuity even though Shroder's out of the lineup and make Lebron play through pain. And I don't know, maybe like like what's the difference going to be when they're in a playoff series between them getting three or four games of regular season reps, you know, with Lebron

and ay D together or getting six or seven. And I think I think they're just looking at it and they're like, it's not gonna make that much of a difference, so let's just prioritize health, which is fine. It's just

a lesser of two evils. And you know, at the end of the day, like there there are things we can count on and the things that there are things that we can't, Like I can't count on what Lebron is gonna look like physically, Like I hope that he looks great, you know, realistically, maybe between seventy or eighty percent of his normal physical self. But we just we just don't know. But what we can count on is

like they're gonna defend better than they did tonight. Like if you think about what a first round series between the Clippers and Lakers would look like, even if it was sloppy as all hell on the offensive end, like Frank and those guards and those wings and even of Lebron and d or whatever it is, those guys are going to find a way because it's in their identity to make things tough on the Clippers, a heck of

a lot tougher than they did tonight. Like the Clippers were playing like easy breezy basketball tonight, a lot of wide open shots. And I do think that there there is a way that this team will go down fighting, and it's gonna be going down fighting on the defensive end by just mucking things up, turning it into a rock fight, and just hoping that at some point in the seven game series and we're on and theybe can kind of get a clicking enough offensively to make enough

plays to carry you through. Um But at the end of the day. They need to be helping, They need to be on the court to literally to even have a chance to do that. So you know, this is the best available strategy out of a list of really crappy strategies that they had to choose from. So I mean it kind of it kind of is what it

is at this point. Yeah, you're gonna beat this Clipper team without any shock creation, right, There's just no Dennis Shrewder, no lebron Um, even no THHD tonight, there's just not enough shock creation out there. They were just giving the ball to a d and have him try to shoot mid range jumpers over Marcus Morris and try to create that way. Um a lot of Drummond post ups again tonight. So like again, like the lass doesn't really matter to me. It's just about like where what were we doing? What

are we building towards? And it's just it's just tough to see that from this and this is a team that we might play in the first round, you never know, Well it's not really looking that way now, but it just feel like we didn't learn anything from the playoff, from like a playoff matchup view here. So I guess that's my own thing with this game. I would have

liked to seeing a little bit more. I would have liked to see a game a little closer, Like it felt like when the Clippers started hitting threes, like you said, that belief went away right, like they just they just contell exactly and once once a few threes went down. Um, I thought that stretched when like when Treads was in and I think they just went on like a nine o run put the lead up to thirteen, and after that the game was pretty much over. A d never

came back in the game after that. So yeah, I think that was pretty much it. Do you have anything else from from this game tonight? Real quickly before you uh started taking guests on what what? What's your opinion on the uh like the prevailing thought that was going around Twitter today that the Lakers might be better off in the plane. What was your thought when you saw that? So I don't really agree with that, Like I think the Lakers would be favorite obviously in any playing matchup.

I just think you're playing with fire when you're doing like one and one in two game kind of UH win or go home kind of stuff, like like we talked about it before in the best of seven series, like the better team usually wins, right, Like, I feel like in those games you never know what could happen. Um, And I think a lot of people want that plan

just to avoid the Clippers. I feel like you're kind of, um, kind of burning yourself both ways there by doing that, right, because then you have to lose war, and then you're in this tournament with Steph and and Dame most likely and just things you don't want to be a part of. So I think any team would like to rather just be in the playoffs no matter who the matchup is.

You can you can focus in on one team right for a huge for a long set of days, instead of you know, Lebron all of a sudden has to be right or a d has to be right for you know, in a in a few weeks, instead of having this time to kind of get themselves together for a full team. How about you? What do you? What do you think about it? Yeah, I'm gonna understand with you. I think it's I think that is foolish thinking, just just my personal opinion and a couple of a couple

of reasons why. First of all, of course, you'd rather play the Nuggets if you could, like, the Nuggets are obviously the best of the available first round matchups, but they come with this coin flip that associates them with the Clippers. It's like, you might play the Nuggets, but you might play the Clippers. Of course, I'd rather have the coin flip of Sons and Jazz, because I like the Lakers more in both of those matchups than I

like them against the Clippers. So if you're asking me whether or not I'd rather have that coin flip or the other coin flip, of course I would. But the play in and everything that's associated with it should terrify you. And the reason why is basically everything that you saw

from the bubble last year. Like when you have, you know, one subset of teams that is playing this like k Oddic frantic brand of basketball because they're trying to get into the play in kind of like Portland's, Memphis and Phoenix were last year in the bubble, and then you have and then you have this other subset of teams.

And in the bubble it was teams like the Lakers and Bucks who were kind of just messing around as they were working through the games, or in this case, teams like the Lakers, who are just flat out not healthy. They're just like, this is not what the Lakers are gonna look like when they're when the chips are down. And so those two subsets are so different that when you put them in a setting where they have seven games to figure each other out, obviously the better teams

are going to figure it out. But in that one game setting, like, you know who's got really good habits right now on the defensive end, and you know who's got a really good offensive rhythm right now? The Warriors, because they've been healthy for the most part, aside from a few unfortunate things, but they've been mostly healthy, and they've been playing like their lives depend on it every

single night. And so that is a team, even though they're not as good a team the Lakers by a significant margin, they're they're playing a brand of basketball that translates into that environment really well. And there's just so

much variance that goes into that. You know, like a game where Lebron and a d can't make jump shots or whatever it is, and then all of a sudden, if you lose that first plane game, you're in a situation where there's just an unbelievable amount of pressure that comes on, which may not have an impact on someone like Lebron, but it's definitely gonna have an impact on the on the lower players on the roster because they

freak out a little bit. And it's like it's just one of those things where all of the potential pitfalls that come with the plan you have to avoid at all costs. So here's the thing. They might end up in the plane and it may be something they just have to deal with, but this idea that they should actively seek that out, I think is a recipe for disaster. And it's a risk, Like it's like you said earlier, it's a risk that they just don't need to be

taking right now. Yeah, And just like to your point with that, if you remember last year, like I don't think any of us thought that Portland would be the later than a seven game series, But they walked in into that game one in a full rhythm, right, Like they were playing games that mattered in a consistent basis for weeks before they walked in there, and the Lakers were just starting to like wake themselves up, right they they weren't playing any games that matter for a while,

and you could just tell the difference in rhythm, and the Lakers went super cold, which they can do. It's not like they have all these super leade shooters on the team. Like you can go hold for one game, um, and then I think the Portland won that first game. So that's the thing that can happen. And that's why I just like, if you get in the plan just organically, like and you lose the games and you're resting players and that's fine, but just going after it, I think

it is a totally different kind of thing. Uh. Actively losing to get into this to avoid a team just feel like the wrong thought process, especially for the defending champions, right, Like they should not be losing to avoid a team like that. I don't think that, and I don't think they are, Like, in my opinion, they just the way that they're yeah, just the way that they're acting doesn't feel like they fear any of these teams in any

kind of different different manner. Even though we as fans probably put Clippers UM in a different kind of tier than like Utah, UM, Denver and and the Signs. You feel like the Lakers kind of just see all those teams in the same way should I start, Should I start bringing some people up for it? All right, let's start with so get your request, and we're gonna try to get to as many people as we as we can. Tonight, Let's start with Jakey can what's going on, man? How's

it going good? How are you not too bad? How are you Fellas doing? We're doing good man? Man? Okay, So I mean I think everyone can agree. Realistically, this is kind of a carbon copy of every single Lebron season from the past decade, where people kind of freak out either at the beginning or the end of the regular season, and they see trends that kind of destroy them from thinking that whatever team he's on is going to have way off success. But nevertheless, he always ends

to show up. So I guess my question is, if there is hypothetically a series with the Clippers, would you see Vogel going with Gasol mostly or would you see him going with Drummond mostly to kind of clog up

the paint? Knowing how playoff basketball is just it's a different environment because I know that Drumm is getting a lot of hate right now and some of it is warranted, but at the same time, simultaneously, I think that in the playoffs he can be an advantage for the Lakers because he can take up that space in the paint and take away opportunities for Wings to just get in

there easily and get easy buckets, don't go first rush. Yeah. Sure, so I've said all along, like I feel like Drumming is really matchup depending, Like I've kind of compared him to like Debail from last year, and that's how I maybe that's just wish thinking, that's just how I see it going in in a playoff series versus the Clippers. Like, I'm just not sure how much Drumming can play if he's gonna start. I just think zoo back is a

really tough matchup for him. We saw it tonight. He had really no impact um in that first half, and they don't respect him on the role at all, and they're just too good. They have too many good health defenders there. Makes it really makes life really tough for Anthony Davis um if he's trying to get any room. And just imagine because lebron A d and drum and against the Clippers, I think that's just a really tough matchup.

I would like I would like a Saul out there to bring a little bit more spacing and just smarts out there. And I think he can bring subach out of the paint and it really opens up driving things for a guy like Lebron. And in that series, I think that's an a d at the five series anyway, Like I think it's all is gonna play, But that's a D at the five series for me. What about you, Jason? Yeah, So, first of all, Jake, respectfully, I disagree. This isn't like

any Lebron season that I can remember watching. And the reason why. It's like if the Lakers were playing crap basketball but they were healthy, I would be the first guy screaming from the mountaintops to stop we're because I've seen that plenty with Lebron James teams, and I know the difference between the team that's not trying in a team that you know lacks the personality and the job done. Um, that's the difference is it's just they're they're literally not

healthy and they have almost no continuity. That's the That's what kind of makes it super fuzzy. And there have been, you know, Lebron teams that have had injuries in the past, whether it's Kevin Love being out for a little while or or Kyrie Irving when he had his fractured kneecap, and you know, d Wade missed a bunch of time

in two thousand fourteen. But the jis to the team, the primary engine, which was Lebron James doing Lebron stuff and then a ton of shooting and defense and all that stuff that that has been missing for the you know what is that twenty two of the last twenty four games. So it's just I do think that there's a distinct difference there. That doesn't mean you should necessarily panic, but I don't think I don't think that. I don't think that we should be sitting here with our chest

puffed out acting like everything's fine, because it's definitely not. Um, as far as the gasal stuff goes, we should take year as a queue. UM. He did eventually go away from McGee, and he did eventually play a lot of Caruso eventually started him in Game six of the NBA Finals, but his tendency to stick with it a little bit longer than the fan base is comfortable with. So my guess is, let's say you're in a Clipper series and Drummonds playing a lot and it looks ugly and there's

obvious signs that Cassall should be playing. I do believe Frank will eventually make the move. I just don't think he'll make it right away. I think he'll make a sweat a little bit. But Frank has shown that he's not afraid to make an adjustment. I mean, even in this game tonight, he waited until Montrez got bullied into you know, like literally into oblivion, but he did eventually make the adjustment. So I do I do think. I

do think that the adjustment will be made. I just I wouldn't be surprised if it was, you know, game three, Game four of the playoff series. As much as I love Shrewder, do you see the Lakers going with Gassol a lot more in the playoffs just for playing baking purposes instead of well, no, not instead of Shooter, just because of their lack of a true point guards. I mean, I mean Rondo last year. I mean, I'm not saying he was like point god, but at the same time,

he at least was able to kind of facilitate. And I can't say I'm not saying Shooter can't facilitate, because he can, but he does typically kind of go for like that pick and roll, like either I'm going to make a move where I'm going to score first. So I'm just curious. Do you think that Vogel would go with Gasol more just for playmaking purposes, because we know that Gasol can kind of play from the top of

the key and pass it. I think in general kind of similar to the chemistry that Rondo and Lebron had last year, even and you know that it was really ugly for the most part during the regular season when Lebron and Rondo were on the floor together, because it was very you know, uh, it was very It just they were redundant and what they brought to the table.

But like you know, with Marc Asol, it unlocks a lot of Lebron off ball stuff, which I think, you know, he used a lot with Dwyane Wade but didn't use a lot in Cleveland, and and that Rondo unlocked a lot, especially in the NBA Finals. If you watched there's a lot of really good clips of Brondo and Lebron playing off of each other pretty well. I definitely think that that that Marcusol brings that, But my guess is that

the decision is going to be really simple. I think hope, like I saw as a matter of spacing, I think that I think against I think against the Clippers and against any defense that's gonna load up aside as they post up Lebron or post up Anthony Davis. I think eventually, just after incessant film, they're gonna look at the tape and see the obvious fact that the driving lanes aren't there, and they're gonna have to make an adjustment. I think that's gonna be what ends up being the driving force

behind the decision. Yeah, well we forgive that that's starting lineup with Like Gasol was like one and six before any one out and they were like, yeah, they were really great. So I hopefully they get back to that along with Shooter. But they didn't really get the reps this this this year. Jake. I appreciate you coming up. Mhm, let's go ahead, yo, Joe are you there? Are you there? Hey? Yeah?

I appreciate you guys allowing me to answer ask the question. Hey, hey, nothing much, man, nothing much, just real quick, you know, I understand, you know, with all the injuries and everything, but man, every time, it seems like every time the Lakers, this iteration of the Lakers when they play the Clippers, they just seemed tentative in terms of body language and overall it just they just don't like have that Vogel swag, you know. West Matthews looked like he came to compete

Kuzma mc lamore. Other than that, every onbody else just see even with a D they just seemed tentative when playing the Clippers. I don't understand it. It's almost like they're kind of timidated. I just need to know if anybody else sees that. I see that every time they play the Clippers. Go ahead. Uh well, I mean I feel like the take the Clippers really take it out of them right like client PG really do. We saw

at Ring Night as well. Um, they feel like there was a lot more like he on this matchup last year, right before both teams kind of got their rings. And we saw that in the March in the March game before COVID kind of shut the season down. And we also saw it that first game in the Bubble where

both teams were really hard from at each other. But after that, um, it really feels like the intensity of these games just have not have not been at a playoff level or the or the level like the hype should be with these two teams, and the stars have been out right. I think we've had three games where all four of the All Stars have played UM in this matchup all I think all those things go together, and I think that's why hopefully we get a playoff series of this, I think it will be different. I

think teams will be going full throttle. UM. Not saying the Lakers would absolutely win, but it just feels like tonight they just did not go out go out there full full, full potential here. And I don't know if it's like they're going soft on the clip I don't think so. The Clipers are a really good team, Like they create good shots. UM, they have to really star wings who give the Lakers problems. I don't think that's an accident that client PG kind of play well. So

that's how I see it. How about you, Jason, Yeah, So, like this kind of was a topic of conversation in the last couple of days, just surrounding this quote unquote rivalry rivalry between these two teams, that there has been

no rivalry because it's been destroyed by circumstance. The games that I think, if I'm not mistaken, there's only been what four games that all four played in, or three games that all four played in, and it was basically the Christmas Day game where the Lakers basically for the better team for forty six minutes and then blew it at the end. And then then there was the game right before the end of the right before the the COVID shutdown, where Lebron went crazy and uh and they

beat them. And then there was a game to start the bubble where the Lakers beat them, and then there was Trophy Night that was basically those are basically the healthy iterations of this matchup. It's been all destroyed by COVID and injuries and all this stuff. I did at one point after the Christmas matchup, I think that maybe there was a little bit of a mental advantage that

the Clippers had. I used to tweet a lot about it for those of you followed me back then, but I I thought that Lebron resoundingly ended that with the with the takedown right before the COVID shutdown, like that was a pretty uh demonstrative win for the Lakers, you know, to cap off a game where they had just beaten the Bucks to Um, you know, so I don't. I

don't think there's any mental advantage. To Roger's point, there's just a bad matchup for the Lakers in the sense that even though that, even though the Lakers are a better team, and it pretty consistently showed that over the last two years, with exception of injuries, that even even in spite of that, the Clippers are going to always

compete with them because they present matchup advantages. And that's why I've always said that they're the team that's most likely to be the Lakers, but it won't be because of some you know, mental advantage. In my opinion, I think the Lakers have had enough success against this team, uh in their matchups that there's no reason for them to be scared. It's not like some Clippers Warriors thing like you used to see when the Warriors were at their peak and the Clippers used to just get blown

out every time they play. Okay, Also one more question, um, do you guys see them if they If they do in fact play the Clippers, will Westby used a lot more in that series you think in terms of because he just seems to be very active on defense. I know this shot is inconsistent, but I just like it approach when especially when um body and what Kauai and PG. I think he's gonna play a ton of that matchup. I think that that's the matchup for Wes Matthews, and

I think I think you'll see plenty of them. And I think that Vogel knows that. Yeah, for sure, I agree. Thanks, Thanks Ryan? Are you there? Yeah, I'm everybody. How are you doing, guys? Good? Good? Hey, I'm just gonna piggyback on Joe and then, like you know, basically, I see, like, you know, the last two years of playing you know, the Clippers, you guys, hear me, I'm sorry, hear okay, cool, cool? Sorry, Yeah, the last two years of playing the Clippers. I mean,

you know, we did play. In my opinion, we played timid, you know, the first few games, like the first year when PG was out. We should have warned that guarantee, you know, and then we really showed up in the last two games. I loved it. But you know, it seems like, you know, the Clippers do have a mathup problem with us. But I mean, you know, with us, I mean, I'm not sure if you guys agree with me or not, but then you know, we just gotta beat them up inside. I just don't feel that they

had the big to compete against us. But then again, Drumming right now, just gotta figure out his role with the team. He needs to just play with a role. Man. It seems like every time and Anthony Davis got the ball, he's trying to get get a post. I was like, man, get the hell out of the way. It's the trade off the Lakers have made. I mean, you know, I talked about this a lot with Warriors Twitter because they're always so frustrated about spacing and everything associated with with

what they're doing with Steff. But you know, their management made a decision that they were going to prioritize defense at the expensive offense because they thought that they had a better chance of competing if they defended at an extremely high level and let Steph have a harder job. But think that would be able to make enough happen around the margins that they would win games. And for

the record, I think they've been right. I mean, given the amount of talent on that team, for them to be the eight seed is pretty remarkable in in this ridiculously stacked West, especially when you look at the talent level on some of the teams below them in the standings. Uh. And you know that that's basically what the Lakers have said. Now, some of this I think is Anthony Davis and what

he wants. Um. But the Lakers are prioritizing size at the expense of spacing and hopes that it will physically wear teams down and and be something that is advantageous in a playoff series. Now, as I've told Raj a bunch of times in our podcast, like, I think the irony there is that, Like I think the Lakers where themselves out physically a lot on the offensive end with the lack of space, and so I personally think it's

a tactical error. I would I think the only center that should play is Marcasol because he allows the Lakers to have spacing on the offensive end while still having that big physical presence on the defensive end. Uh. Because I think I think Anthony Davis tricks himself into thinking that if he can avoid banging bodies on the defensive end, it will save his legs but then he goes down on the offensive end, and he's playing in a crowd all day and he's taking just as many bumps and

bruises on the offensive end. So I think, I personally think it's a tactical error. I just think that's the decision they're making, a prioritizing size at the expensive spacing and hope in hopes of of wearing teams out. And it's clear that that's what that's what Anthony Davis wants, right. He does not want to read in the center. And I think the problem is like the difference this year because Anthony Davis played before a lot last year too. It's just Jabille at least in Jabille and Dwight, or

at least like Lobb spacing right like vertical spacers. But Drummond doesn't give you that either, so it takes away even more space. It's even more tighter for him to drive, like there's no room. Um he's trying to hand off in the painted Drummonds and then Drummond has to like catch it, hold in and try to go up and draw about. And again I'm not trying to blame on your drumming here, he's not in the best um scenario. Either, he's not like he's playing with Lebron James a bunch.

But that's just what's going on here. Like that's where the spacing is really tough. And it's why I just think in the playoffs, like Bogo is watching all these games just like us. Let's just I just can't see a way that he's gonna play huge minutes um when it matters. Maybe maybe with Lebron and looks different, just if they can switch everything be very physical, run, get out and run, which they're not doing right now either.

They just don't have the ball handling Tom to push the ball the way that they want to with Lebron, So maybe that changes. Thing is just the way I sear right now, like the spacing is. For now, it's a regular season thing. It's him to eat, eat innings to to bang with body so Anthony Davis doesn't have to. And you can see Anthony Davis still getting hurt here.

But that's obviously the plan here is for a dy to kind of rest and be able to relax through these regular season games and then the spacing will, hopefully will will correct itself in the playoffs when we sold all those minutes and and uh and drumming gets a little bit less and eight is at the five there where he can kind of operate more in the paint. Mm hmm. I agree, yeah, No, like I agree to.

I mean, like, you know, I see Anthony Davis, you know, he wants to maintain his body throughout the post to the post season and stuff like that. You know, you know, it would be great to see Drummond, you know, kind of play that gavel Dwight roll and kind of get the hell out of his way. But you know, I think he kind of sees himself at the same focal point.

But you know, changing off topic, like, honestly, I mean, I'm kind of hoping we're in the seven sam for a seed, preferably a C, because I don't see the Suns or Utah even matching up with us. I think it's honestly, it's a six game at most easy out, you know, and we might we probably will get a good pick out of it. To be honestly, I don't really want to see the Clippers in the first round because in you know, we've kind of played tentative towards them.

We don't play with that edge towards them, even towards the like, you know, the last seven games we played with them the last two seasons, so it might be kind of beneficial. I don't see, you know, in the play ins. I don't see Memphis beating us, obviously. I don't see the Warriors beating us, because you know what, I'm in the Bay Area and I talked to the Warrior fans all the time. We're just bigger human beings. You know, give the ball to a D. What are

you gonna do a Draymond? I don't care your defensive player year. You're a smaller human being. I'm a back up on you, and I'm gonna throw lobs all day. Get the hell out of my way. And that's the argument I have all the time. We're big things against the Warriors. We're gonna you know, the Memphis and Memphis Grizzlies is John Morant motor. We're gonna beat you guys up inside and we're gonna take you guys out. I like your optimism, Appreciate you Ryan. Some similar people up here,

see yo, Bret, are you there? Yeah, I'm here. This is my first time on spaces, so U don't mess it up. And mute myself. Okay, my question is about um, when Lebron presumably does end up coming back and Shrewder comes back, I think that in order to preserve Lebron's legs, I think with it, they should send him to the post more and sort of let Shrewder be that Lebron off the dribble facilitator, because obviously Lebron can facilitate from

the post. I was learning what we're thinking of that of letting Lebron play off the ball in the post a lot more um when he comes back. So I tend to think that I've actually put a lot of thought into this ever since that article came out from what was talking about how he was feeling pain when he was cutting um. You know, the post is the area for him that he least needs his mobility and he most needs his strength, and it's also one of the areas, in my opinion, where he passes the ball

the best. So I tend to think that, you know, as long I talked to Roger about this, I think in our last podcast, like if you had to choose between having a hundred percent healthy a d and eight percent healthy Lebron or eight percent healthy A D and percent healthy Lebron. I would take the A D because for him, especially with what he brings in terms of

the defensive ceiling, they need him to be healthy. But Lebron has this like old man version of his game that he doesn't use as much as he probably should. And that's his low post game. And you know, talk to any you know, the high level NBA bloggers into the analytics and they'll tell you that, you know, possessions that start with Lebron James post up almost always end with some absurd number like one point three points per

possession or something crazy like that. Uh, give or take a few tents of a point based on the season. But that's always been one of his best areas and I think it's the easiest counter to uh, you know, effectually uh, to take away the need for him to make really quick cuts. That's not to say that he doesn't still need to get healthy if he can, and it's not to say that he won't that he will experience some discomfort working out of the post, but I think that would be the best way for an injured

Lebron to impact a playoff series in my opinion. Yeah, that's probably a good way for him to start kind of in the first round. Um, like the point you made about Wish Shrewder, because if if if Lebron is at the top of the key running running screen actions, then Shrewd is probably a spot up shooter mostly right or easily he's a cutter out of that. So pring Lebron in the post kind of makes it a little bit harder to kind of double him. But again that

depends like who he's around. If this is like eighty at the five and I think you have a really nice open space. But again, if it's like drumming next to him or treads, it's really tough to even just throw Lebron in the post there other than he's passing to the dunker spot. But they're gonna help balog a lot of drum and especially Montrose, Harold kind of and Dare are other shooters kind of make shots. So yeah, Lebron's like post numbers are great. I think he's really

efficient at it. Um. I think he used it a lot last year, But it just depends if he wants to like mismatch attack from from the top or if he wants to attack from the post. I think he's more comfortable right now, going from the top. You want to pick out his defender, um using screens rather than just having to bang downlow. Even though it might be saving a little bit, I still think he kind of uses a lot trying to back up every time. But that's that's a good way to kind of use him.

I guess in the first round, UM, get his legs going, get his jumper kind of going on those. He really likes those followay jumpers, so maybe that gets him going in the first round. Well, I suppose I'm speaking specifically of at the times when he wants to be more aggressive, because I agree with you that in terms of been saving his legs sometimes sometimes you know, we've all seen it with Lebron when he's in cohast mode, which regardless

of the game, it will happen at some point. Uh, you know, it's just his way of saving energy while he plays. What he'll do is he'll run some sort the screening action at the top of the key, and he's not even really trying to get to the rim.

What he's trying to do is just get the defense to overcommit to somebody, whoever it is, whether it's him the Roman or just leaning one side of the floor a little bit too much, and and then he'll either throw some looping swing pass or he'll do behind the back pass on the top of the key like that. That to me is his like energy saving play. And he can still do that because he doesn't need to be,

you know, aggressively cutting off of it. I'm just saying in the portions of the game when it becomes like really necessary for him to be aggressive as a score, I think the post game is going to be an area where he can still be physically successful even when he's less than in terms of his recovery from the ankle injury. Yeah, for sure, I agree, Ryan. Appreciate you coming up here. It looks like we lost Ryan. All right, let's see mhm yo, great, are you there? Yeah, I'm here.

What's up, man? What's up? Uh? Yeah. Overall, I'm not necessarily like super and panic mode about the Lakers, but I do feel like it's like the whole center of situation and just the effort in general is just very different from last season because I feel like last season they kind of took their lumps early on, Like I remember kind of being um worried about the losses against the Celtics and Philadelphia, and I was just wondering, Okay,

has Lebron lost his step against Wings? But I feel like one thing that was really important was that as that season went on, they kind of peaked towards the playoffs. Like in the game against the Bucks and the Clippers, I think back to back, you I just saw them look a lot better than they do now. And even in the bubble, the effort wasn't always there, but they can still kind of turn it on and lock in, and you saw that kind of ramp up as time went on, and I don't really think I'm seeing that

with this team, which is kind of like concern. And my other concern is that with the center minutes, I think that the person in most hurts, it might just hurt short Dennish shorld of the most because at least eighty and Lebron, regardless of the spacing, they'll still be effective to some level in terms of finishing around the paint because of their size, athletic system in touch, Whereas for Shoulder, I just realized that Drummond is kind of always going to be in the dunker spot, and you

don't really want shoulder, just taking jump shots to the whole game, and because of his size, I'm more so worried about his performances in the playoffs and his ability to kind of finish around the rim. So my question is, do you think that the Lakers can afford to give the spot minutes that they would give ja Vail and Dwight last year, So for example, they would give like you would start Javail and you're not necessarily giving five

points to the other team. But again, you guys kind of talked about how Vogo would be a little bit slower to make those rotations. I mean, he definitely at the end of the day, he did do it, so credit to him. But feel like, again against the Clippers and just most of the Western Conference teams, you really want to be giving yourself the best shop possible off the jump, and right now I don't necessarily see that situational lineups that give me the confidence that we're going

to do that. So you know, first of all, you want to hear something that's kind of ironic is that if you actually look at the Lakers line up data, among their lineups that meet a certain minutes threshold, the most successful Laker five man lineup last year was the lineup with JaVale McGee. Um. Now, I think that the obvious explanation for that is because they would play him with the starters, so he was playing he was playing

with the other four best Lakers. But the point is is that, like I think that that was one of part of the issue that delayed uh, you know, Frank's reaction is you know, I think that lineup that I'm referencing was roughly about plus fifteen points for one d possessions in terms of their net rating. And the truth you're right, it's like, what if that lineup was plus eighteen, you know, or plus nineteen if they stopped messing around.

And it was obvious that Frank didn't necessarily want to play Javail because he literally only played the first five minutes of the first quarter, in the first five minutes of the third quarter, that was like his only time playing.

But it was part of him, you know, capitulating to the demands of I'm guessing E E. But that you're right about the fact that it affects Dennis the most because Lebron and a d can physically dominate the game in a way that even though there's poor spacing, they'll find a way to be impactful and agree that Dennis

is the one that it affects the most. And you know, all you can hope is that, just like last year, eventually Frank finally looks at the guys and goes, hey, a d we saved you all these lumpster in the regular season, we're benching the centers and uh, you know, I saw this stat the other day on Twitter, UM, and I'm assuming it's correct, which is probably a bad strategy on my part. But a sixty of the Lakers minutes last year in the playoffs we're played without a

traditional center. They played with either mar Quief or a D at the five. UM. So you know, for all, for all of our complaints, you know, when when the Chips were down, they went to their best lineups. UM. And then the last thing you mentioned about their inconsistent effort this year, I think you know, as fans, we have really irrational expectations. We just want our teams to play hard all the time, and I think we forget

that NBA teams always have bad effort nights. And you know that's why before the season I would tell Raj I'd be watching that defensive rating because I think that defensive rating is the best indicator of your average effort. You know, how often you go into a game and you just totally mail it in versus when you actually are engaged and you're trying on the defensive end. And the Lakers have had the number one defense in the league almost all year. Um, So you know, as far

as I'm concerned, Yeah, there have been bad nights. It may even seem like there's been more bad nights than usual lately. But this Laker team, when you actually compare them to the other thirty team, the other twenty nine teams in the league, they they tend to mail in nights less often than everybody else. So I would actually argue that this has been a good effort team in a team that, in a really crappy season with a lot of crappy circumstances, has brought it for the most part,

and I think they deserve credit for that. And I'll think the other out of the question, he said, Shrewder would probably be the guy that struggles the most. I would agree with that. Just from another sense, I think Lebron and a d kind of built their chemistry last year, right, Like they got a bunch of games under their belt. Um, the kind of pieces changed around them, but they're still

each other. They know their games. Shooter only got like twenty something games next to Lebron and a D. And he's supposed to be a big time shock creator for this team, um, running a lot of actions that are supposed to go through him. He's supposed to be the third score. And that's where I worry about him out now until the first round. Like they're getting no continuity between those three, especially and the four if Drummond is gonna be a big part of the playoffs, like, they

just not enough minutes with them. So that's where I think I agree with you. Shooter would be the the odd man out here and the guy I want to look to too. Hopefully in that first round we get someone like Denver where he can kind of get going. Denver runs a real drop coverage where uh it really lends to the strengths of Dennis Shrewder him be able to come up and take the shots he want. So so I agree with you on that point that that

Lebron and a D are gonna be fine. I think I think worrying about the Superstars is not the part here, Like I feel like they will be there. It's just

the continuity and the health you need to worry about here. Um. Yeah. Uh. I did have one more point about like, one thing that I have seen in the past couple of games was a D as a ball hand there more so often, and I kind of really like that development doesn't always looked great with drumming and a D, but they're still kind of working out that fit and I kind of see the idea behind it. I think it was all

I could look even better. So that's that's kind of the one thing that I'm hoping that they do kind of carry into the playoffs. Yeah, I'm I think he's a little bit shaky dribbling out on the perimeter, uh, in an environment where he doesn't have great spacing. I

thought he struggled under Marcus Morris's ball pressure today. Roger and I actually talked about that at the beginning of the space and you know, I think I think at the end of the day, like in in in specific matchups, when he has more space to work with, anytime a

D is being aggressive is good. I just think that if you're if you're kind of parsing out his skill set against the team like the Clippers with a ton of ball pressure, a ton of switchy wings who's loading up the side and sending doubles him kind of a six eleven guy putting the ball on the floor is kind of asking for, you know, bad things to happen. Um. But that's not to say that that shouldn't be used in certain in certain spots when he has a little bit more room to work with and the defense in

the defense isn't so keen in on him. Yeah, I agree with I like that they're using it. They used it really nicely against Denver Um kind of kicking on Yoki, right, Like, that's a big that you can really go at in up all screen actions like tonight, it's tough, especially with eighties jump or not going. Um, it's gonna be tough for him to run those four or five and with like very little shooting around right there. It's like Alex Caruso and the other guys that teams just don't respect

their shooting. So eighties running four or five screening roles are just no space. He's driving into three or four bodies. There's just nowhere to go and and the Clippers just switch it pretty easily. So like if he succumbs at the screen with Drummond, it just switches you batch on him and they're comfortable with him kind of contesting his shots. So that's that's where I would like to see him

more in the playoffs, for sure. I think him and the solve and running nice couldn't running nicely and put the ball more in eighties hands on at the top of the key instead of just throwing it to him in the post and hoping he just backs down and gets a hook shot or something and try to be super physical, which is just not his uh, not his game. Yep, I agree, Thanks Rick, appreciate you coming up here. Thanks Rick, thank you. I'll be safe. I might regret this one,

but read what's up? I see you tweeting me you wanted to come up here? Are you there? No, it says connecting, Well, get someone else while we're waiting for to connect. Okay, mhm, you know George? Are you there? Yeah?

What's up? George? Does it go? Man? Good? Good? I thought Rick was gonna take my spots, gonna slander hour up here, but one question, I guess I'll ask if Frank is going to commit to Drummond at the five for starting, would you guys think it would be better for Dennis to come off the bench, maybe because I don't know if he's gonna be hampered by COVID And I think, Jason, you said something earlier in the year that you wouldn't mind Dennis starting or coming off the bench.

I should say so, I want to get your thoughts on that. You know, it's It's always been my longstanding philosophy that if you've got, you know, too many ball handlers on the floor, it's not necessarily a bad thing, but inevitably one of the guys who is going to be relegated into a position that affects his rhythm. And unless you're literally like a Clay Thompson, or you're like Kyrie and Kevin Duran James Harden, where you're really good

spot up shooters, it can be a problem. Dennis Shooter is an okay spot up shooter, but when he's off the ball, it can it can disrupt his rhythm. I always from the start thought that that he would benefit from a role where he could come in guns blazing as Lebron or a d goes to the bench and he can just get his rhythm going. Uh. The one thing that Dennis did that kind of countered that is he was so good defensively at the point of back that it actually was kind of helpful to have him

out to start the game, almost to like set the tone. Um. But yeah, I mean I don't know that they'll do the same thing when he comes back from the COVID stuff. Uh, Dennis's uh, you know, Dennis has made his his position known throughout the season and his interviews. He's got he's got a little bit of an ego on him, as he shawd. He's a really good basketball player. And my my guess is he wouldn't take kindly to a benching, So I would I would put my I put my

money on him starting when he comes back. Yeah. Same. I feel like I wanted him to come off the bench to to start, but his defense is just too good. Um. I feel like he was at all all NBA defense level, Like he had all NBA defense level year. Um, he's a really good ball pressure guard. Um, even better than Avery Bradley was. Heyst here and you gain all that shock creation, all that ball handling, Um, he really raises

the ceiling of the team. I feel like Crusoe is going to close a lot of games, might even close over him, but he gained. He really raises that offensive ceiling that they miss a guy that can create his own shot. So I don't know if he'll come off the bench, maybe for the first few games in the first round, but I think he'll eventually start, and plus you have the whole um Well. I don't know if the contract issue will come up as much in a

playoff setting, but I'd rather him start. I just think that the starting lineup means his offensive creation, especially when they start too bas like like a d and Drummond or or something like that, where you just have so little scoring anyway, um inside and so little space to work with. You need a guard that can attack and really pressure put pressure on defenses where other other guys just don't do that to his level. Yeah, I was just saying that I know the Bucks did it Withdrew

because he had really bad symptoms coming back. But I mean I said would be a question to be answered later because I just think with Drummond out there, it kind of hurts his ability to attack because he did especially in that NETS game. Well, I guess Drummond was out there, but I don't know. I mean, I thought just with Drumming out there, it would hurt his ability to attack, and him and Gasol out there, just another playmaker to add and shooting. I thought that would be

a lot better. But I don't know what Frank's gonna do. We we'll find out. Yeah, I guess. I guess that's all I had to ask if if a shooter would come off the bench. But I don't have really anything else to add, So you can't let me up here again, Thanks George, Thanks guys. I would see if if we can get his book, get his connection going here. Yo, what's going on? Man, don't make me, don't make me regret this now. I was going on a question though,

I got two questions. The first question is are you worried about Denis short of coming back playing high minutes at the point with COVID symptoms? Yeah, definitely, Man, I would never know how that's gonna go. Like even I think Katum even said like it affected him, what like months after right like he had he had his COVID stuff and he said he was still breathing out of like an inhaler and stuff before games. It's really scary, so you never know, like and I don't know, So yeah,

definitely I'm worried about it. You gotta play the numbers man, like, I mean, you're worried about it. What happens If he comes back and he's not doing well, Um, then you got to react accordingly. But chances are, as a young

healthy guy, he should be fine. My guess is that if anything, it will just be his conditioning just from the fact that you know, like when when I got it, it knocked me on my butt for you know, eight nine days and I was sleeping like twelve hours a day and it just affected my affected my conditioning when I tried to come back, just because I wasn't doing anything. Um. And that's hard because he'll be coming back into playoff NBA basketball, so that could that could be a little crazy.

But I mean at the end of the day, I think we should just try to be optimists here and hope that he comes back as a young, healthy person with very little residuals. And it's also possible that he's one of the lucky ones about symptoms and he can do some training while he's awaiting his quarantine to end. So I mean, we we'll sim we'll see what happens. But you know there's no point in speculating. I guess yeah, I agree. All right, Okay, now I'm my question though,

what is how? All right? So uh if you guys so right now, I was looking like you're gonna play the Suns in the first round, right right? All right? So how many? How many players deep do you think I'm playing in the playoffs for Lakers? This leged team got too many? Man like twelve. I think you can go twelve deep. I don't think they will, but they can't. I mean, the Lakers don't have a depth problem. I

promise you that. Um they they they have an issue with when it comes to the rotations with too many players you can play. I mean, if you look at the guard spot, you've got Dennis, Dennis A CP West, Caruso, th H T and Ben McLamore. So you've got that's six cards that you could rotate in and out. Even if you played three guard lineups all the time, you go too deep. And then on the wing you've got basically Kuzm Lebron, Markis Morris and although Marky Morris played

some small ball five. But then you look at the four words and you've got you know, Gasol, Drummond, A d Uh and Uh, Montrez and Lebron is gonna play a ton of minutes at the four in the playoffs. I like because there the their issue has to do with health for their superstars. But outside of that, depth is just not a concern on this team. Um. You know, they could drop a player in any position at any given time, a time that's in a role player spot and be fine. That's never been a concern for me.

This year, Yeah, I just wish they played less players. To be honest, I think that I think exactly Vote was playing way too many. He needs to cut the rotation down, which I think he will in the playoffs like they did last year. But I don't know that Soun's team is deep though as well. They're gonna go like ten eleven deep, so I don't know how that's gonna work. But I just like him to cut the rotation, like I think Drummond and Trez and those guys should

just be all situational. Market Morris probably too, should always situational, should be like Kuzma Caruso, Lebron Andy and a few and KCP and a few other few other players, and that should be a should get like an eight nine rotation down. But but yeah, they're gonna go like ten eleven deep though They're gonna try at least. Yeah, appreciate you get get something else out of here. I thought it would be a lot worse. Yeah, it was too bad. Hm mhm, amazed. What's how's it going? Rog? Can you

hear me? I can hear you? What's going on? What's going on? Rag? Just a couple of questions for you? You You know me, I'm a big baseball guy. It seems like, um, two of the dominant l A teams, the Lakers and Dodgers, are struggling due to injuries. How that being have that being said, are you more concerned about the squad getting healthy or about like the chemistry when they come back?

Which one is more concerning to you most? Definitely the health coming back, because none of the chemistry matters if they're not healthy. Right, So, but I feel like there's a fine line that we need to walk and they're really playing with fire here, like they're really trying to just put go full on into the health kind of basket, putting all their eggs in the health basket. And I feel like there's got to be some respect to the chemistry and respect to the continuity that it takes to

win a title. But they're going all into the to the health basket, so that's obviously what's most important to them. I think that's most important to me too, What do you think, Jason? Yeah? I agree. And when it comes to you know, uh, when it comes to this kind of thing, I look at what's dependent on chemistry and what isn't Like if your team like the Boston Celtics and you don't have a ton of super high i Q offensive players, but you've got a bunch of talent.

Sometimes it takes time for it's all kind of meld together and for it to work. But when you've got guys like Lebron and when you've got guys like uh Marcus, all these really high i Q players that are kind of the glue that makes it all work, everyone's job becomes simpler. And when people have easy jobs, it's not

so much about chemistry at that point. And uh, and then especially with their their you know, what they do on the defensive end, that sort of thing has already been set up throughout the season, and I'm not worried about Lebron and they d coming in and doing their

job defensively. So like you know, I always say that, like when when when the ship hits a fan, you have to fall back on your core identity, you know, like you can't, uh, you know, when things really get tough, you have to fall back on these like habits that

you set up throughout the season. And that's why I think teams that are bad defenses don't do well in the playoffs, because like you're gonna go through a stretch against the Clippers where you're just not gonna be able to score because they're going crazy that they're the rest are letting a lot of physicality go, they're playing their best defensive lineups, and things are gonna really shut down, and you just have to weather that storm by defending

them on the other end. And I think that the I think that the Lakers, because of Lebron's high i Q and because of the fact that you will primarily be the one making decisions, and because they can fall back on their defensive identity, I think they're capable of of you know, weathering these kinds of storms without a ton of continuity in chemistry. Obviously, Like rog said, I mean,

none of it's good. You know, it's certainly a little freaky to think about the fact that Lebron that most is going to play three or four more games before the playoffs, Like that's obviously not a good thing. Um, But you know, like if that you know Lebron, Lebron, You've got to think about it this way, Like Lebron doesn't want to play in the play in he knows that these two games tonight and tomorrow against the Blazers

are important games, and he's not playing. That means Lebron is sitting at home and he's thinking, my ankle hurts, and I would rather have my ankle feel a little bit better then try to fight for this right now. And you've got you gotta trust that they know what they're doing at that point for sure. Yeah, I agree. Oh wait, Mike has a question if that's okay? Okay? Rod was something? How you doing what's going on? In? Yeah? I just wanted to come on board and say Clipper Nation, baby,

I need to do that. No, no, thank you, Roger. Oh, last question up would you rather have the Lakers in this situation be seventh or fifth? Right now, what do you think it's more safe for them? I'd rather be David, I'd rather than be fit just to have a full on playoffs. But no matter who they play, well, I think I think we can have a good argument here that I'm pretty confident that the Lakers will make the playoffs. It's just a matter of who they're going to be

a first thing in the face round. But uh, yeah, we got an interesting couple of months coming up, so I'm excited for it. So but thanks for having me on. I appreciate you. Thank you. My friends. Uh, we got like four more people of Jason, do you have time, because they've been requesting for a while. So I just thought, let's just let's pull through and let's just make them a little quick. Let's do it. Yeah, let's go with

uh Exavier, So yeah, what's going on? In what's going on? Yeah? Yeah, I really wanted to know what did you'll to about Vogel? I think yesterday the day before his comments about playing Gasol and treads together like that it was hard to play two bigs and uh the NBA to day when man they play two bigs all the time. I did not want to get mad before I go to bed here, but like, yeah, that's that's really annoying, man. Uh because the only reason I pushed for is because he's the

one that said he would play it. And I just think they fit really nicely together, Gasol and Treads. It's just like a perfect four or five allows Gasol to play that five on offense and that four kind of on the five on defense, and that four on offense. Let Treads kind of do what he does be able to switch. But they obviously don't believe it will work. I would like to at least see it once. I don't know why we can't at least see it, but

they obviously don't believe in it. I don't think his reasoning really made sense to me considering who we were starting, But it's clear they don't really want to go to that, so I guess that's that's just what it will be. I don't think we're gonna see it for I could see it now, I mean I doubt we see it when it comes to the playoffs. Playoff time, I just think Treads will be out of the rotation or Gasol won't be plane in the series. I don't think them

two are gonna gonna play together at all sadly this year. Yeah, I I literally thought that was the most ridiculous and hypocritical statement that I've heard from Frank since he's had the job. Like, here's the thing. You can't play two centers in the modern NBA in the sense that you

can't play Drummandantrez. Absolutely, But you absolutely can play two big men in the NBA today if one of them has the ability to function on the perimeter and the other doesn't, because then then they can kind of play off of each other in that sense. And you know, the reason why you can play Mark and Trez is the exact same reason why you can play Ap and Drummond. It's the fact that you know one of them can

function on the perimeter, why the other doesn't. Now, ideally, like here's the thing, you know, what's not going to fix all of the Lakers problems, Marcus Solo and Montrez Harrold playing together. It's not going to fix all their problems. That's that's foolishness. But the idea that you wouldn't try that lineup as a manner in which to were some Marcus all minutes and hopes of getting something going because you say you can't play two bigs together. That's that

to me is flawed reasoning. It doesn't make any sense, I think, especially considering he's the one himself who said he was going to try to make it happen originally. So I think that that that, to me was some some class a hypocrisy. But I mean, yeah, let's for all the people clamoring for that lineup, let's stop pretending like that's going to solve all their problems either, because

I think that's irrational as well. Yep. The only thing I'd say is let's get a d and gasolvers before we beg for like, let's Getslfers consistently out there getting minutes, and then we can talk about gasol with other line ups. But until he's playing with the starters or even that full second unit, um, I just don't think this is a lineup we're gonna see like that. The way that he's being played right now is is pretty much just at backup five where he plays spot minutes next to

uh Anthony Davis. So I think that's how it's gonna go. I appreciate you, Davier. We're gonna try to get some the last few people up here appreciate you. Man. Thanks for let's see five. So that's which I think is Lebron's record in the finals. Is that right? No, that's just what I wanted to be when he retired, so

I could put my go to Genda. But the question I had was like, albeit, I think it's kind of biased because watching every Lakers game, like Vogeo gets my like blood pressure high every game because he like has his love affair with Drummond. But I just had a question, like, say the Lakers like don't make the finals and they flame out, flame out, but like Sayley loosen to the the conference finals, is there any like way that Vogel doesn't

come back next year? Like I know, literally bias, Okay, so like he's like definitely back next year whatever happens, There's absolutely no way. Now, Yeah, I guess the only way is if they got swept in the first round in some terrible like manner where you know, just like some apo apocalyptic thing, which again I just don't see

happening at all. He got the title last year. There's a bunch of I wouldn't call him excuses, but you know, there can be some valid reasoning for you can say why this season didn't work out, injuries, short off season, no practices, etcetera, etcetera. And now all these teams go through that. But I just don't see I don't think

Bogel has done about enough job. Look, he's got to see him with the number one defense, Like we can lose sight of a lot of things, but they have number one defense in the league without Lebron and a d for a lot of that. So I think he's done what he's supposed to do. If he doesn't have the stars healthy by the time of the playoffs, that's not his fault. I just don't see him going anywhere. He's he has. He's done his job for the most part.

Just the rotations are a little frustrating for all of us, but I feel like that's like a team thing, something that's been kind of decided as an organization rather than him like kicking out who's playing and not every night. So no, I don't see him getting I don't see him going anywhere. Yea. In addition to that, would you I know, like some people complain about the offensive schemes like the coaching staff didn't really do much or anything like that. Are there, like people you guys would like

to see added to the staff this offseason. I kind of like the way that the staff is put together in the sense that they are primarily defensively focused and they kind of let Lebron be your offensive coordinator in a lot of ways. Uh, you know, it's it's not the first time that we've seen that kind of idea before, where you know, you you bring in a coach to focus on one side of the ball. It's basically what

Mike D'Antoni has done his entire career. Um, I I just I don't I think the I think the Lakers have a health problem. They don't have any sort of coaching problem. I don't think that. You know, when here's the other thing too. This doesn't just go for the Lakers. This goes for everybody. Because I've seen just about every national podcast I've listened to is like, well, what happens if you lose in the first round of this playoffs, Like if you're Portland, or if you're the Clippers, or

if you're whoever it is. I mean, Portland's maybe a

different story. But if you guess what if the Clippers losing the first round, like I wouldn't blow it up, like this has been the most absurd season ever, you know, like Dennis Shooter just has to miss the last two weeks of the season with the pandemic, like because he caught a disease, Like there's uh, you know, the the Chicago Bulls are going to miss the playoffs because they made an all in trade for all star forward and then Zach Lavine got COVID and was out for two weeks.

Like it's it's like, it's like this is this is not the season to make any sort of sweeping changes to anything. If the Lakers lost in the play in it would not change anything about the way they should approach this offseason or anything about what they should like think of as their ceiling for next season, because guess what, this season has been a total ship show and there's no point in making any sort of massive over like

reaction to what has taken place this year. It has been it has been the furthest I guess what, you know, what's gonna happen, a full offseason for everybody to get healthy and then a traditional NBA schedule that starts in the middle of October and runs to the middle of April, and there's very few back to backs, and there's much better travel and lots more opportunity for the players to get into a traditional, you know, routine in terms of taking care of their bodies. And I'm just I'm just

not necessarily worried about that in the long run. I appreciate you, man. We're trying to get the last week that they left here. Thank you. Man. Let's see, looks like is not connecting so you can get someone else while that one loads up here? Yo, what's up? What's going on in? How's good? Hey? How are y'all pretty good?

I was just listening the whole time, and then I just saw Dave mcmanimon's tweet about Lebron and had to hop on he was like Lebron's absence from the lakers last two games against Denver and Clippers was not medically related. When asked for the reason James was not present, Vogo said, he's just not here. Added James was not at shoot. Was that shoot around Thursday? But we'll not join the team in Portland. What do y'all think about that? What in the world. I just saw it seven minutes ago. Yeah,

I'm seeing that. I'm not sure. Maybe he just didn't want to come to of the game. I don't I don't know. Lebron I'm sure has his reasons for not uh for not going to the thing at the game. I guess is that what he's saying. He wasn't at the game, um sou and he was not at shirt shoot around Thursday. I have no idea. I'm sure Lebron

has his reasons though. If he's not, if he's not a shoutout Georgie shared it at the top, I don't know if everyone can see in the spaces there he shared that little tweet um that it says that he was absently. I have no idea, but I mean, Lebron I'm sure has his reasons, so I'm sure he'll be with the team when that when it matters. I don't

have no care. Yeah, I tend to like, if you wanted to be a massive conspiracy theorist and you wanted to come up with some like I don't know, Desperate Housewife's type of drama for this, you could say that maybe he's taking space from the team. In reaction, to Dennis Shrewder revealing his vaccine history or something crazy like that. But I just, I just he's a grown ass man, dude. There's no way that's the kind of thing that's happening.

My guess is that, uh, that there's a very good reason and that it's something that that Frank Vogel doesn't want to disclose just out of respect. But I don't know. I can think of if you, if you're trying to build a list of things that should worry you about the Lakers, the fact that Lebroun wasn't sitting courtside should be extremely low on that list. Yeah. Yeah, he'll be there when it matters. That don't know what a crazy season that's such as it's been a fucking ship show

of the season. Very true, great test. We appreciate you. We're gonna get to these last two, all right, get out of here, all right, thank you. Let's see if Rome, Rome, are you there? You hear me? What's going Yeah? I can hear you. What's going on? Man? Jason was good. Man. I can't believe Reek came in here and did not dance on all of our grays. Bro shout out to him, Bro, because that's wild, Like I was a man would deserved it now, But I just want to ask. I don't

know if you guys saw it. It was a like pregame today, Vogo was saying something about how he kind of has an idea of who he's gonna play like come playoff time. I don't know if you guys saw that.

Oh yeah, no, I didn't see that. I think he basically tweeted out like that he he knows who the rotation is going to be, but it's gonna be matchup dependent, which is basically Roger and I can saying for weeks like like it's it's all fun in games until the chips are down, man, Like you don't, uh, you don't keep a bullet in the holster when the chips are down, like they're gonna they're gonna tighten up things when when

the time comes. And then there's there's evidence of that if you dig into the line up data in last year's postseason. Yeah right, And that that quote really tells us nothing, right that he knows his match he knows his play approtation, but his matchup dependent, Like that's just that can be could really mean any yea, but I mean, if you just if you just go off his like resume with the Lakers, right like what he did last year, just going off what he's actually proven to be, not

this theoretical that we're going with. He plays who's going to help him win, right like Javal mcgie did not play minutes when it mattered. Um, what if we forget this, but Dion Waders was a huge part of the rotation right in those seeding games and those like those those games, and he did not play um when it mattered either, j R. Smith. Those kind of guys just did not

get minutes. Those guys that cannot defend um and do not hit shots at a respectable rate, or don't play play well, don't play a good playoff basketball, not gonna get minutes. Like That's just how I see it, and until proven otherwise, I'm saying that that's what he's gonna do when the when the chips are down. As as Jason said, so I don't think you have to worry about that. But yeah, that quote really tells me nothing. That he said his playoff rotation is ready what its

matchup depending that that tells me absolutely nothing. And then someone go ahead, Sorry my only quick quick questions. How confident are you guys that Drummond is getting pulled? Bro, Because like, I don't know what it is, man a d I don't know if if if they just got a thing, but like I don't know, they got a lot. They act like like Drummond is not an issue. Man, I don't know. I'm comingant that he'll eventually get pulled. I just think that he'll also play quite a bit

before that. I think that's it's that simple. I mean, uh, the one thing I was gonna add about the rotation stuff is we had someone come on the pod on Tuesday. It was like, do you remember when Dion Waiters and j R. Smith were playing a ton in the bubble seating games? And He's right, like literally the Lakers were running a ton of offense through Dion Waiters in the bubble games. So like it's one of those things where you can never overreact to regular season rotation stuff. It's

very seldom going to make any sense. But but yeah, I think they will pull Drummond. I just think they're going to play him a lot first, and I think we'll all be pulling our hair out as it happens.

But you know, a lot of it has to do with how quickly they're threatened to, you know, like if they if they somehow now managed to get a you know, a gentleman sweep in the first round, and and they go into the second round they win games one and two, Like that's just going to trick them into thinking that the way things are going, nothing needs to change. So, I mean, depending on how quickly they find themselves with their back against the wall could be what ends up

dictating when they finally start playing their best lineups. Right, that's valid, that's valid. All right, Thank you guys, Thank you. Man. We got we got two more. All right, let's see, let's see a few works this time. What's going on? Man? Can you can hear us? Hello? Can hear me? Yeah? I can hear you. What's going on? Man? All right? I just want to go back to what we talked

about earlier. Um, someone brought up that, like, um, the Suns are like the possibility right now, like the most likely possibility rights somehow the like the lebron lest Lakers going to run here, which I doubt, but regardless, UM, I remember Jason talking earlier about how like the Warriors are peeking right now, while the Lakers like you know, lacking continuity, lacking health all that. And so that's why

the plane is pretty dicey. And I'm not suggesting that like the Lakers tank or anything obviously, but like if that were to happen and that they were the Warriors um playing and then Son's first round, I honestly think that that's like the best case scenario. And hear me out, because the Warriors, while they may be peeking that you know,

they don't have a single center. And and the only thing that really troubles Lebrons in Game ones, which is a lot of I see a lot of people bringing up, is that like because a lot of teams he has to adjust to the rim, like the rim pressure that he puts. A lot of teams throw something out in the game ones that he doesn't, he like he has

to adjust to. And if I mean, unless you're counting on Draymond to to shore up the entire paint for Lebron and a D Like I know Draymond does well against a D, but like he doesn't do anything he can't do both at the same time. And so I don't know, I think that that's like the best case and the Lakers defenses centric around stopping guards, right Schroeder verse Curry this year, Schroder has clamped him, like yeah.

And then the Suns when it comes to CP three book, that's like obviously they have eighten but like I'm not trusting Eitan yet because from what I've seen and just he has no experience, so I don't know. And then in the second round, if you have to face the Clippers, I think you'll be more equipped to face them rather than in the first. So what are your guys thoughts on that you can go ahead? Rush? Yeah? That was

that was a lot. I guess I'll try to keep up with I guess the defense I think you talked about that. Oh, look, I think the defense is good enough against any of these teams. Like the Suns are a really good team. I feel like they're a really high level regular season team. But I think they're pretty close to like where they're going to peek at um. So like in my opinion, I think Jason, you've said this to like, we just want to avoid the Clippers in the first round. Like, I don't think the Lakers

are operating that way at all. It doesn't feel like that, but I just think like that's what we would that's

what we'd prefer to try to just get Lebron's legs going. Um. I saw all the doctors kind of Laker Twitter doctors say that Lebron probably won't be himself until the second round because I guess it takes like a full twelve weeks to get that full level of healing bad So, like just to get just to get a matchup where they don't have to go against those full superstar wings in the first round out there, I think it would be good for them. Um And yeah, like look, the

West is tough. There's no easy matchup like Denver being the prize in the West. It is just shows how good the West is in my opinion, Like they're on a ridiculous team. M P. J. Yokich is the clear m v P for me, um So, and that's surprise team in the West. And you go all the other matchup.

Utah is really good, really solid. Um So, like there's no easy matchup there that you want to try to avoid the Clippers in my opinion, but the Lakers are gonna have to win against tough teams for all three all four rounds um in the playoffs in the final. So I guess that's my take on that. I think I'm not sure what other questions were in there, but but yeah, like just going from playoff to playoff matchup, um, I feel like that it's gonna be tough either way.

There's no avoiding it. You're just gonna have to have to start playing well. And that's that's my fear here, is we're just going full health, zero continuity, zero chemistry, zero building anything learning from any of these games. Really, you watch these games back and there's just nothing ready to learn. Our coverages are so simple, are very relaxed,

are very health conscious. Trying to get eight D to just be able to relax and ROLLM on defense to a point where he doesn't have to really go too hard. But yeah, I guess that's my sum up here. Sorry, it's kind of late, Jason, You're good. I mean, look, if the Lakers end up in a play in game, you should pick the Lakers. The Lakers are the smart bet.

I mean, they're the there are a championship caliber team that is low in the standings because of other circumstances, and the other teams that are going to be in the play in which are most likely going to be the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors, and in need of the Spurs Repelicans. You're gonna be smart to pick the Lakers in those matchups. Don't get me wrong, because those are extremely flawed basketball teams that are not championship contenders.

So I hear where you're coming from in the sense that you know, you like that the Lakers would probably beat up Golden State. They would kill him on the inside. They would devote an enormous amount of attention to Step, and they've had success against Step with exception of choking a late fourth quarter lead. And and I hear you on all of that. It's just that in a one

game sample of any NBA basketball anything can happen. And if and I personally think the upside of avoiding that uh is better there I should say, the downside of having to potentially deal with the Clippers in the first round seven gamer, I think is is better than the downside of potentially having to deal with you know, a game of Russian Roulette and the play in you know what I mean, And that's what it is like. You're probably gonna be fine, but you might blow your brains out,

you know, so like that. So that's kind of that's kind of where I'm at with the plane app. We think these are all valid points. Um. Not to cut you off, Rob, sorry, but you're good. Yeah. I just think like healthy Lebron, healthy a D. One of the best duos I've ever seen in my life. I just feel like if that's there, there really shouldn't be much like else to talk about. Yep, that's what they're that's

what they're betting on, and so hopefully they're right. Um, and that if you have healthy Lebron and a D still have a bunch of people who pick them and they should be fine. But there's just stuff that this don't need to work on. Edge. I appreciate you coming on man, Thanks, yeah, thank you, appreciate it. Love the love the spaces appreciate alright. Last last one, Uh, like I called the night. What's going on? Let's see if they connects? What if? Sam? Can you hear me? What's

going on there? Jason Rods? What up? Guys? Mane you guys doing incredible jobs to the Thank you, thank you. So I've got a two part question here. So, first of all, I mean, I think it would be interesting. You know, you've seen Lebron James at a you know, a game seven high stakes game. We've never seen Lebron James at a playing game with high stakes. I mean, I'm pretty interested in you know what that's gonna look like. Um. But let's go past that. Let's say for whatever reason,

you know, we do win the playing games. Um. All right, So there's a question for both of you. I want to know who is your preferred matchup between the Clippers Sons and the Jazz all right? And second part question is the big question that everybody's asking. What would be your big man rotation with that, you know, as far as Harold, as far as Mark, as far as uh, you know, putting in you know, a d at the five, maybe you know, using Drummond. So who would you rather

face out of those three? And what players would you use as far as the big man role goals. So, I so we've never I've actually thought about this a little bit in the last few days. You're right, we've never seen Lebron in a in a in a winner take all type of game in the sense that it's a single elimination format. We have seen Lebron in a lot of games Sevans though, which while they're not the same in terms of the chess match, they are the same in the form of the pressure. Um So I'm

not worried about about the pressure. What what would get the Lakers beat in a play in game is horrible shooting from the role players and excellent shooting from their opponent. That would be what gets them beat. And and the reason why I think that should scare people is because that's some of that is out of your control. Uh So, some of that is just kind of the nature of the way the ball bounces in the m Yet, so like,

if you can avoid that, I think you should. That said you, like I said it before, you should you should pick the Lakers. As far as those three teams that the Sun's, Jazz, and the Clippers, I think they should hope to face the Jazz. I think the Clippers are the team most well equipped to beat the Lakers. And as I've said many times, I think that I think the Suns are are significantly better than the Jazz,

and they're much more built for a playoff environment. They've got a point guard with a ton of wayoff experience. They've got an Elite three level score, which is something that's an extremely valuable thing in a playoff series. They've got lots of defensive wings, and Jake Crowder and Michael Bridges and even Cam Johnson's a halfway decent defensive wing. And then DeAndre Ayton, you know, is certainly going to

be a presence. He's not as good as as the Laker front court, but he's going to be a presence. And that's not to say that I wouldn't pick the Lakers in the match. If I would, I just find them less intimidating in a playoff series for the chess match than what the Lakers could do to the Jazz.

I think the Jazz have a severe lack of wing defense between Royce O'Neil and and Boyan Bogdanovitch to deal with Lebron and a d and they have they have the cure for Rudy Gobert with two centers that can shoot threes um and then quite frankly, when it comes to close games, I think Donovan Mitchell has a little bit of the Russell Westbrook aidis in the sense that he just has a tendency to go out guns blazing, which isn't necessarily the best decisions to make in crunch time.

And and I usually would I would pick Lebron making decisions at the end of games over Donovan Mitchell. Uh, you know, in a seven game series ad percent of the time. So I think the Lakers would win that matchup relatively easily, even in the weekend state. So the Jazz would be your best bet. So that would require them to lose to the Warriors in the first playoff, playing in game and then and then to beat the winner of Memphis and whoever wins the the Pelican Spurs race.

So would would your big man rotation then to be just Harold and I mean Gasol and if we're up to if we're up to me, it would be a D and Marcosol is the only two fives that play. Okay, Yeah, see that's what I would rather play the Suns, Like I know, the Suns are really good, just I feel like this is their peak. Though I said a little earlier, I feel like they peaked kind of who they are.

I don't see another level that they'll get to. I think the Lakers are the best guard defenders in the league like I love Crusoe, shooter, um k CP all like Chase Around, Devon book or Chris Paul, and I think the Suns are still kind of young like deonder At and I just don't think will I think he will be really good, I just don't think he's ready for like that kind of playoff matchup against a guy like a d if he's gonna play the five um and again, like we see what happens to like Chris Paul, teams,

teams start to switch bigger hope to get into him. And I just know Chris Paul and Devin Booker are gonna be able to hit that midrange kind of jumper to in a level that will get them four wins on the Lakers. I would I would think the songs. I think it's close, though, I don't think there's no easy match up there. And I think Tress can. I think Tress can kind of play against Phoenix, right. They played Dario Sarich as their backup five a lot, like I think trys can get minutes there, um this Saul

as well against Eton and uh. I don't know if Drummond can play. That depends how he's playing. Honestly. Um, but I would hope Eight will be at the five in those lineups. So I would rather play Phoenix. But there's no like easy game there, especially if you're in the play and you gotta play that game to win and then you have to play a tough series against a tough West team. But I would rather play Phoenix,

to be honest. Yeah, Rod, to your point, I mean that's the thing is a lot of people talk Phoenix and they mentioned experience, but if you look all around, I mean Chris Paul is the one that does have the experience. I mean, you look at Devin Booker, you're looking at eight and they don't really have that playoff

for you know, high stakes experience yet you know. But um that that's the only thing that makes me want to play Phoenix a little bit more because I know Chris Paul can be dangerous, but the other guys don't really have it. I mean Jay Crowder, yeah he was in the finals, But as far as everything else as a whole unit, I feel like we can, you know, handle Phoenix a little bit easier that we can handle

the other teams. Utah has kind of been in the playoffs a little bit already gone to that game seven with Denver, so I know they have a chip on their shoulder, so it can be tough. I would choose Phoenix myself. Yeah, man, I feel like overall we do got to use Mark a little bit more. Vogel has gotta, you know, get out of the politics. You know, if you have to sit drum in some games, you have to sit them. Um. You know that's my take, And

I appreciate you guys for letting me on. I'm kind of the opposite of Jim Hill here asking last question instead of first. But I appreciate you guys. Man, you guys are killing it. Thanks man, I appreciate the kind words. Appreciate it, man, Thank you, and it's man. Yeah, we've been going a while here. Appreciate everyone that came and requested to speak and came up. Hopefully that helped anyone here that kind of got stuff off their chest and

was able to to um to talk it out. So yeah, thanks, thanks everyone, Thank you, and I will I will take the time I've been waiting until the morning is usually because I've been so tired, but I'll take the time to get the pot up tonight so that you guys can listen to it whenever you wake up tomorrow morning. Appreciate everyone, Thank you, Thanks guys,