M hmmm. I'm a recording this on some hotel WiFi, so hopefully, hopefully this, hopefully this works. I I didn't take too many notes either, because at first half was just too insane. There was nothing to really take from other than some of the rotations I thought really horrible.
So so so we'll get into it. It's also one of those games where you just wanna like kind of sit back and enjoy it too, you know, you don't want to over you know, work yourself during that game, because I that was one of the most entertaining basketball games I've ever seen. Um, just the drama and the star power and the new catastrophe that was for the Lakers and everything else associated with that. That was just an unbelievably entertaining. Look. Two legends, two legends going at it.
So we got two legends who went back and forth. And I don't know what you I don't know what Adam Silver could have asked for more than that. Yeah, I agree, man, it was, it was. It was. You know, I cannot say enough about how good Steff is. And I want to be clear about this from the from the beginning here, because you know, when everyone's healthy, I think lebron Is is a small fraction better than step Is, even at his age. But I thought step was the
best player in the floor tonight comfortably. I thought that that his run that he took them on in the fourth quarter after the Lakers kind of grabbed control of that game was unbelievable. And I just I he has an inevitability to him, Like when he when he kind of shook his head there on the bench in that little scene right before the time out, you did, You're just like, uh, he's coming, like and you knew he was.
There was no chance he was going to check into that game and just and just you know, disappear, you know, like it was just he was gonna have an imprint, and he damn near stole it. And I have so much respect for him. I think he's the second best player in the world, and I think he's one of the ten best players of all time. And I just can't say enough good things about Steph Curry. Yep, he was absolutely amazing. Him and Draymond were absolutely amazing today.
They deserved their credit. Um, welcome everybody to the State of the Lakers post game, so to hang out with Rose and I we already kind of sort of started. Um Man, I don't even know where to start with this one. I suppose I suppose we can start by the way we're hoping to be joined. Uh friends, I'm here. It was good with Man, are you okay? Are you okay right now? Are you? Are you? Are you feeling good? What's the deal? Man? I'm gonna say this. First of all,
I respect the Lawyers. Just a tough, gritty team like that was. That's the first thing. But I am holding on to that the Lakers should have won that game by ten or fifteen points. That that first half, the one, the rotations and the minute distribution in the lineups, and then two they just came out like it was a preseason game. Like but I do. But I have to get the Warriors credit. Like you said, Steph was off the chain. Man. That that he's just like I said,
it's probably two best players in the world. Like you said, But I hope you can't play with Phoenix like that in the first round. Man, with with with the with the drumming thing. We got to talk about this drumming thing, man, that that's that's not gonna work against the Suns. Bro. It's it's just it's just not Yeah, I agree with you man before before we hit on drum and it's Tommy here as well. Yeah, I have them up here too.
What's your current state of mind? I mean, I'm obviously disappointed because the Warriors were winning for most of the game. Are a good portion of the game, I should say, but we were kind of playing with found money anyway. Um, They're gonna be tired going back up home and having to play the Grizzly, but I'm confident we can beat those guys. Um and it just you know, it was one of those games, man, where I didn't really feel like anybody lost. The lake who just want it made
more places down the stretch. Lebron obviously had a crazy shot, and um it, if I could say one thing about the Warriors, I tweeted at halftime, Hey, if they get sloppy with the ball, the Lakers are gonna be right back in this thing. And lo and behold, they had like nine turnovers in the third quarter. Step and drim On both had six turnovers, and if anything, that was the difference in the game. They got sloppy with the ball and the Lakers turned it into points on the
other end. Yeah, no, I had to agree. I thought that was a D's biggest impact in the second half was in the defensively, especially when he shifted to the five, getting him involved in those screen and roll actions. And that's something that drove me nuts throughout this entire season, was you know, it's not just about a D offensively
having space to operate. It's about the fact that have being that ridiculous, freaky defensive player involved in those screening actions just makes it that much harder to get to get anything open. Yeah, he knewters he knew the step Draymond pick and rolling way that no other player in the entire league can. Literally he blows up because he's able to contest the past the past on step and he can still get back to Draymond and cut off his passing angles not let him finish at the rim um.
And then you know, I thought Draymond won that matchup pretty easily in the first half, But like you said, a D was phenomenal in the second half. He was everywhere on both ends, so he I mean, I thought if Draymond kept playing like that, they would win going away. But a D played amazing in that second half, they sat Drummond, the opened up open, it opened up the floor. That's it was. It was I put all these tweets up before the guys, like this game could be over
early when the Lakers can make it tough. Off one decision, they decided to keep jumping out there. The game started off exactly as I thought it would, and then they just stuck with its stubbornly and the Warriors got to leave their role players had life and there was an uphill fight the rest of the game. It's just so predictable. And then the other thing is loony loony is Taylor made for Mark Gasol, right and Marcus hitting there on the bench while Looney is just kicking Drummer's ass on
the glass and all the first half. It's it's just it was a great frustrator and that's why, like, I don't want to make Warrior fans mad, but the game should not have been. Dude, that that there's so much stuff tactically that the that the Lakers just we're screaming for the Warriors here comes to this game. We'll play for the ag seed. It was it was just ridiculous in my opinion, to start the game Now, Ros, what did you think, What did you think of the drumming
strategy there in the first half. Yeah, I mean, I Bob, what kind of said you would go to it right? I expected Drumming to play and I expected him to like start that second half, um, and like we escape go drumming a lot. Like I thought on defense, he was okay, Like their their idea was to really go at step right, like to really trap him, not let him get up that many three point shots that he got got up against Memphis. Um, he hit six three tonight. But still like I thought they did a good job
kind of running him off the line. Now that Drummond was a part of it, I thought, like him playing plus a D being that passive Draymond getting into his head right, like getting a D to like really go at kuantas Kano Anderson, like like Anthony Davis had a really tough first half. I think that really like really piles onto Andre Drummond, messing up with the spacing, Lebron not being himself. Um, But then they went away from
them the second half. Look, this team goes to a D at the five, and that's pretty much the answer for any team, Like I don't think any team has really solved that. It's just clear a D doesn't want to do that full time, and it looks like he didn't want to do that until it really mattered tonight either. So that's why I thought from the Drummond minutes, I thought he was okay defensively. Offensively, it is what it is. If Adi is not hitting his jumper or being aggressive,
it's gonna look bad against any team. So, Tommy, how did you feel about the A D. Drummond the match A D. Draymond matchup, specifically a D on offense? Uh? Coming into this game, and were you surprised at all that he psyched out a D as much as he did? It was the least surprising thing about the game to me. We were talking about it in a in um one of our Warriors discord before the game, and I said, look, Draymond is gonna be amazing tonight, Um, and that first
half he was. I he typically does an incredible job of shutting down a D in isolation, and he did that again tonight. UM. I thought maybe he ran out of out of gas a little bit in that second half, just because he played so hard in that first time maybe the hardest I've seen him play since the twenty nineteen finals. Honestly like that. That's the type of effort he brought and he definitely I think we're down a little bit, but no, I wasn't surprised by it at all.
That that's your Draymond is man. He's a gamer. He always shows up in the big moments. And like I said, he got sloppy with the ball, but he gave us I think everything that I was expecting tonight. I would obviously like a little bit more scoring, but the defense was incredible. The playmaking for the most part was incredible. Um, they just came up short, and I think I think the biggest thing is where you really see where the Warriors miss Clay is when step is getting doubled and
he passes to Draymond in the short roll. There's the windows are so much tighter to make those secondary reads when when a bays Moors cutting, when a Wiggins is cutting, you don't have that extra space on the weak side whereas that used to be there, and you know it's an easy done for Iggy. Looney has more space because Looney takes eleven seconds to get off the ground, and
finish the lay up. As much as I love loves amazing, isn't a ton of incredible things, but that those little windows, um that Clay provides even you know, Katie obviously when he was there, Um, when those guys are cutting in the backside, they just aren't there anymore. And Draymond has more turnovers this year as it causes that because his
windows are just tighter when he's making those reads. Ye are like you know, you know, it was so funny, was you know, I don't think you could have scripted a better start to that game for the Warriors in the way that things were going. If you look at it right from the start, it was like abundantly clear.
On the first a D post up like, oh, he's not going to be able to go past him, you know, like it's like he's this is gonna be a turnaround, fadeaway kind of game, like right away on the first possession, and then by the by the first time out, the Lebron and a D had a couple of attempts at the rim, but they were I think one of them was an offensive rebound put back from Lebron and then another one was like a couple of passes to a D where he was kind of shooting near the rim,
but it was when he was surrounded by bodies and nothing was open, and you're like, okay, there's no driving lanes. So there's no driving lanes. A D can't post up Draymond. And then Lebron was missing like kind of some easy bunnies, so you're like, okay, Lebron looks rusty. And and then on the other end, uh, Steph wasn't doing anything, but
the Lakers were devoting so much attention to him. The Warriors were still getting good looks, and the Warriors role players were making shots and I think I think they had ten threes in the first half, and so the like, as far as the start of that game was going, it was as for the record, it was exactly how a lot of Laker fans did a lot of Laker fans predicted, including myself and Raj at length in the preview,
we were like, Drumm is gonna play. The Warriors are a fantastic defense, They're gonna kind of shrink the floor on the Lakers, and they're gonna have trouble scoring. And that's exactly what happened. A couple that with the Warriors role players making shots and all of a sudden you're down thirteen and then and then they did go to a D at the five a little bit there in
the second quarter, but then Steph got going. And that's that to to Maple's point, that's the dangerous game you play when you you know, kind of shave points, so to speak. With your strategy is you put the stuff that's out of your control, like the unbelievable brilliance of Steph Curry, and you put that in play as something
that can swing the game, and it didn't. Put it damn near did, And to me that was the dangerous But I agree, I think, I think, I think that the Lakers are had they attacked it with a D at the five throughout, would have been probably a seven or eight point favorite and probably the one of the game. I tend the fifteen points. Yeah, man, I agree. Like I found myself just again the frustration man, with this
the game play, that five game winning streak. They just went away from everything that got from that five game winning streak. That's what the frustrating part was just watching that as a fans, like you're not doing anything that made you successful since you got all these guys back. Correct, there's no West minutes, you know what I'm saying. There's too many, too big to two big lineups. But the second there was, there was way less trash. There was
ray less Drummond. They opened the floor up. I think Lebron got a little loose um with the m one in or leaving the third quarter. And there's another big player I mentioned was the Warriors look like they were about to open up the game. I think Caruso takes the ball from Steph and he finds uh West for three. So it was set like prossibly going down by fifteen. The league goes down to nine. I thought that was
a big turning point. Uh and the play of the game, in my mind, that was the player of the game right there. That was on the ball they turned it over. Yeah, so that was in my opinion, that was probably the turning point playing the game. Also a shout out, we haven't missed this guy. But Caruso was just fucking incredible in that game. All around he was. Caruso waselivable. It's just probably like outside the star players. He probably give
him the game balls. He was just uh, you know Step is step, but Caruso that's as good as you're going to get. And he made a lot of timely offensive players as well. So Caruso, probably all the nonstar players probably had the biggest impact on the game in my opinion. But both of the both of the both of the young core right CU's Ma and Caruso, I
thought were fantastic in that second half. They played a lot of the minutes UM they just played like grown up basketball, Like Cruso being the drive and kick to a d there Um late in the game. I thought it was just huge for him, just shows his kind of development as a passer. And then Cuss making big plays, Um finishing inside, and I thought, like Jason, what you
talked may Puss is what you're talking about. Um with the rotation, I think Bogo kind of showed who we trust right in that second half, Like Drummond didn't play, Treads didn't play Um. He shoved Shrewder out. We can talk about Shrewder later because I thought he had a really rough game as well, but he stubbed him out for West Matthews. Um, you just he pretty much just stuck to him. Kuzma and Caruso and those two's saved the game. And I thought this was like a big
role player game as well. Like Tommy, you can speak to this, but I thought the Warriors role players like stepped up, like they were huge. Jordan Pool Andrew Wiggins was a big part of the Warriors offense. It felt like like they were really picking on Shrewder and Casey. Like I thought they really stepped up. Jordan Pool. I don't remember if he missed a shot tonight, Like it felt like every time Draymond found him he uh he hit. But like it felt like a big time game for
the role players, even with Draymond showing up. I mean, that's what That's what it's been over this this run towards the end of the season, especially these last ten games or so, Wiggins and Pool have both been incredible. Um they're running. They're trying to get wiggers in the post war with mismatches. They did at a couple of times on Schroder, and I really like those opportunities because he actually is a pretty good post scorer in some ways. If you get a smaller guy on him, he can
go to his fade away. He has a nice little hook over his right shoulder, over his left shoulder with his right hand and then Pools. Pools honestly an incredible man. He's super talented, UM, and he can just score. He's super crappy around the rim. He's shooting it better from three than he did last year, much better actually. Um. But I wasn't surprised those guys played well. They've been playing like that, um through this entire run. Like I said, UM, so I'm gonna hop on with the Light Years guys
in a couple of minutes year. But I actually have a question for you guys, because just it's sometimes going to get an outside perspective. Right now, this team is playing Michael Molder twenty minutes a game, um, and if that doesn't change, what is their playoffs ceiling? Let's say second part of that question. If they do get say Ubrey or Damian Lee back, what's their playoffs ceiling? Because if they have Mulder playing twenty minutes game, I don't
know if they can win a series. But if they get one of those other two guys back, I'm a little bit more confident. I picked them to beat Utah predict and wasn't Lakers who win this game. I think it would beat Utah. Um oh I did. I just uh just the small ball. I think Gobert has been a little better and in space this year, according to some numbers I looked at. But I'm just uh just going off playing off a hunch of here. Tommy had a question real quick, Uh, j T I didn't play
in the whole entire fourth quarter? What was up with that? I don't know, man, that was really weird. I didn't see. It was bizarre, like they're playing Michael Molder a ton of minutes in the fourth quarter and jd A just sitting there. Maybe maybe curR wanted more shooting because they were turning the ball over a lot, and um, they needed some more space. They wanted to get Draymon and
step some more space. But at that point, I'd rather just play j T because he's a better passer anyway, He's gonna do a better job of cutting, moving, finding staff, finding the open guy. It was weird. Kerr has been honestly really good, um ever since the Wiseman Industry injury. Um, and he'sn't able to just play his best players. But yeah, that was kind of bizarre. I didn't get that Yeah, I was just I was just hearing stuff was very weird to me. He was feeling like he was very
effective in this game. He's been closing games. He's been closing games, so so yeah, I didn't understand that, but he's had some games recently where he's been in the thirty minutes. I noticed that. UM taught me really quickly. Like I went into about a month ago, I thought there was no way in hell that the Golden State could be, uh, could beat Utah to you know, coming into this game, I was kind of in the mind
frame that I thought it was possible. But I'm likely and I've kind of caught onto how good this team is here over the past couple of weeks, Um, But after what I've seen tonight, I think with how good stuff is right now, and he is in an all time group, it is such a you know, kind of a spitting image obviously steps rendition of it, but it's a spitting image of Lebron's two thousand eighteen season where like, you know that the supporting cast isn't what you would
hope it would be, but he's better than he has ever been. Do you remember when we were arguing about that is he better than he was in two thousand and sixteen, That's not a question anymore. He's flat out better than he was. I would still I would still disagree with that on the whole, because I think he was he was doing stuff that the league had never seen at that point the league. Even as amazing as he is right now. And I'm not trying to take
anything away from him. He's people know what he wants to do to a certain extent now. Um, so he's not walking into the same type of easy shots. So he's just he's not getting, you know, the same type
of efficient looks. But in terms of like understanding the game, it is very similar to that two thousand eighteen Lebron season where it's like his understanding is so much better of when to take over games, when to search for his shot, when to search for his teammates, as opposed to five or six years ago, that in some ways, yes, he is better. Um, I don't know, I I'm nitpicking. Obviously,
he's He's fucking incredible. Man. I didn't think I didn't think he had another season like this, obviously, and he's been everything that we could have expected him more And what this really does is it puts pressure on the front office to say, no matter how this season ends up, that's they're not going to make the finals. Probably maybe a Western Conference final, birth if step gets hot for two rounds um and they see the Lakers and probably lose.
But he puts the pressure on the front office. Now, hey, go give me some guys to win with, because I'm still ready. I'm still here. I was the scoring champ. You guys have no excuse not to give me guys that can go win a championship right now because I can still do it. That defense fell apart, not fell apart, but started to show some cracks on the strength of Lebron as a post player in the fourth quarter there at the beginning, and as a passer and pick and roll with a D and and a d S, you know,
absolute freak of nature athleticism. I I am more optimistic about their chances with that defense to give you toss some real problems with the agree creation outside of Donovan Mitchell. Yeah, I just they are going to make Clark. I think they're gonna make Clarkson and Mitchell beat them. And I
just Clark Mitchell offer ankle injury against that defense. I just you know, Utah is a great team like system magically what they were, I'm gonna play off a lot of a lot of the game is about Larti buckets because the defensive are so good, and I just I don't know if I trust that consistently. Just had some big playoff games. But the war Is played great defense, So I wasn't surprised if if that was a long seriling.
But I picked the Warrior to win in six or seven, so I'm looking for but they have to have to deep difference. First. I'm not gonna members there is a Gretty team, so you don't see how that goes. But I picked one. I think, yeah, they're going to give them a touch series. Um, we talked about this like in the Warriors preview, right like, you can't do both. You can't take away You're you're not supposed to be
able to do both. You can't take away the three and then try to guard everyone else right with Steff And it was pretty clearly the Lakers tonight they wanted to take step off the three point line. And he's still freaking win six for nine from three, which is just crazy, Like I thought, none of them were like that open or like really good looks um so they really went at them. Like against Utah, I still have
Utah winning that series. I just think that the Warriors still play too many guys that just aren't experienced enough, And I don't know if Draymond can be this good defensively for that long with this series. I don't know what you guys think about that, but like, I think that's where they're seeing is like ken't dream like as he was incredible tonight, But Tommy, I think you're right. I think he did get a little bit tired at
the end there, but yeah, it's great. I'm just wondering if he can do that through a whole series because he's gonna have to. Like against Utah, was they're a good offensive team, Like they rely heavily on three point shooting and all that go bears in a D. So it's not the same amount pressure he's seen a gay possession like A was like in space making j Mon
expand energy. So he just I don't think he'll see the same type of you know, pressure he was getting tonight from a D. As far as like trying to score, I think it'll be that's a good point. That's a good point. He doesn't have to cover as much ground as against Utah, so he can kind of focus on his primary skill, which is, you know, rim protection and just being disruptive of all the all of the action that takes place in the paint. I will say this
Tommy really quickly. I I in the middle of that game, I thought to myself, you know, because coming into this play and tournament, I thought tonight was a must win, because this prospect of single elimination scared me just from the standpoint of all of the things that could happen. And then it dawned on me in the middle of that game, like these two teams are so much better than Memphis. There's so much better than Memphis. Like I would be absolutely shocked if Golden State lost on Friday.
I would be pretty shocked. Um. The only thing is is it's kind of a quick turn around. Stephan Draymond expended a lot of energy energy tonight. Um, they're in their thirties, Like they've got to turn around and basically play another game in forty eight hours. They're probably flying back up to the Bay to night, I would guess, Um, But I mean, like you're saying, man, it's a one it's a one game playoff, Like, it's still scary no
matter what. If the Warriors have a first half like the Lakers had tonight, they're down thirteen going to the second half, then they're gonna have to It's just it's a scary prospect. Like I that's why I didn't want to be faced for the second playing game because now you're worried about a young Memphis team. Um, they are traveling a cross country obviously, but they're young, they're gonna have they're gonna have fresh legs, they're gonna play hard
again that we just beat them last Sunday. It's tough to be the team twice in a row like that. So we'll see. Um, I would still pick the Warriors to win the game. Um, but it's it's not gonna be I don't think it's gonna be an easy one. It's gonna be right down to the wire. Are you looking at Memphis potentially making based on the game on Sunday that could potentially swing that in Memphis favor? Was there anything that scared you that Memphis did that you
didn't think Golden State could counter? No, Because I thought Memphis played pretty well. Valentine has killed them really, I mean, he kind of killed them all game. But the Warriors okay with that if they're trading you know, steps threes for two's. Um, I don't think there are many adjustments, just because I've seen it all year with young teams. Um that the Warriors play. I saw a time with
the Thunders. Teams like the Grizzlies, they really don't know what to do with steps off ball, but he's so good at it now. And young teams just they don't have that synergy defensively, they're not connected yet, and he just he walks into open shots. You know, he walked into probably at least eight or nine open shots against me Memphis and some easy midrangers that he usually hits that he missed two. Um So like he had forty six that game, but I thought he could have had
close to sixty. And that's obviously asking, Like, don't get me wrong, that's asking a lot, but I thought he missed him easy looks um. So point being, I think STEP's gonna get open shots again. Um. Memphis is solid defensively, but there's nothing special. Jaw is an absolute wreck off the ball um. So if he plays thirty plus minutes, they're going to continue to get open shots. It's just gonna be about making them. Nothing that Memphis can do
really scares me. It's just that they're younger and there they might be a little bit fresher heading into that game as opposed to a Warriors team who's been playing eight guys now for four weeks um. So that'd be my only concern that just doors are Yeah, that was that for me. The indicator of how big the defense is is how many threes you let's Stephs get up. They let him get up twenty plus threes right like that. That's a map problem you lose with a guy who
shoot that well. So that was kind of bothers him for me. From Memphis standpoint this, you just can't let that guy get twenty two. Looks at the past and at some point it's just gonna flip and and kill you, which is what happens to. Yeah, I let your previous second, nd I'm gonna hop out of here taking easy. Tom. You're coming on man, okay, perfect later. Lakers are never gonna let step get up twenty something threes right tonight? Like that I didn't think that was ever gonna happen.
Like they were going to trap him, make him trying to give up the ball. And I thought they did that even though he still hit hit his threes and got going with tram on it then there. But yeah, they were never gonna let him like be able to cook like he did against Memphis. The bad defense. Step probably has fifty to night, like he just had I guess a bad defense. He definitely has a fifty point
game to night, and the Words played him great. He still finished with you know, over thirty five seven boards and just he was incredible to night. You know, you know, it's crazy about the Steph Curry experience that this is something we talked about a lot in the Sunday preview pod. Was like you can defend him well for eighteen twenty two seconds in a possession, but if you leave him for just that end, like he's gonna make you pay.
And there were the Lakers did such a good job on him tonight overall, and yet there were like two or three possessions in the game over the entire forty eight minutes where they just slipped up for a second. And the one that stands out off the top of my head, was there in the fourth quarter end of the shot clock when Lebron was a little bit slow to close out on him on the right wing, and he shot like a twenty seven footer and made it. Every single time of those two or three times that
that he that he got open, he made it. Like That's the crazy thing with Steff is it's like he just makes you pay for the slightest slip ups. But you're right, I mean, there's a huge difference between giving him two or three of those in a game and giving him nine or ten of those in a game. And that's the difference between you've given up, you know, forty seven in a loss and uh, you know, holding him to thirty five or whatever he had tonight in a win. Absolutely, Rod, what did you What did you
think of Lebron tonight? Yeah? I thought he was like really trying to just not close to the first half, but kind of be passive right, Like it was weird he kind of treated this as a series game. It felt like like he knew like in the fourth quarter he can kind of turn it on. Like that's what it felt like watching it, Like he was really passive even the ball up um even late, kind of letting Shrewder kind of run the offense um down low. And then he got going. I thought in the fourth quarter
really started getting aggressive. Um. He had some awesome passes to like Caruso and a Kuzma Um. And like, I don't think he's a hundred percent yet still right, Like it seems like he's not. He doesn't feel a hundred percent on his leg yet. But I thought he was fine, like he he was himself, and I think he'll be ready when we play Phoenix on Sunday, like if he really wanted this one to kind of get that break. But he's not add percent. It's it's pretty clear like
he was. He was favoring it, it it felt like through that first half, but he picked it up late. But he's not himself absolutely, what do you think he just really not film You could tell just uh the bunnies he was missing. He usually contact being able to finish. He usually excellent, like in that site, just missed so many buddies. You can tell a lift just isn't fair yet. And I think he got a little bit bit more comfortable in the second half. I think we're just getting
some more gentleman going. But you could just say that's that's definitely gonna be something to look at through the uh, you know, have a have A playoffs. I'm definitely gonna be you know, thing that's gonna be interesting to see. Man.
And so a little bit nervous because he doesn't doesn't have the full burst, but I think he's smart enough to steal, be good enough for the Lakers to win, especially if they get the correct version of Little Anthony Davis too, So that's also you know, works hand in hand. So I actually thought he was a little I don't I don't. I don't think passive is necessarily the word that I would use to describe the way he was in the first half, because I felt like he did
kind of sense the urgency. It reminded me of some of the as playoff games where you know, a D would float through the first half and Lebron would carry him, and then a D would wake up in the second half.
It kind of reminded me of those games. But you could you could tell from the opening tip that Draymond completely psyched a D out and it kind of reminded me not quite as bad and quite as flagrant but it kind of reminded me of what he used to do to Kevin Love, and it kind of got me thinking about the idea of, you know, Finesse Biggs playing against Raymond Green and just how much of a nightmare that is for the Finesse bigs, you know, whereas like
the more slasher type of guys. You know, that's why Pascal c Acam had so much success against him, as he wasn't intimidated physically and just attacked him, uh, you know, at the rim um. But like it was, it was interesting because at the start of that game, you could tell the Laker role players weren't playing as well. K CP made a couple of huge shots in that first quarter, by the way, the absolutely momentous shots in terms of preventing it from being a catastrophe and just how much
they would fall behind. And but I actually thought Lebron was trying to kind of put an imprint, you just in the first half, you could tell it wasn't there, Like he just wasn't the touch in the just the overall like you know, the polish on his game wasn't there. He wasn't quite getting the right amount of lift. And I thought that was what primarily heard him. But overall the reason why I brought it up, I thought he played like I thought he made up for that a
lot with his brain. Um you know, for him for him to usually in his career be so sloppy with the ball when he's rusty to go have a game, whereas tennisiss with one turnover, Um, I I thought. I thought, I thought he put his imprint on that game with his brain. And then when a D went to the five and Lebron, you know, was attacking and being aggressive
there at the start of the fourth quarter. You know, that was when he finally started to get some stuff going at the rim that that unlocked things for him. And then he made just enough jump shots, including the biggest one. But he made just enough jump shots to to kind of a compensate for some of the lack of scoring pop that he had in the first half.
I thought, for what it was, you know, Lebron's third game back from an injury that caused him to miss literally like twenty seven in the last twenty nine games going into that back to back, for what the situation was, I thought it was the best possible Lebron game you could have got under those circumstances. Yeah, and like I felt like they were kind of picking him up full
court as well. Right in the in the beginning of the game, I think Wiggins was picking him up full court really gave him trouble and he had a tough time kind of finishing at the rim shots that he finishes usually. Um, he was kind of looking at the
rest as well. But yeah, with late he went really to his playmaking and I thought it wasn't just going to a D at the five, right, it was also subbing out Shrewder, putting in west and he just had him pretty much controlling everything with like a space floor. Again not to scape go Andre Drummond, but like just putting a D at the five then the west. Um, I think it was a c KCP closing down the street. I seen was able to really orchestrate the offense, and
that's what he does. He didn't have to score as much. Um he and I agree with you, he beat them with his mind, his passing though that backup by Caruso that I think it was a cut by Kuzuma as well. Um. And that's where he's that's where he can dominate still, right, Like I cheated before. This was two goats going at it. I thought Steph was doing it. I thought this was I thought Steph was doing it with his shooting, right
like his crazy three point shooting. I thought Lebron was doing it with his passing before he get that that big shot at the end um and they needed it. A shooter was just really out of control tonight. He was not ready for the the elite level defense that Golden State was playing. Rather like it just didn't feel like he had the ball handling back yet. His conditioning is in back here. Maybe um he was driving and Andrew Wiggins l and stuff like that. They they just
couldn't afford. Possessions were too valuable down the stretch and they just had Lebron controlling it then. And I thought he really picked it up. His scoring is not where it needs to be, but his brain was there. Which one of them this game? Yeah, yeah, I think we'll also plays just the third quarter to kind of get a run going. But yeah, just he made a couple
of questionable decisions, uh down the stretchy and it's that issue. Well, you know, when guys haven't played together a lot, you kind of get that and I think that's just a lack of continuity that the Lakers have been forced due to injury and you know, getting his broke COVID protocols twice. Just a lack of you know, continuity between some of the guys that are out there, and I think that's something I have to work through as the as a
playoffs go. But he was kind of stretch. I like, I like West closing games better anyway, just because of the floor space and he provides and it's not much of a drop off defensively. Credit to Frank by the way. You know, he gets absolutely trashed for rotations, including by me, So I'm not over here trying to, you know, claim superiority or anything, but like we all trash him for rotations consistently. Yet when the chips are down, he's always
made the move. And if you look at tonight, he went th HT off the bench, which I thought was a little bit questionable, although t h T actually performed okay. I just think for all of us that were watching, West had been better in the in the month leading up to this, just as a consistent role player under
under what he was being asked to do. There were the treads minutes where where I thought, once again the classic treads experience where he's getting offensive rebounds on one end and giving him up on the other, and then uh, and then the drum end experience. And then there at the end when when Dennis was you know, his his inability to hit three point shot was kind of hurting them. And then couple that with the fact that he had
had a couple of sloppy turnovers. He had like three or four sloppy turnovers and pick and role passing where he just was forcing stuff that wasn't there. And Frank literally, you know, I tweeted out, I said, I wanted to see t I want to see KCP, Caruso, Kuzma, lebron A D And he ended up going with KCP Caruso, Wesley Matthews lebron A D, which you know, give or take, you know, westn Kuzma are similar arc types because both of them were great options, because both of them were
great tonight. But Frank just no treads in the second half, no drum in the last you know what it was the fifteen minutes of the game, you know, got Dennis out of there, like Frank put you know, he made the necessary moves, and it was it was enough to to to Maple's point, though you won by three. Maybe if you make those moves earlier, we're not all sitting there sweating. But but he did make the moves and
it hasn't gotten them burned yet. For whatever it's worth. Yeah, Like I don't mean a pile all, but just like but the ring, it makes a d jump shot dependent and he's so much better when he's allowed to put
pressure on the rim. Like if you watch when drumming on the opposite dunker spot, they tried to run any pick and roll or any isolation action with a D and the mid post or on the wing, like Draymond sparking if he knows that drummings back there so he knows he can all the way up a D and make him take a tough contestant shop because if he drives, where is he going? You know what I'm saying, It's like going right into a contested paint. So that's that's
my thing. It's just an overall like I hate to pile on the guy because it I'm just but I'm just overall step on the space of the team. Then you got a d who's jumps out and gets a great defender. Like I think it was two for twelve first half or something like that was a two for twelve. Yeah, it was bad, whatever it was. And then like the third quarter, they opened up the floor. He gets two dumps, he gets the lib and then he makes the you know, two jump shots late right after seeing the ball going
like you could just open up the floor. Man, It's just he was he was playing like Jamarca Rosen in that first hal like like not like I respect the Warriors, you know, I love me some step, but the game did not have to be that close. But I just in my opinion, I think I'm stop holding that that game and I have to be that close, you know
it was. It was such an overall fascinating basketball game, just the ebbs and close of it all, Like honestly, like that it kind of made up for a slightly sort of kind of made up for what was a horrific season in terms of just a lack of drama, because that was just some ton of drama in that game. And even even a d was horrible in the first half and and wasn't that great in the second half.
Made a huge fourth quarter three. I thought his defense on Step on the final possession, him jumping off his man to shut off that passing lane and forced the high pass that Step ended up fumbling, fumbling like a bunch of key Lakers who kind of were foggy and unfocused to start the game, kind of snapped into into form and made big plays at the end, kind of just like whipped into shape by just the drama and the fact that Steph was out there kicking their ass
and the rest of those guys were kicking their ass and they had basically no choice but other to show up or get humiliated. And uh man, it was just an unbelievable game. I had that that was such an entertaining basketball game. It felt like a classic Lebron prsus Step game to right, like Lebron versus the Warriors. I guess we got like the Draymond hard foul, right, and then Lebron trying to sell it for the sell it for the play grant. Um he didn't get the flay grant.
But and then they really he picked on Step in the fourth quarter right like he had the guards coming up to set the screen and then try to pick on him. On offense and getting it got a d a few duns, got them in the paint, then got him an open shot. So it's just a classic game between two legends to two goats going uh going back
and forth. It was it was great. It was really stressful during during the game, but being down third, like of course that shot by Step went in a halftime right like I thought a d kind of went off, and but of course that shot went in down thirteen
and then we got a classic game. So yeah, the ebbs and flows were fun, were fun, like after the fact, by looking back, I guess it was enjoyable, but during it was super stressful trying to it's not fun being on the other side of Step like his and so uh Maples, like what what is your like to put a bow on it? What? What? What? What do you make of this particular night as it pertains to the
Lebron Stepp rivalry. Is it just a tiny footnote in a relatively unimportant game or do you think it's you know, like, how do you contextualize this in the grand scheme of things? Oh, they've battled too much on the ultimate stage and just to be super important, like it's just another fun game. Definitely after tonight the play and definitely isn't going anywhere after tonight. I'm interested to see what the ratings look like for those game, to be honest, Like as far
as the Residents, I'm pretty sure they were off the Yeah. Man, just those two man, it's just I think they're the very magic of our time. Man just just got to be got a chance in these moments, regardless of you know who, you're quote uncolle loyalties live with. You just
gotta cherish man. Even like even some of the Laker guys who make their jokes about step even during the game, they were like, men, Steph was just incredible, but you just like being all have some of the shots he was making, just the twisting layups, the contested threes, like he was six of nine from three, but probably want eight of the threes. It was. That's great defense. It's like it's like it's nothing you could do at that point.
It's gonna be like this guy's gotta make the catches, tough, man, So you just gotta I don't think it's big in the Stephan Lebron's scheme. I think they played on the ultimate stage too much now if they meet in the playoffs, which I think would have to be in the Conference Vinyls at this point, by correct, yes, it would literally happen, I think. I mean, I think the Clippers just have too much firepower over the course of a series. Then
then the Warriors do for that to happen. Uh. The Lakers have a average offense, I think, But the Clippers, I just I don't think the Warriors can score like that over a series to really beat them. But we'll see the Clippers always the chip over themself in the second round. But it will be fun to get the Lakers wors than the conference finals. But I just I don't see the Warriors within the two rounds. What do
you what do you think? Yeah? I just like, look, if the Warriors beat the Jazz with like playing eight dudes like I think Utah is gonna be, They're gonna be pretty much a joke of the summer. Like I think this. I think this Warriors team is really good. I just I don't see them beating Utah. I don't think they have the represent enough enough talent to beat them. Um step is gonna go crazy and a few of those games if they get things to the conference finals. Man,
that would be a crazy year for them. That's that's a lot of credits to Steff and Draymond and I guess Kurt with with what they did because they play a lot of young guys like Quanta Scott Anderson, Jordan Pool. Those are young dudes like playing what their first playoffs like. I think that would be pretty pretty crazy. But you know they can win any game, like they're gonna give you task series. I still think they'll win. I just
think it will be tough. I think you've taught still a legit team, Like you don't win that many games in the regular season, in my opinion, without being some kind of legit, legit team. I think their offense is is real, um even though the three point shooting might fall off. So I have them, I have them being
the Warriors. I still think it'll probably go six. I don't know if the Warriors can push it to seven, but yeah, like that would be crazy if the Warriors are able to beat that team and Utah I think would have a really rough summer if they lost to this, uh this Warrior squad, I'll be I'll be rooting for them. Um. I I find step to be so likable. I love his mentality and I love his disposition, and you know, his fan base can be reprehensible, but at the end
of the day, so or as every fan day. So I'm not gonna I'm not gonna catch him for that. And uh and you know, and I've I've had I've had my moments as the irrational thing myself. So I'm
not gonna I'm not gonna say anything. But you know, the thing that I would say to put a bow on on the Lebron step thing is like, you know what I appreciated about tonight is it's like another chapter in this saga between the two of them, and it kind of helps you realize that, like so much of this is subjective and just what you prefer because they're so different. Like Roger said earlier, Lebron's out there literally manipulating the game with his passing and with his brain.
Those backdoor cuts he hit to Caruso, who's about those windows were tiny. As he was throwing the past I'm like, oh, that looks like it might be a turnover, and it
just flips through. It's like and then Steph, just there's no words to describe what he did offensively as score tonight, And so like the way that I see it, it's like there's no way to to line things up on a table and be like, here's how one is clearly better than the other, because they're both so different and and it is a team sport and so much is convoluted, and and so I'm kind of at the point with two of them where you know, it's just like like
it's like like like the bird magic thing. It's kind of like fire and ice, these two completely different, uh you know, entities that are you know, at the top of this game, but you know, they're both so different, and it's kind of like just people are going to gravitate one way or another based on their own personal preference and and and I thought tonight was just another example of like, regardless of what other supporting pieces you throw into this rivalry, like this wasn't Kevin Durant and
Clay Thompson and and Kyrie Irving. It was Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond and Andrew Wiggins and all and all these different pieces, but it still ended up being Lebron
and staff doing Lebron and step stuff. And that was the final you know, iteration of the game, and the game basically came down to Lebron and Step in the fourth quarter making plays, and Lebron made one more play this time, you know, and it was just I I look at it as just like awesome, and I hope, I hope that they get to play in a series against each other at some point in the future, and it's very possible that they will next year when Clay
comes back. Yeah, I said that the Warriors a little closer than I thought, uh, because my biggest they were a healthy Clay away from doing something serious this year, looking at how they bought into the small ball thing. So their off season will be interesting because they're not that far If they get that version of Step again, the second best player in the league, it's not you know, they do not that far off. Benis the off season moves you guys want to be on the Suns, let's
do it. Raj, what's your early impression of the Sun series? Man, I was gonna I was gonna write sit down for the Suns, but like the Lakers, trigging this game off that long, Like, I wasn't even thinking about Phoenix until until now. But yeah, like I think they have a really side. They have a good size advantage downlow. Like I think they have Anthony Davis issue right, they have no one for a D and then their stars are their guards. But I think kind of works in the
Lakers favors. Lakers favor Like, I think they're really good at defending the guards. Chris Paul and Devil Book are are special what they do. I just think we have enough guards to kind of contain that, and then we'll see if Aton and all those guys can play against a D who who destroyed them the last game. But yeah, I think that's like the initial look at it. What do you guys see from it? Um? I think that Phoenix is not very good depending the room, and I
think that plays right into the Lakers hands. They're just not very good at it. And I think Lebron and a D are just gonna give them hell in that regard. And you kind of feel bad because you know, Chris Paul has this amazing season. Uh it helps turn that team around and his prizes, you get Lebron James and every it was in the first round at the second seed.
So I just don't think they defended the rim well the defense their defensive weakness is play right into what the Lakers want to do, which is, you know, get to the rim. And I just I don't think I'm trying to be respectful, Like I don't see it going past five, but you know, maybe Chris Paul Booker has a moment and it goes six. But I just think the Phoenix's weaknesses fall right in line with the Lakers strengths and it's not going to be a long series
in my opinion at least. Yeah, I agree with you know what's funny is like, look at what Draymond did tonight to disrupt things around the rim for the Lakers, and how it's gonna almost feel like a breath of fresh air to all of a sudden DeAndre eight and trying to make the same place right, you know, Like, you know what's funny is in a weird way because I think this is a terrific matchup for the Suns, and I think the Lakers are primed to potentially win the series in five games, which is huge for a
bunch of reasons. First of all, they get three days off before the series, and if they end the series in five in Portland and Denver have a six seven Gamer. That's more time for Lebron to rest and recover and get that ankle right. So it's it's primed up perfectly for them. The downside is is this is the type of series that will trick the Lakers into thinking they can win playing big again. Yeah, and that's all I
expect them to go. I I think there's a good chance that they fall back into some habits here where it's a lot of treads and a lot of drumming. Again, that's my concerns. Well, definitely, that's a good point. Yeah, they're gonna start They're gonna start drumming for sure. I feel like again against Phoenix and again, like I think the theory of it kind of makes sense, like they want to kind of dominate the boards, right and stuff like that, and it maybe a Phoenix says Chris Paul Devin.
Book are going, Um he gets out early like on it like Maple. Do you think Treads can play against the Suns? Because I thought like he kind of could if they have Dario sorry as the backup five would you think would you think Treads is playable in that series? Would you still kind of just stick to kind of a d at the five there and I leave him
out the rotation. My thing with trans is like he's okay if drop coverage is possible against the opponent, and drop coverage is not passible against you know, Chris Paul and Booker because there's a profession shooting off screen. So it'll be rough with him and pick and roll because he just sees his drop guys. That's who he is, um, so it'll be rough. Like And when when we signed Traans, I was like, I think it's the regular season signing
because it's easy night tonight. All those down Knights would be great, and I think you know he was in that regard. But in the playoffs, I just I don't see it beyond beyond like the first round, and not even then because Lakers got the seven season, not even playing the team that he can really play big minutes beyond the in the playoffs. And like he said, he'll be a spot guy like the guy arrest, I just
don't think you can. It's just too exploitable. Like I'm trying not to be mean, but I just don't see an avenue for him to play big minutes in the playoffs, like maybe eight to ten minutes of spot. He's just he's just too exploitable on defense. I expect the game or the series in general to kind of break down the way that this game did tonight, in the sense that kind of like first half, second half, different mindset.
I expect in the first two or three games of the series to see a lot of Drummond and Tres But then when it comes down to it in games four or five and six, if it gets to six, you'll see the you know, Frank get more serious. But I agree. My thing with Tread's from the beginning has been if you if you if you have him just defending and pick and roll as a traditional big, you're asking him to fail. Um. But he's got athleticism, and
he's got the quickness, and he's got a motor. So if you kind of have him defend as a perimeter player, um, then he'll have more success. Whether that's trapping in pick and roll instead of putting him in some sort of drop or or catch head or anything along those lines, or if you have him you know, uh, just you know, outright double or anything that can allow him to use his length and and and and speed to compensate for the fact that he's not a great traditional pick and
roll defender. Anything along those lines I think is better
for him. He outright was excellent on the offensive end in their last matchup, and there was a bunch of really interesting stuff where the Sons had to throw extra bodies at a D, and so they kind of developed a little bit of a high low type of chemistry there where you know, a D would try to post up and Phoenix would throw multiple bodies at him and Tread's would flash to the semicircle or to the free throw line, and he catch and he turned and Treads's man would kind of sink onto a D to take
away the high low pass and he'd either have a floater or there was even a play in the second half where he just took a power dribble and went right into Frank Kaminski's chest and just caved his chest
in and had to lay up. And I think there's some good stuff there, potentially offensive we with him next to a D, capitalizing on the ridiculous amount of attention they have to throw at a D. Because they're gonna be games in the series where the Sun's just throw the kitchen sink at a D and the Laker role players are going to have a party because they're not gonna sit there and let him go for forty every night like you did know last matchup and they just
stay just again, don't defend the defend the paint that will. So that that that's what the series A little hinge joined my opinion. Yeah, it's a good series for Lebron to right, like where he can kind of work his way in, like he doesn't have to be the Lebron scoring like thirty five a night. I'm against the Suns. I feel like a d can kind of pick up
most of the slack in the series. I guess, like my issue only with I think you guys would agree with me, isn't like the Drummond tres matchup minutes is like Gasolve being totally out of the rotation, right Like, I think that's kind of annoying for me, and I think you guys would agree with that. Like him, I don't want him to go a whole first round without playing, which I don't think he will. It's just like that's
what it kind of feels like. Because Bogel said he has his cations kind of picked before the game, right, So we'll see if a Gasol that's a Gasol series for them, Like I think if things things don't work out, then he'll play. But it just feels like they go into a kind of predetermine who they're who they're going to play. Yeah, I don't know. Tonight was kind of odd because loony, like the slow plotting, that seems like it was Taylor made from Mark to play and he
still didn't play, so like completely lost. I won't even try to guess when you know Marc Gasol will be used. I think i'd imagine if you play the Nuggets, he would see some minutes, and or if you play the Sixers Down a lot of that will be in the finals if if they even got there, like that would be well only times I would like be for sure
that Mark was gonna play. But as a right now, I can't even guess when he putting the game because it seemed like tonight was perfect when what the Warriors playing Looney, one of the few guys markin might beat faster than I. I tend to think that that, like Maple said, you know, because alls match up dependent and putting him in a situation, you know, like against Looney you would expect to have seen him. You know, you never would want to put him on the floor when
the Warriors go small. I mean, you're setting up Mark to fail in a situation like that. The But at the end of the day, like eton Is is another one of those guys that is tailor made for Marcusol matchup, like eton Is not, as he's not gifted enough offensively or athletic enough to really make you pay for having Marcus all out there so you can reap all the offensive benefits that come with having Marcusol on the floor.
But I mean, I guess, I guess we'll see. But tonight doesn't bode well for that, Like you said, um, And I just like my favorite part about this matchup, and it's my favorite part about this team in general, is like the Lakers are like a like a really really well filled out toolbox in the sense that whatever problem you encounter, they seem to have a good option to throw at it. You know, like you're you're sitting there thinking like, oh, well, what do you do about
Devin Book? You know, because the Suns are sitting in there and they're like, what are we gonna do with Anthony Davis? What are we gonna do with Lebron And they just don't have good options, you know, But the Lakers have these options like they can go actually, you know, like if we put Alex Crusoe and Chris Paul like, he can make him work pretty damn hard. He's not gonna stop him, but he's gonna make him work pretty damn hard, you know. Or whether it's Crusoe on on
Devin Booker or Wesley Matthews on on Devin Booker. You know, k C. P has has proven to be, you know here in the last couple of months to be a really really good defensive player. The Lakers just have all of these like options that they can go to and and it makes them so dangerous in these long seven games series is because they just have all these different options that they can go to. And I think and I think the Phoenix series is a particular one where
the Lakers are just really well equipped for this matchup. Yeah. They It felt like they really kind of figured out the Warriors tonight as well, kind of like as the game got on. And I think they like to do that in a series. That's why I wanted to get out of this stamp playing game because I'm pretty confident in like Vogel and Lebron and all of them kind of finding a solution, Like you said, having a whole toolbox of players to go to. We didn't see Markie
Morris either tonight. Right, He's another guy they can got to kind of go to if they need shooting and want to go small with a D at the five. I think the Sons are a team you can do that. Again, they just have all these dudes. I think Kuzman Caruso just stepping up a level as well just makes that rotation even better. Um, I think it's pretty clear those two um KCP are also the guys that they're gonna
go to when it matters. So against the team, like the Sons will see, um, they don't have anyone inside for a D. And then like when you put all the attention to a D, then you have Lebron be able to cut to the basket and you get their shooters and get our shooters kind of going. So I agree they're a really tough matchup. That's why I kind of feel bad for Phoenix, Like I think they've had
a great year. I think Chris Paul has been amazing this year, but it's just a tough way for them to go out in the first round, and it's this was the worst matchup for them in my opinion, but that's how it shaped out to feel like they will
probably ruined like hell for the Warriors tonight. And by the way, what a crappy predicament that is, Like, please please give us maybe the best player in the world instead, you know, like that, that's just it's outrageous, Like, Okay, so what did the Suns finished one game back of Utah or two games? I can't remember. I thought my head, I think it was one game yea, So so we're talking, we're talking. You go out for seventy two games. Yeah,
the one game back. You you go out for seventy two games, and you proved that you are no worse than one game behind the best possible pace, you know, win pace in the circumstance, and you're rewarded with sitting down on a Wednesday night, literally three games before you have to play, and you're sitting watching Lebron and Steph just put on this incredible performance. Both defenses just absolutely stifling.
And meanwhile, uh, meanwhile, the uh uh you know, the Philadelphia seventy sixers are going to get some you know, garbage, you know, Pacers team or not Pacers teamer that like maybe the Celtics that are extremely limited, or um, gosh, who else is it in the Indian Is it Indie? I can't remember? In one Indie one. So they get the seventh seed and it's the Celtics seven. Celtics got
the seven, that's right, and then Indie plays the Wizards. Yeah, so it's like they're gonna get a Wizards team that can't guard to save their life, and or or you know, or this Pacers team that's you know, they're starting lineup is completely decimated, you know. Or you know, you're the Sons and the Jazz and you're flipping a coin between Lebron and Staff. It's just it's just it's just ridiculous
life in the Western Conference. And that's why we kind of saw that kind of jockey on the last day, right Like in respect to the Sons, they actually won their game. I think they beat the Spurs on the last day, but we saw like the Clippers do that weird tank job and then um who else who else? Tank? That game? After that? Denver Denver also had that terrible tank job as well, so I just ended up being Phoenix. I think it really worked out. I want to ask
you guys, like the Brackett really worked out. I guess um JT. You were talking about how it was so important to win this game, right because you win this one and now you get to play Phoenix, then you play the winner of Denver Portland, and then from there
you play whoever gets in the Western Commerence Finals. I think that like really worked out for the Lakers in terms of their their seating and going into these teams they haven't advantage over them, and then Denver Portland I think are really good teams but just not the top crop of the West. Did you guys kind of agree with that that the Brackett kind of worked out for them perfectly? Absolutely? Yeah, this was the best case scenario.
I mean. And there's another side of it too, Like the Lakers played a couple of bad teams on Saturday and Sunday, and before that they had taken some losses and excuse me that they had played Houston, another bad team, So they had won five games in a row, but their defense had kind of taken a step back. And I actually thought that the Lakers, I mean, Maples, you actually called this out at halftime, that the Lakers effort
wasn't quite there in the first half. There was like a lack of urgency just in general and their hustle and and in their focus. And like, I think a game like tonight, in a weird way, is was a great tune up for the Suns, especially if they end up having to go to any sort of crazy trapping pick and roll coverage against Chris Paul if he gets going. So I thought the it broke out with the matchups.
Lebron's Lebron had this crazy game tonight, but he had two days off before this, and he gets three days off now, um and then and then in terms of the matchup, it's it's definitely not a guarantee, but the Lakers now have like a super super achievable path to the Western Conference finals. And so now you're talking about four and a half weeks potentially between having to get ready between now and having to be ready for a
matchup with the Clippers. Four and a half weeks. You know, like if you think of Lebron's injury timeline, that's a significant shunk of time. You know that he's gonna be up over what he's gonna be up around like week thirteen or week fourteen of his recovery at that point. Um, if I'm math is correcked so like literally that the way the matchups broke out, it kind of compensated for some of the bad luck that the Lakers had in terms of their their injuries this year. Yeah, I agree
with that. I guess, like I want to ask you guys, because we kind of hit a lot of positives for the Lakers, Like I have my ideas, but well, what is the way the Sun's kind of beat the Lakers? Like what's your what are you most worried about with Phoenix? Is it their guards? Is it Chris Paul demon Booker like hitting mid range pull ups on on the Lakers, trying to trap them off off screens or like what or is it eight and kind of getting a postgames
like what is your biggest worry with the Sun's? Uh, like in the Suns in the playoffs them getting hot from three and that that you know that's always a issue on today's inn bea for sure, Um, I think like you said, I think you were or Jason missioned this earlier fact because Aidan plays that forces them into more uh Drummond minute and that kind of lux up the floor offensively, and that's also could be a factor.
So and he those are that have I was like, I just this is the worst matchup to seven could have pulled. I just is rough for me finding them away from to beat the Lakers four times. It's it's it's hard because you you respect what Chris Paul's like. I like Chris Pauls and then in his career, you know, I've been rooting for Devin Booker forever finally gets to Champs on the big stage and just you know, just
lucky to draw. But I just I can't. I can't find an avenue for them to beat the Lakers four times. I just think even if they get where but it's still a game or two, you know, with the drummer beating on the floor. Frank's history shows that he's in a jester and he would rectify that. You know, after even one game last year, you know, you saw like he would yank the white and Javeil out when necessary. He would tell him beforehand, you're not gonna play this series.
But he was good about that with the chips down, So I don't see Frank's taking or something that's going to be Dutchment and the Lakers in that regard. Yeah, Manaples, I'm exactly in the same frame of mind, like, yeah, okay, what if what if Jay Crowder does a pretty good job on Lebron, Well that's not going to be enough. But what if those Suns make a ton of threes? Well,
well that's not really gonna be enough. Like, you know, even if the most crazy outland of scenario, what if Devin Booker literally transforms into prime Kobe Bryant in this series, like his playoff debut is just the most surgical twenty eight points per game ever against this Laker defense, I don't think that's enough. I think this is one of those things that I'm not trying to be overly optimistic here. I think it would require a Lebron or a d injury for the Suns to win this series. I really
think that, yeah, that they really don't match up. Well. I guess the only way is if like Chris Paul and Devin book could really get hot right for a few games, I think that's the way they would steal one Um, they don't match up well. Mccau bridges. I think it's a nice defender. I don't think he'll be able to stay um with Lebron. I don't think he has the length or he has the lane, doesn't have the strain to kind of keep up with him, and
then they have a D issue. Um, That's my only way is if Devin Booker and Chris Paul there, they can hit tough shots right like like they go to tough shots like they look for them, like Devin brook who loves those mid range jumpers. Chris Paul loves them. Can they hit them at enough efficiency for it to matter, We'll see, But I think that's the only way. I
think the Lakers have a big size advantage. Um. I think they'll still start with Drummond early, try to beat them up on the boards, and if that doesn't work, they can just always go to a D at the five, which I don't think any team has solved really Like through the last two years we've been We've been watching this Lebron in a D for like two years now. I'm not sure any team has really solved the a D at the five lineup with Lebron at the four um and I don't think the Suns will be the
first one to do it. So I just was curious what you guys thought, like how how the Sons can make this a competitive series because they're gonna be really the underdogs here. Yeah, I mean I picked the Lakers in six years out of respect, like the number two scenes, you know, I think Booker or Chris Paul has a moment or two. So I'm not gonna say, I'm not gonna,
you know, to say you're being the Bruins out. But it is six, but like a comfortable six, like the Lakers are up three one and then they win, like
not a two to you know type thing. So that that's kind of how how I feel about the series as far but as far as the only thing that are going to be able to, you know, combat that whether either defensively or being able to still generate good looks, and I think are the are the Clippers and in the in the Brooklyn Nets that ends up being a matchup that we see like that's alyswer that they who
have to even the possibility even slowing that down. I think it's gonna be the Rockets, Blazers, Nuggets, special from last year. I think the Lakers is gonna win in five, and I think the game where the Lakers lose, We're all gonna be pulling our hair out watching clips of them botching rotations and just kind of putting forth a
really putrid defensive effort. I really think that. I think, like I think, I think the Lakers will lose a game by just giving up on the defensive end, either in Game three because they already have a lead, or Game one because they don't respect their opponent, or something like that. But I just think that there is I don't I understand that. I have a ton of respect for Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Two, it's just so hard for me to fathom and losing multiple games in
this series. But I mean, maybe I'm wrong, and maybe we'll all be sitting here in a week going, you know, you know, Lakers are down to one. What's gonna happen next, you know? But I just it's it's hard for me to even map out how that would work. Um, do you guys have anything else from tonight or from the Sun's game before we call it tonight? I'm leaving at five thirty in the morning. He drive to Texas tomorrow for a family reunions. I gotta I gotta get some
sleep eventually. No, man, just a great night at basketball. Man, Like that was like legitimately fun to watch like that, That's all I can say. Like that was two best players in the NBA fighting for something real of like that was the playoffs will go because that would be special. Yeah, but it was crazy. It feels like we were more worried about this playing game than like the t see right, Like it feels like all of a Lakers Twitter and all Laker fans are kind of more worried about this game.
Winning this game than like playing the Suns on the Sun feels like a much much more not easier road. But we can kind of settle in, let them kind of get into the Suns and breakdown breakdown film against them. A yeah, yeah exactly. Yeah. That was really nervous through that one. So it was good to get that out of the way and now we can everyone including the team, can focus on Phoenix and just getting through that one.
But yeah, this was fun to two legends going at it. Um. I don't want to disrespect Memphis as well, I think, Maples said, that earlier, but I feel like Utah is going to have a hell of a first round on their hands. Yeah, I I had I used more nervous for this game than I was for any playoff game last year. Um, I have such a I thought this game was so important, not just for the seating things we discussed, but also if they went the other route, they'd have to play again on Friday and then go
into Utah. It was a little bit more physically capable of matching up with the Lakers and then have to play the Clippers potentially in the second round. It just it was such a much. It was so much more of a dark kind of like uh less optimistic path um, but just like going and then just the fear of steath, like just the I I never thought the Lakers were really threatened last year, and I I was unique among most.
I mean, there were there were some people in Lakers Twitter who were like me, but I felt like most Lakers Twitter was very optimistic going into this game. I just I just had this feeling. I was like, man, the Warriors are playing really good basketball and the Lakers are good, but they're not playing as well right now. And I thought there was a real I told Row, I told it, just send out a tweet that I said,
I thought it was sixty forty Lakers. There was my chip, my pick for the game, and I thought it was that close to being a coin flip. And and it was just because of my respect for step and my respect for Draymond and Steve Kerr in that defense, and and so that just added this whole layer of like dread throughout throughout the game because it was they were actually threatened by a team that really went out their next in a in a in a game that they had to win. Um, and Uh, I agree with you.
I couldn't have said it better than New Maples. I just thought it was a great night of basketball man where we live Forest fans baby. Hell yeah, Um Maples, I really appreciate you coming on all of you guys who hung out with us here over the last hour.
I sincerely appreciate it. Immediately after I closed the space, I'll get the screen recording up in a podcast format so you can catch the whole thing, Um, Roger, and I sincerely appreciate all you guys, you know, kind of just hanging with us to these last couple of weeks. And I'm thankful to say that we will have at least one series of playoff basketball. It's a cover with you eyes as well. Yep, we plan to do this after every game as well. So um, I guess we'll
see you on Sunday. Then we will see you all on