Episode 83: Jason Maples and Vinay Killawala

How's it going, man, We're going on with John. That's going on. We're doing good. We're happy to be talking to you. What's going on? Man? Hey, So I have a question, Jackson. I saw a couple of tweets you put out about how do you think the Lakers are gonna start out super fast? And I'm kind of feeling the other way. I think they might go on to the player I'm gonna pick them come out of the West.

I think they might end up being like a fourth seat to curb the note because it's gonna just take a lot of time to jail with all the new movement pieces. Okay, let me let me plead my case here and then you can tell me. Okay, So in their first twenty three games, they play six teams that I think are gonna end up outside of the play in and I'm gonna try to rip them, rip them off the top of my head. And I'm not sure, but it was Golden State, Phoenix, Miami, Portland's and then

the Celtics and the Bucks. Okay, but the other what's that six out of three? What's at seventeen other games? There are? Other? Seventeen are all against playing teams, including against several several games against teams like Houston and San Antonio and Oklahoma City who are going to be intentionally losing games or maybe not intentionally on the floor, but at least in terms of their upper upper management. So the case for the Lakers winning sixty something games and

getting the one seat is really simple. Kinks that have to do with them kind of figuring out how to play with each other are going to be resolved by their super easy early schedule. They could literally lose to all six of those teams, drop an additional two, and go fifteen and eight, and over that time they have lots of time to kind of find their rhythm figure out how to use for us, get more adapted to the defensive scheme, get guys a little bit more acclimated.

Then outside of that, there's one basic stat that is the is the whole foundation of this type of of optimism. When Lebron and the d are on the floor, they've won seventy percent of their regular season games and seventy of their playoff games. So there's just a and that's based on I think almost a hundred and twenty games of evidence. So when Lebron and a D are healthy and they're playing, the Lakers just win almost all the time.

And anything that might undercut that they have such an easy schedule to start the season that their records should still be okay. Yes, after that things are gonna get really tough, but hopefully at that point they have a little bit better rhythm, in a little bit better understanding of how to win with this particular group. So what do you think, Am I being too optimistic or does that make sense? It makes sense of the vacuum, but I just think it's just, um, it's a lot has

to go right for that that happen. And you know, I'm one of the people who was on the mess side of the Westbrook edition, just because of the funky fit um. I just think I think last year I called Utah being a number one. I never would think Utah to come out to the the west but I think to be a number one seed. I think to be

a number one seed because of their continuity. I think that that has a lot of I think I think Utah and Phoenix are going to be the top two seeds because they're just they barely changed their rosters, right, and then everything coming back there there's are off at a just square run, keep everything going from last year. Like That's why I think that those are will be the top two seeds. I'm still picking the Lakers to come out the webs. I think they'll figure it out.

But sixty something wins with a beat your roster, like I'm factoring in, you know, probably ten or sold games missed by Lebron and a d each at minimum. Other guys are a little older, they are injuries backed up, So I think I just I can't see sifty something games, you know. I think like low fifties is a good a good point and then be healthy for the playoffs, and I think that's where they should go from there. But Stacy stuff wins. I respect the I have to

miss brother. I like the glass. That's the way to attack life. Man, What do you think? I think there's like a middle ground from like where you are, Jason, I have to say, Jason timp Now we have two Jason's up here. Um. But but like I think there's like a middle ground between where you're at and we're Like you saw the five thirty eight projections, did you guys both see that they have us like they have us like at forty two and forty That's that that

that was that was to just strictly get clicks, that's all. Yeah, Yeah, there's some middle ground between there. I don't think this team is gonna row like sixty five wins or something like that. I think like a fifty five win season is probably what we're looking at. I kind of agree with Maple. There's gonna be some games where Lebron sits. There's gonna be seeing some games probably wh rust sits, you know, so we'll see. But they should be able

to start off greade. They have a really really easy skeldule early, so they should be able to have like a good kind of lead on the on the first seed if if they can. But I'm not sure how much home cooreps matters to this team. But me and J and g JT always talked about it like they were they were twenty one and six last year with a D kind of not being a D for for that whole stretch, right, and I think and they were still behind Utah right even Yeah, there like a game

by I think. I just think, like Utah that's a regular season machine. Like nobody really game plans for Gobarton to the playoffs. He's like, he's a top five defense by himself. You just put him in there. He just recks. He recks the rim in a regular season. Um. I think Phoenix is just like I said, things bringing everybody back. I just like I think I think the third of fourth seed, the negagent third and seed and healthy. I'm comfortable with where they are in the playoffs. Like I

also think the Warriors are a dark horse. I think it's the conference planals depending on matchup. So I think I just think the West at the top is really gonna have really good teams, that's all. But I'm still picking the Lakers come out through. I just don't know if it will be a number one seed. But I want to ask you, guys, Jason one one more uh. I heard you guys kind of like he didn't go into it too deeply, but where where are you with with Westbrook thus far? I heard you say some good,

some bad. Where where are you guys, like just overall with with him? I'm super low on Westbrook right now, to be clear, To be clear, I was with I was with you Raples, uh from the start. I remember I work in real estate. I was holding an open house, and I was scrolling through my phone and and would would came out with that tweet with the uh, with the I think it was Montrez Harrold opting in if I remember correctly, And then he said, you know we uh,

this clears the way for the buddy heeled trade. And I was starting to get super optimistic. I thought it was such an obvious basketball fit, you know what I mean, just like a like almost a one man person that could come in and and change that offensive versatility that we were talking about earlier. And then when the Shams, when the Shams tweet came in about Westbrook, I was, you know, frankly a little bit like shocked. I could, I like, but in a bad way. I just couldn't.

I couldn't believe that the obvious answer was right there in front of them, and they went in this other direction. And then I tried to kind of talk myself into how it could work, you know, for you know, hey, Lebron is Lebron is this different level of player that might be able to, you know, with his resume, almost flex r us into changing in some way reason. You know, maybe this Frank Vogel culture can reinvigorate his defensive attention and all of that. But here's the reality of the situation.

Man Like, he he has absolutely horrid shot selection to the point where it's like actually throwing away possessions. And while I don't think it will hurt them necessarily in the regular season, because there's so much better than most of the teams are gonna play night in and night out, like man like, like, look at that Buck soun series, Like if like how close it was. So let's say let's say the Bucks had a player on their team that tricked off eight possessions in each game, Like the

Bucks are gonna lose that series? Like you're both those games are decided by the razor thin margins. And when you go back through Russell Westbrook's career, there are so many examples of that. I was literally just watching the other day the two thousand and fourteen Western Conference Finals Game six, Spurs Thunder and in Westbrook trick that him off with just a handful of mistakes in the fourth quarter. Um that that that blue and opportunity to send that

series to a game seven. And you you might look at the end and be like, oh, Katie missed this open three at the top of the key, but it's like, actually, they should have been up by eight. So if there were these handful of mistakes and like, and it's one of those things where like man like I I worry about the hemorrhaged possessions from Westbrook and the impact that can have on a razor fin series with a healthy Golden State team or a Brooklyn team that quite frankly,

the Lakers need to play absolutely at their peak. That makes sense. Yeah, So he's kind of, uh what I was thinking. So at first I'm with you. I'm like, hell though, this makes so I'm all the way there. So the more I watched, but I'll say this, this is before Westbrook even became a Laker. Um. I was tweeting about how like the more I watched them actually gave some respect for him. I think the pendulum have swung too far to that it upon him because you know,

just the playoff foibles. So I got you mentioned. But what I say, he brings his hard hat every night, has an incredible motor. I think the Lakers could use something like that regular team because his team does to to get lazy during regular season games. I think in that aspect, Westbrook will help. And I was just trying to think how offensively you make it fit. So to me, step Steph Curry is is a It is a mount

reshmore offensive player in NBA history. Like they just based on what I saw, Um, and teams are gonna guard Rest. They're already Guardady Restbrook like they guard Draymond right, So I'm thinking to try to maximize Rest like you gotta put him in a lot of like use him as a cut I think Riser Benet mentioned it tonight about how they did a better job of using him as

a cutter. Um not because they're just got guarding him off ball, so they gotta move them around They're not gonna guard him, and I think just have him initiated a lot of gimble hand off action with like Lebron or even a D to get them going downhill, just like stuff like that, to to like minimize the spacing. Also, it's happy because I thought that, Okay, Westbrook, this is for sure E's going I think Davis is going to

percent center. You know, it looks like that is not gonna happen, And that is kind of what worries me, Like this has no chance of working if a D does not play center the majority of the time. I cannot fathom DeAndre Jordan's uh, what's the rest? Brook and a D on the floor at the same time offensive, But it's just teams are gonna zone, uh like pay a pack line defense and not guard rest. Right, Maybe do you feel differently with how many people players are injured?

Don't now, like who would you start? I guess if you're starting a D at the five, like who's your who are you playing just with all the guys injured, because I'm wondering if that's part of this as well. And you guys are spot on about rust. We had

rush on our part. Who covers the rockets, and and like and and pretty much everything he's saying is kind of coming true, right, Like everything he talked about the negatives and the positives, Like obviously he brought up both, and Russ has negatives and they're they're very loud, right, Russ doesn't go quietly into the night, Like this game is loud. It's gonna pop up the screen, like he misses layup sometimes, Like that's just what you have to

kind of give. And we've we've all been watching basketball log times, like we know Russell Westbrook is as a basketball player, and you're trying to fit those skills that he brings that are positives into a championship corps in Lebron and a d And that's what's fascinating about this, Like Anthony Davis is probably the best big he's ever played with. Right, Lebron is other than Katie, Lebron is the best player he's played with the like it it's interesting to see him try to work as a third

option while still trying to be himself. So I don't know if it words, but I think we're in the really early stages of this. Veneta, what's up, run, I see you up? Here. Uh, what's up? What's up? What's up? J both Jason's Uh. I got an alert on my phone from the Why Not Foundation that you guys are talking about Russ uh and the Defender's honor. No, but um not. I think you guys are bringing up some some pretty good points. UM. I thought he looked really

good at the start of the game today. It almost seemed as though, you know, maybe they watched some film from the past couple of games and they saw how people how teams were starting off games playing off of him, and so he was attacking a little bit earlier. Uh, and then they started kind of not doing that anymore. Like then then the lane opened up for Braun a little bit more and stuff like that. So, UM, I think I think everybody's conversation about Russ as a player

and his deficiencies are fair. UM. But I think one of the things, um, that's sort of a silver lining that I've and you guys know, my glass have full

guy pretty much anything. UM, I think one of the silver linings of the injuries have come to like Taylor Horton, Tucker, mom Ken, Ellington and into none is it's actually forcing him to have to play with bron and A d And and dj And and Dwight and this wonky lineup that he's got with Rondo, and it's actually it's forcing him to get into a groove because if we were playing some of those other guys, he probably doesn't get as many minutes UM in the preseason, and I think

he'll figure it out. Um. I think one of the things that I've been tracking just just watching is the like when he takes his shots like that was that was the thing, Like with Russ when he plays with like a very prolific score like Kadi or Paul George, like he'll just keep giving him the ball, like he's not gonna shoot the ball. He's not gonna he's not gonna try and um, you know, Carlton banks it or whatever.

But like when things start falling apart is when he starts trying to force things, and that's when things look really really bad because you know, he's not that great of a shooter and stuff like that. So I think he hasn't seemed like he's really forced too much outside of those turnovers that he's been forcing, like trying to figure out where people want to capture the ball and pass it. So I think there's still a part of him that's sort of figuring stuff out. UM, but it's

gradually gotten better. Uh. And I my one prediction was um for this season, and I wouldn't be surprised if Russ takes the least amount of shots per game then he has in his entire career. This season with the Lakers, that matter. No, but no, you don't speaking to what to what Vane just said. I thought the preseason adjustment that Breast made from game the game is the first few games he was attacking with the specific intent to

pass and people were guarding him with scored. I think they're just went tonight was he was like, I'm gonna score. This just made him much more effectus. I will say that like the game, that's the adjustment he's made that I've seen just in two preseason games. I think that's a good thing. He had a couple of possessions where he followed his way all the way to the rim early and got lay up. So that's that's that matchup attacking mentality that I'd like to see him weaponize against

teams like Golden State in Brooklyn. You know, in those specific matchups Maples. You had mentioned, and this is something you've been harping on this entire season about how you know with Westbrook you need a D at the five in order to have the the space for him to be able to operate. I think you could say that about a bunch of these specific lineups. Like I think

Russ's minutes should be in single big lineups. You know, either put him with just Dwight and Lebron or put him with Anthony Davis, but never with both Anthony Davis and Dwight or Anthony Davis and Deondre Jordan. And the same goes for a lot of these guys in these different roles, right, Like I like Anthony Davis. If you're gonna play Anthony Davis by himself, I'd rather have him play with a big because at that point, you know, the without Russ and Lebron, I almost want to just

be this big, physically freakish, you know, imposing team. Or with Carmelo Anthony. Like I don't think Carmelo Anthony should ever play with Dwight or with Lebron as the only front court partner. I would only play Carmelo Anthony with Anthony Davis. So that the total defensive floor of the lineup is high enough to kind of compensate for some

of those shortcomings. Like those are the kinds of things that I would look at, Like I'd like to see a lot more Wayne Ellington in monk in minutes with Lebron, someone who's gonna actively hunt them, you know, as a as a passer, Like those are those little intricacies of the lineups in the way they mix. Those are the things that I'd like to see because Roger and I and I'm sure you feel the same way Maple's and Venet like we were never like eight should only play

the five. That's never what our opinion was. It was that the you you haven't you haven't seen the great chat Maples, I join you continue a real quick, real quick. The one season a d played majority signals seventy five games. I think he played like seventy five of his minutest center he was twenty nine. Some of my something ridiculous like that it was first team everything, And that was when the conversation started, Hey, this guy can be the best player in the world. Like that one year that

it was just with Rondo. Yeah, that one year he plays it's a personnel thing for me though, because I agree that the majority of his minutes should be at center. However, I think Dwight and a D presents a really interesting matchup problems for other teams. So from that standpoint, as an audible, I like the idea of playing you know, if it're up to me, about a third of the minutes, I think it's gonna end up being closer to half

um with the way that Frank wants to play. But I would like the idea of third of the minutes putting a D with Dwight or a D with DeAndre, because it really does just scare the hell out of other teams in terms of the size, and it throws a weird wrench into the to the flow of the game that keeps teams off balance and keeps the out of rhythms, you know what I mean. I do like that. So here, So here's my thing with that, my father, here's my thing with that, Jason. I'm looking at a

playoffs way and drive. So let's say second round of the playoffs, Like so Phoenix, they go like Aighten, Crowder, Bridges, then Booker and CP three right, So it's just like I don't know how you play the white or right, so or let's go even Warriors, like so you can go, they go, Let's say Clay comes back, keeps seventy percent of himself, right, so they go, you know, Draymond, Clay Pool, Steph you know in Wiggins, Right, It's like, how do

you I'm saying, I'm just thinking, like deep into the playoffs, I just can't see how that line up over the season, Like, sure, go to against Orlando or wasn't that only NBA TV with the hell go for it? But against good teams, I just can't see how that lineup is viable. The way these teams played basketball, the way the good teams played just just one thing to just to add to Jason's points. So this is this is a discussion that we had in the off season with with Kings in

a group chat like it it. So in today's game in Sacramento, you saw them run a three guard lineup, and like you know, obviously most of our guards are hurt, so we can't really run a three guard lineup like that, So we gotta run like Reeves, Russ and Rondo, So which is not ideal obviously, but I think I think the concerning trend for me for the as it relates to the Lakers, is that when teams see the Lakers go big um with with two big specifically eighty at

the form and whoever at the five, they try to actually go in the opposite direction to speed the game up to a point where the Lakers have to eventually make a switch. And like, if you watch the Phoenix preseason game, there's a play where eighty makes a layup right at the rim, like they almost give it to him, like they're not going to stop him, but they outlet the ball so fast that eighty and the other big

are are way behind the play. So they're sitting up an open corner three, which is what they like to do early in transition. And my concern is is that if the Lakers in the regular season fall in love with playing two bigs and they try to try to do that into the playoffs. In the playoffs, it's you know, you gotta win a game, and it's the best of best of four, sorry, best of seven and stuff like that, so our margin of error is not, hey, we can afford to punt the game, so like you can't wait

a whole game to make that adjustment later. And my concern is that the Lakers, they try to do this two big thing, teams are going to keep doing that. They're gonna keep trying to speed the game up. And the only way that two big works against the speed lineup is if you're making layups every single time. And if it is not making layups or Dwight or or DC whoever it is, if they're not making lamps at the rim, there's no way that ball is getting stopped,

you know. I mean, it's not it's not doing anything to the other team's defense. So that that's my concern. If it's a game of styles that I'm concerned about. But we saw that line up, that lineup not play right when it mattered in the playoffs. I guess like Local is a counterpuncher. I think like he does like

to kind of do with what he likes. In the first game, right, he's gonna go to that too big lineup in the regular season, like we're already have to be ready for it, and in the playoffs he's going to go to it a few times. That's just what he likes. His defensive philosophy is that he likes two bigs at the rim and and then he'll counter if he has to. And we saw that he will, right. We saw a D started the five a bunch. We saw Javelle get bunched to get banned, Dwight get benched.

I think it works if you have a like do you guys agree it works if you have like a non shooting center, right, like I think it. DJ looked okay tonight a lot because Rashaun Holmes is kind of the center and Alex Land is the center and you can kind of get away with that. Aiden is a tough matchup. He's just kind of scoring big. But I think that's why it works. And I think those are the kind of games will go with it. Vane and Jason, I feel like we won't see it when it matters.

I guess, like these are any eaters for a D and it is some kind of mental thing for him. It obviously matters to him. You could tell the way he talks about playing at five. You could tell the way he talks about it in a way like yeah, alright, I guess I'll do it, you know what I mean? Like you could tell he just you you can tell it's just it's not something that he prefers. And this is a superstar driven league. Superstars get what they want. He doesn't want to play center for a majority of

these minutes in the regular season. He's not going to, no matter what we think, no matter how wash. DeAndre Jordan is just what we're gonna see. And I think I think I think you'll see him play the five when it matters, and I think that's what's important here. Maples is gonna terrorize Lakers Twitter if he if he keeps playing the four all season, I think I think I'm not seriously, seriously, I've gotten much better with my chant. I'm just going to say I to be much more pleasant.

I planned to be much more pleasant this year. Well, we we have we need, we need a little bit more Maple's optimism. I think we can all get get on the same page there. I'm just kidding anyway. I think it's matchup specific like you brought up to You brought up two teams, Maples that I think are interesting.

You know, I disagree with you about Phoenix. I think I think Phoenix is a team you could occasionally do that to mix it up when they have Crowder and Eton on the floor because you have Dwight bang with Eton and then a d S guarding Crowder almost in a like a roaming role um, you know, giving more space and just kind of trying to disrupt stuff everywhere

else on the floor. You know, I think this is one of those things not to get into revisionist history here, but like, like Dwight is, Dwight is so much better than Andre Drummond, like so much better than Andre Drummond. And and in retrospect, the Montrez Harrold move made absolutely no sense if you if you really look at it. And what I what I kind of look at with this group is returning to something that worked, because the truth of the matter is is in the playoff run,

most of the Dwight minutes worked. There were devail minutes that where he got kind of attacked by Yo Kitchen had some problems, but you know, look at the way Frank Handle did. It was like, Okay, we're playing the Portland is throwing this weird double center line up at us, so we're gonna arride with Dwight Nade and we're just gonna kill him. Then we come into Houston and they're playing five guards and Dwight doesn't see the floor for most of the series. Then we go into the Denver

series and all of a sudden, Dwight's back involved. And then Dwight actually started some games in the NBA Finals and no one really cared because the Lakers were basically in control of every single one of those series. But the reality is is in that playoff run, a d played the majority of his minutes at center, and the Dwight stuff was just a wrinkle. It was a curveball, you know what I mean. And so that's that's kind

of the way that I look at it. Is like if it were up to me and Roger and I have been talking about this all summer, but DJ would never see the floor and Dwight would play his usual twenty something minutes, nineteen minutes, whatever it is, and most of those minutes would be without a D. But there would be a couple of stretches in each half where the two of them are on the floor and it just confuses the hell out of the other team because there's just so much length on the floor that they

don't know what to do. The rim is basically shut off, and but you're right, Golden State Golden State would kill two big Laker lineup like that just is a terrible decision on any front, Like that makes absolutely no sense. I'm with you. Do you think that you think the line up rotation, the big line up rotation that they used against Golden Sat in that last preseason line up, So that that's what I think that they're going to do.

I think try and run. Yeah, but let me I want to ask you guys this because like I was trying to ask you guys before, So like right now with all our guards and wings hurt, Like I get you want to go eighty at the five? But who are you playing? I guess, so like once that starting lineup is done, so you start maybe bays Moore and who can you start? I guess if you want to start Austin Reeves or whoever you want to start, Like

where do you go as a second unit? I guess, like once you have you're playing eighty at the five at the full time. It's basically Carmelo, you know what I mean? Like what are you? What are you doing defensively? Like that's what I worry about. There's there's not what So the lebron is your power for and then is he not. Yeah, absolutely right, that's that's something I mean, that's something that's his. He had a great gear to entery when he was healthy last year, just being that

back sign roamer right playing play re safety. I think him at the four, it's like the optimal place to do that. But I understand what you're saying though, like all this is moved because of the injury. So I understand, Hey, he's gonna play a lot of power forward just because

of the lack of bodies at this point. Because I was really looking forward to a Reason playing a lot of that Lebron playing a lot like how looking like just having super persontile and athletic, uh, you know, much more modern you know, basketball lineups at their disposal, and hopefully our Reason is able to come back. And then is there any uh ths out for a while, But is there any word on like month? Is there like a week or two? They said I'm fired better correctly,

So believe he's gonna be ready shortly after the certain season. Yeah, because as I know, he's not missing you know, too much time. So like when everybody's healthy, you know, I would love and you know, I'm to be honest, with you. I'm more worried about Bates more than I am about Westbrook at this point, Like we know who Westbrook is. Basemore was brought in for a specific skill set and

we have been seeing any of that in preseason. He brought all his bad decision making from Golden State without the jump shot, and that's a little troublesome thus far. So hopefully that Yeah, I think I think the four has to be if you're gonna be playing a d at the five, like one of one of the most I think one of the most difficult parts for Vogel

to figure out is if a plays at five. We know that he has a natural tendency just because he's a defensively inclined big, like he's gonna go after blocks, like he's gonna try and se shots and stuff like that. So they're the vacuum. Like this is a basketball thing, right, Like when you're big man goes to block a shot, there's a vacuum of space behind them that has to be filled, whether it's a defensive rebound or whether it's just you know, just putting a body in boxing out

on somebody. And I think that's something that the Lakers haven't yet figured out. I know it's been mitigated with like mellow um the game where he started I think Next Day a D I think it was. I think it was that Warriors game, Like he did a pretty good job, like just maving rebounds and stuff I got. Like my thing with Braun, you know, I'm doing air quotes being the four is I don't you know Bron if he wants to can go and grab ten rebounds a game? But is Bron going to grab ten rebounds

a game? You know? Like that That's that's kind of where my head is at. So it's like if Russ is crashing the class and eighties, challenging shots like somebody you know, like bays Moore and whoever that fourth guy is, it has to be somebody who's gonna help him on the boards, help him do like some of that grunt work and stuff I got, And so Melos fit that

role ideally. I think it would have to be a reason because that's kind of what he's that's been his like Hallmark, you know, and he's a guy who does some of that groundwork for you. So that that's the way I see it, Like it has to be somebody who covers up for stuff like the defensive rebounding or sports Vogo is not gonna He's not gonna play a D at the five. He's gonna play a D at four the entire season. If the defensive rebounding his suspect.

You're absolutely right about that. That that's something that Frank has straight up told us, like, if we can't get rebounds, we're gonna have to go bigger. Um. You know, I think I look at the Roger's question about you know bench, there's to me, there's like two bench phases, right, Like there's the Lebron leaves at that first media of the first stoppage after the media time out in the first quarter, and it's gonna be Russ and a D right, and then Lebron is going to come back in you know,

very end of the first quarter. But for the majority of the stretches with the start the second quarter, and it's usually alongside Dwite. So you've got Lebron at the four and Dwight at the five in terms of who fills in the filler spots around that. The way I look at it is give Lebron the challenge, Like, if you like Lebron, will figure it out. So it's like you're trying, you're struggling, struggling how to figure out how

Mellow is gonna fit. Like I'd like to see him with Lebron because they like they'll Lebron will find a way with that group to win. Those minutes with the Russ A D minutes at the middle of the excuse me, at the end of the first quarter and in the middle of the second quarter when Lebron takes the second rest, those are the minutes where we've got to start looking at. You know, us is initiating everything with some you know, pick and roll with a D and then some post

ups for a D mixed in. So that's where I favored shooting. And in that case, I saw that at least, you know, if the wheels are going to come up with the defense, at least you're scoring to kind of keep up with that, you know, Um, I would that's where I would look to put you know, Monk and in Ellington, And yes, it'll be asking a lot for a D to clean up all the defensive mistakes that come from that group, But at that point I would just be like, at least we're scoring and Lebron, Like

that's that second phase with Lebron. He's just going to figure it out. Like Lebron minutes are positive, they just always are going to be. So it's really just about what are you gonna do end of the first quarter, middle second quarter, you know, and same thing in the second half when when Russ and a D are on the floor. If that makes sense. Now that that that makes sense, So I just have WEX. I dont want to hug everybody. Make everybody listening to my voice, bring

some other speakers up there. This is one thing that I want to say, Like the one thing I'm probably looking at with this Rust edition is the shock quality that A D and Braun get when Russ is on the floor. Like I know we've talked about spacing and stuff I got, but I think one of the things like Braun has been kind of messing around in the preseason. He's been like turning the ball over, like doing funny stuff like spring the ball in his hands and stuff

I got. But his shock quality, like the way he's scoring, like how he's getting his points have been so easy to some degree, like he's just running down the court taking layups. He's like he's doing the midrange stuff a little bit, but it's like nothing seems like it's very difficult for him right now, and obviously that will change because it'll be a regular season. I'm with and and A D hasn't been making shots, but his shock quality

has been really good. So I'm hoping that, like the ancillary effect or one of the biggest positives from this is that regardless of what Russ looks like and what his stats look like and stuff like that, as he figures it out, that the shock quality continues to remain

high for those two guys. I think if you're a Lakers fan, that's probably the most important thing that we want to see because if our two stars can get really high shot quality, like, eventually those shots will start falling and then the offense will fix itself, um and everything will fall into place. So that's that's that's the last thing I got. Uh. You know you guys, keep it up. Man, It's wonderful space. Thanks for We appreciate you. Man is always Yeah, I'm out too, Man, appreciate Maples.

Have a good night, brother. That's all we have for today, guys, Thank you so much for your support. As always, if you missed part of this show on dash radio, you can find it on our podcast feed under State of the Lakers. Our next show will be a postgame show after the season opener on Tuesday against Golden State. We're looking forward to it again. Thanks, as always for your support, and enjoy the rest of your weekend.