Hoops Tonight - Lakers' insider Jovan Buha dishes on LeBron's resurgence, Anthony Davis' jump shot

single game day this September. Football's more fun when you're in on the action, so download the app now and sign up with code Hoops. New customers can bet just five dollars to get two hundred dollars instantly in bonus bets only on the DraftKings Sportsbook app, an official sports betting partner of the NFL with Code Hoops. That's Hops. The Crown is yours. Gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler or visit www dot one eight hundred gambler dot net.

In New York call eight seven seven eight hope and Why, or text hope and Why to four six seven three sixty nine. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling called eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit.

Happy Friday, everybody. Hope all of you guys had an incredible week. We have a very special show for you guys today. My friend Jovan Buha, who covers the Lakers for the Athletic and does an incredible job, has been there on the ground at Lakers training camp getting.

Lakers training camp. We are through four days of practice and media day. What is the pulse around the team, obviously going into their first preseason game tomorrow.

a great sign for Laker fans. But two, you know, the talk of camp has been how Lebron James has looked like his pre injury self, which I think if we're mapping out how this team ultimately wins a championship, it's got to be Lebron getting back to being a top ten player consistently. And you know, Darvin ham was comparing him to his third or fourth year self athletically.

a little differential to Austin Reeves or Anthony Davis. So I think if the Lakers can get the pre injury version of him, which remember in December or January when Ad went out, he was routinely dropping thirty points a night, had some forty point games in there as well, and really looked the best he had looked offensively, in my opinion, in a couple of years. So, if you can get that version of Lebron with this continuity that they have now,

the deeper supporting cast, the improved three point shooting. I think that's where you can be really dangerous offensively. The other thing has been Anthony Davis's jump shot. By all accounts, it's looked much better than it has over the past couple of seasons. And then rookie Jalen hood Schafino has gotten multiple shoutouts. Just got a shout out today from AD for his pick and role play, his court vision,

his point of attack defense. So again, vibes are at an all time high right now compared to where they've been in the past, and right you know, right.

then the backup center position was tough. It wasn't as big of a problem in the Denver series because Denver's bench center is kind of a position that's also in flux. But throughout the postseason it was an issue, especially in the Memphis series when they were staggering. Jaron Jackson in with the bench group, so that Lebron was, you know, having to deal with that. But then the last piece was the shot making piece. Every single one of those

games was close. Three of the four games went down to a clutch situation, meaning it was within five points with less than five minutes left, and then that fourth game that didn't go I think it was Game three that didn't go to a clutch situation. The Lakers had a double digit second half lead, and that might have

actually been Game two. But the point is every single one of those games was kind of hanging in the balance going into the later portion and when push comes to shove, every single playoff game we've ever seen basically grinds down into a rock fight at the end of these games, and the whistle gets swallowed and it's super physical and you can't get easy shots, and it really comes down to can you make tough, contested shots over the top, and time and time again, Jamal Murray did it,

and Nikola Jokic did it. And Lebron James couldn't and Anthony Davis couldn't, and so, you know, we can talk about trades and we could talk about hypotheticals and different guys they could bring in that might be able to rectify that, But the easiest solution is Lebron James and Anthony Davis getting back to where they were in twenty

twenty where they can make those shots. They're never going to make them at as high a rate as that Nugget squad or even the Suns or a lot of these other teams around the league that have higher level shot makers, but if they can at least take away some of that gap, then their physical advantages can come to the surface, because even in Lebron's limited state, he was so dominant out of the post in that postseason run.

He's still one of the best matchup attacking big forwards at bullying his way to the rim against smaller defenders that we have in the league, and so they have so many advantages elsewhere on the roster. If they can just kind of mitigate that gap, that can make a difference. And the Jalen hud Schafino stuff is super exciting to me because he is that big, strong, athletic guard that can really like actually hanging in the physicality areas of

the game. Darvin Ham was talking a lot about him and how big and strong he is for his position. I could see that being something that could help mitigate that issue a little bit. Go as far as like the motivation level goes, Where are you at with this Denver La trash talk stuff? I think it's so silly because I can't even imagine why anyone would care that the Lakers want revenge. If they didn't, it would be weird.

What's your take on the whole, Mike Malone, Bruce Brown trash talk Lakers feeling motivated situation.

can kind of celebrate whichever way you want. But you know, with Mike Malone saying he's the Lakers daddy at at you know, their celebration and at the parade, and then him kind of poking fun at Lebron's retirement and say he was going to retire, and like, there's just been little jabs there, And you know, it's interesting to me because Mike Malone and Lebron used to have a great

relationship back when Malone was an assistant in Cleveland. So you know, things have obviously taken a turn there a bit. But I'm really interested to see how the Lakers come out on opening Night. I don't want to get to hyperbolic with it, but I think it's a chance for them to land a haymaker, to send a message to start the season. And for them, looking at that opening schedule, they have a very difficult slate to start. I mean just the first three games alone at Denver home against Phoenix,

then at Sacramento. You could easily go zero to three over those three games. You could go three and oh as well. But for them, with the way that they've started the last few seasons a little bit slower, I think it's important to go to Denver, you know, send

them a message of we're not afraid of you. You don't have a psychological advantage over us anymore, you know, forget like the sweep was last season, put that behind us, and then also start the season one and oh and just kind of get some momentum and carry that over because we've seen them struggle in the preseason the last few years, we've seen them struggle to start the year, and I think another loss to Denver again, it's not debilitating by any means, but it would just kind of

continue the trend of Denver I think having an edge over them.

had a little bit of a mental advantage. But then the Lakers got them once right before the bubble in rather convincing fashion in the fourth quarter, and then they got them at the start of the bubble, and then it's like, literally, there was never a psychological advantage since then, except for they've just been so limited from a roster standpoint in recent seasons, but you never felt like if the Lakers had to play the Clippers in that postseason run in the bubble that they would have had any

issues because it felt like they had kind of overcome that, And that psychological advantage can definitely play a role. It plays a role in everything, like how comfortable the role players are, how comfortable you know, the team might feel if they're down by ten in the middle of the third quarter, and belief that they could come back like that sort of thing. I one hundred percent agree with you.

I think coming off of last season, in their two and ten start, it's almost vital for their belief in the locker room to notch two or three key kind of like signature wins, just to kind of give them that belief that pushes them forward. Because this team in particular, you know, when I look at the top of the league and I look at Milwaukee and Boston, and I look at Phoenix and Denver in LA, all of them have different strengths, and the Lakers' specific strength has to

be the defensive end. They're never going to be these teams like Denver or Phoenix or Milwaukee from a skills standpoint, They're never going to be able to go shot for shot with Dame or with Jokic or with KD or any.

make that call when they get to the deadline. But I think D'Angelo Russell in one of the forwards basically functions as whatever your salary is if you did decide to make a trade. Now, I look at it as

like there's two different directions they could go. They could either go all in on that defensive identity and try to find basically a more dependable, starter caliber player at the two or three that's a perimeter defender, or they can go in on a shot maker, try to find somebody to help Lebron and ad and slow down half court environments. Which need do you think is more important

for the Lakers? And if you were the GM, which direction would you go in terms of actually strengthening out the weaknesses of the roster.

close out the regular season. But I think going from Dennis Shruder to Gabe Vincent is a slight downgrade at the point of attack. I think Gabe is better defensively than some people have given him credit for, at least when I see them discussing his role, but you know, he's not Dennis.

more primitive defense. If we're talking about how they match up with, say the Suns, it's a bit concerning. Like let's just even if you throw Vando out there with the projected starting group, like he takes probably KD, I would assume, and then we were putting Austin on book and then d Lo on Beal or you know.

fifty games between the two of them. Right, So I like the offseason from that perspective, But that top end improvement did not take place in this particular offseason unless there's some gigantic leap from a player like Rui or a player like you know, a player like Christian Wood

for instance, or something along those lines. So like, I don't really see that move there and so in when I look at the the guys at the top of the league, you almost have to look at it from the stand point if you can't try to play them at their game when you're not as good at it. So like, I don't like the idea of targeting a shot maker unless it's somebody the caliber of Kyrie Irving,

which is highly unlikely. Right, So Like, if it's someone like Kyrie, then you look at it like, yeah, we can go shot making toe for tow with toe to toe with some of the best teams in the league. But if it's anybody kind of below that tier, if you want to get in a shot making contest with the best teams in the league, you're just gonna lose.

NFL Network, and more. Just go to Verizon dot Com Forward Slash Plus Play to bundle and save on Netflix and NFL Plus today for a limited time only.

you guys to take advantage of. Get in on the game day greatness. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now and use code hoops. New customers can score two hundred dollars instantly in bonus bets when you bet five on the NFL. That's code hoops hops only on the Draft Kings Sportsbook gap, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. The Crown

is yours. So like what I like about going in on a perimeter defender that's more functionally fitting with the starters, is like a high caliber role player at the two or three is in that predicament. You can lean in on the thing that your best at, which is the defensive end of the floor. And there's no chance if you get a high level, above average perimeter defender that

can function offensively. If you get a player like that Phoenix, Denver, Boston, Milwaukee, they're not gonna be able to hang with you defensively. Not with Anthony Davis as the best defensive player in the world on the front line, and what you have in Jared Vanderbilt and Lebron's you know, and Lebron's engaged defensively the type of high IQ help defender that he

can be. Now, obviously that's a trade deadline issue. So looking at like the meat and potatoes of the season, you know, you and I had a conversation earlier this week and you made a point that I think was really interesting and I want you to kind of expound

upon it a little bit. You had mentioned the idea of kind of pairing D'Angelo Russell with Jared Vanderbilt and Ruey Hotchi Mura with Gabe Vincent, and I think it's really smart because Vanderbilt is this you know, kind of second tier maybe top tier perimeter defender and then Ruy Hachimura can struggle with that, but gave Vincent's clearly a

much better point of attack defender than D'Angelo Russell. So can you, like, do you do you think those pairings are going to have to stay together or do you think that Darvin Ham's going to go with somebody different in that three spot? Like after this four week, four days of practice, is there any intel on who's in the lead to get that three spot with the perimeter defense issue, Yeah, I.

and eighty spoke about that today at practice. But from my understanding, it's been a competition between Ruy Van do Oh and Tornyan Prince Tory Prince being a dark Corse just because of his three point shooting, and I would say around average defensively, not going to kill you on that end, but not necessarily a plus the way that a Vando is or a Ruie can be, you know, potentially in bigger matchups, as we saw him defending Jokic in the playoffs. But I think, you know, those tandems

make the most sense. So with Delo starting, it feels like Vando's getting the edge a bit in camp so far. I know that that first day, which is theoretically I mean first day of camp, like that's the first thing you want to see, Vando was the primary guy with the starting group, so I want to give him the slight edge right now. But everything I've been hearing entering camp was that Rui was the favorite. So it feels

like there's some mixed messaging going on right now. Maybe the Lakers are trying to just play at Koy and they don't want us to know yet, But everything I've been hearing, for whatever reason, it's I mean, it's the preseason and people are going to see it in Denver on opening night. I don't think it really dramatically shifts things.

But to your point, I think they should try and keep those pairings together, and that's where I see it potentially, as you start Dlo and Van do Oh, but you end up closing with Gabe and Ruey, similar to the playoffs, where for those first couple of series it was a lot of Delo starting alongside vand Oh, and then when it came to crunch time, it was Dennis and Ruey closing games, and that ended up being the Lakers' best lineup was that they're big three with Dennis and Ruey.

I could see it being similar with Ruey and Gabe. So that's how I kind of see that breaking down. Personally, I would start RUI. I think that each of the three small forward options has clear strengths, but they also have clear weaknesses. And to me, Ruy is the best blend between offense and defense. And I know he's not the perimeter defender that Vando is, but I just think starting Vando comes with so much risk offensively of you know, we saw him working on his corner.

lineup in the regular season versus the playoffs. I know you have to make adjustments, but for me, Rui is the best of those three players. He's getting paid the most of those three players, and I think he offers you the best blend of offense and defense.

offensively is like a four. But Torrian to me, is like that best mix of like perimeter defense at the wing and perimeter offense at the wing. Does he have any chance to crack into this conversation or is he kind of, like clearly the third guy in that tier.

And you know, like I would say, I've talked to some people at the team that are like, why don't you just go matchup based and why don't we have a revolving starting lineup where some games, you know, if you need the perimeter defense for a certain matchup, go Vando if you need, you know, like I think against Denver, Rui makes more sense like that for opening Night, you put Ruey on Jokich and then you have ad As you know, roaming and helping on the back line, whereas Vando,

I think it's gonna be a similar thing where they just completely ignore him and he kind of isn't doesn't really have a clear guy to defend, Like I don't think Murray is a great matchup for him. So we'll see, you know, again, all the intel I'd gotten before camp was Ruey. Seems like since campus started they've been leaning a little bit more towards Vando. But we're not really

gonna know until the end of preseason. That's what Darvin said of one we'll actually see the full rotation will probably be either the second to last preseason game or the final one.

how big and strong Rui can be. I think Rui's clearly the best player to put in that spot. It's more just it causes you to have some issues in terms of your defensive configuration based on matchups. Like I think you might have to consider doing more switching because of lebron Ad and Rui and their ability to kind

of guard multiple positions on that back line. And honestly liked Angela Russell's pretty big and strong too, and like I like, maybe you don't trust him navigating screens super well, but maybe he can slide his feet on defense and force someone to shoot over the top, you know, or something along those lines. But again, they're gonna have to experiment, and your idea about the matchup specific starting lineup is

perfectly fine. I think the only real downside there is there is something to be said about, you know, the chemistry and continuity that can be gained by giving a lineup a specific lineup a ton of repetition. But the reality is is over the course of the season, one of those guys will separate themselves and it will just make more sense to have them start on any spacecific game. How much do you view ades jump shot as like a swing factor in this particular season.

I was speaking with someone from the team earlier this week of and they kind of brought up like, you know, I know you're skeptical of the two big lineups, and we were kind of talking through it, and I was like, to me, it's going to come down to a D shooting and eight like you, Yes, Christian Wood obviously is a above average three point shooter, and I think he's going to provide some nice pay can pop options and you know, catch and shoot thread and all that stuff.

But it really has to be especially when he's playing with Jackson Hayes, it has to be a dy to some extent spacing the floor and keeping defenses.

offense just stalling. They're dribbling out the clock and then they're going to run some type of ISO for Lebron or a D and then you know there They'll occasionally make it, but a lot of the times they're gonna miss. And uh, that would be kind of the blueprint for how the Lakers offense would crater in crunch time. So for me, if Ad can get back to doesn't even have to be thirty three percent on three and a half,

three is a game. But if you can get to I mean thirty two, thirty three percent, maybe fewer attempts and you know, bump up his mid range accuracy, bump up his mid range attempts like that is something that I think is a vital development for their offense. If not, then I feel like he just kind of has to play the five. Like I think, if Ad is not spacing the floor, you have another guy in Jackson Hayes

probably not spacing the floor. And then Christian Wood, I don't think, just wants to be a spot up shooter all the time.

kind of bolstering his offense. Then, like specific coverages can become a problem too, so like eighty's floater is enough of a perimeter shot in normal pick and roll coverages, like against a drop coverage, if Lebron can get downhill, or if d Lo can get downhill and hit Ad around ten feet and he could take that little pop shot,

it's fine. But what ends up happening is they do end up switching more towards the later portions of games, and it does turn into a Lebron ISO from the perimeter, maybe in Austin Reeves io from the perimeter, and on those possessions when Ad can't function as a spacing threat off the ball, it becomes an issue, especially when Jared Vanderbilt is out there. It's funny we put a lot of it on Jared Vanderbilt, but most lineups in the NBA have a non shooter out there. It's a common

thing that you'll see around the NBA. You've got to like, the Nuggets basically won a championship like that with Aaron Gordon out there last year, the Warriors the year before, Draymond Green and Cavon Looney. It's a typical problem. It's when you cross like that threshold to where there's nowhere near enough shooting in the lineup in total, when Lebron and ad are broke and you're trying to run Jared

Vanderbilt out there, Yeah, it can be a problem. And so like you buy yourself so much more margin for air in those specific situations when the actual stars of the team can make a damn jump shot. And then lastly, it's rescue possessions. Like you call it crunch time, one hundred percent agree, Like, it's not just crunch time, it's also the three or four possessions during the game when you have four seconds on the shot clock and someone

has to jack a shot up. But like, it makes a big difference when you can occasionally make one of those. It's funny because like the Lebron crunch time offense thing has kind of been the same forever. It's like, let's pretend there's five clutch possessions at the end of the game. Lebron will take like four step back threes and he'll make like one of them, you know, and then like he'll have that one possession where he physically bullies his way to the rim and gets a bucket. That's five

points in five possessions. That's fine when the Lakers are defending.

The problem is this last year, as Lebron missed all four of those threes, like every single game he couldn't make a damn three, and so like they actually crater down below kind of like the minimum allowable amount of jump shooting in the lineup, and so it is on both of them the thing that too, and oh god, yeah, like literally so like it was, it was, it was completely untenable, right, So, like it's one of those things where honestly, Lebron gets guarded like a jump shooter even

when he can't shoot. So it's I'm less worried about him, and he's just so good at finding ways to be good and impactful offensively even when he's not making shots. But with Anthony Davis in particular, especially with how much we uh like we see guys like Austin Reeves run the offense or Dangela Russell run the offense or Lebron run the offense in those predicaments, he needs to be able to make a shot. I think it's I think it's vitally important to the success of this team, especially

when we get into slow down playoff environments. Again, like they have this defensive punch, and that defensive punch can put them over the top, but not if they get their ass kicked in every other area of the game. It's it's vitally and it's vitally important. Where do you see where do you see the the Lakers stacking up right now? Among get it, Like, I think there's six teams at the top of the league. I'd say it's the Warriors, the Lakers, the Suns, and the Nuggets, and

then the Bucks and the Celtics. And I think the Warriors are clearly at the bottom of that tier. And really the only reason I have them on that tier is out of respect for the fact that they have the same five guys in the starting lineup that won the title literally, like you know, sixteen months ago or whatever, So like it's a respect nod to them, but they'd be underdogs against every single one of the teams above

them in a playoff series. Where do you put the Lakers stacked up with those other five teams?

a disagreement on Phoenix and Phoenix versus LA. But for me, I just look at I think those four teams I trust their playoff offenses a little bit more than the Lakers. I mean Denver, of course, reigning champs. We just saw the run that they went on Phoenix. I think sometimes we overthink the fit of star trios, and to me, all three guys can play on and off the ball.

All three guys are plus shooters. I think they're going to have an insane offensive rating when those three play together, and you have multiple types of guys that you can plug in there.

points per possession. Then I think Drew Holiday being a third or fourth option is much more appropriate slotting for his skill set and what you want from him at this stage of his career. So I just look at you know, I think Boston is you know, that top six to me's probably the best top six in the NBA. Denver's coming off a championship, Phoenix to me as the best trio in the NBA in my opinion, and then Milwaukee, Damon and Giannis two top eleven twelve guys, Like I

don't know. It's close. Like, I think you can make the case for the Lakers. I also think the Lakers are gonna make a move at the trade deadline.

that trio is just so insanely talented. But the reality is is that you know, when when you put the three of them together, one of them almost always is going to be out of rhythm or primarily off the ball, and there's usually that's a type of player that thrives and catch and shoot situations and can attack close outs, but is a guy who devotes his energy and effort to the little things as a cutter or on the

defensive end. And I just I'm not sure that there's a guy on the Sun's roster that's willing to embrace That could completely change my mind about that when I see them start playing. So we'll see when we get to that point. As far as the guys above them, I don't think they have a case over anybody, like like they could beat Denver. I don't think they can't

beat Denver. I just think they have to play like almost a perfect series, and judging on what we saw last year, kind of feels like a long shot.

from three. Kyle Kuzma kind of becomes this really gifted help defender shoots his best percentage from three as a Laker and kind of gets the recognition that gets him the long term deal in the future. Obviously, Malik Monk in twenty twenty two is a veteran minimum guy who popped in a big way Austin Reeves last year. Obviously becomes way better than anybody really expected him to become.

Who's that guy in twenty twenty four, Who's the guy that the scouting department found that no one values enough and that's going to blow everybody away when we start playing basketball.

and one. Like I think he just said today we spoke with him, he's put on about fifteen sixteen pounds of muscle since being drafted by the Lakers, and you see it like he's just he's filled out a bit, and I think he's going to play that kind of back up two three role.

rookie defense. And I mean we're talking about like the Lakers needing perimeter defense, like it could end up being Max Christie. I would not be surprised if, aside from Vando, he ends up being the best perimeter defender on this roster. So looking at that backup role of like, can he play fifteen to twenty minutes a night, potentially bump that up to twenty to twenty five deeper in the season.

But I think the ceiling for Max is like again kind of forcing, maybe not forcing his way to the starting conversation, because I think with Gabe and Dilo there, it's gonna be tough to leap frog both of those guys.

or you need to you know, pump, fake drive, make a move, do something. But play with aggression, play with assertiveness. And I think you started to see a little bit more of that last year, but ultimately he got phased out of the rotation this year. To me, he's looking like the eighth or ninth man, and if he can get real minutes and play with confidence, I think he has a lot of upside within this rotation.

They needed a point guard to guard point guards. And that's the thing is, like, there's a there's an opportunity on this team in the in the space of perimeter defense. And like Max Christy could functionally operate as a two and allow you to keep Ruey as the three because of his ability to slide his feet, navigate screens and back pressure. He's got that unique combination of quickness and tenacity and give a shit for lack of a better term,

but also has the length to bother players. Like in these drop coverages, you have to have the ability to pressure from behind. You have to have the ability to, like when you're getting over the top of the screen, make the offensive player worried about pulling up because of your ability to create problems with back pressure. Like Dennis Schroeder is good of a point of attack defender as he is just Jamal Murry didn't even see him when

he was rising up in these jump shots. He's too small and so like I think he's a great example of a player that could benefit from a roster need and find an opportunity that otherwise you would never expect. A player of his age to find Jovan This was awesome, man. Why don't you take a couple of minutes really quick just to tell us about what you've been working on lately and how we can follow the team by following you.

TikTok has kind of been more my bread and butter recently, but trying to take fans behind the scenes with what it's like to be a reporter, what it's like to cover the team, just behind the scenes stuff, so you can follow all that at Jovon Bouja j Ova and Buha.