So the Lakers season ended last night at the hand of the hands of Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves. So might say Rigobert jj Rennick had a similar scheme. He played his starters a lot of minutes. They came closer at the end, but then kind of ran out of gas. They couldn't do it.
How did you get this series so wrong? You said that when this one they obviously didn't.
Well, yeah, and I said Lakers. I said my favorite bet was Lakers minus a game and a half, meaning Lakers in four or five or six. And when I was giving the analysis of that bet, I said, I didn't even really consider the possibility of the Lakers losing the series. Is the reason the bet didn't come in. I thought it was because the Lakers, you know, maybe they win in seven, but I thought they would. I thought they would be hard fought games. The Lakers were
clearly better. So I do want to start with me because I gotta a whiff this strong. You gotta figure out, you gotta kind of do an autopsy, a post mortem of your own takes. And the number one thing that I clearly overestimated going into this postseason was how dynamic
and unstoppable. The Lakers offense would be I thought there was a little too much attention paid to the Lakers' defensive deficiencies, not because I thought they'd be a great defense, but because I thought it was pretty clear we had proof of concept that the Lakers defense could be average, that the Lakers defense could be fine, and that if the Lakers defense is fine, even given their size limitations, that this offense with Luca and Lebron was going to
be a top three in the league over the court, you know, net rating wise or offensive rating wise offense. And it was nothing close to that. And so that
was with number one whiff. Number one was that the Lakers offense would be would put the other team under such pressure to keep scoring and to keep pace that a younger Timberwolves team, a Timberwolves team that only has one true superstar, a Timberwolves team that has a few guys who are max players who there have long playoff histories, but the playoff histories are you know, checkered in Rudy Gobert and Julius Randall that the weight of Lebron and
Luca on the offensive side of the ball would be too much for him. None of that happened. We didn't have a single game this series where Lebron and Luca were both outstanding on the offensive end, and we did have last night. And we'll talk obviously more about the individual parties involved here shortly, but last night was the first time in an elimination game that Lebron wasn't outstanding
in a decade. Honest to god, if you go through it was it was somewhat jarring to see if you look at what Lebron James, who averages thirty five points per game in his career in elimination games, what he did last night in comparison, like if I can just quickly give you the game logs last year against Denver, face well two games facing elimination against Denver, the first game he had thirty five and four. The next game and because they won it, he had thirty nine and eleven.
The year before, facing elimination against Denver, he had I think thirty in the first half and he finished with forty ten and nine When they lost to Phoenix in a game they got they really didn't have much of a chance. If you remember, that's the game Anthony Davis started and then played like thirty seconds, then came out of the game Lebron twenty nine to nine and seven facing elimination. They never faced elimination and route to the
bubble in the championship run. And then if you look at Game seven against Boston or Game six and seven against Boston facing eliminations, they're down three to two, forty six, eight and eleven, thirty five, fifteen and nine. You can go his whole career. It's like, Okay, we're facing elimination. I have to ramp it up. Here's the part that last night informed me on he fired those bullets over
the weekend. He felt correctly clearly we were facing elimination in Game four and in Game three he had the thirty eight, ten and four and they blew it at the end. In Game four he had twenty seven, twelve and eight and the defensive stops at the end, and in Game five the forty. It was a weird Lebron game because he had three of his most explosive offensive plays of those three dunks that he's had all postseason. But he just didn't have the juice last night. So
Lebron didn't have the juice. Luca's performance last night even more shocking because Luca has been a back against the wall, I'm gonna f you up. Everybody's tough when they're up.
Lucas seemed pretty messed up, like basically this whole series though.
Yeah, or whether it was sicknesses or yesterday, I feel like he came out with like some backspasm type of thing.
Well yeah, I mean, listen, he got hurt, but he didn't. If it was he had looked awesome and until the hard fall, that would be one thing, but that's not what it was. Like. He was relatively passive in the first quarter, which is when he has crushed. It felt early on like Lebron and Luca were both like, okay, let's conserve energy in the first quarter so we have
more in the fourth quarter. And at first it looked like a bad strategy because they were down fourteen, but then once despite all that, they were able to claw their way back into the game and actually take a one point lead. You thought, oh, this could work out, but Lebron didn't have the extra gear and Luca didn't have it. The really, I don't want to say the whole series, but the last three games since he got sick,
Luca didn't have the Luca playoff gear. Twenty eight to seven and nine on seven of eighteen from the field for Luca is by his standards, a bad playoff game. Now the flip side to that, and where folks, where credit must be given is the other guys are paid too. And the Timberwolves defensive plan against Luca and against Lebron was outstanding. The Timberwolves trusting you know what, Austin Reeves. If you beat us, you beat us. We don't think you're gonna beat us. It was smart, it worked, and
so I'm not going to kill aust Reeves. He had a rough series. But also the Lakers shouldn't have needed Austin Reeves to be great to force a Game six against the Timberwolves. And I understand that the Timberwolves are now twenty one to five in their last twenty six and I think they have ten or it's either ten or fifteen. I don't remember double digit wins in that stretch. I get that that maybe I was I am still even to a degree underrating or disrespecting the Timberwolves. But
this Lakers team it was not. And this is what's so frustrating about the way the season ended. It was not some hope in a prayer media creation. They had almost the exact same record against the Western Conference as Oklahoma City did. They were a dominant team at home, where they lost two of these games. They had I think the third best record in the fourth best record in the league against the best teams in the league.
We saw them at the end of the year against a full strength Oklahoma City team, blow them out, and then go toe to toe with them a week before the playoffs. They were rested. All of those things happened, and while Lebron did not have a great Game five, you did get great Lebron performances in games two, three, and four. So it wasn't that oh the you know, the old man slowed down at the end. He did at the very end, and they still just got annihilated
in this series. The thing about last night that made last usually demonsey. If if a team loses a closeout game that you know, is a one possession game with a few minutes left, it's heart wrenching. I gotta tell you, it's not how I felt watching the Lakers squander that game at the very end, because they were incredibly lucky last night that they weren't blown out minutes. I mean, Anthony Edwards was zero for eleven from three. The Timberlves as a whole shot forty seven threes and made seven
of them. Think about that, they were fifteen percent from three. So Ant was five of nineteen from the field. And that's another weird thing for Ant because he's going to get his flowers today, as he should. But it reminded me actually a lot of game Game seven against Denver, the biggest win of Anthony Edwards career. He was six of twenty four from the field, two of ten from three, had sixteen points. It was his worst game of the series, and they came back and beat Denver. Anyway, last night
he's five of nineteen from the field. Ozho of eleven from three has fifteen points. And it's the game that he knocks off Luca and Lebron. That which is a testament to the Timberwolves and a testament to Julius Randall was excellent this entire series. Julius Randall was reliable, and obviously Rudy Gobert's nine offensive rebounds twenty four total rebounds, him scoring twenty seven points in a playoff game was unfathomable. And you can say, oh, listen, this is the Lakers
don't play a center. The Lakers haven't played a center all series. Rudy Gobert's stat lines prior to last night two and six, six and six, one and three, five and ten, and then twenty seven and twenty four. Prior to last night, in the series, Rudy Gobert had fourteen points twenty five rebounds in the four games. Last night, he had twenty seven points, twenty four rebounds.
I'm not having a big guy, and there is going to come back to bite you eventually, right.
Well, clearly, I mean so clearly it did. But the point that I'm making is, and you guys know from what I was saying earlier in the series that I thought and even though the Lakers were in a tough spot, one of the things that had worked out for them was that the Timberwolves, and we talked about this that even though the Lakers were everyone, the Lakers were playing with six' eight and, Below rudy wasn't killing him that they were getting away with playing that small because The
timberwolves didn't want to Give Rudy gobert the ball and a'll be, honest last, night they didn't give him the ball that. Much it was all on like often not, ball but it, was, yeah it was on offensive, rebounds it was on. Putbacks it wasn't a lot of like
they passed it To Rudy. Gobert and so a guy who has in his seventy how how many games is his playoff, career seventy four game playoff, career who went into last night with five career twenty point playoff games and zero career twenty five point playoff, games puts twenty seven on your. HEAD a guy who in his seventy four career playoff games once going into last, night had more than eighteen rebounds in a game in the, playoffs puts twenty four rebounds on your. Head it Was it
was a dominant performance by. Him it was a great performance By, jalen By Julius. Randall they and that's the other. Piece jade McDaniel's in foul trouble immediately and it didn't. Matter so this was A it felt to me, like and this is is not an excuse and it might even be an. Indictment it felt to me like The lakers felt they lost the series On, sunday and that is and that they came out because there was no energy in the first. Quarter it was something of a.
Miracle minnesota was leaving it up there for.
Grabs, yeah they were playing pretty complacent with the, lead taking a lot of deep shots instead of.
Driving it was a.
Miracle it's exactly right demonse that this game was. Closely minnesota just has A c minus shooting night instead of the worst shooting night any team will have in the playoffs over the next three, years which is really what they. Did The lakers are down twenty, five, right and so the credit to The Turm wolves, Man and.
What about The Mark williams? Trade, Man like what is? WELL i would that have changed?
This here's the thing it what they gave up in The Mark williams trade Was Dalton connect a first round pick AND i think a. Swap so there is no argument to be, made, like, well for this, series in this, postseason that would have hurt you Because Dalton connect got zero, minutes you know WHAT i. Mean so since the guy you traded you never played in the short, term And Mark williams took a bit of a victory LAP i. Understand On, TWITTER i get that it certainly felt like
and they when they didn't Get Mark, williams they Signed Alex, lynn who played zero. Minutes Now Maxi kleiba comes off the bench after not playing in months because of his, INJURY jj gives him five minutes and more ON jj shortly there is. There it sure feels like they would have had a better. Chance now in, retrospect in this series they Had Mark, williams we never saw him play with him and they now that powder is dry for you,
know a move this coming summer. Potentially BUT i. CAN'T i can't pick a team to win the championship and then when they get popped in round one in five be, like, well here's all the obvious flaws with the, Roster like that's. BULLSHIT i Knew Mark williams wasn't on the. TEAM i knew how big The timberwolves were WHEN i said After day eighty, Two game eighty two of the season THAT i thought the bracket fell perfectly for The, Lakers and now you look at it and you, say well that
was wrong. Obviously so, no it's A i but at its, core people are, GONNA i think focus on the wrong. THINGS i think this what happened to The, lakers in my, opinion is three games of this series and they scored less than one hundred. Points four games of the series they scored less than one oh. Five the one game they,
won they only scored ninety. Four and you can so folks are going to say the issue was they were never going to be good enough, defensively, maybe but the issue in this series was an offense that the only way to look at This lakers team as a legitimate contender was going to be they have an elite. Offense that offense was never, Elite it was never even very, good and it's just remarkable to me that it's the same.
OFFENSE i saw a few weeks ago drop one twenty six IN okc in a GAME okac, wanted and then have like one ten with six minutes left IN okac against that. Defense in the, Game luca got ejected IN i the The lakers role players all had some. Struggles luca obviously wasn't. Himself lebron ran out of gas in every every one of these fourth, quarters and that's how you lose in.
Five given To, Austin, YEAH i feel like you Were you did really go easy On Austin. Reeves if those guys aren't gonna show, up that who has to show? UP i think it has to Be Austin.
Well, no, LISTEN i So Austin reeves for the series was sixteen to five and three on forty one thirty two. Splits it's a bad. Series the Reason i'm not focusing on that is BECAUSE i just think that would be kind of bullshit in THAT i didn't pick The. Lakers people ARE i think MAYBE i think people that are discerning listeners to HOW i do this stuff are maybe at times surprised at how FAIR i try to be
to what is honest. COMMENTARY i didn't pick The lakers BECAUSE i Thought Austin reeves was gonna cook so like and so this was the first playoff run of his career where a lot was expected of. Him that's where and and he didn't. Listen he wasn't, great but he's a young player who doesn't make a ton of. Money who you just? EAT I i don't like when stars
are awesome their teams and people then blame the. Star the example of that would would have been if after The pacers beat The, bucks if people were Like yiannis needed to do. More yiannis did fucking everything he could have, done and they got. Beat, so Like Bill james used to, say bad teams have an amazing ability to blame their best players for their biggest, problems and SO i try
not to do. That but WHAT i also try not to do is when a team THAT i thought was going to win because of the overwhelming star power at the very top doesn't, win and those two stars are good but not WHAT i thought they would, be then be, like man needed more from your third, option LIKE i Just and so it's not like That i'm trying to Protect austin and it's nothing like. That it's that he wasn't very, good But Austin reeves playing at A c minus level again should not be the reason you're going
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Ball So dame unfortunately went down with a non contact injury a few days. Ago he tore his achilles in game. Four you said that it was likely the last time we See dame play Like, dame and you also said this is probably the last time we See giannis as a.
Buck your, Thoughts, YEAH I i hate this so much For Damian lillard and and you know he.
He he came back faster from and it killed sorry from blood clots than anyone ever and THAT i don't really understand how he did, it and obviously blood clots are not related to a torn. Achilles, however him being out and not being able to train and do their play for a month a month and then jumping into playoff. Basketball did that CONTRIBUTE i would have to imagine it
at least could. Have and so you just feel truly sick to your stomach that this guy did everything he could to come back as early as possible and now and it was to get this playoff. Run and now he didn't get this playoff, run and he's not gonna have next year's playoff, run and he might not have any more playoff. Runs SO i, mean that is a true, cruel cruel turn of events for a great dude and a great. Player, YEAH i, mean you just hate. It you hate every piece of. It and you know he
Has i'm sure so many what ifs in his. Head what if he had just stayed In portland and just been the legend there. Forever it's not, like you, know well IF i had done, THAT i wouldn't have gotten these great playoff runs that those never. Happened so, you, oh you said.
That dame, said like what IF i never Left? Portland and you're saying.
No, true, no, no, No i'm Saying i'm just talking about From. Dame i'll get To giannis in a. Minute What i'm saying For dame is he's just, thinking, Like i'm sure he has a lot of, like, man what HAVE i never? LEFT i Left, portland WHICH i didn't really want to do BECAUSE i wanted to compete for a. CHAMPIONSHIP i won zero playoff series In. MILWAUKEE i would
you know WHAT i? Mean like that that didn't. Happen i'm sure he's also, thinking what if they had just traded me WHERE i wanted to be traded To miami and it was me And Jimmy butler and. Bam you know what would that have looked? Like and so it's a cruel not final, chapter but close to a final chapter For dame and then For. YANNIS I i don't see How yannis can. Stay and The bucks are in such a weird spot because they don't control any of their own picks the next six, years so they can't.
Tank they have no cap space to improve the. Team they don't have any young players that you're just super excited, about and so it's gonna be fake trade season With. Giannis and there's two demands THAT i made that are really. Interesting one is to The, rockets where you Get Shngoon Reed, shepherd who is a top five pick who doesn't play Jack. Landale he doesn't play because he doesn't, defend but he was top five picking this year's, draft so he's. Valuable
jaquelandale for salary. Filler and then four draft, picks two of which are super, valuable The phoenix twenty seven and twenty nine first and The houston twenty eight and thirty. First that if You're Milwaukee, coulse keep in mind you can't, tank So shingoon it makes it so you don't. Tank you have those picks to start getting the young. Players
that to me is a unique an interesting. One and then the other one if you just want to go pure young you there is a trade with The spurs where you offer Them giannis So jannis And wimber, together which is terrifying for the, league and they give Up barnes for the Salary Keldon, Johnson rookie of The Year Stefan,
castle and then a litany of. Picks The atlanta and first round pick in twenty twenty, seven The chicago first round pick in twenty twenty, seven The boston first round pick in twenty twenty, eight The dallas first round pick in twenty, thirty which could be super, valuable and The minnesota first round pick in twenty, thirty which is, Okay AND i, like those are real trades And i'm interested if they would they would be interested in any of.
Those are there any other fake trades you want to ask me?
About, yeah there's what About?
Oka, SEE i, mean they have, picks and they can obviously trade good.
Players so you see that working.
Out here's the thing FOR. Okac first of, all they might win the title this. Year if they do. THAT i can't imagine that.
In this, scenario if they fell, off if they came up, short if.
They, okay so they came up, short do? They so they're not Trading shay, Right So i'm just trying to see how they could make the salaries. WORK i guess they could Because hartenstein makes twenty eight. Million i'm just trying to put it together on the. Fly if you traded Them hartenstein And chet to go and let me find one more guy that you would have like if you traded Him, Hartenstein chet And Isaiah. Joe that that
makes the salaries. Work and then they have the. Picks okayc Has is in twenty twenty, Six houston's and The clippers in twenty twenty, seven their own And dallas in twenty twenty Eight Denver denver's, pick and then they have their own picks the rest of the, Way so they don't have great. Picks we thought That clippers pick would be. Unbelievable do they have? SWAPS i thought they had swaps with The clippers and let me look that up real, quick future draft Picks clippers so or, NO i, don't
so let me. See they so outgoing draft picks for THE i should have done The, thunder but SO i don't think that maybe those picks went. Elsewhere, sorry this is not good, podcasting BUT i just incoming. Picks so They, yeah they can swap with The clippers in twenty twenty, seven they can swap With dallas in twenty twenty, eighth AND i think that's where that The Paul george trade and all that stuff. Ends But chat would be a real. Piece, Obviously hartenstein's a real. Piece so, YEAH i don't think
The thunder are gonna make that. Move Maybe i'm. WRONG i Think houston Or San antonio are the more likely outcomes.
There Blending vice's signature dynamic storytelling with the high octane world of, Sports Vice sports brings an exciting and diverse range of programming that goes beyond the, game catch action packed live, events and exclusive sports documentaries and profiles only On VICE.
TV Jj reddick was.
Askeding a pregame pressor if he was going to consult with his assistants a little bit, more and he got offended by that and kind of stormed out of the, meeting And Dragonfly jones came out and, said, yeah, so, quote you can't be the, smug know it all new. Coach and then every coach whoever schemed Against rudy did a better job than you to those questions at the, podium.
Bro so so here's the. Deal So i'm also not going to So i'm big, on and we can Take dragonflies tweet. Off i'm big. On this is gonna sound, silly just being, honest no matter how it looks or if people think there's an agenda there or. Whatever it. Is so over the last couple of, years WHEN i have criticized The lakers, coaching it hasn't been to Protect. Lebron it hasn't been BECAUSE i was looking for a fall.
Guy it was BECAUSE i Thought darvinham was objectively, speaking a bad, coach AND i thought he put them in bad strategic and tactical and line up, situations and it hurt their chances of. Succeeding that's WHY i. CRITICIZE i am not going to all of a sudden because they lost a series THAT i thought they should. Win act, LIKE i don't THINK Jj reddick over the course of the year did an excellent. JOB i think he. DID
i THINK Jj reddick is a really sharp. COACH i think there are a lot of major positives FOR Jj reddick from a work, ethic from attention to, detail from, tactics from understanding the kind of newer elements of what you would call, analytics but it's really just kind of smart math on. Things all of those THINGS i give
him high marks. For with that, said my concern ABOUT jj coming, in and you guys can remember, this you can check the, tape was actually a personality, concern which WAS i saw HOW jj dealt with criticism when he was in the. MEDIA i saw HOW jj how online he was and reading mentioned and reading what was being, written AND i was worried that when times got, tough
THAT Jj reddick wouldn't react well to. That the first tough times he really, had the first real criticism he got his entire tenure was after he did something literally no coach has ever done in basketball history play all five, starters play the same five guys all twenty four minutes in a playoff game for the second. Half he got some criticism for, it and then also was asked about it pregame and immediately became a bit of a petulant.
Child and that was the. Concern here is the other, concern and this is ONE jj is not going to like to. Hear but the record speaks for. ITSELF Jj, reddick his entire basketball life gets tight in big. Spots at the peak of his basketball career when he was the best player in college basketball At, Duke go look at those tournament stat lines and you might, say this is. Ridiculous why are you bringing UP Jj, reddicks you, know three or six In cuba tournament in talking about The.
Lakers i'll. Explain BUT Jj reddick as. Great he was an unbelievable college basketball player who was not a very good N cuba tournament. Player was on Four duke, teams any of which could have won the national, championship got popped in the sweet sixteen almost every, year made it to One Final, four and it wasn't, like, OH jj was. Great,
no that's not how it. Went go back and look if you don't remember, then As Jerry west reminded, him WHEN jj did The plumbers And fireman BIT jj in the pros as really good as he was later in his, career was not a good playoff. Performer so why AM i bring that up? Now he strikes me as a guy who gets a little, tight who's wound a little. Tight and when you have on THE tnt broadcast the sideline reporter who never that's like the opposite of the
take industry is the sideline. Reporter when you have the sideline reporter telling, us OOH jj was wound. Up when we met with him before the, game he was on. Edge He and then when you HAVE jj storming out of a press conference when you have in the, game he has committed before the, Game i'm not gonna Play Jackson. Hayes but then all of a sudden you are just getting your teeth kicked in on the offensive glass and you're, like,
Well i've already Said i'm not Playing Jackson. Hayes SO i Guess Maxi, kleiba who AGAIN i think could have been useful for The lakers cuz he's a big guy who can, shoot and as a relationship With. Luca the problem is he hadn't practiced or played with him. Once, ever you put him in like the coach who got a little. Tight oh my, goodness, SORRY i don't know if you guys heard my dog freaking. Out it's a
coach that gets he got a little. Tight and SO i think that IF i am, IF i am GIVING Jj reddick advice for next year and for the rest of his coaching, career BECAUSE i do think he has a lot of the talent to be a really good head, coach And lucas said great things about him, afterwards said of reminding him of being back In europe with the style of coaching and the attention to detail all. That it honestly is as still as it. Sounds just chill a little, Man just breathe and.
Chill AND i think he was also in his head about making that, decision and like he's, LIKE i don't want to call it, embarrassed but like the fact that he's being questioned on, it he just can't can't stand.
It he walked.
AWAY i also think sorry for the birds by the, way, Guys.
OH i loved. IT i WAS i was going to ask you about. THAT i think it sounds. DELIGHTFUL i was, like oh, man this is a nice little background to the, pot just chirping Southern california. Birds BUT i so here's the, thing almost, ASSUREDLY i can. BET i can't bet, this BUT i would bet almost anything That reddick had no idea that no coach ever had played all five guys for the second half of a playoff, game like when he was doing, It, like why would? HE i didn't know, it you know WHAT i, MEAN i.
Made history, right.
Correct i'm sure he knew it was, rare you know WHAT i? Mean it worth that no team ever in basketball. History and so then when they fall apart at the end and then he finds Out i'm the first guy to ever do, THIS i bet he felt a little boxed in and maybe even a little. Embarrassed and SO i just DON'T i think he has wound a little.
Tight AND i think that that, unfortunately manifested itself in big spots in his playing career and now first running the, playoffs manifested itself a bit in the first really big spot of his coaching, career that's. All it's not a lifelong. Indictment it just is what it.
Is