Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers - The Lakers Are Winning More Games, But What Have We Really Learned About Their Postseason Potential?

The Lakers Are Winning More Games, But What Have We Really Learned About Their Postseason Potential?

04/02/24 • 32 min

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Even as the Lakers are winning more games (7-3 over their last 10, 18-8 over their last 26), it's still a little tricky to figure out exactly what they are. How good are they? Are they more contender than pretender? What do you make of some of the big wins, like Milwaukee I and II, Minnesota, OKC, etc?

They're clearly much too good to be the genuinely mediocre/middish team they looked like they might be after the post-IST slump. Likely the Lakers finish 10-12 games over .500, which last year would have been enough for around a 4-seed in the West. Now? Likely ninth. But they're clearly not among the elite, either. Unless you're just thinking of results against the high end teams, in which case... they kind of are?

So much to sort out.

One big Q: Do the Lakers themselves- players and coaching staff- feel like they know? And more importantly, do they agree on the answer?

Meanwhile, the Lakers are getting nothing from their bench. Two points on Sunday, and not much more than that on most nights. How important is that, especially as we get closer to the playoffs, and a theoretical return for Jarred Vanderbilt, as well?

Finally, LeBron's greatness creates hard questions for Rob Pelinka now, and down the road.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, with Guest Aaron Larsuel!

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are winning, but do we really know what they are?

SEGMENT 2: Is the bench really a problem?

SEGMENT 3: LeBron now, LeBron down the road...

So much to sort out.

One big Q: Do the Lakers themselves- players and coaching staff- feel like they know? And more importantly, do they agree on the answer?

Finally, LeBron's greatness creates hard questions for Rob Pelinka now, and down the road.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, with Guest Aaron Larsuel!

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are winning, but do we really know what they are?

SEGMENT 2: Is the bench really a problem?

SEGMENT 3: LeBron now, LeBron down the road...

Previous Episode

LeBron James Hits Nine 3's, Scores 40, (Sloppy) Lakers Beat Nets 116-104

After dropping Friday's game to the Pacers in Indiana, the Lakers restarted their roadtrip in Brooklyn with a clear mandate - sweep the final three games, all coming against weak teams.

And on the one hand, the Lakers did some serious work early, running out to a 17-0 lead, while ballooned to 31-11 by the end of the first quarter. That gave them some wiggle room over the final three quarters, and unfortunately the Lakers decided to use it. Particularly in the third quarter, where the Lakers committed a parade of turnovers that let the Nets cut a lead that had grown as high as 26 back down to single digits. Chalk up some of them to to decent play from Brooklyn, but most of them were simply a result of sloppiness from LA. It was the difference between an easy win where the starters need to play deep into the fourth and one where LeBron, Anthony Davis and Co. could have sat down much faster.

There were plenty of good stat lines. LeBron James had 40 points, tying a career high with nine 3-pointers (on only 10 tries). Anthony Davis finished with 24/14. Rui Hachimura finished with 20 points on a very efficient 8-12 shooting. As a team the Lakers were over 54% from the floor, and held Brooklyn to 42%. Literally the only reason the Nets had a chance was because the Lakers let them.

The Lakers only had two points off the bench, a bucket from Gabe Vincent, who played 14 minutes in his first game in months, and only his sixth overall. The Lakers tried a few different lineup combinations, and have some choices to make going forward. Do you trust Darvin Ham to manage this?

In the end, it was a game much like others they've played this year -- plenty to like, but just enough to shake your head at to keep it from being fully satisfying. But they got the win they needed, and now can head to Toronto with a chance to keep a 5-1 trip alive.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky (with guest Daman Rangoola)

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get up big early, close strong.

SEGMENT 2: How should the Lakers integrate Gabe Vincent?

SEGMENT 3: Do the Lakers still have strong postseason prospects?

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Next Episode

Lakers Roll Raptors 128-111, 4-1 on Road Trip... But Will They Ever Move Up in the Standings?

The Lakers this season have generally played to the level of their competition. That's a nice thing in games against, say, Milwaukee or Oklahoma City. But it's been an issue against the lousy teams in the league as well. Tuesday in Toronto, the Lakers faced off against a Toronto Raptors team that had lost 13 straight games, and simply could not afford a letdown. This was a game they needed to win...

And it was one of their better games of the season against a team like this one. After a slow start, the Lakers took control about halfway through the first quarter. They hit a minor lull near the half, but then came out in the third and completely blew the game open with a 36-21 quarter and in the end, the players you want to see playing in the fourth (Maxwell Lewis, Colin Castleton, etc.) were on the floor, and Anthony Davis and LeBron James were both under 30 minutes.

Only one starter (D'Angelo Russell) cracked that 30 minute barrier.

That'll help tonight when the Lakers face off against the Wizards in Washington, in another must-win game and a chance to move 11 games over .500 and finish the road trip at 5-1.

Is the rest of the conference cooperating? Not really! But the Lakers are, at the least, taking care of what they can, and are giving themselves a chance to improve their postseason lot. That's about all they can do at this point.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers win in Toronto

SEGMENT 2: 10 games over .500... and still stuck in 9th...