Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

For most of the night, the Lakers looked like they weren't going to have a chance to win... then all of a sudden they not only had a chance, but found themselves up four with three minutes to play. From there, though, they couldn't extend the comeback. Giannis poked the ball away from LeBron James on the final trip, and the Lakers lose 105-101. 

It's the first clutch time loss of the year for the purple and gold, and it came largely because Luka Dončić had likely his worst game as a Laker, finishing 8-25 from the...

It's only early January, but we've already seen the first big deal of the year, as Trae Young was sent to Washington. Giannis says he's not asking out in Milwaukee, and the Bucks are reportedly trying to find ways to improve. 

Yep, we're in the thick of it. 

For the Lakers, it's a tricky proposition. With 23 wins, they're among the league leaders. But their 12 losses have all been by (famously at this point) double digits. So their flaws are pretty clear. So what's available to help address them? ESPN on Thursday put out a few hy...

It's hard to fault the effort, but the Lakers—who added LeBron James to the list of guys in street clothes, to go along with Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura—ultimately were out-talented Wednesday night in San Antonio. Final score, 107-71. 

It was a sloppy game, for sure, but the Lakers did what they could to stay in it. What they needed, though, was a night where the whole team shoots well from downtown, offense came from surprising sources, or maybe both. Those things didn't happen, so the Lakers were essentially left with a very, very good Luka...

It wasn't a work of art, but it was enough to get the job done. 

After being outplayed in the third quarter, the Lakers entered the fourth down seven in their visit to New Orleans against the Pelicans. At that point, LeBron James took over, looking extremely spry as he put on an offensive show (including one steal and finish at the other end). Luka Dončić hit a pair of improbable 3's late, and the defense held down the Pels en route to a 111-103 win. 

Overall, it was probably LeBron's strongest game of the...

It's not exactly a rumor, more a suggestion. On the "Run It Back" podcast, former Laker DeMarcus Cousins suggested the purple and gold swap Austin Reaves for Dillon Brooks. No doubt, the Suns wing, who is having a fantastic year, has been linked to the Lakers in rumors before, but the suggestion from Cousins got a lot of attention. 

Could it happen? Suns owner Mat Ishbia shot it down on Monday, for whatever that's worth. Brooks, he said, isn't going anywhere. Nor does it seem likely the Lakers would make that offer, anyway. 

But the wh...

At halftime, Sunday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies looked like it might be one of the more frustrating losses of the year, as LA allowed 65 points to an undermanned Memphis squad, and couldn't get any real rhythm to their offense. 

By the end, all was well in the word. 

Final score, 120-114. A strong push in the fourth quarter from LeBron James (26 points, 10 assists, one turnover) combined with a strong game from Luka Dončić (36/9/8) and another good one from Jake LaRavia (26 points) was enough to give the Lakers the margin they needed. More than anyt...

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

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After Tuesday's loss to Detroit, JJ Redick noted that the Lakers have an identity problem. In the sense that they don't really have an identity. 

For Thursday's show, we talked about part of that equation, namely leadership. The team is in a transition from a LeBron-voiced squad to one where Luka Dončić is both the face and the leader, and unquestionably the team's best player. But the styles are very different, and both elevating Luka and having LeBron step back are muddling things. 

But another part of the lack of identity? 

Roster. 

T...

After the loss Tuesday to Detroit, Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked about the team's identity, and whether they've been able to forge one.

His answer... not really, but they're trying.

There are plenty of reasons. Injuries, first and foremost. The Lakers simply haven't been able to keep not just individual players on the floor, bujt run with a reasonably consistent rotation since the beginning of the year. All three stars have missed time. Every supporting player, basically the same. The number of starting lineups at this point is pretty crazy.

Still, it...

The Kings on Sunday provided a brief respite from their troubles, but the Lakers were neck deep in them again on Tuesday, with the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons in town. The Lakers seemed to be outplayed in the first half, with the Pistons shooting 68%, Cade Cunningham shooting 9-13, and the Lakers turning the ball over 12 times, yet the purple and gold entered the break down by five. 

They managed to keep it close in the third, even managing to pull even, despite many, many moments where it felt like Detroit would pull away. 

But in th...

Technically, the last time LeBron James missed the All-Star Game was ... last year, when he couldn't play because of injury. The last time he wasn't on the team? 2004, in his rookie season. 

But that streak is in jeopardy. James, who has only played 14 games this season, is way behind in the first round of fan voting, released Monday by the NBA. If he can't make an electoral comeback, he'd have to find an alternate way onto the team, and given his (by his standards) relatively modest output to this point in the season, there's certainly no guarantee h...

The Lakers got some bad news this weekend, as the team learned Austin Reaves is going to miss weeks with a recurrence of his calf injury, but even with that in mind, a loss against the nine-win Sacramento Kings at home? For the team's fourth setback in a row? 

That would set off all the alarms. 

No worries! The Lakers took care of business, getting out to a lead in the first half that they never relinquished, en route to a comfortable 125-101 win. Luka Dončić led the way with 34 points, along with seven dime...

It seems to be getting worse before it gets (hopefully) better. 

The Lakers spoiled Christmas with a very, very lackluster effort against the visiting Houston Rockets. The Lakers were flat from the get go, fell down by 12 after the first quarter, and never really threatened to get back into it. They simply aren't functioning well enough on the defensive side of the ball to reliably make a comeback on a team like Houston. Not just because the Rockets can defend, and but because there's no reason in the slightest to believe they can get enough stops. 

...

The game was going well enough, until it didn't. Playing without Luka Dončić and Rui Hachimura, and with Austin Reaves back in the lineup but restricted in his minutes (he came off the bench), there was certainly a chance the Lakers could struggle, but man alive, once the struggle kicked in near the end of the first half, things got very ugly very fast. 

Halfway through the second, the Lakers were down three. They finished the half down 11. They were outscored in the third by 16. Game set match. Final score, 132-108.

It was arguably the...

The last time the Lakers played the Suns, there were fireworks. There were technical fouls. There was a tremendous amount of tension between Suns wing Dillon Brooks and LeBron James. Tuesday in Phoenix, it's another round in this longstanding rivalry. They are, to paraphrase Muhammad Ali, gonna get it on, because they don't get along. 

The rest of the game, however, could look significantly different than last week when these teams met at the Crypt. 

Luka Dončić, who left Saturday's game against the Clippers at the half thanks to what we now know is a ca...

The Lakers have had a tremendous amount of turnover in their lineups this season, thanks to a string of injuries to important players. Moreover, those injuries seem to be overlapping in ways that make it impossible for one group to get a high number of reps. Yet the team is still winning a lot of games. 

So are the injuries helping the Lakers build resilience and chemistry that will serve them well in the postseason? 

Are the injuries limiting the team's ability to maximize its ceiling? 

Yes to both? 

That would be a...

The Lakers have not been an offensive juggernaut this year on a game-to-game basis, and on Saturday against the Clippers at the Intuit Dome arrived without Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and as a late addition to the injury report, Rui Hachimura. That's a lot of production in street clothes. 

And then Luka Dončić took the floor, and looked uncomfortable physically from the jump. It only got worse. By halftime he was limping around pretty clearly... and then he didn't return for the third and fourth quarters. 

So now it was LeBron James leading a game...

The Lakers seemed content just to run with Utah and try to exchange buckets for a while. The first half in particular was some of the worst defense you'll see at the NBA level. 

After the break, though, the Lakers started to right the ship on that side, and down the stretch clearly bumped up the effort. The result was a 143-135 win over the Jazz in Utah. Luka Dončić led the way with a dominant 45 point, 11 rebound, 14 assist night. LeBron James was a major contributor, with 28 points and 10 dimes. Playing without Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayt...

The Lakers have a sneaky-tough game in Utah Thursday against a Jazz team that has righted the ship after an awful start to the year. LA, still without Austin Reaves, will also be short Deandre Ayton, who will miss the game with an elbow injury. 

Maxi Kleber should be available, so the Lakers will have two centers to use against Utah's size, but how will JJ Redick change his rotation? 

He certainly hopes he gets more defense from Luka Dončić and LeBron James. Luka spoke at Wednesday's practice about how he and The King were...

December 15 is a big day in the NBA, as the vast majority of players who moved in the offseason become eligible to be traded. Many around the league consider it the unofficial kickoff of "trade season." 

The Lakers enter this stretch of weeks in an interesting spot: Obviously quite competitive (just look at the standings) and obviously flawed (just look at how they've lost, when they've lost). Figuring out where they go from here is not an easy task. On the one hand, they have Luka Dončić, a still-effective LeBron James and an ascending Austin Reaves. But...

The Lakers found a fun formula against the Phoenix Suns Sunday, one that lifted their defensive energy and built up a big fourth quarter lead. (We're ignoring the part about how they gave all of it away, before winning in the end.) It involved a lot of defensive pressure and offensive rebounding, both of which were big contributions of Jarred Vanderbilt in his return to the lineup. 

Vando had a great game, no question. But he's had great games before, and more of a challenge sustaining that level. Or, you might think that his coaches have struggled t...

That game was bananas, but in the end, the Lakers win. 

116-114 was the final, as the Suns and Lakers went back and forth with some wild runs, an individual rivalry that got super heated betwen LeBron James and Dillon Brooks, tons of foul calls and almost incomprehensible rebounding figures throughout (at one point deep into the second half, the Lakers had more offensive rebounds than defensive). But while Luka Dončić got his 29 and LeBron James 26, on a night the Lakers were without Austin Reaves, it was the supporting cast that provided the energy and fuel to...

The Lakers got thumped by San Antonio on Wednesday, and in what is becoming a trend for this Lakers squad, when they lose, they lose. 

But this loss, more than others, seems to have created significant attention around the team, how it's constructed, and whether or not its flaws are correctable. Because the Spurs were faster than the Lakers, they put pressure on the defense the Lakers couldn't handle, and (more or less) kept them - and especially Austin Reaves - off the free throw line. 

The Lakers are going to struggle to get faster. Th...

The Lakers have been eliminated from NBA Cup play, losing to San Antonio in the quarterfinals Wednesday night at Crypto. 

There wasn't much to love in this one. The Lakers got off to a decent enough start, but once San Antonio found their legs, the Lakers just couldn't keep up. Final score, 132-119. 

The big issues were defensive, where the Lakers simply couldn't string together enough stops to hang with San Antonio, and then claw their way back into the game after falling behind. The Spurs were able to get out into transition, outscoring the La...

Twenty-three games into the season, by and large, the Lakers have been a fairly unimpressive defensive team. It's not necessarily a shock, given a roster that doesn't feature many plus-defenders, particularly among the players slated to log the most minutes. For the opening three quarters of contests, the Lakers often get by despite their defense, rather than through the strength of it.

However, once the fourth quarter begins, and especially in the last five minutes of games (otherwise known as "clutch time"), something pretty crazy has regularly taken place. The Lakers morph into a good defense. During...

Wednesday night's game against the Spurs at Crypto.com isn't just big because it's a Cup quarterfinal, and a victory means more $ for players and coaches with a chance for even bigger checks. It's also because San Antonio represents a major challenge for the Lakers, and an opportunity to send a message against a high level Western Conference team. Spurs star Victor Wembanyama won't be in uniform, as he's not quite ready to return to action following a calf strain. But two other exciting young players, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, have returned from injury. 

So this g...

LeBron James bounced back with a huge game Sunday in Philadelphia. Does that mean he's back? What exactly does "back" mean for LeBron this year? Will it look different than last year? Than years before? It seems the Lakers are going to handle him with a little more care than the last two seasons, and with postseason awards likely out of reach (he won't hit the minimum game threshold) does that give the Lakers even more flexibility?

Plus... the Lakers are 8-0 in what the NBA defines as "clutch" games. Why exactly have they been so successful...

The Lakers have had to scramble over the weekend to keep lineups on the floor, but Sunday the gang was (save Marcus Smart) back together. 

Luka Dončić was back from Slovenia, where he was celebrating the birth of his daughter, and LeBron James was back in the lineup after missing Friday's game in Boston. 

They certainly needed both. LeBron had, without question, his most impactful game since returning to the lineup, scoring early and late, hitting 12-17 from the floor, including 4-6 from 3-point range en route to 29 points. He added seven rebounds and six...

You can't fault the effort, whether from Austin Reaves (9-18, 36 points, eight assists) or the team in general. The Lakers were missing Luka Dončić, still away from the team, as well as LeBron James and Marcus Smart, and the Celtics came into Friday's game red hot. 

In theory, nothing had to give, and it didn't. 

The Lakers lose, 126-105. 

There aren't that many takeaways in this one, to be honest. The Lakers ran into the same challenges they've faced in other games without Luka and LeBron, namely a lack of firepower and espec...

Wow. 

The Lakers, playing shorthanded in Toronto—no Luka Dončić (personal) and Marcus Smart (back)—against a 15--win Raptors squad, had to dig deep and stay resilient, and then ride some excellent performances to secure a big win, 123-120 on a game-winning triple from Rui Hachimura. 

The star of the game was clearly Austin Reaves, who dropped 44 points and added 10 assists. He once again was enormous in a game where Luka wasn't available, and not just offensively. Reaves drew two critical fourth quarter charges, as well. Jake LaRavia played his best game in a while, w...

First things first -- the Lakers will be shorthanded in Toronto Thursday evening, as Luka Dončić is away from the team for personal reasons, and Marcus Smart is still unable to suit up with back spasms. (There is a strong possibility both will miss Friday's game in Boston as well, but it's too early to say.) 

So facing two quality teams in a back-to-back situation, the Lakers will need to dig deep. LeBron James presumably won't play in both games (the Lakers have made it clear he's not yet built up enough to play on consecutive day...

After (Monday's loss to Phoenix notwithstanding) feasting on a relatively soft portion of the schedule, the Lakers now embark on a challenging run of games, starting with three on the road (Toronto, Boston, Philly) followed by a home (Cup!) game against San Antonio. 

One of the things that could push the Lakers through would be a surge of good play from LeBron James, who has looked pretty mid (especially by his standards) since returning to the lineup. Monday, he had to hustle to get to 10 points and keep his nearly career-long double digit scoring streak alive. He w...

Sunday, the Lakers played a great first quarter and then three very, very ordinary ones. That was more than enough to beat the woeful New Orleans Pelicans, but it was pretty clear a better performance would be required Monday night to beat a Phoenix team that has been one of the NBA's better surprises. 

Well, it didn't happen. Final score, Phoenix 125, Lakers 108. And this even after Suns star Devin Booker left the game after 10 minutes of play, with a groin injury.

The purple and gold were low on energy for most of the night, and a...

A quick look at Monday's game between the Lakers and Suns, and how different areas on the floor could affect both teams offensively and defensively.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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First and foremost, the Lakers understood the assignment playing against a very shorthanded version of a very bad New Orleans Pelicans squad. Come out fast, build a lead, and don't put yourself in position to give one away. 

And that's what the Lakers did, finishing the first quarter with a 19-point lead, en route to a 133-121 win. 

Luka Dončić finished with 34/12/7 on 9-22 from the floor. Austin Reaves had 33 points, on a highly efficient 9-15 shooting (including 4-7 from 3-point range), along with five rebounds and eight assists. Deandre Ayton, who did leave the...

It wasn't necessarily the sharpest effort the Lakers have put out all year, but it was more than good enough. 

The Lakers used highly efficient nights from Luka Dončić (35 points on only 18 field goal attempts), Austin Reaves (12-15 from the floor, 6-8 from 3-point range, 38 points) and Deandre Ayton (8-9 from the floor) to push past Anthony Davis and the visiting Dallas Mavericks, 129-119. As a team, the Lakers shot nearly 60 percent from the floor. they were 21-26 from the line, and 18-35 from three. Clearly this was a very good offensive night against one of the...

Happy Thanksgiving! And if you need something to be thankful for, how about the incredible turn of good fortune that the Lakers have seen over the last year, thanks to the largesse of former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, who (and it still defies explanation) gifted Luka Doncic to purple and gold. 

That trade yanked the Lakers out of a purgatory where they were not going to be bad thanks to the LeBron James/Anthony Davis/Austin Reaves core, but they certainly weren't going to win a title, had no clear runway to a title, and had nothing b...

The Lakers shooting woes have been well documented (on this show, and around Lakers Nation). For one night at least, that wasn't a problem, as the battle of LA goes to the purple and gold, 135-118. 

Luka Dončić made his first five 3-pointers, and as a team the Lakers 45% from downtown (13-29). 

The efficiency from the starters, though, was incredible. Luka, at a very tidy 14-28 had the worst FG% among the group. Together, they were 43-72, nearly 60%. The Lakers aren't going to lose many games when the starters shoot like that. Even when they...

The Lakers will be without starting center Deandre Ayton for Tuesday's game against the Clippers. And while that will certainly impact them on the defensive end, it's likely to have even more effect on how the Lakers try to score. 

Ayton has been a key cog in the team's attack, providing high percentage shots near the bucket, along with a key for unlocking the mid-range spaces with his pick and pop ability. Without Ayton, the Lakers have Maxi Kleber and Jaxson Hayes available, plus (maybe) new two-way signing Drew Timme (fare ye well, Christian Koloko). Each has h...

The Lakers are 12-4, and did in fact win Sunday's game in Utah, 108-106.

After that, there wasn't a ton to love, because this was a pretty ugly win. The Lakers continue to be a tremendously bad three point shooting team. Sunday, their top three players, Luka Donćić, Austin Reaves and LeBron James were a combined 4-24 from 3-point range. That obviously isn't getting it done, and the struggle isn't exactly new for this squad.

And it emphasizes how good the Lakers have been inside the arc. Luka, especially continues to draw tons of wh...

A sleepy Thursday in El Segundo got a LOT busier when it was revealed (by the brothers telling ESPN) that Joey and Jesse Buss, who ran the South Bay Lakers and the scouting apparatus, respectively, had been fired by the team. 

No announcement was made by the Lakers, and the two of them were reportedly told of their dismissal by the team's CFO, not (former) owner Jeanie Buss or GM Rob Pelinka. Later in the afternoon, Jesse Buss spoke with The Athletic's Dan Woike, and didn't really hold back. While he come off as angry or petty (t...

The Lakers have first world problems. They now have to figure out how to integrate LeBron James into a pairing of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves that has developed strong chemistry in the 14 games that James missed with sciatica. 

There is at least some question of how they'll do it, and whether or not there just aren't enough basketballs, and all the other arguments that are typically made by observers, for reasons that might be valid... and for reasons that might not. How it looks on the floor is still something of a work in progress, whe...

The Lakers had to wait until Game 15 to see it happen, but LeBron James finally played his first game of his 23rd NBA season, and while it took a sec to get going, once it did, the results were great. 

LeBron was integral to a second half push that turned what had been a close game into a relative blowout, as the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 140-126 at Crypto.com Arena. LeBron was quiet from a scoring standpoint (11 points) but was a terror as a distributor, finishing with 12 dimes and setting up a series of buckets f...

JJ Redick has some first world problems to deal with. LeBron James is on his way back, and after practicing Monday in El Segundo could make his season debut Tuesday night against the Jazz. But even if that has to wait until Sunday's rematch in Utah, the Lakers are basically whole for the first time this year. (Not only was LBJ on the practice floor Monday, Gabe Vincent was as well.) 

So now JJ has to make some choices about his lineup, most notably, who starts? 

The Lakers will obviously put Luka Dončić, LeBron, Dean...

The Lakers finished their five game road trip in fine form, beating up the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Now they return home to some good news, with LeBron James expected to return to practice Monday. Whether he plays Tuesday at home against the Jazz remains an open question, but if he doesn't, barring any sort of setback it's a pretty safe bet he'll play on Sunday in Utah. Not only does that long stretch between games give LeBron a chance to gain a little more strength and fitness, it also lets the Lakers get some practice time in...

Now THAT'S more like it. The Lakers—playing the second night of a back-to-back and coming off a good, but not exactly inspiring win in New Orleans—came out of the gate red hot and sharp in Milwaukee, using high end offense and excellent defense to build a 30-point lead on the home team in the first half. 

That was the best combination of offense and defense the Lakers have played all year. In the end, the Lakers absorbed a third quarter run from the Bucks and never let the lead drop back to single digits. Final score...

It wasn't a nailbiter, it wasn't a disaster, it wasn't a dominant performance. The Lakers came to play, but they didn't necessarily play well. Final score against a very, very bad New Orleans team, 118-104. 

Austin Reaves led the Lakers in scoring, with 31 points, using 13 trips to the free throw line to push the attack. Luka Dončić wasn't efficient (6-16) but did finish with 24 points and a healthy 12 assists against three turnovers. Deandre Ayton (10-11, 20 points, 16 rebounds with a two steals and a block) was probably the team's most consistent player. 

The Lakers certainly got...

JJ Redick laid it out plainly - the Lakers have been lousy thus far on their first extended road trip of the season. 

As a reminder, they forgot to show up against a wildly shorthanded Hawks squad. Then they played one good half of hoops to bury a terrible (and shorthanded) Hornets team. They lost in Oklahoma City by a billion. It's not been a fun tour of the country thus far. And so the Pelicans, who will be without Jordan Poole and Zion Williamson and have only won two games this season and have the West's w...

First and foremost, the Thunder are awesome. What they did Wednesday night to the Lakers in Oklahoma City they've basically done to every team they've played this season. It's why they've lost only once and have a point differential that is the league's best and went up considerably after the Thunder beat the Lakers 121-92.  

LA was overmatched from the start, and never found their way into the game. The primary differentiator in this one was OKC's defense—fueled by their absurd athleticism and wealth of high end defenders—which was suffocating and made life impossible for Luka...

The Lakers have a big game tonight in Oklahoma City against a Thunder squad that is throttling the NBA, even while All NBA forward Jaylen Williams hasn't played a single minute this year. Chet Holmgren has missed time, as has Lu Dort. Doesn't matter. 

The Thunder have been incredibly good defensively, for starters, and that doesn't change when the lineup shuffles around. (The offense does, but that's a different story.) So the Lakers have to figure out how to navigate an incredibly disruptive defense that can out-athlete them all over the floor. Of course, that was the s...

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get Reaves back, a big night from Luka... and a win.
SEGMENT 2: Rui Hachimura's big third quarter. 
SEGMENT 3: The Marcus Smart Experience.

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As poorly as the Lakers played Saturday in Atlanta, we'll get a quick idea of whether or not they learned a lesson. Because the Lakers now head into Charlotte, who like the Hawks are missing a bunch of key players, including LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. 

When whole, the Hawks are a good team in the East, but should have been beaten without so many key players. The Hornets are terrible no matter who is playing for them. And without two of their stars, plus a questionable Miles Bridges, there is simply no excuse for the Lakers n...

The Lakers, even without LeBron James and Austin Reaves—who continues to nurse a groin injury—had a golden opportunity to keep momentum going Saturday in Atlanta, against a Hawks team missing Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porzingis. Most of their available players were folks only die hards and serious fantasy players would know. 

Maybe the Lakers thought it would be easy? Because this was easily their worst effort since the opener. Final score, 122-102, and honestly it wasn't that close. 

The Lakers were inattentive all night, particularly on defense. They turned the ba...

The Lakers released some good news Thursday. LeBron James has resumed full contact basketball activities, and will be re-evaluated in another week or two. Keep in mind, he missed all of training camp, and the last bit of run up heading into camp, so James is definitely behind in his fitness. He needs to make sure he's fully prepared to play before stepping back on an NBA court. 

He won't accompany the team on the upcoming road trip, and that's actually a good sign. It means he can really intensify the ramp up. The earliest then he c...

Playing without Austin Reaves (along with the already injured LeBron James) the Lakers faced a tough game Wednesday against a one-loss San Antonio squad, led by Victor Wembanyama. 

It was, by everyone's account, an ugly, choppy and loooooooooong game with eleventybillion free throws, but in the end the Lakers found a way to win, grinding out a 118-116 victory to run their record to 7-2 on the season. 

Luka Dončić finished one rebound short of another triple double, and while it wasn't his most efficient game of the year (9-27 from the floor) Luka was...

The Lakers are playing well. They've won six of eight without LeBron in the lineup. Luka Donćić has missed four games, and the Lakers have won three. The new guys, most notably Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton are all making very strong early season contributions. so while a lot of attention has rightly gone to the production Luka is putting forth when he does play, or the incredibly high level Austin Reaves has been performing, it's worth making sure any discussion of the strong start gives credit to GM Rob Pelinka - not the most favored ma...

The Lakers came into the game Monday in Portland without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, getting the night off after beating Miami Sunday at home. LeBron James is still on the sidelines. Gabe Vincent is still hurt. So a lot -- a lot -- of star power and rotation depth was in street clothes. 

So if you were expecting a blowout, you were almost right... but probably not in the way you expected. The Lakers used a very strong second half to pull away from the Blazers, winning 123-115. Huge games from Deandre Ayton in h...

The Lakers came home on a quick trip, facing a stronger-than-expected Miami Heat squad looking to add some legitimacy to their solid start to the season. 

It was an entertaining, fast paced game, but one the Lakers kept control of, pulling away at the end for a 130-120 win. 

Luka Dončić led the way with yet another triple-double (29/11/10, along with three steals), and Austin Reaves had 26 (to go with 11 assists of his own), but neither guy was efficient from 3-point range (5-25 between them). No worries, the rest of the team had them covered. Rui...

The Lakers got a Halloween treat Friday when Luka Dončić and Marcus Smart were upgraded to probable ahead of their game in Memphis, and man alive, did it turn into quite a fright for the Grizzlies. 

Luka dropped a smooth 44 in his return, to go along with 12 rebounds and six assists. He was, once again, incredible, in MVP form. 

The Lakers, meanwhile, got supporting performances from Jake LaRavia and Jaxson Hayes off the bench, and Smart helped set a tone defensively in a second half where the Lakers held Memphis to 43 points. 

So co...

The recent updates and news about the health of Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart were certainly trending towards an impending return to action, with Smart seemingly more likely to suit up tonight in Memphis vs. the Grizzlies. But as it turns out... both have been upgraded to probable, which in all likelihood means they'll be taking the court.

For obvious reasons, this is great news. The team needs more ball-handlers (and bodies). Austin Reaves, incredible as he's played while holding down the fort, needs more help. JJ Redick needs more optionality. The Lakers need to capitalize on...

For the first time in more than 46 years, the Lakers are run by a person whose last name is not Buss." 

The Mark Walter Era is officially among us. Lakers fans will be watching intently for signs of change to both the day to day operations of the Lakers as a business and (more importantly for most) basketball team but change is going to come, it's just a matter of when. In the meantime, what are the things people expect to see? 

How much control will Jeanie Buss, who remains as the team's governor, actually ha...

Once again, the Lakers entered a game missing critical players, with Luka Dončić still out, Marcus Smart downgraded during the day (to out) and star/key pieces (LeBron James, Gabe Vincent) still sidelined. 

Once again, the Lakers put in a high quality effort, displaying a lot of heart, plenty of grit and surprisingly good execution. It was enough to give them a 20 point lead in the fourth quarter... one that totally disappeared. Down one with under 10 seconds to play, the Lakers put the ball in the hands of Austin Reaves, who split a trap, got into the...

The Lakers are in a bind, playing for at least a few more days without Luka Dončić, and for a lot more than that without LeBron James. But the hope for Wednesday in Minnesota at least is that the Lakers could get Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes back, which would make a huge difference against a Wolves squad missing Anthony Edwards. 

The Lakers are obviously getting a ton of production out of Austin Reaves (more on that in a moment), and that's just keeping them afloat. But while it's never good for this many guys to be...

The Lakers were a step beyond shorthanded Monday, playing without Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Jaxson Hayes, Gabe Vincent (who is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with damage to his ankle) and Maxi Kleber. This on the second night of a back to back. So they were very, very short of ball handlers, very short of scoring, and were up against one of the more athletic and aggressive teams in the league. 

It wasn't pretty, but you can't fault the effort. Lakers still lose, though, 120-108. 

Too many turnovers (23) not enough shooting (7-27), not...

Sunday started with bad news, as the Lakers learned that Luka Dončić will miss the next week (at least) with a sprained finger on his left hand, and a lower body contusion. While the Lakers arent' reportedly all that concerned about the long-term severity of either, the schedule isn't kind, here. The Lakers play five games over the course of the week, starting Sunday in Sacramento. 

So no Luka, no LeBron James, no Jaxson Hayes for good measure, who missed another game with a knee injury. 

They'd need something special to win, and man aliv...

Now THAT'S more like it. 

After a bad opening to the season on Tuesday against Golden State, the Lakers raised their level against a very good Minnesota team and bounced back with their first win of the season, 128-110. It was fueled, particularly early, by Luka Dončić, who scored 23 points in the first quarter, en route to 49 points overall. (To go with 11 rebounds and eight assists.) 

But the game turned when the rest of the cast started really pitching in, especially by changing the defensive energy. Marcus Smart changed the vibe of the game in a...

The Lakers have a host of things to figure out ahead of tonight's game at the Crypt against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Not just because Minnesota is back in town after summarily dispatching the purple and gold in last year's playoffs -- though that's part of it -- they also badly need a bounceback performance following Tuesday's disappointment against the Warriors. 

So how to get there? 

One topic of conversation is still the starting lineup, and how Gabe Vincent was a magnet for mismatch hunting against Golden State. Jimmy Butler found him repeatedly, and ate Vincent fo...

First things first -- Luka Dončić participated in Wednesday's practice, and according to JJ Redick seems fine following what looked like a groin/hip thing suffered late in Tuesday's loss to Golden State. 

He's expected to practice Thursday, and play on Friday when the Lakers host Minnesota at the Crypt. 

After that, there's a tremendous amount of uncertainty given the team's performance Tuesday night. There are questions about the bench, about diversity in scoring, about the relative lack of athleticism on the team relative to the rest of the West. How much of this is f...

The Lakers weren't great in the preseason, so in that sense, Tuesday's 119-109 opening night loss to the Warriors shouldn't be all that surprising. But in a game where Luka Dončić delivered 43 points, 12 rebounds and nine dimes and the Lakers still struggled to stay connected to Golden State, folks are going to be concerned.

The Lakers got production from an imperfect Austin Reaves (26/9), but everywhere else in the lineup it was ugliness. Deandre Ayton's regular season debut was a bust. He was tentative offensively and inert on the glass. He did manage to hit double figures in...

The Lakers open the season tonight! The real games begin. It's Lakers vs. Warriors, on Peacock! (Something new for this year, and an early taste of a new TV arrangement for the NBA.) 

The Warriors are a team that mirrors a lot of what we think about the Lakrs. Obviously very good. Capable of beating any team in any series, even if they're not quite capable of winning four of them to get an NBA chip. But in any best-of-seven, if playing at full strength, nobody will want to see them. On the other hand, they rely o...

JJ Redick threw the Lakers socialsphere a curveball in Friday's preseason finale, choosing to start guard Gabe Vincent in the open spot vacated by LeBron James's early season injury. This, when most people expected either Jarred Vanderbilt or Marcus Smart. 

So why Vincent? 

You can argue that Vincent may not be the best at any one thing the Lakers feel like they need, but he ticks more boxes overall. Outside shooting? Yes, the way he's been doing it in the preason, at least. Defense? Pretty good, and is very good on concepts and reliability. He's no...

Hosts Nick Angstadt (Locked On Mavs), Joe Mullinax (Locked On Grizzlies), Rylan Stiles (Locked On Thunder), Ben Beecken (Locked On Wolves), Matt Moore (Locked On Nuggets), Jackson Gatlin (Locked On Rockets), Ben Garcia (Locked On Suns), and David Locke (Locked On Jazz) break down whether the Oklahoma City Thunder can repeat atop the West without relying on injuries, focusing on the crucial offensive growth of Chet Holmgren and half-court improvements. The group debates Denver Nuggets’ chances to dethrone OKC, emphasizing their improved depth behind Nikola Jokic. Minnesota Timberwolves' and Houston Rockets' paths to contention depend on leaps from Anthony Ed...

Luka Dončić looks ready for the season to start, dropping 31 points, five rebounds and nine assists on the visiting Sacramento Kings on Friday in the final game of the preseason for the Lakers, but it wasn't enough to get a win. LA loses to the Kings, 117-116.

The "dress rehearsal" was interesting on a few levels, starting with... the starting lineup. Gabe Vincent was a surprise choice for the final slot, and to his credit he came out hot (as he's been throughout the preseason). Is he going to be the starter when the real games st...

The Lakers are down to one more preseason game, tonight at the Crypt vs. the Sacramento Kings. 

It will be the "dress rehearsal" JJ Redick has referenced for a few days. The hope, it had seemed, was to have two of these, but for whatever reason this will be the only game the Lakers will run with their opening night rotation. The starting lineup for Tuesday's season opener is still somewhat in question, but the tea leaves would indicate that Jarred Vanderbilt will slide into the spot created by LeBron James's injury. 

Tonight will certainly gi...

First things first: As suspected, LeBron James is hoping to return around mid-November, this from ESPN's Shams Charania. This timetable would have him missing about 15 games, which all things considered wouldn't be the worst outcome. James, who hasn't been able to participate in basketball activities since hurting himself in July, will need a few weeks to ramp up and ensure his fitness is restored to what it needs to be. If that happens around Halloween, mid-November is a reasonable target. Any delay, however... 

So the Lakers at least have some idea of how they'll play the first q...

It's been a disjointed preseason for the Lakers, with critical players in and out (or in the case of LeBron James, just out) of the lineup, whether in practices or in the first three exhibition games. 

But tonight, that all changes! Barring any last minute emergencies, the Lakers will get the first of two anticipated "dress rehearsals" ahead of next week's season opener at the Crypt against the Golden State Warriors. Of course, LeBron won't be in uniform, so the Lakers not only have to get everyone on the same page as Luka Dončić, who will mak...

There were a lot of things about Tuesday's game in Phoenix against the Suns more important than the final score. Luka Dončić made his preseason debut and was dominant, just as he was in Europe this summer, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in only 22 minutes of floor time. Austin Reaves had 25 of his own.

Deandre Ayton, who has been a rebounding monster this preseason, kept it up, with 13 boards and three blocks in his 26 minutes. Marcus Smart also made his Lakers debut, seeming to move freely in 20 minutes of burn (20 minutes in which he...

The Lakers got some good news on the floor Sunday, winning their first game of the exhibition season, 126-116 over Golden State at the Crypt. Strong games from Austin Reaves (who was banged up in the second half, but after the game was described as "fine" by JJ Redick), Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton -- three guys who will need to bring it without LeBron James in the lineup for the first 10 games at least. 

There were good performances from Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and more. Overall, a strong effort for LA, who were playing w...

The news out of El Segundo Thursday wasn't good. LeBron James, who hadn't participated in full speed drills yet this preseason, will miss the next 3-4 weeks with sciatica. At that point, he'll be re-evaluated. So there's really no guarantee all of this will be cleared up in a month. 

That means the Lakers will be without James almost surely for the first 9 or 10 games this season, and very (very, very) possibly for more. 

So what happens now? How much does this hurt the Lakers going forward? There is a tremendous amount to unpack, here. 

LeBron James has yet to practice with the Lakers during the preseason. That wait to hit the court will reportedly take even longer. Hosts: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! QuoSee why over 90,000 businesses trust Quo, formerly OpenPhone. Get started free and get 20% off your first 6 months at https://www.Quo.com/LOCKEDONNBA. PrizePicks Download the PrizePicks app today and use codeLOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNBA Peloton Let yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at h...

The Lakers are deep into their second week of training camp, creeping towards the opener on the 21st. 

LeBron James (nerve issue in his glute) hasn't practiced. And now Luka Dončić seems to be more limited now than he was last week. Luka missed the two preseason games the Lakers played last weekend, and has been a limited participant in practice since. Last week, Dončić was -- reportedly at least -- a participant in everything the Lakers were doing on the floor. 

That's not a good sign. 

Lakers fans are starting to see...

It was a big day for LeBron James news on Tuesday. First, James paid off the gigantic tease of the next big "Decision" he'd be making. And, as most of us suspected, it was in fact part of an ad campaign. 

But -- TWIST! -- instead of it being for Amazon Prime (Prime Day started Tuesday) it was actually for Hennessy. So LeBron chooses cognac! And in the process, got a lot of eye rolls from people who thought maybe bigger news was coming, or found the ad itself to be corny... which it kinda was because m...

The Lakers have lost their first two preseason games. More significant than the scores, though, are the names in the box score. Luka Dončić and LeBron James both sat out the weekend's games, as did Marcus Smart. Maxi Kleber has also been in street clothes, and Austin Reaves missed the second game after playing well in the preseason opener. 

No question, there are reasonable explanations for all of it. Luka played deep into Eurobasket (and has been on the practice floor through the first week). LeBron has been nursing a sore glute and noted heading into cam...

Overall, JJ Redick was happier with the effort in Sunday's 111-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco than he was with the preseason opening loss to Phoenix on Friday. 

And again, the Lakers were missing frontline players - this time, Luka Dončić and LeBron James sat again, and were joined by Friday's star Austin Reaves. Still no Marcus Smart or Adou Thiero. So not only were they short on talent compared to the Warriors, who played starters (at least in the first half), they were playing some combinations that likely won't be seen in...

The Lakers opened the preseason without a lot of rotation players in uniform (no Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent), and it certainly looked liked they missed them. 

While there were some good individual performances, as a group the Lakes were sloppy and couldn't make a bucket to save their lives (31 percent overall, 17 percent from downtown), losing to Phoenix 103-81. Austin Reaves played will in his minutes, with 20 points, three rebounds and two dimes. Rui Hachimura was active defensively and was second among starters with 11 points, but he was also 3-12 from the flo...

It's been a mantra for JJ Redick since the Lakers lost Game 5 against the Timberwolves in the first round of last year's playoffs—everyone needs to come back with championship level fitness. 

At the time, while people certainly applied it to the team at large, it was also seen as a message for Luka Dončić. To whatever extent it was, it's pretty clear Luka took the message to heart, given what he did with his body this offseason. But the Summer of Luka hasn't done anything to change Redick's emphasis on fitness as the Lakers have enter...

The Lakers open the preseason on Friday, and while there are plenty of issues to work out, and plenty of time to do it, it's not too early to get a feel for what the rotation could look like. 

Luka Dončić and LeBron James (who won't play Friday, but was doing individual drills on Wednesday) give the Lakers a ton of flexibility, based on having guard skills in forward bodies. Austin Reaves provides obvious guard skills as well. So that means JJ Redick can deploy his other assets creatively. Asked about the guard rotation Wednesday, there wer...

After a really fun first day of school (Media Day) the Lakers got down to work on Tuesday, and some of the shine came off the apple fairly quickly. 

Why? Health. 

First, LeBron James sat out with what JJ Redick described as "a little bit of nerve irritation in the glute." It's something the Lakers are obviously going to be careful with, and that could keep James on the sidelines for the full slate of preseason games as the Lakers work him through a "little bit longer" ramp up to the regular season opener on Oc...

Monday was the official start of the 2025-26 Lakers season, as Media Day hit El Segundo. 

It was a low key, mellow affair, with no drama to speak of, and little news to be made. This is a good thing, of course. Luka Dončić came to camp with a new contract in hand, and had very little to say that hadn't been said already. LeBron James put to bed any sense of dissatisfaction, showing serious enthusiasm and excitement for the upcoming season, even while avoiding (no surprise) any firm commitments about what his future holds. 

Ru...

It's finally here, people! The 2025-26 season for the LA Lakers kicks off today with Media Day. In less than a week, the Lakers will be playing preseason games. 

And while they don't open as favorites in the West, the Lakers definitely do open with the expectation of being very good, and should be a fun team to watch. It is, in the eyes of many, the true beginning of the Luka Dončić era in Los Angeles. It's his first Media Day in a Lakers uniform, his first time taking the photos and taping all the goo...

It's time for another episode of the NBA Squad! Today we are breaking down the Houston Rockets' nightmare Fred VanVleet injury, what we want to see from NBA Media Days, whether or not the Oklahoma City Thunder can take another step up and more!

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The Lakers braintrust met the media on Thursday ahead of next week's kickoff of training camp. As is his custom, Rob Pelinka opened with a sort of state of the union. Talked about the positive summer, the excitement of new acquisitions, and of course the amazing Summer of Luka. 

And then he dropped the big piece of news, almost as a throwaway line at the end: Earlier in the offseason, the Lakers gave head coach JJ Redick a contract extension. That's after one year of his coaching career (let alone his Lakers career) and with three years r...

With Brian out of town traveling, Aaron Larsuel, the former host of the Official Lakers Podcast, who's also worked for several NBA franchises (including the Lakers), drops by to offer thoughts on the upcoming season for the purple and gold. Together, they run through a bunch of overarching questions about this upcoming season, including...

- The starting lineup options

- Deandre Ayton's fit, on the court and culturally

- The "Summer of Luka," and what it could mean for this season

- How JJ Redick could best mesh Luka, LeBron and...

The Lakers have three starters everyone, from the org to fans to media all agree on. That would be Luka Dončić, Lebron James and Deandre Ayton. 

Austin Reaves is going to start, even though there's an active faction of Lakers fans who prefer he come off the bench. Sorry folks, that ain't happening. 

So that leaves a fifth spot, and presumably JJ Redick will be choosing between incumbent starter Rui Hachimura, and free agent acquisition Marcus Smart. There are a bunch of ways to look at how this should go, and reasons to lobby for...

The Lakers are unquestionably a very good team, but aren't generally considered a top contender in the Western Conference. 

There's a path to get there, but it involves unfortunate things happening to the teams that (on paper at least) are a notch above them in the preseason pecking order. Well, Monday one of those things seems to have happened. Houston point guard Fred VanVleet suffered a major knee injury—a torn ACL—that will require surgery and likely keep him out for the year. 

The Rockets have a pretty stacked roster overall, but VanVleet is a crit...

Rob Pelinka spoke with ESPN's Dave McMenamin last week, and needless to say had a tremendous amount of good stuff to say about new star Luka Dončić. Everything about this summer, McMenamin writes, has led Pelinka to believe the Lakers can do big things with Luka perhaps a little faster from a roster building standpoint than perhaps they originally thought. 

One big reason is Luka's offseason transformation, which either reinforces or reestablishes his status as one of the elite handful of best players on the planet. One of the best, if not perhaps the best, by the...

It's a Pacific Division preview with (most of) the Locked On hosts from around the west coast... and Arizona! Which of these five teams is best positioned to rack up the most wins? The Lakers, with the most top-end players of the bunch? The Clippers, with the most pure depth? The Warriors, with a roster that was one Steph Curry injury away from, at minimum, making the 2025 Western Conference Finals? The Suns, with the--- just kidding! The Suns have no chance at finishing on top. Ditto the Kings. But they're still interesting in a "train wreck" kinda way. 
Duration: 00:33:26

Fair to say people are fully invested in the LeBron James retirement tea leaves. 

So when he speaks about the subject, as he did this week on the 360 With Speedy show, it's going to get a lot of attention. And here, LeBron didn't reveal a ton, only (again) that he's (obviously) far closer to the end than the beginning. But to some ears, at least, you could hear hints that he's planning to stick around beyond this season, and overall there are certainly indications he's inclined to do so assuming he maintains his strong level of play a...

ESPN's annual Future Rankings had been a sad place for Lakers fans over the last few years, even when things were going well for the team. 

The Lakers may have had potential in the present, but down the road, things were a lot trickier. Building around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, for a variety of reasons, came with ... complexities. 

Now, however, things are looking bright. Why? Because a team that has Luka Dončić not only gets a top 5 (at worst) talent, they get him ENTERING HIS PRIME. This is critical not just because it mean...

The Summer of Luka continues, this time with a profile in WSJ Magazine, the long form arm of The Wall Street Journal. 

It's both a player profile -- one confirming again that Luka does, in fact, look awesome, physically -- and a fashion spread. And as the writer Jason Gay notes, the two are related. Most guys aren't all that interested in the modeling (which in this case includes a shot in the cold tub) if they're not feeling good about their appearance. 

The story was a nice introduction of Dončić to a demographic that...