LAKERHOLICS PODCASTS

As I predicted, the Raptors ran out of lucky bounces tonight and the Celtics moved on. I have the Celtics in 6 over the Heat, winning the East, and meeting the Lakers in the Bubble Finals. Looking forward to listening to the guys in the morning. This should be one their best podcasts ever.

Two more great playoff games for Gerald and Rafael to discuss. These playoffs just keep getting better and better. These are going to be the NBA playoffs for the ages. And what could be better than a Lakers and Celtics Finals?

Good podcast, guys. I think you’re overreacting to the Lakers taking their foot off the gas in Game 4. With the reminder from the Clippers, I think the Lakers destroy the Rockets in Game 5.

As for the Nuggets, a wave of great 3-point shooting brought them back. Looks like Lou Will might need to go off campus for some of his famous Atlanta chicken wings to get his game going. Love to see Denver force a Game 7 where anything can happen.

Great convo about Daniel House taking one for James Harden. Definitely something fishy about that entire situation. I think Rafael did a great job breaking down the rumors. Not a word from the NBA about who the third unnamed player was.

Raps have heart but, like I said, too many lucky bounces going their way set it up for them to lose in the end. Basketball gods giveth and taketh away. Like Rafael said, Raps deserved to lose and Celtics deserved to win. Depite my prediction, just couldn’t root for the Greenies.

“Studying game film…” LOL, too funny…

Great podcast dudes, good listen. Loved the chat about the House situation. If you haven’t checked it out Lakerholics give Raphael’s website a look. Lakers are picking at 28 and the mock drafts have been a lot of fun!

https://www.nbadraftjunkies.com/

Great podcast dudes, was hoping to be able to hop on but the early start time + 2-and-a-half year old made it difficult.

Spot on in regards to the Lakers defense being the star tonight. They showed up big.

I think the way they’re minimizing James Harden is threefold: taking away his step-back, forcing him to play a lot of defense resulting in wearing him down and giving Russell Westbrook license to shoot. Even if he plays as well as he did tonight Russell can’t kill you like James can.

I think the Rondo doubters can be forgiven for a few things: to measure a player solely in the playoffs or the regular season just isn’t how things are measured, it’s not really in a fan, media member or anyone’s DNA to say ‘he was crappy during the regular season but watch out now…it’s the playoffs!’ Yet there is a plethora of examples, especially in baseball, where some guys just lock in better with more on the line. I also think Rondo is, by nature, a gambler but that he plays a steadier game in the playoffs. Doesn’t try as ridiculous of passes, doesn’t jack up shots early in the clock, sticks to the defensive plan rather than just go for hero steals. All of that adds up to a less effective player in the regular season. #playoffrondoisreal #choochoo

LOL!!! The apology letter line is a classic.

If Houston can get both Russ and James to go off (efficiently), they get to the line like they did last night, a couple role gys do well, and they come out with the energy they ended with they can win games against us. But it’s hard to see all of that happening for three games in a row.

To magicman’s footnote on why it works for GS but not H-Town. The Rockets don’t have skilled size. Dray and Durant can both do it all, LT touched on that, but they also didn’t wholly move away from the low-post big man. They use a center, a true center, and they use them well. They can adapt. I think the true lesson Golden State (and Miami before that when LBJ was there) is that the ability to adapt is the key attribute to playoff success. You’re super-powerful single-use weapons is great in the regular season but you need to adapt to different looks in the playoffs. Sometimes you need range, other times you need to close for melee. Rockets have no adaptability.

Another thing to consider: the Rockets ought to come out really loose on Saturday, they could just be hitting some ridiculous shots and push it to 6. If our D is stout we’ll take it in 5. I called 6 games in both series and I couldn’t be happier to be wrong.

Good recap, Gerald. Let me know in the future if Rafael can’t make it and I’ll be glad to fill in.

Overall, excellent recap of the Clippers and Nuggets game. Who knew Gerald could be as outstanding an analyst as well as being a host extraordinaire.

Clippers D is too much for Denver. Just like last win, the Clips D on Jamal Murray was exceptional and they now have his number. PG dominating him.

Man, what a game between the Celtics and Raptors. That game is going to be fun. The Raptors live to play another game again! Bubble Playoffs may be the most exciting ever.

Kemba was the key down the stretch as the Celtics gave him the ball and the Raptors hunted him on defense. Powell showed the Raps have another great guard who might replace VanVleet if they lose him in free agency.

LOL. Gerald, Gerald, Gerald. Don’t dis Playoff Rondo. That’s going to come back and bite you, my friend.

Chillax. Lakers in 5.

Fun podcast by Gerald, Rafael, and me celebrating the Lakers win, the Bucks going fishing, and Billy Donovan looking for a new job. And Gerald finally admitting what Rafael and me knew, which is that Playoff Rondo is for real.

Also hear about the other great moves Frank Vogel made by benching McGee, doubling Harden, and finally playing real small ball with 5-out sets to unclog the paint in the second half. Great to see Frank make the changes I and others have been screaming for him to make. Better later than never.

While he should start Rondo, McGee’s minutes have been reduced to irrelevance. Lakers finally going and playing small to match up with Rockets. Should be the blueprint to beat the Clippers and Heat too. Unleashes LeBron and AD to attack the rim and LeBron to punish Tucker in the low post.

Great discussion dudes! I think the real key for the Lakers has been the improved focus on defense and getting guys in motion when Rondo or LeBron have the ball at the top of the key and along the perimeter. When we score easy buckets like that off the pass it opens up the entire offense. Houston has no adjustments to make, hoping we can wrap this up in 6 (I’m still of the opinion that Russ, James, et al have one more great game in ’em).

Playoff Rondo is real…today. The truth is Rondo can be as streaky as any other player on our team not named LeBron James or Anthony Davis. I’m a big Rondo fan, wanted him on the team since the breakfast he and Kobe shared all those years ago, and he’s been the leader on the team I always hoped. His statistical impact goes up and down. My fear is in one of the next 2 games he’ll have one of those 2-9 shooting (0-fer from three) and more turnovers than assists kind of games. I expect Houston to blitz Rondo in a manner similar to what we’ve been doing to Harden. They’ll force Rondo to shoot or make impossible passes, if they’re smart.

One wonders if McGee was “benched” or if his ankle acted up and Vogel stuck with what had worked in game. By that I mean is it an actual adjustment or is it more of a ‘going with a hot hand’ and we could easily see more minutes from either big if shots aren’t falling and the Rockets have a layup line going. Our great defense is a bigger reason that the offensive spacing for the switch is what I mean to say. LeBron’s magnificent defense, Rondo’s audibles on switching up the look and the overall blueprint the coaches have laid out is what is driving the rotation more than who is making shots, in my opinion.

Having said that, I said after game 1 this is bad series for Dwight, he doesn’t handle annoying well, gets whistled for silly fouls and a lot of Rockets check those boxes. He’s a better rim protector than JaVale is but McGee does better on the perimeter in regards to defending without fouling. Going to be interesting to see if Vogel sticks with what worked in games 2 and 3 or tries to go back to his old rotation in game 4 and beyond. I don’t consider it a lock that he has evolved his thinking or embraced the 5 out sets. I think that we’re switching up looks as much as anything else and I expect to se a combo attack in the next game.

All in all, I’m for whatever wins the game. If JaVale sits, cool. If Dwight plays 45 minutes, great. Buncha little dudes and AD? Fine. 5 out sets? Sure, if the shots are falling. Long as we can tack that W up and reduce the number from 10 to 9 on Thursday the manner in which we arrive there doesn’t really matter. Style points don’t count for much in my book.

Good podcast from Gerald and Rafael. I was visiting some friends for a socially distanced dinner so missed the Toronto-Boston game and only was able to listen to the Clippers-Nuggets game on Sirius XM on my way home. Man, the Nuggets blew a golden opportunity to steal this game from the Clippers. Very disappointing game from Murray. Couldn’t tell from listening to the Denver radio broadcast on Sirius whether it was Jamal just missing shots or the Clippers shutting him down. That allowed LA to double Joker, though, which turned the game around.

Good analysis from both Gerald and Rafael about Toronto’s and Siakam’s issues. Different series of Pascal played well but I also thought the 0.5 second miracle shot had changed the trajectory of that series. Now, I’m not sure. As Rafael pointed out, Gasol has been a big disappointment. Thankfully for the Raptors, Nick Nurse is not afraid to change his starting lineup unlike Vogel.

As Gerald commented, I’m now back on the Playoff Rondo train, partly because of his outstanding performance in Game 2 and partly because of looking closer at his numbers in the playoffs versus the regular season. I really think there is something to the theory that certain players can elevate their games in the playoffs and actually become better. Usually it’s a savvy veteran who’s kind of a coach on the floor who does this and that profile fits Rajon Rondo to the T. He may have a bad game here or there but I’m convinced the Legend of Playoff Rondo is a real thing.

I’ve been accused on Twitter of wanting to bench McGee because I was a Kuzma groupie, which is partially true. My issue has always been the Lakers should be playing a more modern offense with five players who can stretch the defense. I don’t like the overreliance on analytics that Morey and D’Antoni push but whether it’s the Warriors, Heat, Rockets, Celtics, or Raptors, it’s easy to see the advantages of s stretch five center. So give me Kuzma, Rondo, Morris, or even Caruso instead of McGee.

Cool chat fellers, have to agree with both of you guys that the underdog needs to be able to lock in and complete the KO when the chance arises. Denver reminds me of the Kobe-led squads prior to acquiring Gasol- decent talent, they have that star who gets you into the playoffs but then guys who are streaky need to be counted on and sometimes they show up…sometimes they’re Smush Parker. Jamal Murray is facing a quandary

Denver with Joker and Jamal aren’t going to be enough against the Clippers. LAC have enough defensive guys and bucket-getters that they can absorb average to likely even an above-average game from the Denver stars. Somebody else needs to be able to get easy baskets to relieve some pressure on those guys. Still don’t think that Denver has enough to move on but here’s hoping they push it to 7.

Toronto and Boston is going to be back and forth, the defense of both teams is solid but the issue with Boston is that they’re like a scoring hydra: too many weapons. Toronto needs to get their wings going and Boston is excellent at guarding wings. Interesting push and pull series. Also odd that Toronto hasn’t seen a lot out of Gasol and I know he’s capable of delivering more. Put him in the post, let him try and do some damage.

@gerald-glassford – totally agree on Marc Gasol point, lol.

Milwaukee is just a matter of time before they disgracefully exit the playoff Bubble. That will be a huge off-season topic of debate. Obviously they’ll put feelers out in regards to a Bledsoe trade but I don’t see anyone biting. Just hasn’t shown he’ll ever live up to that deal and it’s a down season for the cap. They’re stuck with him, Milwaukee is hoping the Basketball Gods grant another amnesty provision in the off-season. Going to be curious to see how they navigate the looming cap issues.

Here’s hoping the Lakers can take tonight’s game and start putting the pressure on Houston!!!