LAKERHOLICS PODCASTS

Some great conversations between Gerald, Raphael, and me about a situation bigger than any NBA playoffs. I think this is a golden opportunity for the players to use their power. Only problem is a Republican gerrymandered Wisconsin legislature and racist Kenosha police department. Playoffs may be dead.

Raphael is a prophet as he said this will all come down to what LeBron decides to do. If he goes home, playoffs are dead. If he wants to play, playoffs will go on. Right now, it’s 50/50 at best. Let’s hope and pray the boycott works and justice will served and we will still see the Lakers win a championship. Otherwise, God help us and save our country.

Well said, Jamie. I pretty much agree and support whatever the players decide. Cancelling the playoffs has such dire consequences for the league going forward that the players need to be careful. As noble as it may seem, it accomplishes nothing.

The players lose all their leverage if they cancel the playoffs or leave the bubble. Smarter to stand pat and patiently force Wisconsin and Kenosha to do the right things. Then play the games. That’s the win-win solution the players and American desperately needs.

Thanks, Buba. And thanks for your well thought out and intelligent comments. I sometimes wonder if anybody is out there reading when I go to trouble to write and always appreciate your turning my monologue into a conversation. Thank you.

Gerald initially wanted this to be a short podcast but it turned out to be one of our longest and I think one of our best. Great stuff from Gerald, Rafael, and me about the Lakers and Blazers as well as the Clippers and Mavs. Some great stories from Rafael about watching Luka in person in the Euro Finals when he became the player you recognize today. Give the pod a listen. I think you’ll enjoy it despite it being pretty long. Gerald, as always, keeps everything humming and together. Don’t forget that 5-star review. Thanks.

‘Spida’ Mitchell is on a tear. Dude has a lot of Mamba in him and it’s nice to see how Kobe’s off court work has been one of the things passed on to the generations of players that came after. Denver might be looking at a Philly-style exit: one in which a change will almost certainly be made after the fact. Going to take something special for Denver to move on this season.

Philly is going to get a shake up. While the Process is a nifty marketing slogan it has yet to result in anything other than a couple decent playoff runs. Not sure the coach is the issue, either, feels more like Elton Brand wanted to show the world that two skilled bigs could be as good as a team that chooses to go small in the big moments of a game. To be fair to The Process…they gave up on Fultz. Having his skill set alongside Emiid and Simmons would have made this team very difficult to defend. They traded away role shooters for volume scorers and they didn’t move Heaven and Earth to keep Jimmy Butler. While some of that is on Brown (not making Jimmy feel absolutely necessary and a key leader on the team) it’s also on the front office which has struggled to move on in the post-Hinkie era.

Boston and Toronto look very engaged, locked in on defense and they know where they want to get points from either in the flow of the game or out of sets. Feels more and more like it could be Toronto Boston as they both look a little more in-tune that Milwaukee does. Milwaukee has the talent but can they get enough out of their “others”? Both Boston and Toronto have shown they can take away what you want and are willing to let some other dude beat you. That’s a recipe for playoff success.

The Next Year Nets means we get to just say ‘Next!’ and move on. They’re missing so many dudes the only issue being was this an accurate test to see what Toronto can bring to a playoff game. In short, no, but we’ve seen how Nick Nurse has that whole squad bought in so it doesn’t appear to matter as much as it might to, say, the Bucks and their inability to sweep the lowly Magic.

Lastly we get to Dallas/Clippers. Wow, nobody saw this coming. We all thought Luka would be out, turns out it was Porzingis. We all thought George and Leonard would be too much for the Dallas defense to coral, turns out the legions of lanky Clipper defenders doesn’t have any answer at all for Luka, ankle and all. Leonard is doing his thing but there isn’t the same…destiny? Drive? Not too sure. Only thing I know is that team has been hard to get a read on. Too many guys in and out, the best players have barely played, and Doc hasn’t had the same passion he showed in Boston for a good long time. Might be, if they get nipped in the first round, that Doc moves to the front office and they give Brett Brown a shot in LA next season. Probably not, but I wanted to give LT something to obsess over so he can move on from the mock draft, lol.

Good stuff from Gerald and Raphael! Kudos, guys!

Excellent discussion of the Luka and the Mavs win over the Clippers. I agree 100% with Raphael that Luka has made the jump to top-five NBA superstar. Don’t know if the Mavs have enough to pull off the first round upset, but I’m rooting for them. Don’t see PG continuing to shoot so poorly.

Great points by Gerald about the similarities between LeBron and Luka. I agree with Rafael that Luka is a unicorn and totally different player than we have ever seen before. He’s like a mix between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird but I think Gerald is right that the closest comparison to Luka in today’s game is LeBron. Both are so savvy and powerful and nearly impossible to stop when they attack the basket.

Raphael’s point that the Clippers were built to beat the Lakers is ironic because Luka is doing to them exactly what LeBron did in their last matchup. He’s forcing switches and hunting weakest defenders just like LeBron did to LouWill. The problems the Clips are having with Luka show their Achilles hell vs. LeBron.

LOL. Gerald trades with another mock drafter to get Lakers pick at 28. He was tantalized by SG Jahmius Ramsey but goes for 18-year old French PG Theo Maledone.

But the next two picks might have been better. Gonzaga stretch five Killian Tillie, 45% 3-point shooter, went 29 and Arizona sharpshooting PG Nico Mannion went 30.

Maledone is a great prospect but at 18, he’s too young to help Lakers whereas Tillie and Mannion are older and both proven elite shooters, which is what the Lakers always need.

But fun show by Gerald and Rafael.