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I don’t disagree with your assessment, Jamie. Team, starting with LeBron, AD, and Russ, needs to adopt a sense of urgency and start playing a lot better. What we’ve seen in the past is the role players play however the superstars play. That’s how the game works. If your stars are humming, the confidence flows to the rest of the team. If they’re struggling, that flows to the rest of the team too. This is a superstar driven league. It’s now up to LeBron, AD, and Russ. They will surely determine our future and what we do at the deadline. We need to go 8-2 or at least 7-3 in next 10 games.
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Wow. What a downer of a podcast. Voting on whether Vogel or Pelinka should be fired first? Claiming that AD could be planning on leaving the Lakers when his contract is up out of disgust for his coach and teammates? Not very enjoyable. I listened to the LakerFilmRoom podcast afterwards and they were much more optimistic and blamed injuries.
Come on Gerald and Sean. We’ve just played 15 games, 9 without LeBron James. We have multiple key players out with injury. We have an imbalanced roster. We have 11 new players. We are in the middle of trying to change from a 2-big team, which we were all of the last season, to a 1-big team with AD at the five but a serious lack of big wings to defend the three.
This road trip is important but not critical. What this team needs is simply to get healthy. And probably to trade THT and Nunn for a bigger wing 3&D wing to start at the three. The Lakers will slowly and surely get better as the season progresses. Don’t lose faith and start thinking crazy thoughts like AD is going to bolt. That’s school boy crazy.
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Sometimes, a Lakers loss can actually lead to a good podcast. My position is we’re losing because of injuries, specifically LeBron James having missed 9 of the team’s 15 games. Frankly, we’re lucky were still 8-7 (8-8 after tomorrow night’s game in Milwaukee) considering all of the new players, injuries, and change to AD at the 5.
Remember, last season AD spent just 9% of his time at center in the regular season. Now we’re switching to him at the 5 but LeBron, his mate at the four, is out as well as our backup four Ariza, and we have a totally new roster. Mike Trudell said it best on the LFR podcast. The three reasons the Lakers are struggling right now are injuries, injuries, and injuries.
We had a great discussion on the Lakers not making a legit offer to Alex Caruso. We all agreed it was a bad decision. My main reason was not having AC as a trading chip. Gerald and Jamie thought the Lakers cheaped out. I pointed out that they don’t have the money the owners of the Nets, Warriors, or Clippers do. Jamie correctly pointed out how unfair it was for the Lakers to put the onus on Alex to take less. He rightly said if the Lakers went for Russ, they needed to follow through and go all-in on building the best roster. Not cheaping out.
Give us a listen. You’ll enjoy it more than the game itself.
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Wow, nice to get a win without LeBron that wasn’t an OT nail biter. Always easier to navigate the GHF/GHE stuff with Gerald after a win. Some good positive discussions about how the Lakers are coming along and who is starting to emerge as the likely starters and primary reserves.
At any rate, it’s a short podcast as Gerald had some technical issues on one of his other brands but I think you’ll enjoy the banter and Lakers discussion. Both hoping LeBron will play tonight but it appears he may not debut until the road, which is unusual. Going to need the King on this road trip.
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After a bummer of a game, it’s sometimes hard to pull of a good podcast but I thought Gerald and I did that last night. Just have to write a game like off and move on. Just one of those games. I think Gerald is right it’s almost to be expected after two rousing OT victories. Basketball gods balancing things out.
Anyway, give it a listen. I think you’ll enjoy some of the musing we do about the game and where the Lakers are right now. Some good conversation about Frank’s starting lineup being him sabotaging the AD at the five movement. Hope you like it.
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Switched cell from Verizon to Xfinity, same as Internet. Lost both with 7 minutes to go in the 4th quarter last night.
Thought it was an alien attack or Russian invasion. I mean knock out Internet and cellular and you freeze the country.
If power had gone out too, I would refuge my gun out of the closet and headed for the hills.
At any rate, didn’t get cell coverage back until late so didn’t make the podcast. Can’t believe I missed an OT win.
Thanks to Jamie for filling in for me with Gerald. After all, Jamie did predict a win last night. Go, Lakers!
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Booya! Thanks for listening LT. Russ didn’t really “erupt, though, more like almost self-destructed.
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Good podcast although you seemed more reasonable than usual as far as understanding that the team we take into the playoffs will be dramatically different than the team we’re watching right now.
I still see the week or two or three without LeBron as the opportunity to solve the non-LeBron minutes and learn how to win when LeBron is not on the court. That should be our top priority right now, even over wins.
AD playing despite throwing up and having a bad thumb is the key first step we need to see. Davis countering the argument that he is soft and playing hard and tough is what the Lakers need to win the non-LeBron minutes
Russ also has to get more under control. He totally lost in the fourth when the Hornets went into a zone. Good to see Frank give Rondo a chance. We saw something there that Frank needs to develop, which is Rondo showing Russ how to play more under control.
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Keep a watch out for those aliens Tom!
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Once again, we’re only 9 games into an 82 game regular season and we’re missing LeBron James, the player without whom we have not been able to generate a positive plus/minus in over three years. So it should not be a surprise that the Lakers would struggle to win the game.
As I said on the podcast, I thought we had played well the first three quarters, building up an 80-72 lead. Then came the fourth quarter, where we collapsed with an OffRtg of 88.9, DefRtg of 134.6, for a NetRtg of -45.7, another collapse against the OKC Thunder and SGA.
Hard to win when two of your starters combine for 3 points and you’re missing the greatest player in the game. On the other hand, I thought AD and Russ had excellent games with 29 and 27 points. Other than the fourth quarter, the defense was excellent. Allowing 104 points is a good performance.
Lakers will have another week of the same. We need to focus on figuring out how to win without LeBron. This stretch could end up being a major opportunity for the Lakers to find a solution to their Achilles Heel of not being able to win without LBJ. After all, isn’t this why we traded for Russell Westbrook in the end?
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Outstanding podcast and thanks to Gerald for all of the spooky Halloween stuff. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the word that we were to wear costumes until three hours before the show. Dragged out my son’s old Afro wig thinking Gerald was going to go all out like LeBron and AD did for October 31st. Frankly, a soccer jersey and headband don’t make a costume to me.
Anyway, it’s always fun talking Lakers after a win, especially when we held the Rockets to 35 points in the first half and 85 for the game. Lakers defense starting to show signs of life. Also, have to love AD finally starting at the five, probably because of Dwight being out and the matchup with a stretch five in Wood. AD should get another shot at starting tomorrow night.
Slowly but surely, Frank is getting the team to buy in to D as their calling card while the offensive improvements continue to shine. Great game from Melo. Last game he turned 1 in 4 great games into 1 in three great games and is now working on 1 in 2 great games. Team shot poorly from deep in second half but it’s clear we have some guys this year who won’t forget how to shoot.
Give us a listen. I think you’ll enjoy the back and forth and Gerald always does a great job as a true professional podcaster with his banter and superb editing of the podcast. Thanks, Gerald.
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Hey, don’t forget the soccer shorts I had those too!
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This is what dressing in costume is really about, Gerald.
Lakers in their costumes 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/KE1p08DGM9
— LAKESHOW (@feebeegb) November 2, 2021
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Fun podcast for a change as the Lakers finally showcase their defense and Frank tells players you want minutes, then play D. Great to have Lee back and congratulations to him and Chandra for their wedding. May they enjoy a lifetime of love and happiness.
Great to see that I didn’t have to setup an intervention for Gerald over the Lakers performance. In fact, in retrospect, blowing that 26 point lead to OKC may have been a blessing in disguise as it finally seems to have gotten everybody behind playing defense.
Let’s hope we can take care of business against the Rockets and continue to play Lakers style basketball now that the Chicken Littles and Worry worts have crawled back under their rocks. Lakers may be short handed and a work in progress but the way we closed out the game last night should allow the GHE crew to relax and start to enjoy the NBA season.
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Thanks again to Sean and LakerTom for the drive-by. I appreciate the kind words again. Two things A) I think LakerTom has a future in botany because he has a rosy view of things when it concerns all things Lakers. B) Where was Admiral Akbar, it was a trap!
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The Admiral was ready at the earlier time but had to put the three year old to sleep. Tom should patent whatever rose-colored lenses he sees this season through. It’s bad and it’s been bad since camp.
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-Lakers panicked at the end. Vet team playing a bunch of nobodies and
-Sadness at this point, I was angry a few games.
-It’s a disaster.
-“It’s only game #45, Gerald, calm down, man!”
-Chicago has a whole new team and is kicking butt, easy schedule? Sure, but they have done the job it would seem we are incapable of.
-From Bleacher Report: “But the collapse to the Thunder shouldn’t have been surprising the way the Lakers have played defense this season. They’re just not very good yet. Defense, above all, is the team’s primary issue moving forward, one they must address if they have an earnest hope of chasing another title.” It ain’t just the doomsayers here seeing major issues.
-Banner winning core perimeter defenders? All gone.
-It’s a mountain, LT, it’s a mountain.
-Rondo and Russ are bad news. Nunn could be an improvement.
-Rob traded our wing defenders (Kuzma, KCP and even Caruso) so I actually do believe.
-Glass isn’t just half empty, it’s bone-dry. The defense is a wreck.
-The 5 out set will not save this team, not with the guys who play big minutes shooting the way they currently are.
-Monk and Reaves getting minute is, in my opinion, the sole benefit of this stretch.
-Our offense is 116.5 points per game and we’re 2-3. Scoring isn’t an issue.
-Sean with the quote of the night: “the house is on fire and you’re roasting marshmallows.” LOL!!!
-Admiral Akbar MIA? See above, lol
-It is just one game, but in all the games the same pattern remains. At this point a good performance is the outlier, not the norm. That is the issue confronting this team right now.-
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I have no idea what this is or what this means but I’m into it.
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Another great job by Gerald as the podcaster extraordinaire. While I love the humor and banter when we have Sean and Jamie on the podcasts, it’s also fun to go back and forth with Gerald, who’s always prepared and ready like a true professional.
To me, this game highlighted why we traded for Russell Westbrook: to win the non-LeBron minutes that have been our Achilles Heel the past three seasons.
There’s no reason why AD and Russ can’t dominate the 12 minutes of every game when LeBron rests the way they did tonight against an inspired Spurs team. The key to winning the non-LeBron minutes is Russell Westbrook doing his thing and unleashing Anthony Davis at the rim via lobs and put backs after Russ forced the Spurs big to guard him.
This is a big Freakin’ deal and we’re going to see it dramatically change how well the Lakers play going forward. We have never been able before to win the minutes when LeBron is on the bench. Now that’s going to change.
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Great to see the Lakers pull out a win. Grizzlies are going to be a problem for a lot of teams. Quality win over quality team.
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In my opinion the next 10 games will tell us all we need to know. We need to come through the next stretch of 10 better than .500 by 2 games, at least, or we’re going to face a steep climb to get into the top 6. The East is no longer where west teams go to catch their breath, it’s as powerful a conference as the west, maybe a little moreso. Lakers lack the assets to add a player with enough impact to swing a -4.1 point differential. It has to come from within, at least to some degree. Same goes for getting guys who are hurt back. Is Ariza going to account for 5 more ppg or defend those away? Nunn is the same. We need to defend better or we’re sunk.