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This Lakers Team Is... · Kenny For Real

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I am having a ton of fun watching this current
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Lakers team. I was thinking about it last night because
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: I had a lot of time to think about it,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: because the last six minutes of that Lakers Spurs games
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: took fifty seven minutes. I'm exagger read it took a
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: long time though, even the last one point two seconds
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: to twelve minutes, so I had a lot of time
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  Speaker 1: to think. This is the most fun I've had watching
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: the Lakers as a neutral fan since the twenty twenty
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: five which makes sense that team went on twenty championship.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: They had a lot of good role players from Ala
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Caruso to KCP to so on and so forth. But
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: also I was thinking, again, through nine games, has this team,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: only speaking for myself, been more enjoyable to watch it,
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  Speaker 1: even that championship team, And if it has, or if
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  Speaker 1: it ends up being that, this means that this current
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: team is the most fun I've had watching the Lakers
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  Speaker 1: since like two thousand and eleven, since twenty eleven. Now
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: I can understand how crazy that may sound. For a
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: few different reasons, that feels like, without me trying to
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  Speaker 1: make it seem like, it seemed like there's a shot
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  Speaker 1: of Lebron ja we ain't playing in these nine games,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: but I promise you is not. This team currently does
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: not feel like a Lakers team, and again that is
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: a compliment. That is a compliment. Well, over the last
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: couple of seasons, it was so heavily depending on Anthony
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Davis and Lebron James. To drop off from those dudes
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  Speaker 1: was dramatic where it felt like if one of those
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  Speaker 1: two guys were gonna go out, you could just chalk
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: it up as a Lakers loss. This team is not
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: seeing Lebron James, Luca Dantis has miss time, Alster Reeves's
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: miss time, and still they are seven and two. Were
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: like not like a super easy schedule either. Over the
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: off season for the Numbers on the Board podcast, I
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: found myself being a Lakers optimist compared to my peers, right,
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: And I think a lot of that had to do
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: with just simply Luca Dancis on the team and he's
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: amazing at basketball. A lot of the times when we
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: were talking about the Lakers, I was like, yeah, give
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: me the over because they have Lugadancis. But also their
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: offseason was pretty good. All these considered, it wasn't one
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  Speaker 1: of the offseasons where you got a Desmond Baine or
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  Speaker 1: you got a Chris Asperzingis, and you know, varying levels
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  Speaker 1: of success from those acquisitions. It wasn't one of those
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  Speaker 1: ones where you got an All Star, but a lot
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  Speaker 1: of the moves they made made a lot of sense
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: DeAndre Aiden getting in on the contract that got in.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Though I wasn't a guy that thought that DeAndre eight
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: was going to be dominating, but I thought that he
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: was significantly better than Jackson Hayes, who they had to
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: play last season a time and that has been the case.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Marcus Smart had to play basketball and it felt like
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: two years. But like he's market smart. Even if he
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: can't shoot anymore, or even if he's not moving as
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: well defensively, he still is a defensive upgrade from a
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: lot of the people that they had the previous season.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Jac Larravia Damn Neil was the first name that was
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: called on NBA free agency. And though I didn't have
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: a lot of pigs about Jake Laravia because he ended
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: up last year in Sacramento and Lowad knows, I don't
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: want to watch Sacramento basketball over the last two seasons.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: He wasn't upgrade, and all of those three acquisitions are
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: playing great basketball right now. After the first game of
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: the season, I made the video where I was reacting
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: to it, and I said that I was already tired
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: of the DeAndre Eton experience in LA. Obviously, with more
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: time put he's played so much better. You know, looking
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: back at my old self, I should have probably I
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: think I actually did reference the fact that he hadn't
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: played with Luka Dancich in the preseason, so it's probably
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: gonna take a little bit of time. And that time
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: has happened, and it's been great. I mean, yesterday versus
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: the Spur, he was amazing. The game before that when
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: it was him and Nick Smith Junior, was the last
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: time the Lakers had a win like that where a
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: guy like Nick Smith Junior was putting up twenty five, Like,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: it doesn't feel like a Lakers team, and DeAndre Aiden
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: has been really good. To think about it, like think
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: about it like this, where you to compare it last
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: year's team versus this year's team. From the center position,
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  Speaker 1: DeAndre Aiden versus Jackson Hayes. Even if Jackson Hayes was
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: as consistent as he was, you do there is a
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: really limited ceiling to what his individual output could be
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: on the offensive side of the ball. You didn't expect
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: him to ever drop more than what. Let me see
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: what this season high was last year nineteen. He dropped
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: nineteen three different times. Was I was gonna say, you
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: never expect him to drop twenty and they go, he
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: didn't even drop twenty for the Lakers. But now with
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  Speaker 1: DeAndre Aiden, this ceiling is a lot higher on the
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: game by game basis. Yeah, it's not likely that he's
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: gonna put up twenty five, but he definitely can, and
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: he has a few different times in this nine game
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: simple size, So it is cool to kind of see
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: that I think he is. I don't know if the
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: number actually can Hey, the internet is crazy. I can
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: look up these numbers real quick the untrained eye. It
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: feels as though since that first game in the season,
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: he is not settling for those long two points, which
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: again is a shot that he can make, and he
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  Speaker 1: has made it a good clip, so I can understand
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: from his perspective, why should not take the shot if
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: I shoot fifty seven and fifty eight percent on it.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: But it feels like over these last couple of games
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  Speaker 1: he's been more aggressive and getting to you know, down
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  Speaker 1: low where he gets a pass from Luco or a
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: pass from so on and so forth. So it has dropped.
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  Speaker 1: Two years ago, twenty five percent of his shots were
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: considered long twos. Last year was a nineteen percent, and
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: so far this season is at sixteen percent, which is
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: not the lowest of his career, but his lowest since
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: he left Portland. So yeah, he's getting to the basket more.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: He's shooting, not shooting, attempting. He's attempting the most shots
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: at the rim since again the year that they went
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: to the championship with the with the Suns. So you know,
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: having a great pick and roll ball handler like a
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  Speaker 1: Luka Donci or an Austin Reeves who he's played with,
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  Speaker 1: both of these just helps him get closest to the basket.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: One last thing, there's this one site that I've been
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: using recently that tells you the average shot this for
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: a player. And I'm very curious if, again, thinking about
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: DeAndre Ayton and how I feel like he's been more
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: aggressive towards to the basket, if those numbers support that
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: as well. Unfortunately, that's not one of the ones I
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: got to the computer, I got to look at the phone.
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  Speaker 1: His average shot distance so far through the first couple
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: of games of the season is six point seven feet. Well,
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: last year it was eight point four. The year before
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  Speaker 1: that it was nine. So again, closer to the basket.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: Basically since he played with Chris Paul. Coincidence, He's played
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: with another great pick and roll ball handler and he's
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  Speaker 1: getting to the basketball. No, it's not a coincidence. So
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: that's cool. And again getting back to the reason why
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: I'm making this video, back to that original point that
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: this Lakers team does not feel like a traditional Lakers team.
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  Speaker 1: This team, again, they already they got the superstar player
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  Speaker 1: in Luka Doncics, but I feel like it's closer to
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  Speaker 1: playing itself like a I don't know, I don't want
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  Speaker 1: to say mid market size team. Where I'm going with
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  Speaker 1: this is that the fact that they've been able to
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: be this good with all the injuries shows you the depth.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: It shows you great coaching for it to be where
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: Nick Smith Junior didn't play, He literally wasn't active. He
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: couldn't play if they needed him to play one night,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: and then the very next night he can come in
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  Speaker 1: and give you twenty four to twenty five points on
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: a stomach bug or something. I think he was sick
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  Speaker 1: for sure. Shows a level of depth of this Lakers
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  Speaker 1: team has right now they haven't had in previous years. Now.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know if that means that I believe this
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  Speaker 1: team is a championship attender. I guess I wouldn't be
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: too too surprised considering they have Luca Dantas. But I'm
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  Speaker 1: just talking about the overall viewing nature of it all.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Last night's game was such a good game for Luca Dantis,
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  Speaker 1: and I know that the overall stats may not say that.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think he was as efficient as we would
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: normally wont for a Luca Doncs game. If I look
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  Speaker 1: at this box score right now, he was seven of
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  Speaker 1: twenty seven, four of eleven from three, got to the
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  Speaker 1: foul line and shot seventeen free throws, thirteen assists, nine
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  Speaker 1: rebounds and rebound away from a trip, but double so
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  Speaker 1: thirty five thirteen to nine. I'm saying it wasn't his
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  Speaker 1: best game, and it wasn't. But the thing that was
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  Speaker 1: so eye opening to me, and it has been opening
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  Speaker 1: to me for Luca Dantis, is his defensive playmaking. Now
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  Speaker 1: he had a career high and steel, so I'm not
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  Speaker 1: acting like he's doing that on a nightly basis, but
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  Speaker 1: he is really engaged. He drew a charge yesterday and
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: I was like, hey man, actually, I don't know if
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: I want to take it in charge, bro, you took
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: one in the chest. Pretty tough. But he is as
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: engaged as like ever. And we all knew that maybe
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Luca was gonna come in with a little battery in
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  Speaker 1: his back about all of the bs that was said
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  Speaker 1: about him when he was traded and on of course
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  Speaker 1: skinny Luca on the cover of health magazines and stuff.
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  Speaker 1: But he has lived up to all of the potential
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: hype you can have. Where it's averages right now through
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: the five games that he's played forty let me say
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: that one more time, just in case you didn't hear me,
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  Speaker 1: he's averaging exactly forty points per game, eleven rebounds, and
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  Speaker 1: nine assists. That's nuts. You got him for Anthony Davis.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: By the way. I don't mean to rub it in
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: for the MAVs fans, but I just had to say
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: that because that's crazy to even think about. Even almost
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: a year later, and the Lakers took a big chance
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: hiring JJ Reddick. JJ Reddick with zero coaching experience. It
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: wasn't like he was on, you know, an assistant coaching staff.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: He didn't coach college. Hell, he didn't coach high school.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: He coached like his kids, who I think at the
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: moment in time, was like six years old. So he
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: had no real coaching experience, and they gave him an opportunity.
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  Speaker 1: And I don't know what you can say other that
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  Speaker 1: he has exceeded all expectations just going off like the
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  Speaker 1: Vegas odds right last year, they were projected to win
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  Speaker 1: forty three and a half. They ended that season as
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: a fifty win team. And right now again, through the
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: nine games they played, they were at the two seed,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: only behind the OKC Thunder without Lebron James planned. So
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: like that is great even on a night by night basis,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it's so easy to kind of go through
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  Speaker 1: the motions. And I guess not every coach does this,
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  Speaker 1: but an eighty two game season, it's hard to really
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: adjust your defensive identity on a game by game basis.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: You can tell when JJ Reddick has been really in
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: the lab on the defensive side of the ball, and
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: you felt that yesterday, where a few nights ago we
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: just saw the Phoenix Sun's hold women Yama to like
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: nine points nine rebounds or something insane like that. And
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: one of the ways they did that was to put
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  Speaker 1: a small defender, push him away from the basket as
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: much as possible when he touched the ball, and to
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: make somebody else be a playmaker. And the Lakers just
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: did exactly that as well, and it worked to the
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: degree where they got they got the win. Now, a
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: guy like Sefon Castle as a secondary decision maker and
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: the secondary playmaker and play finisher had a really good
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: game off of you know, those doubles off of Wibin Yama.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: But still you shut down the guy who that at
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: this point had been conversations for maybe he's the best
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: player in the world. You shut that down. And he
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: also filed out on some good defensive possessions where you're
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: drawing charges. So JJ right has got these guys hooping
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: right now. It feels like a real team, which is
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: just so fun to say. And then just a little
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: minute ago, no no, no promo, Lebron James Eyes live
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: five on five won't make this Lakers trip, But Lebron
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: James is gearing his way to come back to play
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: basketball soon. I don't know how that changed the dynamic
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: of the team necessarily, but he's Lebron James. You know,
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: it's always a positive to have him over some of
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: the other guys you've been playing, even if those other
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: guys have been playing well. He's Lebanon jam You feel me.
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: But it makes me not just optimists for this season,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: but optimistic for the season or the seasons after this,
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: where maybe you are in the post Lebron James Erra,
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: where lucadncis being there and Austin reeves hopefully for them
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: on a nice contract extension, that you can build a
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: team around Luca and be successful because I don't think,
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: even again, I love their offseason, I don't think this
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: team necessarily caters to the greatness of Lucadantis. I used
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: totick right now, he's avage at forty and people are
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: stepping up to the plate. But like, there's a way
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: you can construct this roster to be perfect for Luca,
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: and that's not yet and they're still winning games, so
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: that may be a little bit scary for the rest
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: of the league. I don't know how I got this
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: far into the video without giving my flowers to this player,
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: Rihachi Morrow, who was averaging sixteen points per game four
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: rebounds on fifty nine percent, shooting forty seven percent from
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: three in some of these games. Again, the game I'm
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: thinking about where versus the Blazers, where it was no
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: Luca Nobron and no Austin Reeves, a game that I
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: was very close to not watching a single second of,
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: Thank god I did, because it was a banger. Riehachi
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: Morrow has been just so very consistent last night when
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: Lucadantis went to the bench, obviously with know Lebron and
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: know Austin Reeves, they lack play making, they lack play creation,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: and Riachi Moro was like that second unit play initiator
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: and he did a pretty damn good job all things considered.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: So he's been consistent as hell for the Lakers since
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: he got there, and he feels like a nearly nearly
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: nearly an irreplaceable spot for the Lakers right now. I
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: say nearly because I know if another name came to
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: the board, that's like an all stop became available or superstop.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Ka lay, no way you can be like, oh, I'm
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: not trading Riati Morre, So you gotta say nearly. I
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: don't know, man, it's a good spot to be in
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: if you're a Lakers fan. I would just say that
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: I'm just sitting here looking through the numbers. There are
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: some maybe some things, And here here's me trying to
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: like temper my own expectations about the scene. About their
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: overall jump shooting in the mid range area, it's just
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: like extremely high, like fifty eight percent high. The league
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: average is forty two percent, So they're shooting sixteen percent
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: better in the mid range than any other team. That
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: feels like it'll come down even if it is still
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: number one in the league. There's a difference between number
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: one and number two of eight percent points. So yeah,
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: expect that to maybe drop overall though, again, super fun experience.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: And I've said it again. I've said before, there's no
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: better show in basketball that I've experienced as far as
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: like live watching than Luka Dancic. And maybe that's just
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: carrying over when I'm feeling a little bit more through
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: the screen, but when I got to see him live
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: a few times that I have, there's no better show.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: So shout out to Lucas, Shout out to the Lakers Man.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Are they back? I don't know.