Lakers Lounge

Anthony and Harrison recap that great win over the Wolves and start the conversation on how the Lakers can build on this moving forward (preferably with LeBron James).

The Lakers have found the identity they need to roll with moving forward. They've done so while LeBron James hasn't been playing. Whenever he comes back, they'll need him to adopt that approach or else they have no chance. Can fans realistically hope to see that happen?

The midrange game opens everything up for Austin. It's becoming that simple. Anthony and Harrison discuss that, then quickly talk about why Bam's night was more annoying than anything and wrap with questions from the live audience.

Anthony and Raj heard all the noise over the last 24 hours about the Lakers potentially not needing LeBron James and they just don't get it. They discuss Anthony's solution, why the Lakers can't afford to just cast off one of their top-three players, stan culture and more.

For basically two straight decades, LeBron could pace himself and still be/fit better than any teammate who'd play instead. That isn't necessarily the case any longer.

Anthony thinks LeBron should play a fewer minutes so that he can play harder while he's out there. Raj explains why he doesn't think it'd make a difference. What do you think?

Anthony isn't exactly Mr. Positive all the time but he isn't often pretty surprised by the way the Lakers are talked about compared to their competition, both nationally and within their own fan base.

The Lakers finally passed on of their tests. It happened. We all got to watch it. Also, they did so without LeBron James. So what do we make of that? Anthony breaks it down, his favorite performances from the game and the lessons the Lakers need to learn so they can add LeBron to this identity rather than take a step back whenever he returns.

The Lakers competed against the Nuggets, which was a step in the right direction. They followed that up by beating the crap out of the Knicks, which sure felt great.

Anthony pushes back on the take he knows is coming, that somehow a basketball team could possibly be worse off by having LeBron James available. That said, the Lakers might need less of LeBron to get more from him.

Anthony and Pete discuss this offseason and what the Lakers' main focus should be. Anthony says centers. Pete says wings. The guys debate and land somewhere in the middle. Anthony has noticed a shift in the offensive usage, where LeBron is more involved than he thought. He asks Pete about this, and whether he thinks that's a good idea. They discuss the Lakers' incessant whining to referees and wra...

Anthony is of the mindset that the Lakers need to upgrade their center spot in a big way this summer. He explains why and how he'd go about doing that. Pete gives his take on whether centers or wings should be the Lakers' focus. They arrive at the a conclusion somewhere in the middle. #Optionality

The Lakers have a huge offseason ahead of them and it's almost certainly going to feature Austin Reaves heavily. But, depending on where he'll fit in the offense, the Lakers will have to adjust their needs. So, the guys discuss Austin compared to other second options around the league. They wrap with a Q&A with the audience.

The Lakers had every reason to take care of business last night... and didn't. Anthony and Raj discuss the game, the lowered expectations they've seen from some and where the team goes from here. Anthony also rants about Deandre Ayton, who appeared to quit on the team.

Anthony and Raj aren't here for the moral victory laps they've seen after the Lakers lost to the extremely shorthanded Nuggets.

Anthony has noticed a trend in who gets which possessions and it appears as if the Lakers are approaching things somewhat differently. He offers that theory to Raj, who explains what he's seen from the tape. From there, they discuss whether this approach makes sense for the team for the rest of this season.

Anthony doesn't believe in the Lakers, but he also doesn't fully believe in anyone else. So he asks Raj about the Lakers' fraudulence compared to their competition.

Anthony and Harrison start by discussing another Dodgers executive being assigned to the Lakers. It doesn't matter right now, but eventually, maybe open up the process a bit? Then, the guys discuss the Lakers' fraudulence to this point in the season and whether anything can be done to change their minds about what the Lakers are capable of in the playoffs. Also, fear not, the Lakers are far from t...

Anthony has noticed a trend in the hires made thus far and has some fairly straightforward follow-ups on the hiring process so far. Concerns aside, this doesn't matter right now because it's mostly business stuff. Here's hoping the approach changes once we get to basketball hires.

The Lakers are covered like they're some disappointing farce but then you look around and... well, we guess there are a bunch of disappointing farces out there.

Anthony breaks down this game using his precap, then dives into the lessons the Lakers should take from this win. He discusses Austin's recent struggles and the Lakers' turnover problems. Then, he addresses JJ Redick's back-and-forth with reporters about organized offense and finishes by answering a question about the Luka-JJ confrontation.

Anthony started doing precaps as part of his work with Offside and he wants to bring them into these games he rides solo for. Sometimes, we'll laugh at a bad prediction. Others (as is the case tonight), we'll laugh at how close he got.

A listener asked Anthony about the viral moment where Luka Doncic and JJ Redick appeared to disagree about something and Anthony explained why he loved that moment.

Listeners had plenty of questions in all the show's mailbags and this week, the focus in the Lakers' organizational culture. How can it be set in a productive way before we roster improvements?

Before addressing the multitude of hole this roster has now and will have more of this summer, the Lakers have to set some type of culture, where expectations are set and, ideally met. Where accountability is finally something more than empty catch phrases. Where leadership has a vision and carries it ou-... you get the gist of it. Can this be built? What are Rob Pelinka's strengths? Anthony answe...