Lakers Lounge

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...

Anthony lays out everything the Lakers are saying they're trying to accomplish this summer and... man, doesn't it sound like they have a lot of dip on that chip?

The Lakers beat two teams we don't particularly like very handily. Let's enjoy that, then dive into the lessons learned from their wins over the Warriors and Kings. Anthony wraps with a few questions from the live audience, too.

The Lakers are only going to go as far as they figure out a way to remain balanced on offense. This weekend, competition notwithstanding, proved that point.

Anthony dives into the Q&A portion of the show, where listeners are getting nervous about Jake LaRavia's spot in the rotation. Anthony explains why JJ Redick won't be swapping LaRavia for Jarred Vanderbilt anytime soon.

Poor Raj knew this would be a tough episode to sit through. Anthony tries to keep it together for as long as he can. You tell us whether you think he succeeded in not losing his cool.

Anthony entered this game nervous that we'd see signs of the Lakers letting go of the rope. He honestly didn't think that would involve losing that game. He and Raj recap the game and try to bring a little nuance to the Luka conversation.

Organizations all need to row in the same direction. Right now, the Lakers have people barely even sitting in the same boats. Anthony and Raj give examples of the ways this has hurt the team at almost every level this year.