Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Wow.  The Lakers, playing shorthanded in Toronto—no Luka Dončić (personal) and Marcus Smart (back)—against a 15--win Raptors squad, had to dig deep and stay resilient, and then ride some excellent performances to secure a big win, 123-120 on a game-winning triple from Rui Hachimura.  The star of the game was clearly Austin Reaves, who dropped 44 points and added 10 assists. He once again was enorm...

First things first -- the Lakers will be shorthanded in Toronto Thursday evening, as Luka Dončić is away from the team for personal reasons, and Marcus Smart is still unable to suit up with back spasms. (There is a strong possibility both will miss Friday's game in Boston as well, but it's too early to say.)  So facing two quality teams in a back-to-back situation, the Lakers will need to dig deep...

After (Monday's loss to Phoenix notwithstanding) feasting on a relatively soft portion of the schedule, the Lakers now embark on a challenging run of games, starting with three on the road (Toronto, Boston, Philly) followed by a home (Cup!) game against San Antonio.  One of the things that could push the Lakers through would be a surge of good play from LeBron James, who has looked pretty mid (esp...

Sunday, the Lakers played a great first quarter and then three very, very ordinary ones. That was more than enough to beat the woeful New Orleans Pelicans, but it was pretty clear a better performance would be required Monday night to beat a Phoenix team that has been one of the NBA's better surprises.  Well, it didn't happen. Final score, Phoenix 125, Lakers 108. And this even after Suns star Dev...

A quick look at Monday's game between the Lakers and Suns, and how different areas on the floor could affect both teams offensively and defensively.   HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   DoorDash Next time someone goes off for 50, use promo code  NBA50the next day to get 50% off on DoorDash with DashPass — plus your shot at the Bag Drop. DashPass members on...

First and foremost, the Lakers understood the assignment playing against a very shorthanded version of a very bad New Orleans Pelicans squad. Come out fast, build a lead, and don't put yourself in position to give one away.  And that's what the Lakers did, finishing the first quarter with a 19-point lead, en route to a 133-121 win.  Luka Dončić finished with 34/12/7 on 9-22 from the floor. Austin...

It wasn't necessarily the sharpest effort the Lakers have put out all year, but it was more than good enough.  The Lakers used highly efficient nights from Luka Dončić (35 points on only 18 field goal attempts), Austin Reaves (12-15 from the floor, 6-8 from 3-point range, 38 points) and Deandre Ayton (8-9 from the floor) to push past Anthony Davis and the visiting Dallas Mavericks, 129-119. As a t...

Happy Thanksgiving! And if you need something to be thankful for, how about the incredible turn of good fortune that the Lakers have seen over the last year, thanks to the largesse of former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, who (and it still defies explanation) gifted Luka Doncic to purple and gold.  That trade yanked the Lakers out of a purgatory where they were not going to be bad thanks to the LeBro...

The Lakers shooting woes have been well documented (on this show, and around Lakers Nation). For one night at least, that wasn't a problem, as the battle of LA goes to the purple and gold, 135-118.  Luka Dončić made his first five 3-pointers, and as a team the Lakers 45% from downtown (13-29).  The efficiency from the starters, though, was incredible. Luka, at a very tidy 14-28 had the worst FG% a...

The Lakers will be without starting center Deandre Ayton for Tuesday's game against the Clippers. And while that will certainly impact them on the defensive end, it's likely to have even more effect on how the Lakers try to score.  Ayton has been a key cog in the team's attack, providing high percentage shots near the bucket, along with a key for unlocking the mid-range spaces with his pick and po...

The Lakers are 12-4, and did in fact win Sunday's game in Utah, 108-106. After that, there wasn't a ton to love, because this was a pretty ugly win. The Lakers continue to be a tremendously bad three point shooting team. Sunday, their top three players, Luka Donćić, Austin Reaves and LeBron James were a combined 4-24 from 3-point range. That obviously isn't getting it done, and the struggle isn't...

A sleepy Thursday in El Segundo got a LOT busier when it was revealed (by the brothers telling ESPN) that Joey and Jesse Buss, who ran the South Bay Lakers and the scouting apparatus, respectively, had been fired by the team.  No announcement was made by the Lakers, and the two of them were reportedly told of their dismissal by the team's CFO, not (former) owner Jeanie Buss or GM Rob Pelinka. Late...

The Lakers have first world problems. They now have to figure out how to integrate LeBron James into a pairing of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves that has developed strong chemistry in the 14 games that James missed with sciatica.  There is at least some question of how they'll do it, and whether or not there just aren't enough basketballs, and all the other arguments that are typically made by obse...

The Lakers had to wait until Game 15 to see it happen, but LeBron James finally played his first game of his 23rd NBA season, and while it took a sec to get going, once it did, the results were great.  LeBron was integral to a second half push that turned what had been a close game into a relative blowout, as the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 140-126 at Crypto.com Arena. LeBron was quiet from a scorin...

JJ Redick has some first world problems to deal with. LeBron James is on his way back, and after practicing Monday in El Segundo could make his season debut Tuesday night against the Jazz. But even if that has to wait until Sunday's rematch in Utah, the Lakers are basically whole for the first time this year. (Not only was LBJ on the practice floor Monday, Gabe Vincent was as well.)  So now JJ has...

The Lakers finished their five game road trip in fine form, beating up the Bucks in Milwaukee. Now they return home to some good news, with LeBron James expected to return to practice Monday. Whether he plays Tuesday at home against the Jazz remains an open question, but if he doesn't, barring any sort of setback it's a pretty safe bet he'll play on Sunday in Utah. Not only does that long stretch...

Now THAT'S more like it. The Lakers—playing the second night of a back-to-back and coming off a good, but not exactly inspiring win in New Orleans—came out of the gate red hot and sharp in Milwaukee, using high end offense and excellent defense to build a 30-point lead on the home team in the first half.  That was the best combination of offense and defense the Lakers have played all year. In the...

It wasn't a nailbiter, it wasn't a disaster, it wasn't a dominant performance. The Lakers came to play, but they didn't necessarily play well. Final score against a very, very bad New Orleans team, 118-104.  Austin Reaves led the Lakers in scoring, with 31 points, using 13 trips to the free throw line to push the attack. Luka Dončić wasn't efficient (6-16) but did finish with 24 points and a healt...

JJ Redick laid it out plainly - the Lakers have been lousy thus far on their first extended road trip of the season.  As a reminder, they forgot to show up against a wildly shorthanded Hawks squad. Then they played one good half of hoops to bury a terrible (and shorthanded) Hornets team. They lost in Oklahoma City by a billion. It's not been a fun tour of the country thus far. And so the Pelicans,...

First and foremost, the Thunder are awesome. What they did Wednesday night to the Lakers in Oklahoma City they've basically done to every team they've played this season. It's why they've lost only once and have a point differential that is the league's best and went up considerably after the Thunder beat the Lakers 121-92.   LA was overmatched from the start, and never found their way into the ga...

The Lakers have a big game tonight in Oklahoma City against a Thunder squad that is throttling the NBA, even while All NBA forward Jaylen Williams hasn't played a single minute this year. Chet Holmgren has missed time, as has Lu Dort. Doesn't matter.  The Thunder have been incredibly good defensively, for starters, and that doesn't change when the lineup shuffles around. (The offense does, but tha...

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get Reaves back, a big night from Luka... and a win. SEGMENT 2: Rui Hachimura's big third quarter.  SEGMENT 3: The Marcus Smart Experience. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   DoorDash Next time someone goes off for 50, use promo code  NBA50the next day to get 50% off on DoorDash with DashPass — plus your shot at the Bag Drop. DashPass m...

As poorly as the Lakers played Saturday in Atlanta, we'll get a quick idea of whether or not they learned a lesson. Because the Lakers now head into Charlotte, who like the Hawks are missing a bunch of key players, including LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.  When whole, the Hawks are a good team in the East, but should have been beaten without so many key players. The Hornets are terrible no matter...

The Lakers, even without LeBron James and Austin Reaves—who continues to nurse a groin injury—had a golden opportunity to keep momentum going Saturday in Atlanta, against a Hawks team missing Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porzingis. Most of their available players were folks only die hards and serious fantasy players would know.  Maybe the Lakers thought it would...

The Lakers released some good news Thursday. LeBron James has resumed full contact basketball activities, and will be re-evaluated in another week or two. Keep in mind, he missed all of training camp, and the last bit of run up heading into camp, so James is definitely behind in his fitness. He needs to make sure he's fully prepared to play before stepping back on an NBA court.  He won't accompany...