Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

In addition to the big names already out of the lineup, the Lakers entered Thursday's game against the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder without LeBron James, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes.  It was a situation where absolutely nothing had to give, and nothing did.  Lakers lose 123-87.  The big questions from this one aren't really about the game—players tried hard, but had basically no chance to w...

The second season for JJ Redick has had some ups and downs, but in the end resulted in another 50-win season.  The chance to show he's a better postseason coach has been scuttled by circumstance -- you may have heard both Luka Donćić and Austin Reaves are hurt -- but overall it's reasonable to see progress. Or maybe not? The Lakers are going into a huge offseason, where they'll try to forge the fu...

Luka Doncic is in Spain to receive treatment for his injured hamstring, and get back on the floor faster than the 6-or-so week projection he was given following last week's MRI. But admirable as it is, should Luka rush back? Is the risk worth it, especially given the consequences for a major setback?  HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky (guest Harrison Faigen)    SEGMENT 1: Luka's in Spain getting tr...

In a perfect world, the Lakers would have had a chance to watch Luka Donćić and Austin Reaves work as the primary engines of a playoff offense before making big roster moves this summer.  In a less perfect but still informative world, the Lakers would have watched Reaves lead the charge while Luka was hurt, and get more information about how he would respond to last season's disappointing playoffs...

In a perfect world, the Lakers would have had a chance to watch Luka Donćić and Austin Reaves work as the primary engines of a playoff offense before making big roster moves this summer.  In a less perfect but still informative world, the Lakers would have watched Reaves lead the charge while Luka was hurt, and get more information about how he would respond to last season's disappointing playoffs...

No Luka, no Reaves. No hope?  For one game, at least -- or parts of one game -- the Lakers looked every bit like the lost cause most assume they are following crippling injuries to two of their top 3 players, including an MVP candidate. They lose to a Dallas Mavericks team that has for the most part has packed it in this season but did show up to play for a national TV audience. Cooper Flagg espec...

Things just keep getting worse.  On the heels of losing Luka Dončić likely for the postseason (unless the Lakers pull off a miracle or two) they learned Saturday that Austin Reaves will also be sidelined indefinitely, with a left oblique strain. He will miss the rest of the regular season, and almost surely at least the beginning of the first round. Likely all of it. Making those miracles noted ab...

The news is in, and it's not good.  Luka Dončić has been diagnosed with a Grade II hamstring strain, and while the Lakers are only saying he's out the rest of the regular season, the reality is significantly more grim. Luka likely will need 3-6 weeks to get back from this one, at least. According to Jeff Stotts, the great NBA injury expert, the average recovery time for this type of thing is about...

The big question from fans, beyond "How long will he be out?", was "Why was Luka Dončić even on the floor?"  Because Luka was clearly fighting some discomfort even in the first half, and the Lakers clearly were not coming back to win the game. JJ Redick said Luka was cleared by the med staff at halftime, and wanted to play. The plan was to give him half a quarter or so to make a dent in the score....

You know it's a bad night when the final score of a 45-point loss isn't the worst part. Or even close to it.  The Lakers lost Luka Dončić to a hamstring injury early in the third quarter. He went straight to the locker room, clearly in pain, and the Lakers said he would undergo an MRI Friday before the game was even over. That's very, very quick and a worrisome sign.  The Lakers have about a week...

There's a ton to look forward to in Thursday's game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.  Thursday morning, we asked a lot of the big questions that could impact the results... but for a game this significant there wasn't enough time to get to all of them!  The Lakers without Marcus Smart have a challenge in front of them defensively, especially when it comes to guarding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander....

This one has something for everyone.  MVP candidates going head to head? SGA and Luka mean "check."  Top level teams playing at the top of their games? Check. You can count the losses for these two teams over the last month on one had, with fingers left over.  All Stars? Luka! Shai! LeBron! Chet! Williams! Reaves (giving him credit for "woulda qualified" if not for health.  One key decision the he...

The NBA announced this week that guard Marcus Smart is a finalist for the NBA's Twyman-Stokes Award that honors the league's best teammate.  It's really hard to parse who "deserves" an award like this one, but Smart's status as a finalist is richly deserved and reflects the lofty position he has with the Lakers as a voice and former of culture. He's been massivly important for this team, and it ra...

During three straight games against the bottom feeders of the NBA, the Lakers fluctuated between sloppy, professional and dominant, making Tuesday's game at home against Cleveland—the East's 4-seed—a much more intriguing matchup.  This is one where the Lakers would be playing a legitimate team with legitimate All-Stars. So how would they respond?  Pretty darn well, thank you! Final score, 127-113....

Monday, we talked about the MVP race, and whether Luka Dončić is getting a fair shake compared to the rest of the top candidates, or if the goalposts move more for the Lakers star (as they often do for those tied to the Lakers).  One interesting wrinkle to the conversation was provided by Iztok Franko, who notes that among all the MVP candidates, Luka has played more minutes with more guys who hav...

The Lakers came into Monday's game against the visiting Wizards short both Luka Donćić (suspended) and Marcus Smart (ankle). In theory, it shouldn't have mattered, because Washington is awful and are doing their best to avoid winning.  And while it wasn't a perfect effort, the Lakers more than accomplished what was needed, shaking off a sluggish first quarter to pull ahead and stay ahead, ultimate...

It's always good news for Lakers fans when there's controversy over a member of the purple and gold perhaps not getting the love they deserve for major postseason awards. It means the Lakers are winning, and a star is thriving.  Such is the case right now with Luka Dončić, who is performing at a level fairly unprecedented even by his lofty standards, while the Lakers are getting very close to lock...

There will be no give backs when it comes to this version of Luka's 16th tech. He is suspended and will miss Monday's game against the Wizards.  This shouldn't be a problem, because Washington is terrible. And they're also not trying to win. Like, nobody goes home happy if the Wizards pull the upset at the Crypt... including the Wizards. So taking care of business for the Lakers even without Luka...

They say the two hardest games of a long road trip are the last one, and the first one back home after it's done.  The Lakers at the least proved the latter, struggling for about 3.5 quarters against the visiting, and terrible, Brooklyn Nets before building a lead and winning 116-99. It'll look in the box score like an easy win, but it was anything but. Luka Donćić led the way with 41 points, whil...

By most measurements, JJ Redick had a successful rookie season as a head coach. Especially when you consider it was his first time coaching players older than middle school.  But when the playoffs rolled around, some of Redick's inexperience showed. From the way he prepared the team, to decisions made during the series, it was clear the Lakers were, at best, not elevated by their head coach. Now t...

The Lakers had all sorts of momentum heading into last year's playoffs, seemingly at least, and plenty of pundits who thought they'd beat Minnesota in the first round -- your hosts here included -- and potentially make a legit deep run.  Well, we know how that turned out.  In the end, some of their shortcomings -- no viable centers, a lack of point of attack defense, spotty outside shooting -- wer...

The Lakers are in a very good position, with a decent lead over Denver and Minnesota for the third and fourth seeds in the West (critical, given they deliver home court in the first round), and a schedule including four games against tanking teams plus one against a Warriors squad that is trying to win but has major injury issues.  So with that in mind, they should have the opportunity to handle t...

The Lakers understood the assignment and while they may not have scored an A+++ in completing it, the work was plenty good.  They raced out to a big first quarter lead, and spent most of the game up between 15 and 20 before a late push from Indiana, but the Lakers were never truly threatened and beat the Pacers 137-130 and finish the road trip 5-1.  The Lakers were playing without Marcus Smart, Ru...

A few of the NBA's chronic headaches have been on fuller display this season than is typical. Starting with the problems associated with tanking, and now with the 65-game rule instituted in the last CBA to encourage players and teams to manage load management. Too many players were missing important games, went the logic, so tie games played to eligibility for postseason honors.  It was a bad poli...

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