Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers played Monday without Marcus Smart, who is day to day with an ankle injury.  They lost, and the win streak stopped at nine. Is Smart's absence the reason the Pistons topped LA? Not directly, but as JJ Redick noted after, it played a big role. And the game certainly reinforced the outsized role Smart has in the team's success. He's been a catalyst for their defensive improvement, a big i...

The Lakers tried, coming back from down by as much as 16 points Monday night in Detroit, but ultimately they couldn't keep the win streak alive.  It dies at nine, as the Pistons top LA, 113-110.  Daniss Jankins, in the lineup replacing Detroit's MVP candidate Cade Cunningham, lit up the purple and gold. HIs 30 points included the game winning points, including the bucket putting Detroit up by thre...

Six weeks ago, it was a different conversation. But now?  The vibes around the Lakers are immaculate. Granted, winning nine in a row and getting some separation in the Western Conference is enough to make a team feel good about itself, but is there more going on here? How do the vibes contribute to the winning? What about the way in which they're winning is helping contribute to the vibes? And why...

It seemed like a possibility, and Sunday it came through -- the NBA has rescinded the technical foul it called on Luka Dončić in Saturday's game in Orlando. It would have been Luka's 16th, and forced his suspension for Monday's game in Detroit.  Now he can play, and it gives the Lakers a solid advantage against a Pistons team that won't have Cade Cunningham, or one of his backups in Marcus Sasser....

It wasn't easy, but the win streak continues. After a very challenging second half in which both teams completely lost the thread offensively, the Lakers needed a last second shot from Luke Kennard to push them past Orlando, 105-104.  That's nine straight wins for the purple and gold, who continue to put some space between themselves and the other contenders in the West.  Luka Dončić finished with...

The Lakers are rolling, having won eight straight games and staking a claim to the third seed in the West.  Luka Dončić is starting to change the conversation around the MVP race. LeBron James is thriving in a reconsidered role with the team, where his usage goes down but his impact stays high. Marcus Smart is Marcus Smarting, and Deandre Ayton is, at least for now, delivering consistent effort ni...

Luka Dončić dropped 40 points Wednesday night in Houston. Pretty good!  Well, with the Lakers road weary, having reached their hotel in Miami around 5:30 am, Luka went even bigger on Thursday. 60 points, on 18-30 from the floor, 15-19 from the line. And the Lakers needed every point, using a big third quarter and a strong fourth to hold off the Heat, 134-126. LeBron James added a triple-double (19...

The Lakers arrived in Miami at about 4:30 am following Wednesday's critical win in Houston. To say the least, turning around and playing at 5 pm local time won't be easy. All three of the team's stars are listed as questionable, and nobody should be surprised if any combination of them don't play.  (And if the NBA has an issue with it, blame the schedule maker.)  Moreover, the Heat present a varie...

Monday, the Lakers picked up a big win in Houston, giving them a little bit of separation in the Western Conference standings and an opportunity to do something bigger on Wednesday night, in the back end of an unusual two game set against the same opponent on their home floor.  Once again, the Lakers came through.  Led by a huge game, including a massive fourth quarter, from Luka Dončić -- 40 poin...

Minutes for the Big 3 have gone from a major liability to a major strength for the Lakers.  And because of it, how folks view the rest of the regular season and postseason (and offseason, though those conversations can wait) is undergoing a serious transformation. So how did we get here? Monday in Houston, JJ Redick talked about how the Lakers have rethought the usage of their top three players, w...

The Lakers pulled off a big win Monday in Houston, taking the first of this somewhat unusual two game set against the same team in their city.  Game 2 has a lot a stake, most notably that the winner has what could become a very, very critical tiebreaker for winning the season series. And for the Lakers, not only would they get that advantage, they'd do it while putting another game in between them...

So the Lakers are playing much better, having moved up to a third seed and with a win Wednesday in Houston will secure tiebreakers against all three of the teams closest to them in the Western Conference standings (Minnesota, Denver and the Rockets). So with that team success, is it time for Luka Dončić to be more than a passing consideration in the MVP conversation?  His numbers on the year are g...

Before Monday's game in Houston, JJ Redick said he thought it would be a rock fight, and he wasn't wrong.  But the Lakers once again used strong defense and a great late-game run to beat the Rockets, 100-92. Aside from a neat and efficient 36 point effort from Luka Dončić (14-27 shooting), the Lakers struggled to find points. LeBron James finished with 18 points (7-13 shooting) and Austin Reaves h...

The Lakers have something going, having won eight of nine, including a nice stack of quality wins against good opponents, capped by Saturday's buzzer beating OT victory over the Nuggets.  Now the tests continue, starting with the first of two games in Houston against the Rockets. Win both, and the Lakers can secure yet another tiebreaker against a quality conference rival. But even without a sweep...

The Lakers have won eight of nine, and the ninth was a loss in Denver to the Nuggets that, even with a terrible first three minutes, was there for the taking in the final possessions of the game.  Slowly and consistently, they've started chipping away at the most common criticisms. They only beat bad teams, not good ones. The defense can't perform at a high level. The Big Three can't win minutes o...

Well that was nuts.  The Lakers opened what would eventually be a 127-125 OT win over Denver with 15 minutes of their best basketball this year. Red hot shooting! Attentive, aggressive defense!  But things slowed down getting to half, and in the third quarter the large lead the Lakers had completely evaporated. In the fourth, they fell behind by as much as seven... and then came back! And the buck...

The Lakers have a critical game coming on Sunday against the Nuggets, the only team to beat them over the last seven games.  It's one that could go a long way to determining seeding in the Western Conference, and a win would give the Lakers a big tiebreaker advantage over Denver to go along with the tiebreaker they've already earned over Minnesota.  The Nuggets will be playing a stronger hand, wit...

The Lakers have now won 7 of 8, and occupy the third seed in the Western Conference after beating Chicago at Crypto.com Arena, final score 142-130.  This was a night where the Lakers locked down periodically on defense -- those were the moments where they put some space between themselves and Chicago -- but were rock stars on the other end, led by Luka Dončić. LA's MVP candidate was cooking all ni...

The Lakers have received a lift in the last couple of games through the activity and production of Deandre Ayton. The mercurial center has come out with significantly more energy, and has generally played better since namedropping Clint Capela in a fairly disparaging way.  But the Lakers need him to keep it up, no question. They're a different team when Ayton produces (noted by the record when he...

The Lakers are rolling, and feeling pretty good about themselves.  All the more reason to pay attention on Thursday against Chicago to what is undoubtedly a trap game. The Lakers have huge games just around the corner, with Houston, Denver, Orlando and more, so it'll be easy to overlook a Bulls team that has a couple decent players but overall is pretty darn lousy.  That the Lakers will likely be...

The Lakers have an enigma at center, everyone knows that. On Tuesday, Deandre Ayton was a key piece of the team's success in a critical win over Minnesota.  It's fair to say, though, that those results haven't been the standard since about the first five weeks of the year.  It's also fair to say that there are games -- Sunday against the Knicks being a great example -- where Ayton plays well and t...

The Lakers had a major confidence building win over the Knicks Sunday at Crypto.com, and Tuesday they hoped to send a message with another resounding win.  Mission accomplished.  In a game that started as a rock fight where neither team could seem to buy a bucket, the Lakers would find their stride and put some space between them and the Wolves, using a dominant third quarter to pull away and buil...

The Lakers have a huge game Tuesday night at Crypto.com against the Timberwolves, and we've got a preview to get you ready. What to watch for! Who to watch for! Keys to the game! Then, it's time to open up the mailbag. Listener Q's, including some coming live from the show broadcast at our Locked On Lakers YouTube channel:  Who do you trust on the bench? Can Ayton step up in the postseason? Will A...

The Lakers rightly felt good about themselves following Sunday's win over the Knicks at home, playing arguably their best defensive game of the season, holding one of the league's best offensive teams under 100 points.  For a team that had struggled mightily to play good ball against good opposition, it was a significant win in ways going beyond the standings. Now the challenge is to build on it,...

The Lakers scored a big win Sunday over the Knicks, 110-97. It was quite possibly the best defensive game they've played all season. Many fans noted that LeBron James spent the game in street clothes (foot, elbow) and made a straight line connection to his absence and the results.  So are the Lakers better off without LeBron?  Broadly, no. But are they less complicated? Probably.  And where does L...