Episode Details

The Lakers need to figure out how the offense is going to operate now that Luka Doncic is in purple and gold. With LeBron James and Austin Reaves, too, the Lakers definitely have multiple guys who can handle the ball and distribute. And obviously LeBron is... LeBron. But JJ Redick has basically eliminated any mystery, saying that the offense is going to run through Doncic. 

Obviously there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to this sort of thing, but importantly, any question about what the flow chart looks like has been addressed. 

This is important, because the Lakers don't have a ton of time to reach whatever their ceiling is for this season. And having quietly moved up to fourth in the West following this weekend's games—and only two games behind Memphis and Denver, who are basically tied for the second and third seeds—the league is certainly giving a lot more thought to what LA's ceiling might be. 

It's easy enough to be a prisoner of the moment, following Saturday's big win in Denver, and maybe forget how bad the Lakers looked against Utah going into the break, and Charlotte coming out. But it's also easy enough to just kinda run with the early season narrative (true at the time, no question) that the Lakers simply aren't good enough to contend, and not adjust that evaluation even with the introduction of new evidence. 

Because for those paying attention, a few things have become clear. Most importantly, the team has shown it can play high level defense. And critically, they showed it was possible before Anthony Davis was traded in games where Davis didn't play. Even including the Charlotte game and choppy execution against the Blazers, the Lakers have allowed about 300 points in their last three games. That is very, very good work in today's NBA. Overall, the defense over their last 25 has been near the top of the league. That's a big enough sample size to decide the Lakers are capable of being good enough on that end to contend. 

It's easy to forget that personnel has changed. Swapping D'Angelo Russell for Dorian Finney-Smith has made a big impact, as Jarred Vanderbilt's return from injury and Gabe Vincent's return to form. Or that LeBron has put out significantly more effort on that side of the ball. It was already a different team, and then they got Luka. 

There's still a lot to figure out, but it does seem like that win on Saturday changed the perception of the team around the league. Now it's time to solidify it win a few more good wins. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The offense belongs to Luka. 

SEGMENT 2: Any issues gonna pop up because of that? 

SEGMENT 3: LA's defense feels sustainable. 

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