Ep. 657: All The Difference(s). (4 REASONS Why the Lakers are Set-Up for a DEEPER Playoff Run.

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All right, welcome everybody to the Lakers Legacy podcast

where RIP and condolences to all the dookies

all around the world for the pure madness

that was their march.

Particularly Lakers dookies like JJ Reddick and Luke Connard,

what an ending and what a loss to Dan Hurley

and the Yukon Huskies.

But you know what, something tells me

that Reddick and Connard will get over

their Alma Mater's tragic last second loss

because they frankly got bigger fish to fry

after maddenessing their own march this past month

with the Lakers by going 13 and 2 in their last 15 games.

And now the playoffs await in just two weeks.

I'm your host Jonathan Hernandez

and your Los Angeles Lakers are now 48 and 26.

22 games above 500 with just eight games left to go

till the start of their official road to number 18.

And though Luca Doncic will be missing the next game

due to suspension, the vibes are still higher

than they've ever been

and the team looks more locked in than ever.

And in today's episode, we are going to go over

concrete reasons why this year's Lakers team

will have a different, more positive fate than last year's team.

And while some of the reasons may seem obvious,

I just wanted to make sure to run through this exercise

so that we could clearly lay everything out on the table

and clearly articulate why I don't think we as Lakers fans

should be walking into this year's playoffs

with too much lingering PTSD from last season.

So I've got about four reasons that I want to go over

with you guys today.

But before we get to that, if I could please ask you guys

to like this video, comment down below

and most importantly hit subscribe.

I would greatly appreciate it.

Also, please consider becoming a member

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where you will get access to my members' exclusive videos

including some nitty gritty cap space stuff as well.

All right, with that said, let's get into my four reasons

why this year's Lakers are different.

Different than last year's Lakers

and why I think they will have a better fairing

in the playoffs and make it past at least the first round.

All right, so let's get into those four reasons right now

and let's start with number one,

the Lakers Western Conference Competition this year.

Now obviously the same teams exist in the West,

but I think things have changed in certain respects

and I actually think if you dissect each and every team

in the Western Conference this year,

I think the Lakers Western Conference Competition

has actually gotten weaker.

So let's kind of run through some of the Lakers'

potential opponents in the first round

and even the second round.

Let's start with the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets particularly recently have been an absolute mess.

The vibes unlike the Lakers have never been more sour.

They just suffered that crazy over time loss

where they had a double digit lead

and still lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, I believe.

They seem absolutely screwed without a true point guard.

They have missed Fred Van Vleet the entire year,

reached shepherd while he has been good

and they have been relatively good when he has started

is still not a veteran point guard

that you need to take that team over the top.

Kevin Durant has been overtaxed

and you almost start to wonder

whether the Dylan Brooks KD swap was worth it

for the culture and vibes alone.

This season the Lakers are two and one

versus the Houston Rockets

and obviously the last two games being

those back-to-back games in Houston

where the Rockets just could not figure out

the Lakers trapping zone defense on Kevin Durant

and for the first time in the last few seasons

the Lakers looked like the more physical and athletic team

all because the Rockets had no true offensive cohesion

cohesion and offensive creation.

So number one, I think the Rockets are weaker

and if the Lakers face off against the Rockets

I don't think the Lakers should be too scared.

Now let's move on to the Denver Nuggets.

I know we always get a lot of PTSD with this one,

which makes sense.

They have terrorized us for multiple seasons

when we had Anthony Davis

but I do think we have to sort of separate ourselves

from the AD era, which is crazy and hard to do

because last season we still had AD

for the first half of the year

but the Denver Nuggets,

while I don't necessarily think that they got weaker per se

I do think that our matchup with the Nuggets

since Luca has joined the team

has been pretty vastly different

because the Luka Lakers, whenever we face

Yokeach and the Nuggets

the Luka Lakers are a different beast

and with Luca in tow

it's almost like we have a Yokeach of our own

but at the wing position to throw at Denver

and all of a sudden the Nuggets have this crazy riddle

that they have to solve on our end.

And so far since the Luka don't should trade

the Lakers are four and two in their last six games

versus Denver and Luca himself is four and one.

The only other Lakers loss was that one on the road

when both brawn and Luca sat last season

and if you remember Austin and Dalton

and randomly shake Milton band it together

and almost beat the Nuggets themselves,

short-handed and that was the game where Austin and DK

I think both put up 30 plus points

but anyways the Lakers are four and two

in their last six games versus Denver

Luca himself is four and one

and so this year I'm a little bit more confident

in a Denver Nuggets matchup in the first round

even though again it still does strike fear into my heart

for obvious reasons but I think once we get over

sort of like the initial PTSD and shock

I think Lakers fans will come to realize that

I don't know with Luca Donchich

this might be a matchup we actually want

especially if we take into account the last few games

where we have looked like the more rabid and athletic team

against the Nuggets and have looked more offensively cohesive

than them as well

all right so that's the Denver Nuggets

that's the Houston Rockets

next up let's talk about the Minnesota Timberwolves

kind of like the Rockets I feel like they've been

a very lost and messy team this year

that's been searching for their own identity

Mike Connellese a year older

they have really missed Nikhil Alexander Walker

Anthony Edwards in this latter stretch of the season

has been pretty banged up

Luca Donchich is actually 4 and 0

versus the Wolves in the regular season

since he's joined the Lakers

and this year the Lakers swept their season series

with the Wolves 3 and 0

and while I know we lost to the Wolves in the playoffs

one for last season

we do have to remember that one

the Wolves had Nikhil Alexander Walker

two, Luca wasn't as healthy and well conditioned

as he was now

I mean that we were still talking about you know

Luca making his way back from his injury

and honestly he was not in shape

and then on top of that

Luca was had a stomach virus

he was throwing up at half time in game three

so who knows how that series would have gone

if the Lakers hadn't dropped game three

and had a truly healthy Luca

because LeBron was going off in that game

and then on top of all of that

Austin Reeves was also super banged up in that playoff series

we just didn't find out about his

what he was dealing with footwise

after that series had already concluded

and so this season the Timber Wolves

I don't know

obviously there will be PTSD from having to face them again

just because of how last year's series ended

but I don't think Lakers fans should be that afraid either

because one, we have swept and owned the Timber Wolves this season

and two, there are very tangible reasons

why the Timber Wolves have struggled

and I think those reasons will persist

if we face them in the first round in the playoffs

and then if the Lakers are able to make it to the second round

which I anticipate they will based off of the reasons

that I just laid out

in the second round the Lakers will likely face off

against the San Antonio Spurs

and while Wemba Nyama is obviously the alien monster

that we all fear

if there was ever any year to beat Wemba before

he absolutely goes Super Saiyan

it's this year, his first year in the playoffs

because I think we can take advantage of the Spurs

Ronis, their youth, their inexperience

they are a very green team

despite having guys like Deer and Fox and Harrison Barnes

they have a young head coach

and so yeah, even though the Spurs clearly have more talent

they have more athleticism, they have more youth

than the Lakers team

and it's always a possibility that Wemba Nyama

just goes destroyer of all worlds

and it won't matter

but I think when it comes to the tactical schema things

and when JJ Reddick has time to read out a seven game series

and you've got Luca LeBron AR on our side

I just think the Lakers have a pretty good shot

in the second round to potentially surpass the Spurs

at least for this year

just because it'll be their first outing in the playoffs

so yeah, that's my reasoning for why I think the Lakers

will have a more fruitful time in the playoffs

and at least make it past the first round

and even the second round if they face a team like the Spurs

now if we face the Oklahoma City Thunder

then yeah, you know, at that point that's when I think

the our momentum stops

because to me, okay, C seems inevitable

and I don't think we have a good shot against them

for all the obvious reasons

this season we are 0 and 2 against the Thunder

and yeah, right now they just seem insurmountable

with their stable of athletes

my only hope is that Luca a year or two ago

literally had the keys and the equation to beat this team

during his finals run with the Dallas Mavericks

and I know he had a different team around him back then

and the Oklahoma City Thunder were a little different as well

because they hadn't yet gotten Isaiah Hardenstein

but Luca knows what it feels like

to beat this OKC Thunder team

so at least he doesn't have the trauma of having lost two,

you know, this seemingly invincible team

and that was actually the season

before they became champions

but anyways, the West competition is weaker

that's reason number one for why I think the Lakers

have a good shot to rewrite their history this season

all right, let's talk about reason number two

the Lakers big three stars aligning

I think each and every one of our stars

have their own sort of individual agendas going on

but they all seem to sort of coalesce with one another

to hopefully snowball the Lakers into just this wave of momentum

that catches fire and sparks a great run for the Lakers

I mean, Luca Doncic, what more can you say about this guy?

He is having a generational run in the last 15 games

13 and 2 record, Luca's averaging 37.2 points per game

8.2 rebounds per game

7.1 assists per game

leading the Lakers in steals 2.3 steals per game

he's first in points, fourth in assists, first in steals

in the NBA during that time span

he has been on a generational tear

that not many people have ever seen if at all

he's putting up numbers that this Lakers franchise

has never seen

numbers Kobe has never even produced

so I mean, we all know that the revenge bod, revenge tour, Luca

it hit a rough patch in the middle there

where he got a little bit banged up during the winter seasons

but he's come back better than ever in the new year

and it doesn't look like anything

or anyone is gonna slow him down

so there's Luca Doncic, the obvious one

we move on to Austin Reeves

who somehow has surpassed what he did last season

at least in the regular season

he bulked up over the offseason

focused on getting stronger

being able to finish through contact

and now he's putting up the most efficient season

for a guard in Lakers history

and as far as his career

if you look at Austin Reeves entire career

Austin actually has the highest career

true shooting percentage by a guard in NBA history

with a 63% true shooting percentage

and this year Austin's averaging 23.6 points

4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists

on 49% from the field, 36% from three

super efficient numbers

and he has once again made another leap

into all star consideration territory

and for Austin himself

I know he wants to prove the doubters wrong

with regards to his playoff troubles

with physicality and length

and he wants to prove that the reason

why he faltered against the wolves last season

was because he had a foot injury that he was dealing with

so Austin has a lot to prove

he's got a chip on his shoulder

and for himself he's even made another growth jump

from last season when I thought 25 for Austin was

as good as it got.

Now we move on to LeBron James, the goat 41 years old

who's doing unprecedented things at 41

and is literally breaking new records every time

he steps out onto the court

and even just takes one dribble

and now we've got a LeBron who's

bought into a supporting role as the third guy

and is willing to lift up and prop up Luca and Austin

and it just so happens

LeBron is doing what LeBron normally does

at this time of the year and locking in at both ends

I mean this is the perfect combination of things

that could have happened for each of our individual big three

but all of their individual agendas

and all of their individual chips on their shoulders

they are aligning in such a way that

I mean you see it on the court

you see it off the court with the advanced net rating numbers

you see it off the court with regards to their chemistry

the big three has never looked this good

and these three players in their own lanes

but also in their corresponding lanes together

I mean it just feels like we're on a very good trajectory

of positive momentum with our big three

and they've all individually improved

throughout the course of this season in their own ways

and yeah I don't know I'd be afraid to face

this big three heading into the playoffs

and you know for LeBron the other thing working for LeBron

in LeBron's favor is the last stand protocol

this could literally be and might be his last playoff run

as a Laker how does LeBron want to go out

you know I know he's gonna go

I know he's gonna want to go down swinging

so I am very excited to see what

bought in LeBron as the supporting cast player

as the prime dream on green slash Aaron Gordon

slash Andre E. Godala third guy looks like in the playoffs

because it could be a special farewell tour

for LeBron as it pertains to donning the purple and gold

in the playoffs and so I'll be grabbing my popcorn

and chomp in a way as I watch LeBron James potential

final run as a Laker so reason number two

why I think things will be different

the big three look different and it's a good different

and you know you all you only need to point to Luca

our north star to sort of understand why

we should all feel hopeful about this potential playoff run

that we're about to go on not potential playoff run

but this potential run we're about to go on potential

contending run so those are my first two reasons

why I think things will be different this year

but before we get into my last two reasons

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Alright, so we are back.

Let's get into my last two reasons for why I think the Lakers season will be different.

Sorry, my voice just cracked.

Just to recap, number one, weaker Western Conference, number two, Luca and the big three stars

aligning.

Let's move on to number three and let's talk about better depth and supporting cast

on the Lakers end.

So I think this one is pretty obvious, but let's just run through the Lakers roster and

compare it to what we had last season and let me actually bring up last year's playoff

roster.

So let me just really quickly do a rundown of who we had last season.

Obviously we had Luca, we had Dorian Finney Smith, Jordan Goodwin, Rui Hachimura, Jackson

Hayes, LeBron James, Bronnie James, Maxi Cleaver, although he only played in that final game

for like five minutes, Dalton Connect, Alex Len, who could forget Alex Len, shake Milton,

Marquif Morris, Austin Reeves, Jared Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent.

And so that was our final roster heading into the playoffs last season and actually the

last game against the wolves, like I think only eight guys played because players like Jackson

Hayes and Jared Vanderbilt were not even in the rotation anymore and Reddit was only using

a few guys.

So this season in contrast, let's just start with the big man first with regards to our supporting

cast.

Last year, we literally only had Jackson Hayes and Alex Len.

And Reddit ended up abandoning Hayes very early in that Minnesota game.

Obviously Hayes is culpable for why Reddit had to abandon him, but I just felt like

Reddit gave up on him too early and evidence by the fact that Reddit actually apologized

to Hayes after how that series went and apologized to him in the off season.

So number one, last season, we only had Jackson Hayes as our viable big man.

This season, even if we still only had Jackson Hayes, I think Hayes has actually improved

in a lot of ways that he was deficient in to close that series against the wolves.

So Hayes has improved.

He's booked up.

He's blocking shots left and right in the last week or so.

And I think he's prepared for whatever is going to come his way this playoffs with regards

to he understands the physicality in the playoffs now and I think he'll be ready.

So Hayes is already just going to be better in and of himself.

And then on top of that, Hayes will be slotted correctly as the back of big man because

this season, we've got Deandre Aitin or shall I say Deandre Capella, who now looks super

locked in for this stretch run.

And so we've got a legitimate starting center ahead of Jackson Hayes, who's still doing

the rebounding stuff, still blocking shots here and there, but giving the Lakers a different

look offensively as a pick and roll partner and someone who actually screens better than

Jackson Hayes.

And so now we've got two viable options at center.

And then on top of that, we even have a third option in a semi-healthier Maxi Cleba.

He has been dealing with this back thing the last two weeks or so, but it does seem

like he's at the very least healthier than last year's version when he was only able

to play in the last game for five minutes in a last case scenario break, last in case

of emergency desperation situation for JJ Reddick.

Cleba has actually played rotation minutes for us throughout the season.

And so if his number is called upon again, I think Cleba will be ready.

And so yeah, our front court in general is just so much more formidable.

That should be our number one thing that we cling on to with regards to us having a way

better supporting cast.

After our front court, then you look at a guy like the Marcus smart, the Marcus smart

X factor because obviously we lost during Fanny Smith.

But in his stead, I feel like Marcus smart has sort of filled the DFS role.

Hopefully he's smaller, but in my opinion, Marcus smart is like the smaller, but stronger

and more offensively versatile version version of DFS.

And again, I don't need to belabor the point with Marcus smart.

Everything he's done for the Lakers, changing our culture, but continuing to scrap on the

floor, hit his threes in timely situations and also play make for us.

These are things that Dory and Fanny Smith can't do with regards to the playmaking and sort

of offensive creation, even though smart has been sort of erratic throughout the season.

The only thing with smart is whether his body can hold up, but I think that's why he's

been resting the last couple of games.

So anyways, we've got the Marcus smart X factor.

And then on top of Marcus smart, I just feel like in general, collectively, we've got

off of the bench more goons and more firepower last season off the bench.

We had guys like Jordan Goodwin, Gabe Vincent, and Jared Vanderbilt.

This year we have goons and buckets, Jake LaRavia.

There's another goon.

We've got a healthier Vando, whether or not reddit wants to deploy him.

We'll see, but there's another goon.

We've got Hayes and Cleba, two goons who have been playing pretty well in different sections

of the season.

And then we've got really hot, she more coming off the bench now.

And he's been a little bit up and down, but I feel like he settled into his role as

that bucket getter and spacer off the bench.

And in some games, he still closes because the Lakers need that small ball five look.

And they need Ruiz, you know, physicality and length at the four or five.

And then on top of that, we got a guy like Luke Canard who sort of knits everything offensively

together.

I mean, you just compare, compare and contrast goodwin, Gabe and Vando to LaRavia, Vando,

Hayes and Cleba, Rui and now Canard.

And it's pretty much no contest.

The Lakers supporting cast and depth is just way more reliable, way more versatile.

And now again, it'll just rest on JJ reddit to actually maximize those players, utilize

them in the right lineups and trust these guys.

I don't think he's going to play all of these players, but I think from one series to

the next, certain guys will have better matchups.

And it's going to be up to JJ reddit to understand, do I use Vando in this series?

Do I use Vando in this game at all?

Is Canard going to be eaten alive defensively and physicality wise in this series?

Can LaRavia stick it if his three point shot is hasn't rounded the corner yet?

So it'll be up to JJ reddit to sort of be the alchemist here.

But with regards to having better pieces to sort of utilize than last season, I mean,

JJ reddit won't have that excuse this year.

Because again, we're slotting guys down who we had to rely on as starters last season

in terms of Jackson Hayes and Rui Hachimura and now they're coming off of the bench.

So way better supporting cast and depth.

I don't think I need a belabor at that point from the front court to the Marcus

Martx factor to the overall collective depth of the bench and overall collective

better defense as well.

All right.

So that is my third reason why just to recap everything.

Again, number one, weaker Western conference, number two, Luca and the big three stars

aligning, number three depth and supporting cast or better depth and supporting cast.

Now we're down to my last reason, number four.

And let's talk about continuity, cohesion and vibes.

So this reason is a little bit more ethereal and intangible.

But I do think this stuff matters for playoff runs, championship runs.

If you want to do anything special, your group sort of has to be special, not only on

the court, but off the court.

And I think this year we've had just speaking to the continuity part first.

This year, this group has been with each other.

A large majority of this group, Sans gave Vincent, has been with each other from the

start since training camp, since working with each other in the off season.

We've got a full year of continuity, cohesion and vibes with much of these players.

Last season, we had a Ragtag group coming out of a very shocking trade that nobody

was really able to catch their bearings with even after it was done.

And so that group was put together midway in such a shocking fashion, admittedly so

from Lucas end as well.

This year, we got a fresh start.

We had these guys, we started the season together from the jump and we banded together

through all of the injuries, through all of the up and downs, through the December portions

of the season when everybody was talking about the Lakers, just being paper tigers

who can't beat good teams.

And then now they've come out of that, like pretty much beating everybody, the bad teams,

the good teams, they've been rolling one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

These players and this group have gone through that journey and that process together.

And I think that experience with one another means a lot.

It means something to a playoff run and knowing that you can get down in a series,

you can get down in a game.

But as you have all season, you can fight back because this group has been a very resilient

group, especially when you consider all of the in and outs that have happened with regards

to the injuries and how many guys have had to step up for one another.

I mean, we've got two games this season when Nick Smith, Jr., a two way guy had to come in

and save the day for the Lakers.

And so I think the belief and the fight for one another is there with this team.

And also they just have a better understanding of one another.

If you want to talk about the actual basketball play and again, as I mentioned at the top,

the vibes have never been higher, winning cures a lot of ills.

But when look at when you when you have a superstar like Luca Donchitch, a generational star,

that the belief has never been higher for the Lakers.

And you can see it being exuded.

You can see that confidence exuded from all of the role players.

It's a huge trickle down effect.

And when you look at again, I'm going to go back to the stars, but you have a generational

young star in Luca Donchitch.

You've got a goat going down swinging.

You've got a scrappy rising star in Austin Reeves who went undrafted just so he could steer

his way to the Lakers.

When you have that as your big three and your leading core, it's easy for everybody to

band together.

But also I just think naturally this group and you've seen it after every single one of

their game winners, it's not really something you can put a finger on.

But this group just vibes together so well.

Their chemistry reminds me so much of the 2020 Lakers championship season, whether it's

Luca Donchitch, you know, having these little squabbles, playful squabbles with Austin Reeves.

And then when Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, continuing to prop up Luca Donchitch, continuing

to prop up Austin Reeves, having him on his podcast, the way that they have all sort of galvanized

around Luca's greatness and galvanized around all of these crazy game winners, I don't know.

I think this is a very special group, regardless of whether or not they win the championship.

Again, I think their experience with one another, their continuity on and off the court, I think

they can squeeze out one or two more wins off of that alone, off of vibes alone.

Because these are these are generational vibes that the team is currently running on.

And when you can actually pair that with the good basketball play that they have been playing

in the last one and a half months or so, that's when you kind of get that lightning

in a bottle sort of moment that advanced net ratings and analytics can't really quantify.

And so, yeah, those are my four reasons why I think this year will be different for the Lakers.

One, weaker Western conference, two Luca Donchitch and the big three stars lining, three better

depth and supporting cast and four lit vibes, baby.

How do you like that analysis?

I guess bonus reason.

I'd say JJ Reddick, you know, I think he'll, I think he kind of lost it last season in the

playoffs versus the Timberwolves.

He kind of panicked whether it was giving up on Hayes too soon and abandoning him too soon

or playing his starters.

The final 24 minutes of a game on the road and not giving them arrest and wearing them out.

I believe that was a game for I feel like JJ Reddick's a coach who

really internalizes from his mistakes and really learns from them.

I think he really digs down deep to understand how and why he failed and tries to make sure he

course corrects in the most productive way possible.

And I think we've seen that throughout the course of this season.

This season, I feel like he has made far more

adept in game adjustments.

He's adapted better within games to what the other team is doing much better.

And at times, we've been the team dictating the course of how

the flow of a game is going rather than the other way around from the late game

ATOs to the late game execution and the Lakers being like one of the best.

If not the best clutch time teams in the NBA all season to the growing

cohesiveness on the defensive end of the floor, the purposeful zone trapped man

on Malgomations, I think JJ Reddick has relied on his big man a lot more and

not solely gone to small ball spacing lineups.

Reddick's obviously still has a lot to learn.

But I mean, a second season on the job, 50 plus wins.

And you have to give JJ Reddick a lot of credit for sort of

generaling this team along this entire season when things could have easily

fallen apart during that December stretch.

So yeah, anyways, I will leave it right there.

Those are my four reasons why I think things will be different for the Lakers

in a very positive way this season.

What are your guys' four reasons?

How far do you think the Lakers can make it in the playoffs?

Let me know in the comments below.

And please remember to like this video, comment down below, and most importantly

hit subscribe.

If you're listening to this on Apple Podcast or Spotify, please remember to

hit me up with a five star rating and review.

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And also consider becoming a member to the Lakers Legacy YouTube channel.

But with that said, thank you for listening.

Thank you for watching.

Go Lakers.

Go go.

This has been Jonathan Hernandez of the Lakers Legacy podcast.

And I will catch you guys next time.

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