How Big Lineups Affect Russell Westbrook *AND* Anthony Davis. Plus, What Happened to Kent Bazemore?
The Lakers may not have played Thursday, but that doesn't keep the news cycle from churning. The team, no shock given happenings since the start of training camp, yet another injury. This time, it's Austin Reaves who joins the walking wounded. The hamstring that kept him out of Wednesday's game called "minor" by Frank Vogel will now keep him out at least a couple weeks. Frank, you lied to us! So that's bad news... but it wouldn't be nearly as bad as more bad reports around LeBron James. Fortunately, reporting from ESPN this week indicates that abdominal injury isn't likely worse than initially presented by the team. Whew! So with all the housekeeping out of the way, more attention can be given to Kent Bazemore, who is quietly suffering through one of the uglier early season slumps for any Laker to this point. His 3-point percentage this month? 10. 10! That's really bad! And not surprisingly, his playing time has dropped with his accuracy. Even with his defensive capabilities, the Lakers badly need credible floor spacers for the offense to operate effectively. If he can't do it, Vogel has to respond. And speaking of floor spacing, everyone knows the critical nature of it, and the conversation taking place around Lakers centers. Turns out, that floor spacing question- and the question of offensive efficiency- is about a lot more than Anthony Davis. Russell Westbrook, as noted by Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA on Twitter) of the Lakers Exceptionalism pod, plays a brand of basketball much closer to the rim when DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard aren't on the floor. And at-the-rim Russ is a big improvement over his cousin, Jumpshooting Russ. Finally, reading some angry mail! HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: Injury updates, and WTF, Kent Bazemore? SEGMENT 2: More Baze, and why the center conversation is about a lot more than Anthony Davis. SEGMENT 3: How can the Lakers get the D they need while giving Westbrook easy paths to the bucket? Because those centers make his life more challenging, when it comes to generating shots the bucket. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices