Locked On Lakers podcast is your daily ticket to stay ahead of the game and the first to know the latest news, analysis, and insider info for the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA. Hosts Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered the Purple and Gold since 2005 for media outlets including the LA Times, ESPN and The Athletic, offer traditional journalism, informal commentary, and offbeat humor to provide expert, local analysis. Locked On Lakers takes you beyond the scoreboard for the inside scoops on the biggest stories from within the Lakers locker room and all over the NBA. The Locked On Lakers podcast is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
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episode 1531: LeBron Misses Monday's Game as the Lakers Lose in Utah, Drop to 2-8
Lakers lose, 139-116 with LeBron James on the sidelines.
Darvin Ham said following Monday's game that he didn't come to Los Angeles to lose, and the Lakers didn't bring him to LA to lose... but that's what the team is doing right now. Monday's 139-116 loss to the Jazz in Utah dropped them to 2-8, an already big hole in a brutally competitive conference. LeBron James missed Monday's game with a nagging foot injury, and Ham said they'll have to monitor his minutes going forward. That's not good. Patrick Beverley and Lonnie Walker IV missed the game with illness, leaving the Lakers very shorthanded against a Jazz team that is now the best in the West.
So from a talent standpoint, the Lakers really didn't have much business winning.
Still, giving up 76 points in the first half? 139 overall? After 114 vs. Cleveland, and 130 vs. Utah on Friday? The wheels are coming off that defense that played so well earlier in the year, something Ham says needs to change quickly.
This team, Ham says, will turn a corner and should bottle these moments so that when they have good team problems everyone complains about, they can remember this stretch to understand how far they've come. Let's assume that day comes... where will the Lakers be when it happens?
Meanwhile, it's pretty amazing that the one big bright spot for these 2-8 Lakers? Russell Westbrook, whose transformation into killer sixth man continued on Monday. 24 points on 8-14 shooting, with five dimes. That he's the one thing Lakers fans seem genuinely excited about is quite a turn of events.
But what happens next?
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are outmanned with LeBron and others on the sidelines, losing to Utah and falling to 2-8.
SEGMENT 2: LeBron James is going to be treated with care going forward. Do the Lakers have the flexibility to make that work?
SEGMENT 3: Russell Westbrook... silver lining!
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