AD, Beasley, D-Lo, Reaves, Coach Ham x James Worthy React To Lakers/Warriors | Feb 23, 2023

Lakers return from All-Star break with a convincing win against the Warriors. On a slow night offensively from LeBron and AD, they combined for just 25 points and an injury to D'Lo. They didn't play the entire second quarter on. The Lakers roll. Balance, seven guys and double figures, big game. Three-point shooting, 53 percent. They made 16 threes and the bench, 66 points. 16 threes. That's what we usually hear our opponents scoring while we usually are averaging maybe, you know, four or five a game. That's big. If we can continue that. I know Beasley is a consistent three-point shooter, but I think the way the ball moved around and the way guys were able to get open threes, but I like the balance of play on both ends. I mean, when you think about going forward, LeBron, not, you know, big on scoring tonight. You know, Davis didn't really dominate, but the bench, other players, Austin Reeves, Beasley, Vanderbilt, the way they play together now, it seems like it's spread around now and you don't have to depend on it. So defense, you know, scattered 30 assists tonight. It's looking very well like a team. They look like they're playing really good team ball. Two games in a row, guys. LeBron has played less than 30 minutes. These are big, big numbers for the Lakers. He played 29 minutes last week against New Orleans, 26 tonight, and he didn't shoot well. He did not shoot well, no doubt about it. But the fact that the Lakers won the way they did, convincingly, two games in a row without D'Lo, as you pointed out, Geet. You got to be really happy if you're a Laker fan right now. If you look at the standings, a lot of guys ahead of them, just ahead of them lost. Obviously, Golden State, Portland lost tonight, OKC lost tonight, New Orleans lost tonight. So Lakers need a lot of nights like this where they win and look good and feel confident and the guys above them take some L's because obviously need to catch up a little bit. That happened tonight? Happened tonight. You know, we said the next seven games coming into tonight, very important. All these teams right ahead of the Lakers in the standings, they're one of them right now. Yeah. Rui chipped in with 14. How about Mo Bamba? 10 points, 13 rebounds. Yeah. But this guy was perfect. Let's go back downtown. Austin Reeves, this is Mike Trudell. All right, Austin Reeves, kind enough to join us here. So, important win for you guys coming out of the break. I know you were excited to get back to basketball after the good win against New Orleans. What was the break like for you and how did you guys kind of apply yourselves to get this one tonight? The break was amazing for me. I played probably 110 holes of golf. Got away and seen some family, so it was good. And then when we got back, it was, you know, back to work. You know what I mean? So, we all just locked in and, you know, we're all going for one goal. I figured you might work golf into this at some point, but basketball, it seemed like you must have played some because you didn't miss a shot tonight. You came in, you were aggressive, right, in the spot ups, get to the free throw line. How did you feel rhythm wise and how do you think you fit in with this new second unit? I feel great. Like you said, I was in the gym a couple of days back home, you know, kind of going back to, you know, where it all started and, you know, finding the love for the game, you know, as, you know, we all do. It's a long season. You go through a lot and, you know, just kind of hitting that reset and coming back and I feel great. I mean, I feel like, you know, we have two units that bring two totally different things and we're really happy with what we got. Blake Beasley hits a bundle of three-point shots. Unfortunately, D'Lo leaves early, but it's been helpful. Vanderbilt in the starting lineup, but what have these guys brought to the team, Austin? Yeah, I mean, first of all, we hope D'Lo's, you know, all right. Happy birthday to him. Wish him the best day. Obviously, this is a little, you know, it's a hump in the day, but, you know, they bring a lot to the table. Like you've seen tonight, Beas, I don't know how many threes he hit, but I think he missed two. Seven, yeah. I think he missed two. Seven for nine, seven for ten. And that brings, you know, an aspect that I don't think we've had the last two years. Someone that can get high like that and then Vando, I mean, is someone that does everything. He is someone that you can rely on every single night to go out and do his job and, you know, have the team's best interest at heart. Austin, we appreciate the time, man. Enjoy it, all right? Yeah, appreciate you. Austin Reeves, great interview right there with Mike. Obviously, he got some golf in big game, James. We knew he would. Loved what he said going home, kind of where it all started. Sometimes it's nice to go back, get a couple workouts in with the people that raised you, go back and see your old coaches and stuff like that. But perfect game, 17 points, six to six. Here's the thing too, four assists, it really doesn't matter if he's in the opening lineup to start, if he comes off the bench, if he's closing, if he's not. He's just a team guy and the beauty of Austin Reeves, and we've talked about a lot, he fits with everyone. Yeah. So put him with whoever you want. He's a basketball player, okay, and he's also a gym rat. He's one of those guys that he's never going to stop working on his craft. Takes away defensive shot blockers' ability to go after his shots because he knows how to angle them off. He also can make the great pass. We know what he does defensively. He is a really good basketball player. He does a lot of things well. And so him having this great break, going home, getting some home cooking, coming back knowing how important his role is, whether he's starting or not, like you said, no matter who he's playing with, he's going to be beneficial as he was tonight. You know, it's funny, Prez, when Russ gets traded, all of a sudden, you know, if you're just looking at the roster, you're like, well, this is Austin Reeves, the third best player on this team now, but then all the shiny new toys come and you get excited and here's Austin Reeves saying, I'm still here. Still doing my job. I don't have to be the third, fourth best player, but whatever you need me. When they got Malik Beasley, yeah, when the Lakers got Malik Beasley, one of my first thoughts was, okay, they have a good three-point shooter. Yeah. Second thought was, what's going to happen to Reeves in all this? Because he's been a part-time starter in and out of that starting lineup, you know, throughout this season. When you add a guy like Beasley, as you saw tonight, you put a guy out there who can make seven threes on any given night. It's incredible. The volume. He doesn't take two threes a game either. He can take like eight, seven, eight, nine. I mean, listen, everyone called him a laser. I mean, he, he's a dead eye shooter. When's the last time they've had a guy like this? Big game, James. And we were on the break trying to figure out some names. I mean, uh, he, he was great tonight and he's shooting 50%, 15 of 30 in his last three He added in all four games where he did struggle. He's only 42%. So like Brett says, you're going to have nights in the NBA where you go 0 for 5, 0 for 6, 1 for 10. We see it from Steph. Right. But like you said, he's a high volume guy. And at the end of the day, you're in a look and there he is at 42%. Yeah. I got a friend, Gerald. And I'll show my friend Gerald's watch tonight. That's his biggest question. Are the Lakers going to get a knockdown three-point shooter, regardless of AD, regardless of LeBron? Are we going to get him? I think we found him, Gerald. And I think this guy, uh, consists, like you said, he can take seven to 10 threes a game. He can hit seven to 10 threes a game. So I think they found that answer. Yeah. It's just a matter of how they can, you know, uh, incorporate that into the lineup and make sure he's getting, uh, some really good looks at it. Uh, that means driving downhill, kicking out, posting up AD, kicking out, whatever. But I think the Lakers have found that consistent three-point shooter that they can depend on. And I can say with confidence, we all have a Gerald in our lives and they have found a knockdown shooter in Malik Beasley. Let's hear from Darvin Hamm. He's speaking with Mike in the media. Hey, Darvin, first of all, we saw the x-rays were negative for Russell. Just wondered if you had any early understanding of the ankle injury? No, we'll treat it tonight. Um, and we'll get another evaluation in the morning. Coming out of the break and especially having the good win against New Orleans beforehand, Darvin, what did you just make overall of the way the team played, especially kind of considering LeBron and AD didn't have to do as much on the offensive end? I mean, the ball moved around nicely. Um, everybody contributed. Everybody had different moments. Um, guys stayed aggressive playing downhill. Um, just, just, just overall great team win. You know, defensively, they put a lot of pressure on you. They play fast. They play fast in full court, fast in the half court. So you have to really have, you know, multiple efforts all over the place and I thought our guys did that. And, uh, you know, we had some unfortunate moments in terms of giving up second and third possessions on the glass, but we kept the next play mentality and when we did get the ball, we stayed aggressive and so, um, thought it was a great, great win against a great ball club and our guys are just slowly but surely getting more and more familiar with one another. Margin for error was a term that LeBron used several times throughout this season. Um, and say it was small and tonight he goes five for 20, AD only gets five shot attempts and you guys are running away with a double digit lead in the fourth quarter. Did you feel like the moves have increased that margin for error for your group? Yeah, but we still had that. I think it has, but I think we still have that mentality of, you know, we don't want any slippage. We want to be as tight as we can possibly be in terms of, you know, crossing our T's, dotting our I's, making sure we're getting better and better, you know, within ourselves, execution on offense and really, you know, buckling down and digging our heels in the dirt in terms of guarding people and getting stops. But yeah, you know, having B's, you know, just out there, just a sniper, just nonstop staying aggressive. Austin, you know, in his role, Rui, all of those guys, you know, along with Bron and AD. So they don't have to carry as big of a load. You know, you got Dennis. So it's, it's, you know, adding those pieces. We had to shift some pieces around within our rotation, but at the end of the day, I think it brings more balance. And we, again, we have guys in that second unit that, you know, have been in the starting lineup that have played starters minutes and closed games for us and had big moments in big games. So we have confidence in the entire roster, but that's a great shot in the arm that we were able to pick up at the trade deadline. You know, getting guys that really know how to play the game the right way, play at a high level. And as you saw with B's, that just stays in attack mode. Darvin, I think when people talk about like, this stretch is important or whatever, like it's got to start now, like teams can react to that one or two ways. How encouraged were you with this reaction, especially early? And how much did you think Malik shot making was kind of a push for you guys tonight? I just think guys know what's at hand, man. You know, they know we don't have any more time or games to waste. You know, we got to maximize each day, whether it's a game day or non game day. Coming into a practice day, you know, with a focus on how we can get better as a team on both sides of the ball. And then, you know, Malik, just his ability to stretch the floor, make threes consistently. I mean, it's a huge, huge weapon. You know, it provides a lot of space for our guys that attack the paint, you know, and also just he gives us another weapon that the team has to game plan for. And, you know, it's great having them out there and seeing, you know, a ton of threes be made on your behalf instead of being made against you. What have you seen come back from Austin's game, especially in his efficiency tonight and having, you know, obviously when Russ was around, he was playing off of Russ. But what do you make of his minutes as sort of a leader and playmaker for that second unit tonight? I mean, that's just what he does. He's just an all around fantastic basketball player. You know, he works very hard on his craft, and I trust him. You know, he's able to hold us down at times, especially tonight with D-Lo going down early. He was able to come in and fill the void. You know, we had to play Dennis a little bit longer in stretches than we normally would. And when we were able to sit Dennis down, Austin would step up. He knows how to initiate. He knows our system, how we want to defend, and what we want to try to get into. Very high IQ basketball player, and, you know, he showed that once again. 12 points and 12 boards for A.D. 12 minutes of rest on the bench during the entire fourth quarter. He's speaking with Mike in the media. Hey, Anthony, with the influx of some of the offensive talent, a game like tonight where you didn't have a lot of shots and didn't need them, are you able to kind of just refocus on defense as the main thing and take the offense as it comes? How do you think that can play out? Yeah. A lot of times, whether it's a roll, you know, I got a lot of touches in the pocket, and they did a good job of collapsing, so we knew that the weak side was going to be there just from, you know, playing against those guys and how Draymond or Looney tries to get back to me. And, you know, we sprayed to the corner for guys to make shots, and that's what we did, you know, them guys make shots. That's all it was. So I just tried to impact the game in a different way. Never rebounded on the defensive end. So guys played well. Guys made shots and, you know, had a good win. Thanks. Malik Beasley has hit seven threes, and Darwin was speaking about his aggressive nature looking for his shots. Yeah. What can you guys do with a piece like that combined with, you know, what the other pieces you have? Yeah. You know, I shoot around him today. You know, he was running some script offense, and, you know, I went to go pin down for him, and he called it and threw it in the post. And, you know, I threw the ball back out of bounds and ran it again and told him, you know, you shoot the ball. I'll get touches. You know, you shoot. We want you to shoot. And the result of that, he hit, you know, seven threes tonight. But, you know, I think he's a key piece to our team, able to space the floor. He'll put the ball on the ground. And it kind of reminds me of, like, you know, me and KCP had that action. You know, we're a single action, and you come off shoot, you can't, you know, go under. You know, he can shoot it, and then if you drop, you know, he just make a read whether, you know, he finish or throw a lob. So, you know, we have that ability, and he has the ability to play make. So having a piece like that, able to space the floor, you know, definitely helps us a lot. Yeah. Katie, without getting too far ahead of you guys, there's obviously a lot of work left to do. I think tonight was the ninth time this season you guys have led by 20 in a game all year. And it's the second straight game that you guys have done it with this group. How encouraged are you with sort of the look of this team, knowing that with continuity and things like that, there's still obviously a lot of room to grow? Yeah. I mean, we only had D-Lo for, you know, eight minutes tonight. I think he tweaked his ankles. So, you know, we're still figuring it out. You know, I had a practice yesterday, go through some stuff tomorrow. Keep getting better one day at a time, one game at a time. But, like I said, the pieces we added for defense, for offense, you know, looks really good. You know, I think we're playing well. You know, we're clicking. And we know that we don't have much time. So, you know, even though we, you know, have a couple practices, we're still trying to figure things out on the fly. And our constant communication is helping that as well. So, like I said, the past two games, we look really good as a whole. Hopefully D-Lo, you know, injury isn't, you know, severe what he missed on. But, you know, I think we've got a complete team where we're able to make a little run. AD, second straight game, you and LeBron were both able to play under 30 minutes. How important is that to where you guys aren't just winning games, you're putting the teams away early and also getting to rest a little bit instead of, you know, as you guys go on this quest? Yeah, it's very huge. You know, especially, you know, getting closer and closer down the stretch, we know that, you know, our minutes are going to increase. So we can come out and do what we're supposed to do early, put teams away, give ourselves a chance to rest even more. You know, and other guys as well, our other starters. And then it also gives her a chance for our other guys, you know, Wayne and Lonnie, D-Reid, to go out and catch a rhythm as well because you never know when, you know, you need those guys too. So, you know, it's always good to be able to sit out in the fourth quarter, you know, with a convincing lead. Hi. AD, I know every game matters, but since the trade deadline, you've been looking at teams sort of in that 7-10 range. You're about to play Dallas and Memphis, two teams that have been sort of in that upper four of the West. Is there a sense in this group that these are games that you're going to see what you really have against some legitimate teams that you could play a series against later on? Yeah. You know, tonight's a challenge in itself, or was a challenge. You know, even though they don't have steps, still they're really good. You know, basketball team with Jordan Poole, Draymond, Clay. So, and then, you know, like I said, coming up, you know, Dallas, Memphis, you know, OKC, all these teams that we're chasing. So, it's going to be a good test for us on the road. You know, and we'll see what, you know, what our team really looks like. But, you know, I'm very confident in our team and our group and I'm going to any game. Austin was six for six for the game, four for four in the fourth quarter. Does he surprise you guys anymore about what he can do? No. At this point, man, he'd do it all, man. He does it all. He can shoot, put it on the floor, play make. You know, he's tough defensively. Nothing surprises me with Austin. You know, he's continuously getting better and better each and every day. Come in, put his work in, and he's just out there having fun. You know, I know the time that he missed. You know, he was pretty upset because he wants to be on the floor. And now, you know, he's back on the floor and helping us win games. So, we're definitely happy to have him back. But the things he's doing on the floor, man, he's very talented. You know, and he's only going to keep getting better. So, nothing surprises me. Is there a different feeling on this team since the trade deadline? You seem to be attention-lifted. You seem to be playing with more joy. As a team? Yes. Yeah, I mean, I think we just know where we are. You know, we don't have time to, you know, be upset or, you know, fight ourselves. You know, we've got to be able to guard and win basketball games. So, that's all we want to do is guard and have fun. You know, us having fun, you know, playing the right way, playing defense, making the right plays offensively leads to victories. And, you know, when you're winning basketball games, you know, it's always fun and you can enjoy it. So, you know, we just want to keep putting the strength of winning together and get back in the race. Thank you. Thanks. D'Angelo Russell left the game with a sprained right ankle. Let's hear from D'Lo in the locker room. How are you feeling? I'm all right. A little sore. Had you ever gotten hurt on a DeMount's pass before like that? I mean, it seemed like a pretty fluke play. Yeah, wrong place, wrong time, definitely. Pretty unlucky for me. Are you concerned at all about this being serious or do you think? No, no, no. I mean, players roll their ankle all the time. I don't do that often. So, I mean, it's obviously new, but it is what it is. I'm not really worried. When you consider, obviously, you played, I think, eight and a half minutes. LeBron was five for 20. AD took five shots and you guys were up by 28. What does that say about this group that's still so young together and so new together, but the ability of this group? I mean, definitely. That's what I've been saying, that our team is stacked. So, when guys aren't playing their best, it allows other guys that are definitely capable just to step up. So, for us, what is this, our third game? The second game with LeBron. Yeah, so you've got to take that into consideration for real because we're actually playing against the best teams, the best players in the world. So, you've got to take things like that into consideration. So, for our group, it's huge. Guys play well. Reeves, Pease, Brewery, all those dudes stepped up. Dennis, it's big time. What's up? Come on now. A little late. How much does Malik in that outside game really help when he's shooting three-pointers like he was tonight? He can help any team in the league, any team in the league. I mean, he's coming into his own. He's comfortable. He's who he is right now. Blake has decided to take advantage of him. He's making him proud. His performance obviously tonight, but all season he's been dominating the game and doing what he does best. So, it's huge. When you come to a new team in a new situation, I mean, you've played with Beasley. You've played with Jared. But you mentioned Reeves. What have you seen from him in the limited action? Super solid. You're not going to make him make a mistake. He makes the right play a lot of the time, and he just plays basketball and a very efficient player. I don't know. He's surprisingly a lot of stuff to him. He does a lot of things well. D'Angelo, sorry. I'm sure you already talked about the ankle. For those of us who got a little bit late, but just how's it feeling? Sore, sore. Any other ankle injuries, same thing. Sore. Try to bounce back tomorrow, see how I feel. Get some meds in me, some rehab. It'll be all right. Thanks, D'Angelo. Okay. Nice. I like the fact that he's talking and he's analyzing. To me, that's a good sign so far. Yeah, it could be that he could have finished the game if he wanted to, probably played less. But it's probably good that they went in early and got some treatment during the game. That's always critical when you have, especially an ankle injury. The sooner you can get some ice on it, maybe get the swelling down, get some treatment right away, the success rate is better as far as healing. So that's a good thing. But we also know all the great athletes here at the table. You and me. Oh, Geters, yeah, he was an okay volleyball player. But we also know that tomorrow morning, he'll probably get treatment all night tonight. We also know tomorrow morning it'll be swell a little bit, a little stiff, and that'll be the real test. The good news is there's depth on this team. He's right. There is some depth. Shooter came in like they didn't skip a beat. The bad news is Darvin just said yesterday after practice, these are my five starters. They're going to be this way for a while, and let's see how that goes. Finally healthy. Seven three-pointers for Malik Beasley in the win. That's not his season high, though. That's eight. His career high is 11. He's speaking with the media. Malik, AD was describing a sequence in shoot-around where you had an open look, but you passed back to him inside and said, hey, you shoot that. Was that in your mind today and especially in this game plan? I mean, I was just going through script, and I just thought it was the right play to throw it to him, and he threw it back and was like, shoot the ball. So I had to do it all over again, and I shot it. Same with coach. He told me to shoot the ball, keep shooting. That feels good when you're a shooter. It gets my confidence high. AD and LeBron keep saying we're going to get ours, so just do what you do, space the floor, and knock down shots. Malik, when you look at the box score, you see LeBron doesn't have his best shooting night. AD only gets five shot attempts, but as a group, you have five guys off the bench scoring double figures. You hit seven threes. You guys pretty much control the action most of the night. What type of encouragement does that give you about the group's capabilities in terms of it could be any guy any night? Oh, it definitely could be any guy. We're deep as a team. We've got starters coming off the bench. Just the fact that D-Lo didn't even finish the game, we've got so many threats. Like you said, AD and LeBron didn't get going as much as they wanted to tonight, but we're deep. I think that's the statement we want to make. If it's not one player, it's going to be another player any given night. Malik, when you get put into a new situation like this, how important is it to not step on toes and stuff like that and to kind of erase that thought and just be yourself? How empowered have you felt to shoot the shots that you think are good shots, to do what you want to do? Have you felt totally empowered on that front? Definitely, because you've got LeBron and AD. You want to make sure you do the right things. They're the leaders, so just making sure I made the right plays. Now that they're telling me to do what I do, it makes it easier on me to just do what I do. Malik, you've played with stars before, but what can you say about the quality of looks you're getting playing with LeBron and AD and just the attention that those guys draw, especially in the paint? It's tough to double both of them and then rotate all game. That's why I like to be in the corner or the slot so I can get those shots. I know what's coming, so that's what I prepare for every game, getting my footwork right and ready to shoot the ball, especially if there's a closeout coming up. Malik, over here. How would you describe the energy on this team? I would describe it as great, immaculate. We're trying to, even though we're in a tough position right now, we've got to win a lot of games, but we see that as a challenge and we like challenges. Like I said before, we kind of made a statement tonight that we're ready to make this playoff push and do what we've got to do. Some of the role players that we think are going to be a great added dimension on both ends, especially on the defensive ends when you think about Rue, when you think about Vanderbilt being able to use their size defensively, posting up, that's something we don't see a lot of in this game, but to be able to take advantage of those mismatches. And then D'Angelo, his ball-handling skills, being able to draw the defense to him while guys are getting back cuts. They haven't even jelled 100% yet. I'd give them a couple more games before they really get connected, and then that's what they're talking about, the depth that they feel that they see in themselves. So stay healthy and produce. Mo Bamba's an impact door, got some serious run, 10 points, 13 forwards in the victory. He's standing by with Mike. All right, Mo, so just zooming out first, from what you expected with this team, what your role was going to be, kind of playing that back-up center spot, spacing the floor on offense, protecting the rim defensively, what has it been like for you so far? It's been quite the experience. There's just a lot coming at you fast, but as I mentioned before, this is a copycat league, and a lot of the sets and a lot of defensive schemes I've done and seen before, so it's been easy to just be plugged in. It does look to be a good fit, both with the starting group and the second unit. It seems like you guys are already finding some ways to gel. What do you think are the factors that are contributing to that? It's only two games. It's definitely not too early to say that, but having that camaraderie already is big in this league. As I also mentioned before, not a lot of times you see a team make big, big trades and win a championship, so having that camaraderie and that togetherness is going to be big moving forward. What are you starting to learn about some of the guys, especially in that second unit you're playing with, whether it's Austin or Dennis who seem to be on the court? Just tendencies, just knowing when they're shooting, knowing when they want to pass. I kind of want to get with Dennis a little bit more and figure out when he wants to pass or think lob or short roll or whatever, but just tendencies and just kind of figuring out who likes to do what and when. We know that you've been shooting the three for a long time, and obviously it's a shot that looks good. You've been shooting it for a few years now, and the percentages have gone up. Certainly we're high in Orlando, so you get here, and it's important for that floor spacing, right? What's the balance, though, for you of sometimes also wanting to be near the rim versus picking and popping and kind of creating the space for your teammates? For me, I just want to establish myself inside first and then slowly branch my way out to the perimeter, but rolling and just being present to the rim is going to be huge for this team, especially with that second unit. But obviously spacing the floor and bringing out the bigs and everything will also be moving forward. So just finding a healthy medium between the two and just working from there. Last one for you, were you able to get home and get a couple suitcases together so you can bring it here for LA for the stretch run, get some clothes ready? Yeah, for the most part. I think my dog is coming in about two or three days, so I'm excited to see him, but still looking for a place to stay. What kind of dog are you? Oh, okay. Name? His name is Lennox. Named after the block or avenue that I grew up on. Shout out to Lennox. There you go. Shout out to Lennox.