Locked on Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers were the worst defensive team in basketball last year. The team gave up 109.3 points per 100 possessions, and it’s fair to say that any improvements they hope to make this season will have to at least partially center on that end of the floor. After two days of training camp in which the Lakers have reportedly mostly focused on defense, hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin decided to break down the Lakers’ roster’s abilities on that end, position by position, to answer whether or not they think the team will be better this year on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers promise to be more exciting than they’ve been in years, but there is still an elephant in the (locker) room. No, the team didn’t sign a pachyderm to play backup point guard. We are of course referring to Jim Buss’ infamous deadline to return the Lakers to Western Conference contention by the end of the year or step down. Is the rebuild going well enough for Buss to be given at least another year? Will Mitch Kupchak leave with him if Buss does indeed step down? Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin discussed their thoughts on Buss’ timeline after questions about it were raised before the Lakers kicked off training camp in Santa Barbara on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers. But before they got to that, the guys discussed the more fun aspects of the Lakers training camp, including Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram standing out, the team’s music, and the defensive focus of the first official practice of the year. Finally, Harrison and Anthony wrapped up with the latest installment of 50 Shades of Shade.

It seemed like a given that Luol Deng would be the Los Angeles Lakers’ starter at small forward when Luke Walton essentially said as much a few weeks ago. At media day, however, the coach allowed that a strong camp showing could put Ingram in the conversation for the starting gig. Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin gave their thoughts on whether or not Ingram actually has a shot in the latest episode of Locked on Lakers. But before they got to that, Harrison and Anthony graded the shade in everyone’s new favorite (surprisingly recurrent) game 50 Shades of Shade, as well as discussing the rest of their takeaways from the first day of camp.

The NBA season is finally upon us. The Los Angeles Lakers kick off training camp today with their annual media day. While this event is always good for some fun soundbites, it won’t truly answer the most pressing questions about the team. Those answers won’t come until we’ve seen at least a few preseason games, but that reality didn’t stop hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin from taking their best guesses at how camp might shake out. Will Nick Young be cut? Who will win the Lakers’ battle for backup center? Do any of the guys on non-guaranteed deals have a shot to make the roster? Harrison and Anthony discussed all this and more in the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers (literal) biggest offseason addition was free agent big man Timofey Mozgov, but he’s far from the only player the team has vying for center minutes. How many minutes will the Lakers play Mozgov? Is Tarik Black or Yi “the Big Y” Jianlian the team’s primary back-up at the pivot? To discuss the Lakers’ center rotation, hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin were joined by Silver Screen and Roll social media guru Tom Fehr on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers as position preview week comes to a close. Later in the show, Tom graded the team’s overall offseason, and the three also played everyone’s new favorite game, 50 Shades of Shade.

The Los Angeles Lakers did their final bit of offseason bookkeeping in preparation for the start of training camp next week. The front office announced they had added Metta World Peace and Thomas Robinson to their training camp roster, thus bringing them to the maximum 20 players they can carry. Can Robinson make the team? Will the Lakers give World Peace a chance? Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin discussed that and more on the latest episode of Locked on Lakers. Before that, the two chatted about Brandon Ingram’s memorable introduction to Los Angeles Sports fans at Dodger’s Stadium, and later in the show they broke down Julius Randle and Larry Nance, Jr.’s battle for minutes, and why Luol Deng might play more power forward than some fans think. As a bonus for the power forward position preview episode, Harrison and Anthony also shared their thoughts on the retirements of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Tim Duncan all in one offseason, as well as finishing with their take on D’Angelo Russell’s latest comments on the former coaching staff.

After boasting one of the worst small forward rotation’s in recent memory a season ago, the Los Angeles Lakers have a legitimate rotations dilemma on their hands this year. The team signed Luol Deng to a deal reportedly worth $72 million over four years, and also drafted Duke’s Brandon Ingram with the second overall pick. Lakers head coach Luke Walton has made it clear his plan is to start Deng for now, but how long will that continue? Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin discussed that and more questions about the Lakers’ small forward rotation as position preview week continues on Locked on Lakers.

Kobe Bryant’s retirement leaves the Los Angeles Lakers with a gigantic hole at shooting guard, even with his (mostly) poor play last season. The gap left in the organization as their centerpiece exits won’t be an easy one to fill, but the team is moving on. Luckily for Lakers fans, they have at least one promising piece moving forward. Jordan Clarkson re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer on a deal reportedly worth $50 million over four years. Such a financial commitment would seem to indicate the Lakers view him as the long-term starter next to D’Angelo Russell, but Clarkson has also voiced his willingness to come off of the bench if that’s what’s best for the team. Hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin also discussed whether Clarkson can ever become a good defender, what his most likely ceiling is, and tried to sort our the rest of the Lakers’ shooting guard rotation as the Locked on Network’s position preview week continues on Locked on Lakers.

One of the central questions as the Los Angeles Lakers prepare for their season is how much the team will get from sophomore guard D’Angelo Russell. Is last year’s second overall pick ready to be the team’s number one option? Or does he still need more time to grow into that role? Also, who will his backups be when Luke Walton decides to give him a breather? Locked on Lakers hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin decided to discuss all of these point guard questions and more as part of the Locked on Network’s position previews week, brought to you by Seat Geek.

What was supposed to be a great interview with Coby Karl (it actually was really good) turned into a discussion about the optimism surrounding the team because a certain someone forgot to hit the record button. Anywho, might the hype train be gaining too much steam? Anthony and Harrison's answers might actually surprise you.

Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell addressed critics of his work ethic in a feature on the offseason workouts of the team’s young core on Wednesday. Russell told Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News that people questioning his work ethic “don’t really matter,” so hosts Anthony Irwin and Harrison Faigen decided to discuss why people might have that perception and more in the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers have had their worst three seasons in franchise history back-to-back-to-back in the worst sort of threepeat, but the run of futility has had its benefits. The Lakers’ frequent trips to the lottery have allowed the team to amass an impressive cache of talent, but will those players on their own be enough to drive the team to contention one day? Or will the Lakers have to dip their toes back into free agency to find their next centerpiece? With his normal co-host out of the picture for the day, Anthony Irwin attempted to answer that question and more listener submissions in the latest episode of Locked on Lakers, brought to you by SeatGeek.

The various members of the Los Angeles Lakers won’t win their NBA team a whole bunch of games this season, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help out your fantasy basketball team (at least in theory). But which players will help the most? Is D’Angelo Russell due for a breakout campaign? Is Timofey Mozgov worth picking up? What about Brandon Ingram? Could it actually be Jordan Clarkson primed to be a fantasy steal? Hosts Anthony Irwin and Harrison Faigen were joined by Ivica Zubac superfan Locked on Fantasy host Josh Lloyd to discuss their thoughts on which Lakers will have the highest fantasy value, which ones might disappoint, and much more in the latest episode of Locked on Lakers.

It’s officially September, which means we’re even closer to Los Angeles Lakers training camp and (more importantly) actual basketball to discuss. Unfortunately, training camp not being here yet means the NBA is in peak silly season. That couldn’t have been more evident than in the latest “story” to circulate the NBA discourse: D’Angelo Russell sharing with Slam Magazine that he hasn’t spoken with Kobe Bryant this summer. Should fans care, or is this just the latest offseason talking point while we wait for basketball to return? After the latest, fire-breathing bonus take edition of Harrison’s Hot Takes, hosts Harrison Faigen and Anthony Irwin discussed their thoughts on this “story,” and whether or not it matters if Russell and Bryant aren’t exactly spending their entire summer hanging out with each other.

Shaq is getting inducted into the Hall of Fame, so Anthony and Harrison devote the entire show to remembering his time not only on the #Lakers, but his lasting legacy throughout the #NBA. It's bigger than you think. Oh, and of course, we spoke about him and Kobe.