Laker Film Room - Dedicated to the Study of Lakers Basketball

The Lakers got some unexpected good news on Thursday, with LeBron James returning from health and safety protocols earlier than expected and Trevor Ariza participating in his first practice of the season. In this episode, Pete, Darius, and Mike discuss a rare bit of good fortune and the ramifications of Dwight Howard replacing DeAndre Jordan in the starting lineup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Malik Monk is proving to be exactly what the Lakers need as a backup guard who can change the game with his shot making and scoring ability. His 2nd half vs. the Kings, where he posted a +41 in the boxscore, attests to that. But, with LeBron James out, should Monk take on a bigger role and be moved to the starting lineup? If so, who should he replace? Is his defense good enough to play a bigger role? Does his positive on-court partnership with Russell Westbrook override whatever concerns exist? Pete, Mike, and Darius discuss Monk's overall game to this point in the season by digging into these questions and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dwight Howard was not expecting to play against the Kings on Tuesday night. Then, after only a few minutes into the game, Frank Vogel put DeAndre Jordan on the bench and turned to his future Hall of Fame big man for a defensive spark and energetic play. 35 minutes later, Dwight had scored 12 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, and was a +27 in the boxscore. Pete, Mike, and Darius discuss Dwight's big night and him making his case to leapfrog Jordan in the Lakers rotation. Later, the guys discuss different lineup options that feature Dwight and the challenges Frank Vogel faces when trying to find consistency in veteran minimum role players.Visit https://www.tickpick.com/lfr/ to save $10 on your first order of tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How much Center should LeBron play? Why have these lineups worked and how taxing are those minutes? What teammates fit best next to LeBron when he plays the 5 and can they survive defensively? With Frank Vogel saying he likes the looks of the lineups with LeBron at the 5 and committing to giving them more time, Pete, Mike, and Darius answer these questions and explain why they're on board with this shift and why it makes sense for LeBron at this stage of his career. Visit https://www.tickpick.com/lfr/ to save $10 on your first order of tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Lakers are a .500 team through 22 games and a common theme in the contests they've won is that they have done a lot of the "little things" well. And, the opposite is very much true in the games they've lost. Pete, Mike, and Darius explore this idea of the little things and why the Lakers don't always commit to doing them, even though it clearly impacts winning and losing on a fundamental level. Later, the guys get into whether it's fair to ask LeBron and Anthony Davis to do more of these things in order to compensate for some of their teammates' inability to do them. Visit https://www.tickpick.com/lfr/ to save $10 on your first order of tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Lakers loss to the Knicks followed a familiar formula where the team showed a real lack of urgency and an inability to muster the needed effort to compete and win during a key stretch of the game. Pete, Darius, and Mike discuss this trend, why it happens, and how the team ultimately worked their way out of that funk to go on the run that got them back into the game vs. the Knicks. Later, the guys discuss Russell Westbrook's recent stretch of strong play and how both he and his teammates are adjusting to each other. Visit https://www.tickpick.com/lfr/ to save $10 on your first order of tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Injuries and early season struggles have led Frank Vogel to try a variety of different lineups as he searches for solutions. In this episode, Pete and Darius discuss the hints and clues found in the resulting lineup data, including THT’s positive impact on an emerging Russ + AD group, the team’s surprising rebounding struggles when LeBron is on the floor, and more.Visit https://www.tickpick.com/lfr/ to save $10 on your first order of tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On a day LeBron James got ejected for a flagrant 2 foul and the Lakers nearly found themselves in a brawl as a result, the team had a great comeback win over the Pistons. Pete, Mike, and Darius discuss the game's events, including how Russell Westbrook put the team on this back in the 4th quarter, how Anthony Davis joined him, and how Frank Vogel made some strategic shifts to help his team along the way. Later, the guys get into what the larger takeaways from the game are and whether what the showed down the stretch can be lasting or not. Visit https://www.tickpick.com/lfr/ to save $10 on your first order of tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Lakers continue to start Anthony Davis at Center and, in general, shift towards lineups that only play a single traditional big man at a time, their defensive approach will need to continue to be refined and adapt to these new lineup types. Pete, Mike, and Darius discuss the evolving nature of the Lakers defense, using the success of the zone defense the team played against the Bucks as a jumping off point. Later, the guys try to determine what defensive approach can be best in the short and long term and how much it might need to change night to night and lineup to lineup considering the team's personnel.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Lakers may have lost to the Bucks, but the positive steps taken offensively and some of the adaptability they showed defensively were encouraging. Pete, Mike, and Darius discuss the game and, more specifically, why Russell Westbrook's decision making within offensive possessions was a key driver of the team's success on that end of the floor. Later, the guys discuss Talen Horton-Tucker's continued strong play in his return from injury and why both his offensive development and defensive tools were helpful against the Bucks and how they project to help the team long term.Visit https://www.tickpick.com/lfr/ to save $10 on your first order of tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support Pete here:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomPete’s Playback: https://www.playback.tv/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: lakerfilmroom@gmail.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices