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00:00How quickly we move on from what was so Tuesday we sat here and we're like
00:06Gauntlet for game gauntlet
00:09can the Warriors handle it and they have to get this one and then they did and
00:15So then I think some warrior fans are like, okay
00:19We're starting to cook that that proved some things that show the Warriors are at least ready for this fight
00:26While he starts off this text with me earlier today and
00:31He says oh, by the way
00:33Big game tonight the gauntlet for the Warriors starts tonight what and I was like, wait a minute
00:39I thought it already started two nights ago
00:42But I know there are some of you out there that are like the second they beat Memphis. It's like
00:49Memphis has lost seven of eight games. They're not very good. They're the eight seed now Wow
00:54Memphis is the eight seed how quickly that happens the worm turns. So now all you did was you beat a play-in team?
01:01That's it. And now it starts tonight. I mean, do you feel any of that? Does it not start until tonight?
01:08No, because you lose the LA and Memphis beats Miami
01:12Guess what Memphis is back ahead of you just like that
01:16So everything turned so quickly and you know, you're half game up on Minnesota LA and Memphis
01:23So you go out there and you lose this one to the Lakers and Memphis beats, Miami
01:28Well, Minnesota beats Brooklyn. Guess what? You know who you are
01:32You're the seven seed and you're tied with the Clippers. So, you know what you're actually the eight seed
01:37so you know they could be the eight tonight you lose as Minnesota wins play and
01:42Memphis wins the Clippers don't you lose they win. You're the eight by the way
01:47That's exactly what Vegas says is going to happen
01:49Exactly based on like based on spreads tonight. The Warriors will be the eight seed when we go to bed exactly
01:54So to think that this is not the gauntlet like that was the gauntlet
01:59It's all the gauntlet because if you if you lose here and then you face a rested Denver and by rested
02:06I mean really really rested because they didn't actually play basketball last night
02:10So you lose tonight and then Denver's rested you lose that
02:14Well now the Houston game is not a must-win but it's damn near a must-win if you want to be a top six
02:20Yeah, no doubt about it. No doubt about it. It's all the gauntlet and I apologize to your friend who texted that
02:26I don't need to apologize. Well, you don't need to apologize your friends wrong. Well, he doesn't he's out of line
02:31He doesn't think Memphis is very good, right? And by the way
02:35They're not they're not they might be ahead of you in the standings matter doesn't matter
02:41I like actually get his point
02:44Point to but I get his point for how long were the Warriors not very good
02:47I want to play this game. There was at least two months where the Warriors were not very good. That's accurate
02:52So like Memphis right now is not very good yet
02:56They're in a spot where they could be ahead of you and the standings come tomorrow put it this way
03:00I didn't come out of Tuesday night and go. Okay now I'm convinced of everything
03:06on we go
03:09Are you don't you still need to see this?
03:12Don't you still need to see this of course
03:15This is not like these this next 28 hours. This is who they're probably gonna play and
03:21That's if things go well, right? That's if it goes well, if it goes bad, you might play
03:28Play one game and be done two games exactly. Oh, yeah, you're not gonna be the nine you get at least two games
03:33but
03:34yeah, and and so when we look at this and this is where we want to start today and
03:40Would love to hear from you as always this is a big day to hear from you eight at eight nine five seven nine five
03:45Seventy is the number
03:46I'll forever now call him clay's dad because clay's gonna be a Hall of Famer
03:50So clay's dad who does work for the Lakers. His name is Michael. Some of you know who that is
03:56He joins us in an hour and a half Dave McManaman ESPN NBA reporter who does specialize in
04:03The Lakers and the Warriors he's gonna join us in the four o'clock hour until then
04:08It's you and since the trade deadline
04:12These Warriors and these Lakers have never played each other. The Warriors record is much better than the Lakers since then
04:21But they've taken different paths to get there
04:23The Warriors have had their stars play a little bit more than the Lakers have that's largely by choice
04:29Luke has been sitting some back-to-backs LeBron the same
04:33But since the trade deadline the Lakers got I think as you put it
04:38Maybe a little bit higher powered offensively a little bit lower powered
04:43Defensively the Warriors got just flat-out better since the trade deadline
04:48But prior to that the Lakers have had the Warriors number largely over the last couple years
04:54In fact, they've won all the games this year. One of them happened with Jimmy Butler on the bench
04:59Like that trade got approved right before the game tipped off in LA
05:04So Jimmy was able to join the team but not play in the game
05:07He sat on the bench in LA and watched the Warriors lose
05:11The last time these two got together and then right after that it was in Chicago
05:16That Jimmy started playing basketball and the Warriors started winning almost all of their basketball games
05:22I think the number is somewhere in the neighborhood of 19 and 5 now
05:26Yeah, is that where it is since the trade and that doesn't even include right just the Jimmy games
05:30The record is even better
05:32And if you do just the Jimmy and Steph games the record is is impeccable
05:3718 and 2 since these two guys have played so is the Laker warrior matchup that
05:44Comes here in a few hours. Is it now?
05:48Easier than it was or is it harder than it was or I guess you can call it flat
05:54You could call it even Steven if you want, but I wonder what everyone thinks about that eight at eight nine five seven nine five
06:00Seven, I think it's easier just based on what Anthony Davis brought when Anthony Davis was right and that wasn't every game
06:08but when he was healthy and
06:10Interested in playing basketball. He was somebody that the Warriors could not defend and I look at this team with Luka
06:16Well, you have a way to defend Luka
06:19You've done it before the Warriors just a couple of years ago when they won the title
06:22They beat Luka Donchik and the Dallas Mavericks and they mostly were able to neutralize Luka
06:28It hurts that you don't have GP 2 and I don't know if we have official word on we do
06:32Yeah, we do not but I do think that he will play and you know
06:35Stay tuned to 95 7 the game as we get the run-up to the opening tip and we will have that information here in the next
06:42Few hours, but that would help to have another body an athletic body to go up against Luka and LeBron
06:48But I like Draymond being able to guard Luka tonight and you know Moses. It's your graduation
06:55It's time to go out there and guard LeBron James, and I know he won't guard him the whole game
06:59But that's what Steve Kerr told us yesterday that this is what Moses has become
07:04He's become their best wing defender with Andrew gone. And so Moses go guard the goat
07:10Good luck, and I do think that the Lakers are a different sort of a problem without ad and I think that ad
07:17Provides something that the Warriors have no answer for yeah, that's that that's kind of my thing
07:22I look I think in general. This is actually the Lakers are an interesting
07:27Micro example of something that we do in sports a lot
07:32for example
07:34Take what the San Francisco Giants have done so far early in the year
07:38All anyone's gonna talk about is well Wilmer Flores and Elliott Ramos are hitting bombs
07:45They're hitting home runs, that's not why the Giants are good
07:48That's not why the Giants are good at all
07:50They haven't overwhelmed people with their offense
07:52But offense is the only thing we watch a lot of sports fans most sports fans offense is the only thing we watch
08:00Everybody's got a fantasy team in the NFL. Do any of you do defensive players like a few of you just raised your hand
08:07But you're in whack-a-doodle leagues
08:10Individual defensive player
08:13Nobody wants to talk about defense and that's the bottom line for me the Lakers got better offensively
08:20They got worse defensively. Give me I'll go up against the team that got worse
08:25defensively and and take my poison or my medicine when their offense has one of those nights and
08:32Tonight might be that night if LeBron and Luke could go off
08:35Yeah, you're gonna have a problem the same way Memphis had a problem when Steph and Jimmy and Draymond were all fully on point
08:43On the offensive end of the floor put up huge stats. They had a problem and they lost they lost by nine
08:49So those nights will happen and tonight could be one of those nights
08:52But there's no doubt in my mind that what the Lakers did at the trade deadline
08:57Made them better for the long term and worse for this year
09:01There's no doubt in my mind about that and therefore
09:05Knowing that they could be a first-round opponent or are at least represent one of the high-level opponents in the West
09:12Yes, the Warriors have more to prove. Yes, the Warriors have more to prove. They haven't beaten this team all year
09:18This is a new version of both of these teams
09:21This is this is not just a big one for all of the obvious reasons
09:25This this is a big one for some of the subtle reasons to yeah, they got to get over on this team
09:31That's like a logical. Yeah, and they can this is a easier target than it was
09:36It should be but the Lakers haven't played now in G's like three weeks
09:41And so they're gonna be fresh and rested and the Warriors are coming in at the end of a six-game road trip 14 days
09:47Six games and so I do think the way it stacks up is not great
09:52Like the way it's stacked up against Memphis
09:55Memphis played the night before and you were actually in their city able to watch that game chillin
10:00And Memphis played it back-to-back. So that one stacked up in your favor. This one stacks up in the Lakers favor
10:06They had Monday off Tuesday off Wednesday off and you know, their star is 40 years old
10:12So he's gonna benefit greatly from having that time off and the Warriors are at the end of a long road trip
10:18But I do think about what this would mean not in the big picture
10:22But the small picture if you beat the Lakers right now, you're two back of LA. They're the three seed
10:27I'm not saying you're gonna catch them and be the three
10:29But you could but you're allowed to mark. Yeah, if you
10:33Question so you beat LA and you suddenly are just one game back of LA and if you lose
10:39You probably will be the eight seed. Do you know what the Lakers do?
10:44Early next week. Is anybody like we've spent so much time being well, Minnesota
10:48They've got New Orleans and and the Clippers have some easy games and that nobody's looking at the teams ahead of them
10:54Well, I do know the Lakers and the Warriors each have seven games left and Denver only has five, right?
10:59So that's a big part of like the end game here of the last two weeks
11:02But if the Warriors win tonight their game behind the Lakers, right exactly, but the Lakers have the tiebreaker. Yep
11:07I get that right. Do you know what the Lakers do on Sunday and Tuesday?
11:11Do they play basketball they get to play the Thunder twice? Oh
11:16Both on the road. Yeah Wow, and as soon as they're done with that the stain play
11:21They get to go on a back-to-back
11:25to Dallas
11:26Can anybody think of any storylines as the Lakers?
11:31Go play in Dallas next Wednesday. Does that sound like an easy game to you?
11:36You think the crowd might have I don't know
11:40Something to say that night
11:42Right. The Lakers are about to go through their own gauntlet
11:46By the way, when they're done with that trip to Dallas, they get to come home and play the two seed Houston Rockets
11:51That's their week next week
11:54OKC
11:55OKC
11:56Dallas all on the road turn around come home play Houston and then end the year in Portland
12:02Which can be a sneaky road trip. I'm sure they'll win it but that's there. That's what's coming
12:08That's what's coming. Like I want to make sure that a warrior fan plants this in their mind, right?
12:13We're all focused on will but Memphis and Minnesota and the shippers don't forget about what's in front of you
12:18You can go get these teams too, it's possible if you win tonight the Lakers are
12:24Absolutely in range. They've got seven games in 11 days
12:29Including two back-to-backs. So yeah, they have rest coming into this one
12:33And if you're the Lakers you're looking at this one as a big a big game to sure avoid like falling behind the Warriors
12:40But it's tonight and then tomorrow and then Sunday Tuesday Wednesday Friday Sunday
12:46They've got seven in 11 days. That is a full-on gauntlet including like you said back-to-back
12:53OKC and even that second game at OKC the very next game is in Dallas. Yeah, they're sitting that second game at OKC
12:59They're sitting Lucas not comply. I'll bet you right now
13:03Luke ain't playing both those games in OKC or LeBron. No, they're getting ready for the Dallas game
13:08Yeah, because by the way, they'd lose it. Anyway, they're not good enough to win right now to go win in Oklahoma City
13:14Like what OKC is what's their motivation because right now the only thing they have to play for is 70 wins
13:20Yeah, except for they'll be motivated for those. They're gonna be motivated for those
13:25Yeah, absolutely sure