Luka Doncic scored 45 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a win in his first game back in Dallas. Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni talk discuss Luka’s big game, Lakers small ball, the Warriors buzzer-beater loss to the Spurs, and the Nuggets first post-Malone game. Then, Christian Clark from the Athletic joins the show to discuss Luka’s return, the emotions in the building, and those “Fire Nico” chants.Host: Dave DuFourWith: Es Baraheni & Christian ClarkExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio Producer: Grayson Moody Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chapter 1: What was Luka Doncic's performance like in his return to Dallas?
Somehow we're approaching the end of the regular season, and every single night is just nuts from here on out. We've got to start with the big news of the day. Luka Doncic went back to Dallas and just dominated, put up 45 points. Yeah. What did you expect coming into this, S? Obviously, look, it's a huge deal. Yeah.
I will just say straight up, I didn't think it was going to be as emotional to start with. I did feel like it was going to feel like a big moment, but I didn't expect what we started with.
Chapter 2: How emotional was Luka's return to Dallas?
It was really emotional seeing Luca react to the tribute video. I mean, I got emotional watching it because it did feel like he wanted to be a Maverick for the rest of his career to live in Dallas for the rest of his life type of thing. And you could see in that moment sort of a bit of closure from him.
Yeah.
Chapter 3: What impact did Luka's performance have on the game atmosphere?
understanding that this is over and this is just part of the chapter move on and now i'm gonna drop 45 points on you guys like that's i thought the way that he kind of channeled that energy into the game especially in the first half he dropped 31 points it was electric it was i honestly think
That's one of those games where you look back on five years from now and say, where were you when you watched Luca return to Dallas? Because it just it felt like one of those hardwood classic type of moments to watch.
Oh, yeah, that's a great point. They will talk. We will talk about this when he's inducted into the Hall of Fame. We'll talk about the game. The fact is, he always steps up, it seems, for these big games, and this had a playoff feel to it. Number one, it was surreal just watching the atmosphere inside the arena. It seemed amazing.
Chapter 4: How did the Lakers perform against the Mavericks?
We talked to Christian after the break, and he really describes it in great detail, what it was like to be in the building. But watching at home, I mean, I felt it. It felt like a weight was on this game. And even though the Mavericks, you know, this isn't a team that anyone has any expectations of.
I thought that they rose to the moment, obviously, like trying to, you know, they have a lot to prove to here, right? Like it's the Luka Dacic trade. But there's a lot of other Dallas Mavericks. So I thought, you know, I tipped the cap to them. They're not as good as the Lakers. What did you see out of the Lakers in this game?
Again, this is another big game that the Lakers rise to the occasion for. It could have been a letdown. Look, they had the two big games against the Thunder. Obviously, this is a back to back and they were they were in the game until they weren't, you know, against the Thunder. So what did you think about how the Lakers performed?
I, first of all, love the fact that they played everybody in the back-to-back. They played OKC last night, everybody played, and they played everybody tonight against Dallas. And I thought that was a big indication of how we're trying to prep for the rest of this season and the postseason. They are ready to play. And on top of that, I think the fact that
They lost the lead in the fourth quarter and found a way to recalibrate. LeBron took over, had some huge possessions in that fourth quarter, got a couple of and ones, made a few defensive stops. They leaned onto their small ball lineup. And I think that's going to be their calling card. You look at that lineup with LeBron James, with Austin Reeves, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura.
They have a lot of functional size with that group, and they just dominate every time they put it out there. It's awesome.
I like even more when they go with Jared Vanderbilt, Doreen Fanny-Smith, and LeBron is essentially the five. And, you know, we saw this a little bit against the Nuggets. LeBron can actually guard some of these guys. He can, man. He's big. He did pretty well against Gafford inside, against the Mavericks. Again, the Jokic stuff, I mean, he is like, I don't know, 275 or something like that.
Yeah, took on Shang-Goon against the Rockets that one time.
Right. And I do think – I'm with you. I think that, you know, look, Jackson Hayes is going to have to give him 25 – good minutes. But between Vando, Dorian Finney-Smith, and LeBron, and with the way that they've been moving on defense, I'd give them a pretty good chance against, even against the Nuggets, like with a center like Jokic. They can fly, too.
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Chapter 5: What were the key moments for the Warriors in their recent loss?
And so we've got a little bit of a reversal of fortune there. No Malik Monk for the Kings, and he's going to be out for the rest of the year and probably the play-in. So, I mean, likely just done for the year because I don't think we expect the Kings to make it into the playoffs. But, look, the Nuggets – There's nothing to say. They're not going to make any wholesale changes, really.
There were some rotation changes that we should get into. But I do want to point out, it took one game for Nikola Jokic, post-Michael Malone, to have multiple times on the sideline where he's got the, you know, he's drawing up plays on the whiteboard. I mean, like, we're borderline at the point where it doesn't matter who the coach is. Right.
Yeah. He's just he's the player coach at this point. He's going to do the whole thing where. Yeah. I mean, look, I could see it. It's not a bad idea. And Adelman is more of just a consultant at this point for what they want to do. Look, I think one of the more interesting things that I saw from the Nuggets was and look, no Jamal Murray here. So this is a caveat to all this thing. But.
More Jalen Pickett than Russell Westbrook. A lot of Jalen Pickett. And I actually kind of like Jalen Pickett's game. Good defender, can knock down a shot, especially tonight. He did a good job. But Russell Westbrook ended up playing 16 minutes in this game. And he played 25 in their last game, 19 in the one before that. Seems like his minutes are going down.
I don't know if that's necessarily a coaching decision or just he was having a bad game tonight and they decided to go a different direction. But I do like what Jalen Pickett provides for this team. And maybe that's the directive from the front office. Play these young guys more to give them opportunity to get some money.
I think Jalen Pickett directly was a point of contention between the front office and Michael Malone. I mean, it is. I do think that that was pretty clear. I mean, the young players in general.
Yeah, I felt like that.
Michael Malone wanted to play the veterans. And just in this game, look, Jalen Pickett, you know exactly how he fits. Plus 12 in the game, 5 of 7 from 3, and in particular when Jamal Murray is out. But the thing is, the hope is you're going into the playoffs and you're going to have Jamal Murray.
Having a Jalen Pickett come off the bench, that's a net positive for you because it's another guy who can do stuff off of Jokic because of his ability to shoot. And you mentioned physicality on defense. Look, Russ has gotten them. to the point where they're at, right? He raised the level of intensity for this team. He has created a lot of leadership.
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Chapter 6: What changes are happening with the Nuggets after the coaching change?
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Last night, Luka Doncic returned to Dallas and did not disappoint. He put up 45 points. He showed all the reasons why the Mavericks definitely made a huge mistake by trading him. There to cover it and who covers the Mavericks for us, Christian Clark. What the heck was it like in the building? Watching on television, it was electric and emotional.
Chapter 7: How did the absence of Malik Monk affect the Kings?
Chapter 8: What are the implications of the Warriors' current playoff standing?
And so we've got a little bit of a reversal of fortune there. No Malik Monk for the Kings, and he's going to be out for the rest of the year and probably the play-in. So, I mean, likely just done for the year because I don't think we expect the Kings to make it into the playoffs. But, look, the Nuggets – There's nothing to say. They're not going to make any wholesale changes, really.
There were some rotation changes that we should get into. But I do want to point out, it took one game for Nikola Jokic, post-Michael Malone, to have multiple times on the sideline where he's got the, you know, he's drawing up plays on the whiteboard. I mean, like, we're borderline at the point where it doesn't matter who the coach is. Right.
Yeah. He's just he's the player coach at this point. He's going to do the whole thing where. Yeah. I mean, look, I could see it. It's not a bad idea. And Adelman is more of just a consultant at this point for what they want to do. Look, I think one of the more interesting things that I saw from the Nuggets was and look, no Jamal Murray here. So this is a caveat to all this thing. But.
More Jalen Pickett than Russell Westbrook. A lot of Jalen Pickett. And I actually kind of like Jalen Pickett's game. Good defender, can knock down a shot, especially tonight. He did a good job. But Russell Westbrook ended up playing 16 minutes in this game. And he played 25 in their last game, 19 in the one before that. Seems like his minutes are going down.
I don't know if that's necessarily a coaching decision or just he was having a bad game tonight and they decided to go a different direction. But I do like what Jalen Pickett provides for this team. And maybe that's the directive from the front office. Play these young guys more to give them opportunity to get some money.
I think Jalen Pickett directly was a point of contention between the front office and Michael Malone. I mean, it is. I do think that that was pretty clear. I mean, the young players in general.
Yeah, I felt like that.
Michael Malone wanted to play the veterans. And just in this game, look, Jalen Pickett, you know exactly how he fits. Plus 12 in the game, 5 of 7 from 3, and in particular when Jamal Murray is out. But the thing is, the hope is you're going into the playoffs and you're going to have Jamal Murray.
Having a Jalen Pickett come off the bench, that's a net positive for you because it's another guy who can do stuff off of Jokic because of his ability to shoot. And you mentioned physicality on defense. Look, Russ has gotten them. to the point where they're at, right? He raised the level of intensity for this team. He has created a lot of leadership.
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