Podcast: Why LeBron James might seem happier with the Lakers than he did with Cleveland

For what feels like the first time since we launched this new show, Harrison and I got to talk about mostly positive things on this week’s edition of The Lake Show. Then, on Locked on Lakers, I was joined by Chris Manning (Locked on Cavs, Fear The Sword) to discuss everything surrounding LeBron James returning to Cleveland for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Let’s start with the conversation between Harrison and I.

Magic Johnson was present in Miami as James dropped 51 points to help the Lakers win and get to within a couple games of the Western Conference’s best record. He spoke to Mike Trudell about what he’s seen over the last couple weeks, and sounded pleased with the team’s progress. Harrison and I use that as a launching pad to discuss what we’ve seen over that time as well.

The Lakers have made a ton of progress, but it’s a lot of stuff that anyone should probably have seen coming, including (if not starting with) Magic himself.

Over the last few games, we’ve also seen a couple legitimately dominant performances from LeBron, and while relying on his dominance alone to be successful isn’t the right way to find the sustainable success that he signed up for, the numbers show that acting as if he’s carrying some incredible load compared to previous seasons is a bit of a stretch.

Lastly, we discuss the trade rumors surrounding the Washington Wizards and why neither Harrison or I think the Lakers should be interested in any of John Wall, Bradley Beal or Otto Porter right now.

You can listen to this week’s episode of The Lake Show right here:

On today’s Locked on Lakers, Chris Manning and I discussed what it’s been like to watch LeBron as a Laker so far this season. Manning makes a point that frankly blew me away when he says it looks like James looks happier this season than he had last year with the Cavaliers. Once we discuss that a bit, it starts to make sense why, and it all starts with trust.

Manning has also enjoyed watching from afar as even fans who prepared themselves for regular season LeBron were surprised at just how lackadaisical he can be at times.

As always, this is just a tidbit of the full context given in the shows. Listen to the full discussions below and please check out old episodes, or guarantee you won’t miss any ever again by subscribing to either “The Silver Screen and Roll Podcast” or “Locked on Lakers” on iTunes.