Podcast: Can the Lakers catch the Warriors?

(A quick note before the usual fun that Aaron Larsuel and I love having these Friday afternoons: Literally right before we recorded today’s episode, the “not guilty” verdict on Kyle Rittenhouse was announced. Being two people of color, we would’ve felt remiss had we not given some thought on where we stand societally. If you want to jump ahead to the typical topics of “The Hook,” that starts 11 minutes in.)

Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are playing some incredible basketball nowadays, and clearly will get better, both as their lottery picks learn to play NBA basketball and whenever they get Klay Thompson back. The Los Angeles Lakers have been far less predictable this season, but thankfully will get LeBron James back soon (hopefully as early as Friday night in Boston).

The question here — given how dominant Golden State has looked — is whether James’ return will be enough to get the Lakers to their level right now, let alone where they might be as the season continues.

A huge part of whether or not that is possible is the play of Anthony Davis, who, from afar, has looked pretty frustrated for large chunks on the season — especially on the defensive side of the ball. I asked Aaron if he’s noticed the same things up close as I’ve seen from my vantage point.

Speaking of frustrations, Lakers fans weren’t exactly thrilled with the news that Staples Center would be getting a new name. I tried to explain to Aaron where that response might’ve been coming from, and it had a lot to do with the season that has been thus far.

You can listen to the entire episode below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.