Can the Lakers Be Good on Defense This Year?

The Lakers 2026 media day was filled with a different sense of optimism from year’s past, mostly fueled by the newness of the roster and the spirit of a team built around Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Pete and Darius discuss the vibe of the day, what comments stood out most to them, the common themes of leadership from Luka and Austin and buy-in from the players to their respective roles, and much more..Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

Pete and Darius react to Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick’s media availability in advance of training camp, discussing Pelinka and Redicks’ obvious excitement heading into this season, their view on the team’s depth, how they feel they hit their three key goals of the offseason, how Walker Kessler will impact the team’s defensive schemes, the competition for two open starting spots, and much more..Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

Pete and Darius discuss the legacy and their enduring memories of Lawrence Tanter, the legendary Lakers PA announcer of 43 years who passed away this week. And then later, the guys discuss Marcus Smart’s recent comments that provided more insight on his departure from the Lakers..Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

Pete and Darius continue their player season previews by looking at the group of holdover forwards from last season in Jake LaRavia, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Adou Thiero. The guys break down how each one fits on this remade team, the best case role for each, who has the highest ceiling and the clearest path to playing time, and much more..Pete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

Pete and Darius continue their player season previews with a look at new big man Sandro Mamukelashvili, digging into his dynamism offensively and how he can thrive next to Luka Dončić, how he helps the team play more two-big lineups, whether he should start or come off the bench, his challenges defensively and how to get the most out of him and that side of the ball, and much more..Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

While a remade roster and a summer of building chemistry offers optimism for the upcoming Lakers season, Pete and Darius explore potential blind spots, areas of concern, and some of their open questions for the team. Do the Lakers have enough playmaking and rebounding? Will Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler live up to the team’s investment in them? Are the 4th and 5th starters even on this roster? The guys dive into these questions and more..Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

Pete and Darius create a wishlist of things they’d like to see from the Lakers this upcoming season, diving into team and individual milestones that, if they’re able to achieve them, can propel the Lakers into a higher tier of competitiveness. And then later, the guys chime in with their opinions on whether you could replace Kobe with Tracy McGrady or another superstar on those early 2000’s Lakers teams and replicate their success..Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

Pete and Darius go around the league to discuss the news coming out of the Board of Governor’s meetings this week, including the lack of update on the Lakers pending sale, being bullish on NBA expansion, and what to make of the Clippers after the NBA’s ruling and the Kawhi trade. And then later, the guys discuss recent comments from Norm Powell and Gilbert Arenas about being down on the Lakers prospects this season.Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

The guys discuss JJ Redick’s rotation for the upcoming season, gaming out how he might allocate the 240 minutes available, whether he’ll extend beyond the 9-man rotation he’s preferred in previous seasons, where the training camp battles might be, and more. .Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]

Pete and Darius continue their season preview discussions by diving into the Lakers defense, debating whether the team is being underrated on that end of the floor, how Walker Kessler and other offseason additions can have a huge impact on the team’s defensive floor, what schemes they expect the Lakers to play, the tradeoffs they’ve made between speed and strength, and much more..Join Pete on Offside! https://www.offside.gg/betaLFR Store: https://cottonbureau.com/people/laker-film-room-podcast-storePete’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lakerfilmroomPete’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LakerFilmRoomFor Feedback or Questions: [email protected]