What do you think about the Laker team now?

You follow the box scores of the games every day?

Just the Lakers.

You're kidding.

That is really a compliment.

I was pleased to see you smile at the top bar show because once the game starts, you have a game face.

You don't smile much out there.

I don't think you have to do things for money anymore. Correct. What's up, Laker fans? Welcome to the Laker Filmroom podcast, brought you by the Blue Wire Podcast Network. I'm Pete, joined by Darius and Mike. And the Lakers play their first home game in a couple of weeks tonight as they're set to face the Portland Trailblazers and likely without LeBron James for this game and possibly beyond.

And within that context, we're going to focus our lens today on Avery Bradley, because I think

his role both in the short term and long term is going to be critical to the Lakers

fortunes going forward.

Bradley, as you all know, was claimed off of waivers the day before the first

regular season game after getting cut by the Golden State Warriors. So it's important to note here

that he wasn't part of the team's initial plans, but early season injuries to Kendrick Nunn and

THT necessitated that the Lakers go out and acquire an on-ball guard defender because two of those

players, along with Kent Baysmore, were supposed to be the three players who really

shouldered most of that responsibility. And that's really important to note that a good on-ball

defender is really important to Frank Vogel. When we as fans talk about positions, we usually do it

through an offensive lens, right? Like traditionally a point guard or a one means that you're a

ball handler and a passer, and the shooting guard or a two position is a score or perimeter

shooter type that's less of a passer and so on and so on. But most of what we talk about is through

an offensive lens. But I don't think that's the case at all with someone like Frank Vogel,

...