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 Film Room podcast, brought you by the Blue R podcast Network. I'm Pete, joined by Mike. And Mike, I am so excited to hear the Laker fans in my life full of energy and belief. Belief means so much in life. And we'll talk more about this, I think, as the season goes on and then into the off season. But there's a real sense of, oh, damn, or the Lakers good? And Dan Waikie asked LeBron after the Houston game, like, hey, it's a small sample size, but you guys are 6 and 0 when you, A, D, and Dlo starts, have you given any

thought to kind of what the potential of this team is? And LeBron was considerate and deliberate, as he always is. And the first thing that he said, Mike, was, you know, a lot of the teams that are contending for a title have a lot more continuity than we do. And so that's where I really want to focus on today's pod. We have this sense of like,

oh, crap, are they good? What can they do? What are they capable of? But they have so much ground

to cover in such a short period of time. And so I want to zoom our attention in on Rui Hachamura to start

out, kind of in this spirit. I've thought he's had some really interesting locker room and post-game

interviews in the last, this past weekend in particular, and you asked some great questions of him

and LeBron and all of that. And he was great on the defensive end in particular over this weekend.

So I'd love to start there, Mike. Like talking to Rui these last couple of games, especially after the game, what stood

out to you in those interviews? I think the main point that I've been trying to get across,

or not get across, but to present to him to see what he thinks about is the shift in kind of

the way that he plays and the areas that he

focuses in.

And what Rui keeps saying is that a lot of this is coming from conversations he's having with

the coaching staff when they're essentially going back and watching film with a game.

And he's learning just where he can be utilized the best on this team and on sort of a successful

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