J. Kyle Mann

But I just think he's, I mean, as an individual defender, he is one of the rare cases of someone who has all that processing power and can reverse engineer it defensively.

Like we've seen so many great playmakers who just like aren't great defenders, despite the fact that they have these great anticipatory instincts.

LeBron can apply everything, every direction all at once.

And I think the ability to do that, plus again, just like this latent pressure that exists around him that is different and distinct, I think from almost any other player in the league, the only other people I'd really compare it to is like maybe Steph at this stage.

And it's a combination of like a gravitas plus the stage in their career that they're in, where it's like,

this could be the last ride for either of these guys at any point in time.

And so if you're Marcus Smart, if you're Jared Vanderbilt, if you're Luke Kennard, and you're going to not show up in what could be LeBron's last season, honestly, as a basketball player, how do you live with yourself?

I think there's a pressure that comes with that kind of thing that honestly really turns the Lakers, for all of our preconceived notions about who they were, into just a very different playoff animal.

Oh, for sure.

I'm just kind of mystified to see this version of Luke Kennard, who I haven't done the accounting, but I would guess has played for maybe almost 10 different NBA coaches at this point, certainly between five and 10.

It's not like no one has tried to reach him, to try to make the plea, to just get up the attempts that just the shots alone will be of value to our offense in a way that JJ has articulated publicly as well, that

You can sacrifice some points off your percentage if it means having this greater effect from just getting the shots up.

That case has been made.

It wasn't always heard or received.

Then he was played off the court because he wasn't shooting enough to kind of hold down that spot, as you talked about, Justin.

I don't know what changed, but I know that it is different now.

And I know that JJ has clearly gotten to him in a way that none of these other coaches were really able to.

That's a room I don't want to go into.

They're going to be so good next year.

I don't know.