Even as the Lakers are winning more games (7-3 over their last 10, 18-8 over their last 26), it's still a little tricky to figure out exactly what they are. How good are they? Are they more contender than pretender? What do you make of some of the big wins, like Milwaukee I and II, Minnesota, OKC, etc?

They're clearly much too good to be the genuinely mediocre/middish team they looked like they might be after the post-IST slump. Likely the Lakers finish 10-12 games over .500, which last year would have been enough for around a 4-seed in the West. Now? Likely ninth. But they're clearly not among the elite, either. Unless you're just thinking of results against the high end teams, in which case... they kind of are?

So much to sort out.

One big Q: Do the Lakers themselves- players and coaching staff- feel like they know? And more importantly, do they agree on the answer?

Meanwhile, the Lakers are getting nothing from their bench. Two points on Sunday, and not much more than that on most nights. How important is that, especially as we get closer to the playoffs, and a theoretical return for Jarred Vanderbilt, as well?

Finally, LeBron's greatness creates hard questions for Rob Pelinka now, and down the road.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, with Guest Aaron Larsuel!

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are winning, but do we really know what they are?

SEGMENT 2: Is the bench really a problem?

SEGMENT 3: LeBron now, LeBron down the road...

Because the Lakers are fairly set heading into the 2023-24 season - the primary members of the rotation are more or less set, there are no big controversies, no huge position battles - fans are intensely curious about the one big thing that isn't yet settled:

Who's gonna start at small forward?

Darvin Ham, not surprisingly, hasn't yet committed to answering that question - they haven't even had three practices or played a preseason game - but different players are getting a chance to audition for that spot. Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura will all get reps with the named starters (Russell, Reaves, James, Davis). Ham's decision will probably be less about who "wins", and rather which player makes the most sense with that group, and how the choice impacts the rest of the rotation. Which combinations in the second unit would make the most sense? Well, you can't always put those together as easily if one of those dudes is a starter.

The good news? Nobody in that crew is going to complain if they're not in the opening five. Hachimura has already made it clear he's much more concerned about finishing games than starting them.

Other things to watch: Anthony Davis.

His jumper has been receiving a fair amount of attention, with Reaves praising it on one of the many, many podcasts on which he's appeared. The perception is that Davis's outside game has fallen off over the last couple of seasons... but is that really the case? 3-point shooting, for sure, but is that the only thing that matters? Does it really matter anymore if Davis stretches a defense all the way past the arc? It seems like he's a lot less interested in that part of his game, based on shot attempts over the last few seasons.

Finally, Denver head coach Michael Malone said Wednesday that he's not paying attention to the Lakers, and hasn't heard what players have been saying about having a little extra interest and motivation to play his Nuggets following all the post-playoffs chatter this summer. From Denver. Mostly from Malone.

He was very complimentary towards the Lakers... but is he really being serious?

Just another reminder, whether talking about the Lakers or other teams, never ever expect the things they say to motivate their team, frame the challenge or anything similar to actually reflect reality. That's not how this works.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Who is going to start at small forward?

SEGMENT 2: What are the tradeoffs Ham is balancing?

SEGMENT 3: AD's jumper and Mike Malone's amnesia.

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The Lakers managed to turn some bad mojo into good vibes heading into the break, and not surprisingly it was built at least in part around not just consistency in the rotation, but a type of consistency that played towards the preferences of the players on the roster.

Of course, all (or at least much) of this happened with certain guys, namely Max Christie and Cam Reddish (let alone Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent) unavailable. That simplifies things for Darvin Ham. But they won't stay simple forever. Reddish and Christie are both expected to be back if not on Thursday when the Lakers kick off the "second half," soon after. They've both played real roles in the rotation to this point in the season. What does Darvin do when they're available again?

What should it look like? Which players ought to play? How does Spencer Dinwiddie's presence impact all of this?

Meanwhile, the Lakers don't have the flexibility going forward to screw up any of their remaining games against the league's lesser teams. That might be Friday against San Antonio, or two games against the Wizards, or Toronto or anyone else. Because when it's not those guys, it's nothing but high end playoff teams. In one upcoming stretch, the Lakers play seven straight against teams currently qualifying for some type of postseason play, and 10 of 12.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers have shifted the vibes heading into the second half.

SEGMENT 2: What does Darvin Ham do with the rotation going forward?

SEGMENT 3: We'll find out quickly how much the Lakers have improved.

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In the wake of an All-Star Game for the ages—not in a good way—it's important to remember that for Lakers fans, the most important thing to come from the weekend wasn't anything related to the competition, but things LeBron James said.

Talking to the media ahead of the game, James made it clear that he's happy in L.A., happy being a Laker, has been happy being a Laker for the last six seasons, and (assuming nothing drastic changes, and not being able to see everything in the future) anticipates finishing his career in a Lakers uniform.

That, in theory at least, should put most of the speculation around LeBron's future, after the emojis and Knicks flirtations and all the other stuff. Right? Right???

Well, maybe not, but for a lot of reasons, this has always been the most likely outcome, assuming the Lakers don't decide early to call off the relationship, or LeBron doesn't have some wholly unique opportunity with another team (likely related to playing with his son). So what does that mean for the Lakers going forward? On the one hand, it gives the Lakers a sense of predictability. On the other, it reinforces the tricky nature of building a team with him as a main cog.

Meanwhile, his ankle thing is real, and treatment, he said, might cause him to miss Thursday's game in San Francisco. If that's the case, should James have played at all on Sunday?

Finally, a very interesting statistic regarding the Lakers offense and Anthony Davis.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: LeBron says he's happy in LA.

SEGMENT 2: What does LeBron's commentary at the ASG do for them going forward?

SEGMENT 3: LeBron's ankle, plus #s on Davis.

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Well, that was amazing.

The Lakers were thoroughly outclassed for three-quarters of Wednesday's "road" game against the Clippers at the Crypt. After Mason Plumlee scored the opening points of the fourth, the Lakers were down 21 points, and seemingly out of it. Nobody told LeBron James, however.

He went absolutely bonkers from there, finishing with 19 points and five three's in the final quarter to eat up the deficit and more. Overall, the Lakers outscored the Clippers 39-16. It started with sustained defensive effort and then resulted in shot after shot after shot, mostly from James but also D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Davis and even Cam Reddish, who had an important triple as well.

It was a game that may have rescued the team's chances to move up in the Western Conference before the end of the season. Like the Boston game, which kicked off the team's most recent stretch of high end play, this one has a chance to be a pivot point should things turn out the way Lakers fans hope when it's all said and done.

This was certainly one of those moments where the greatness of a LeBron performance is made even greater by the context. Remember, we're talking about a 39-year old star.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: What did we just witness?

SEGMENT 2: Appreciating the moment.

SEGMENT 3: The Lakers recognize the need to win on tonight vs. Washington.

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The Lakers kick off the second half of the season tonight in San Francisco against the Warriors, and they'll do it without LeBron James.

He was downgraded to "out" on Wednesday with a bum ankle, well ahead of tonight's tip. It was something that LeBron himself foreshadowed at the All Star Game, noting that his treatment is ongoing and could keep him out. Could has become will. Does this mean he'll be available for Friday's game vs. San Antonio? We'll find out soon enough.

It's an injury the Lakers reportedly don't think is super serious, but hope the treatment will let James finish the season strong.

In the meantime, it should be a barnburner against a revitalized Warriors team that has turned things around, and certainly remembers how they lost an epic nationally televised battle with the Lakers only a couple weeks back. Even without James in the lineup, the Lakers do kick off the stretch run with reasons to be optimistic about their chances to make a little noise going forward. There are no guarantees, health will be paramount and so on and so on ... but look under the hood a little and you can see the Lakers have some stuff going for them.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers will be without LeBron as the 2nd half starts.

SEGMENT 2: Reasons for optimism? What do the Lakers have going for them right now?

SEGMENT 3: Reasons to worry?

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Earlier in the season, the Lakers had a habit of falling behind big early thanks to terrible first quarters. As the weeks have gone on, it's become less of an issue.

Not Sunday in Phoenix. The purple and gold fell behind by as much as 20 points in the opening quarter, finishing it down 17 after surrendering a putrid 45 points en route to a 123-113 loss. They spent the rest of the game playing uphill, trying to find a way to get ahead of the Suns, who have regularly blown leads of late but nonetheless have been effective at home. The Lakers got within two a couple times in the third, but couldn't keep that momentum in the fourth as Phoenix pulled away.

The Lakers suffered a slow start from Anthony Davis (who still finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, with three steals and two blocks) and mid games from Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura and virtually nothing from the bench. Add in some odd choices from Darvin Ham, and the Lakers drop to three games above .500.

In the end, it wasted a high efficiency, high end effort from LeBron James (12-19 from the floor, 28 points, 12 assists).

So where did they lose, on a day where the 3-point shooting was very good and the FG% overall was strong? Start with the glass, where the Lakers allowed 14 offensive boards. And then free throws. The Lakers shot four of them, to Phoenix's 19.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers come out remarkably flat, lose to Phoenix on Sunday.

SEGMENT 2: Weird choices from Darvin Ham

SEGMENT 3: The Bench Is Eroded.

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