Above the Rim with Dakari
Dive deep into the basketball world with Above the Rim with Dakari .Every week, we break down NBA with game recaps, analysis, and hot takes for hardcore basketball fans.
Above the Rim with Dakari
Lakers trade D'Angelo Russell, Miami Heat vs Houston Rockets fight, Orlando Magic insane 21 point comeback win against Nets
Dakari reacts to the Lakers trading D'Angelo Russell , as well as recapping yesterday's wild NBA games, highlighting the Orlando Magic's wild 21-point comeback against the Brooklyn Nets and the Miami Heat vs. Houston Rockets chaotic matchup.
What's up everybody. Welcome to another episode of Above the Room with Dakarim. We have a lot to talk about, so let's talk some NBA hoops. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Lakers traded D'Angelo Russell, this Maxwell Lewis guy, and three second round picks for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shaq Milton. This move by the Lakers is a salary dump move, because D'Angelo Russell is the weight of 36 mil and to this day I don't know why the Lakers gave him a player option. He doesn't defend and he's very inconsistent. One game he'll score over 20 points. Then he'll go back to being the worst player on the court. The Lakers need a point guard that could consistently make shots, because LeBron James is 39 years old and he's about to be 40. He can't keep doing everything anymore man. Also, anthony Davis, who has been healthy for the most part of the season, has a history of injuries, so the Lakers need help from other guys offensively, whether it's Austin Reeves or Ryu Hachimura Right now.
Speaker 0:The Lakers are currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a record of 18 and 13, but I believe that has more to do with the coaching of JJ Redick. He's been able to make the most out of the mediocre roster that Rob Palenka gave him. He's running plays and not just standing around with his hands in his pocket. He's definitely doing more than what Darvin Hamm ever did for the Lakers. The Lakers had to get rid of him immediately. He's doodle juice and I don't know how he still has a coaching job in the NBA, bro. Now JJ does have areas to grow in, but I believe he'll be fine as Lakers head coach. Rob Palenka needs to get JJ a better roster so he doesn't have to overwork LeBron and AD during the regular season. The Western Conference is tough and they gotta have LeBron and AD at full strength if they want to avoid the playing games.
Speaker 0:Now let's talk about what the Lakers are getting in Dorian Finney-Smith. They are getting a solid 3 and D player and I think he will be a solid fit for the Lakers. The Lakers are currently ranked 18th in three-point percentage at 35%, and 27th in three-point makes this season, so they definitely need to improve their three-point shooting. Finney-smith, throughout his career, has been a solid three-point shooter, especially this season career has been a solid three-point shooter, especially this season. He's having a career year shooting the ball, making 43% of his threes on five attempts a game for the Brooklyn Nets. Now let's see if his shooting will translate, because for some reason, whenever the Lakers trade for a player, they forget how to shoot. And turn to Tony Snell, it seems like the Lakers haven't won a trade in so long, so let's see if this move works out for the Lakers.
Speaker 0:Dorian Finney-Smith won't just help them with shooting the ball, but he's also an underrated defender. He may not make plenty of high let plays, but he does the little things on defense that impact winning basketball. The Lakers are ranked 27th in defensive rating, so they're a horrible defensive team, so getting a 3 and D guy like Dorian Finney-Smith is going to help him on that end. The Lakers need players that have grit and bring physicality on defense. They haven't had those kind of players since their 2020 championship run. Overall, I think getting Dorian Finney-Smith was a good move and he would help improve the team.
Speaker 0:What do you guys think? Now let's talk about what Shaq Milton's role with the Lakers will be. His role will be simple. His role is to provide playmaking and defense off the bench. He won't score a ton of points, but he will be a solid backup point guard for Reeves. He also will be better than Gabe Vincent. Gabe Vincent is terrible and brings nothing. He may need some new glasses because he can't see a backer to save his life. Gabe Vincent, it's time to retire immediately. You're hot, boo, boo, doodle juice and are the worst player in the NBA. Bro, shaq Milton can't possibly be worse than Gabe Vincent, because he's one of a kind bad.
Speaker 0:If I were to evaluate both move by the Lakers, I would say that they got a little bit better as a team on paper, but I don't think the Lakers should be dumb making trades. They still need a center. They should have been addressed that a long time ago, but I don't know why Rob Palenka hasn't addressed that issue yet. They're going to keep getting exposed by elite teams with centers if they don't fix that issue. They are lacking rebounding and shot blocking outside of Anthony Davis because Jackson Hayes and Christian Wood are still sidling with injury and who knows when they will return. If the Los Angeles Lakers can get Jackson Hayes back soon, he's going to provide solid shot blocking behind Anthony Davis.
Speaker 0:Now let's go over some NBA games. First up, we have the Orlando Magic coming back down 21 points to beat the Brooklyn Nets. This was an insane comeback because they lost Jalen Suggs early in the game due to a wrist sprain, as well as Anthony Blackwood back spasms. The Magic had no business winning this game at all. They couldn't get much going offensively and the Brooklyn Nets were making everything. But, as we've seen time and time again, this magic team just won't go away and they're gonna fight the magic we're letting squirm by rookie Tristan Del Siva. He had 21.6 rebounds and 7 assists. That's how you play. Since Franz Wagner went down with injury, del Silva has been steadily improving. He's consistently knocking down threes and attacking the basket. Tristan Del Siva is a gamer and it's going to be very good. His performance showcases the type of player he's going to be for us and I see him being a sleeper rookie of the year candidate. What do y'all think? If De Silva can keep playing like this, then it's going to be impossible to take him off the rotation and I hope Jamal Mowgli is taking notes because him and Mo Wagner leading the bench on offense is the clear answer.
Speaker 0:Goga Batazi was sensational yet again. No surprises. He had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Man Goga has really improved his hands and finishing a lot this season. He's starting to develop his post moves. He's doing drop steps and making jump hooks. It's fun to see his game develop. The next step now for Goga to grow his game is to improve his three-point and mid-range shooting. If he can do that, then our offense will be much better and it will make things a lot easier for Franz and Paulo to get to the basket. Goga will probably never be as skilled as Nick Vujovic on the offensive end, but his impact on winning basketball is clearly there.
Speaker 0:Cole, cole, anthony, I can't believe I'm saying this, bro, but you won the game for us, even though you shot March 11th from the field. I'll spare you just tonight. I like how you made a play to get to the basket on that game winner and didn't settle for a silly shot or turn the ball over. That was high IQ basketball right there. So good job, bro. Kcp, what are you doing? You played 34 minutes just to score five points on two of nine shooting absolute doodle juice. I'm sick of you, bro. Every time I have faith in you, you fold. Come on, man, you got to start knocking down shots. That's what you're paid to do, but every time you shoot the ball, you be shooting Tony Snell numbers. Come on. Caleb Houston scored 12 points and shot three or four from three. I cannot believe this. This has to be a dream right now, because I rarely see you like this, bro. But good game, can you do it again? Probably not.
Speaker 0:The Brooklyn Mets were led by Cam Thomas with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. But hold on though. You shot 6 of 80 from the field. Yuck, that's disgusting. Definitely wasn't the most efficient game, but he's still tough, though, and he'll bounce back. Jalen Wilson had 16 points. Uh-uh, absolutely not. 100% fake stats. If Jalen Rose did a drop on 15 points, then you know you're having a difficult game. He's gonna have to show me, because I don't ever see him hoop like this.
Speaker 0:Cam Johnson, this is some nasty work, fam. You played 24 minutes, scored 9 points and shot a few of 9 from the field. What were you doing last night Chilling with Angel Reese Goodness field. What were you doing last night chilling with Angel Reese, goodness? All jokes aside, though, cam Johnson is having a Rick Simmons play 30 minutes and only took six shots.
Speaker 0:His lack of confidence really needs to be studied, man. I just don't understand why he doesn't shoot. He hasn't been the same since he got called out for passing of a wide open layup bro against the Atlanta Hawks. Ben Simmons really fell off as an NBA player and I don't think he's worth a bag of peanuts right now. I remember when scouts were hyping him up as the next LeBron James. Now, obviously that was unlikely to happen, but he was still showing promise. Despite not being a good jump shooter, he was a three-time all-star, two-time all-NBA first team member and made two all-defensive first teams twice, so he was definitely on a pretty good career trajectory. Then, over the years, he became mentally weak and injury-prone.
Speaker 0:Now this was the craziest game of the night, full of drama. The Miami Heat defeated the Houston Rockets 104-100. This was a thrilling and crazy game. In the first half the Houston Rockets were on fire, they couldn't miss shots and the Heat were really struggling offensively due to the Rockets' elite defense. The Rockets are the number two ranked team defensively in the NBA, holding opponents to 43% field goal percentage, and last night their defense was elite and it looked like the Heat were in for a rough game. The Rockets came out scorching hot in the second half and even opened up a 12 point lead on the Heat. Now here's where the drama really happens. In the last minute of the game there were six ejections. The altercation began with Amin Towson tossing Tyler Hero to the ground, which led to coaches and other players leaving the benches and fighting. This was a very heated game and y'all may not agree with me on this, but the NBA needs more drama like this, bro. They will get people talking and increase ratings.
Speaker 0:I don't want to see players all buddy buddy all the time. I want to see true beefs like there was in the 90s, and the refs have to allow players to show more emotion in games. I don't want to see players getting soft texts or clapping in each other's faces or stirring them down after a dunk. That's boring. Tyler Herro showcased once again why he's deserving of an all-star spot. He had a strong give with 29 points and had 9 assists. That's how you play. His game has really evolved over the years. When he first came into the league, he was more of a spot-up shooter and off-the-screen shooter, but now he's able to generate offense for himself and he has improved as a playmaker. Hero is on his way to making it all-NBA team this season.
Speaker 0:Nikola Jovic played really well, with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Jovic has potential and he's very much capable of these kind of games. He just gotta be more aggressive. It will take a little time for him to develop into a player. I believe he will win, but down the road Jovich is gonna be scary. Good for the Heat. I was definitely high on him on draft night and I'm looking forward to seeing how he would develop.
Speaker 0:This Haywood Heisman guy had 15 points and 8 rebounds. I haven't heard much about him, but he's definitely another undrafted journeyman player. One thing about the Heat is they know how to turn those players into solid players. Alfred Sangoon stuffed the stat sheet last night with 18 points, 18 rebounds and six assists. This right here is baby Jokic. I say this all the time. He has similar traits to Jokic. He can score in a low pose. He's a very good playmaker for a size and elite rebounder. He's also a better defender than Joker. The difference between their two games is Joker is a better three-point shooter. Sangoon was very good last night and performances like this is why he's becoming one of my favorite players in the NBA.
Speaker 0:Jalen Green, you're straight doodle juice bro. 34 minutes and you shot June 20th and one of eight from three. That's nasty work. Dylan Brooks led the Rocks at 22 points. It wasn't great efficiency wise, but we know what we can expect from Dylan Brooks he's going to compete and he's going to play with energy and he's going to get an opponent's head. This wraps up another episode of Above the Room with Akari. Thank you for tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you like and follow me, and I'll see you guys next time for more NBA hoops.