The Land O'Lakers Podcast by the Kamenetzky Brothers

It took a long time for the Lakers to return to the postseason, and for the first few minutes of Game 1 Tuesday, they still hadn't, falling behind big to the TrailBlazers before coming back... at least temporarily. In  the end, the Lakers fell down 1-0 to Portland in their first round matchup, injecting a very healthy dose of fear into the fanbase ahead of Thursday's Game 2.

LeBron James wasn't perfect, but put up a historic line nonetheless. Anthony Davis, despite decent numbers (28/11, with two steals and two blocks), wasn't nearly good enough.

He wasn't alone. James received precious little support, and as a team the bubble shooting woes continued in a huge way. The Lakers shot 35.1% from the floor, and 15.6% from three.

So what was the root cause, and can it be fixed before Thursday evening? Andy and Brian break it all  down. (Note: The show was broadcast live to Twitter, Periscope, and Facebook Live.)

The Lakers are back in the NBA Playoffs, for the first time in nearly a decade, and as a top seed in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, they draw an unusually difficult opponent in the Portland TrailBlazers. Damian Lillard is red hot, and the Blazers are a better team than the one that struggled throughout the regular season.

So how does this one play out? To preview, the Kamenetzky Brothers break it down with Peter Sampson, contributing writer at the great blog Blazer's Edge and a host at Portland's 750 The Game.

From there, Andy and Brian explain why winning this season, weird as it may be, is critical because L.A.'s championship  window may not get much wider. Plus, Jimmy Butler's totally epic bubble coffee bar, and a Hollywood wedding with some weird math.

Mo Dakhil of Bleacher Report and The Athletic joins!

The Lakers have finished their eight tune up games before the playoffs start on Tuesday. Does it matter they only won three of them? Does it matter that LeBron wasn't all that great? What about Kyle Kuzma, one of the team's few bubble bright spots? As the Lakers head into the postseason, should they be the favorites?

Plus, LeBron's hairline and what should be a come to Jesus moment, the NBA lets visitors into the bubble (but not all visitors), and who makes the best bubble buddy.

The Kamenetzky Brothers are back with the Land O'Lakers Podcast! Unfortuantely, the same can't be said for the Lakers' offense, which hasn't really returned from the NBA's hiatus. LeBron James has been... meh? Anthony Davis has played two great games and four pretty ordinary (or worse). What can be done to fix it, and what does it mean for the postseason?

Can the Lakers depend on Dion Waiters? (Spoiler alert... no.)

Then, did Frank Vogel really get snubbed in the Coach of the Year race?

Finally, edibles gone wrong, songs you want to hear again for the first time, and more...

Check out the video on the Kamenetzky Brothers YouTube and Facebook pages.

The Land O'Lakers Podcast is back. New episodes every Monday, at least. Talking Lakers, NBA, the bubble playoffs, and much, much more. Plus, we're adding video! So you can answer that question, "What do Andy and Brian look like when they podcast?"

All the insight, all the fun guests, all the love for Slava Medvedenko you've come to know and love... or get to discover for the first time.

The Lakers took a big swing on Kawhi Leonard. They missed. And in a matter of hours, they'd filled out most of the roster. So was it a success? We highlight the good and the less good, and give our overall grades to Rob Pelinka and the rest of the front office. From there, it's a question of where the Lakers fit in against a hyper-competitive Western Conference. Are LeBron and Anthony Davis enough? How good does the supporting cast need to be? Who are the wild cards that could make the Lakers championship caliber?

All that... and more!

Well, Wednesday was busy!

The Lakers fought of what seemed like the smart, safe, inevitable hiring of Ty Lue as their next head coach. Instead, they've plunged themselves deep back into the abyss of bad process, bad press, and bad optics heading into arguably the most consequential free agent summer in team history.

So what happens now? We discuss with Pete Zayas, the awesome curator of LakerFilmRoom. Find him at @LakerFilmRoom...

The Lakers need a new coach, and have sent the gang out to interview. That includes expected players like GM Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss, but also more eyebrow-raising folks like the Rambi, Kurt and Linda. What should we make of the current Lakers braintrust? And what should we think of the three primary coaching candidates they've interviewed?

What do Ty Lue, Monty Williams, and Juwan Howard offer? Who should they hire, and why?

All that, plus...

...a look at a great article from Kurt Goldsberry about the evolution of the 3-pointer, and adjustments around it the NBA should consider.

...and a big week in pop culture, with Avengers: Endgame and GoT's big Battle of Winterfell joining huge audiences together in ways rarely seen anymore.

We all kind of knew how this movie would end, but getting there was nonetheless pretty interesting. The Lakers went through the trade deadline unable to pry Anthony Davis away from the Pelicans (because, in large part, the Pelicans had zero incentive to make a deal now). Still, it was a messy, public process in which basically everyone on the roster was rumored to be part of a package.

So what happens now? Are the Lakers still on the right path to restoring themselves to full glory. Is it time to re-evaluate the work of Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson?

What about the trades they did make, bringing in Reggie Bullock, Mike Muscala, and whatever buyout candidate ends up filling that empty roster spot they've created?

All that and more in the newest Kamenetzky Brothers Lakers Podcast.

What a week!

The Lakers are on a roll, pushing their record to 17-10 and drifting closer to the top of the Western Conference. Why? Because (among other things) LeBron James is still great, but also because the defense has become a top 10 group, and Kyle Kuzma is playing well on both ends (including stuff like rebounding and passing on the offensive side).

Even better, the Lakers are a team that can reasonably be expected to improve over the course of the season. If that's true, what's their top end? And how much higher does it get if the Lakers acquire Trevor Ariza?

All that, and who should be hosting the Oscars? And what does the Kevin Hart story mean not just for hosting gigs, but stand up more broadly?

The Lakers finished off a successful homestand with a big win over the Spurs on Wednesday. LeBron James led the way, but he had some help down the stretch. That's the formula everyone wants, but can it last? Plus, Bleacher Report's Ric Bucher got Kevin Durant and a bunch of other players to go on record explaining why premier free agents might not flock to play with LeBron... and needless to say it caused some controversy. But once you get past some of the whining from K.D. about how LeBron is treated by the media, is anything he or the other guys said actually wrong? What does that mean for L.A.'s big summer plans?

All of that, plus the annual Hallmark Christmas Movie Game.

The NBA is back! Like, officially!

And before it got going for real, we sat down for our annual predictions podcast, where we pick all the winners in both conferences, make our selections for the big awards, and cover some of the interesting overarching storylines that will define the year. Also, we talk about Paul George and the news he made this week.

Basically, once you've heard these 45 minutes, you can fastforward to the end of the year. Because we've told you everything that's going to happen.

You're welcome.

We're thiiiiiiiiiiiis close to finishing up the pretend games, folks. So how are the Lakers looking?

Better, with Lonzo Ball back on the floor, for one. He made his debut this week, and while there's definitely some rust, overall his impact was pretty tangible. And with Lonzo back, the Lakers can now keep a ball mover on the floor at all times. That'll help the second unit. Meanwhile, with the preseason winding down, some of the stuff we thought the Lakers might not be very good at... they haven't been very good at. The three-point shooting has been spotty, and the interior defense as well (particularly when they go small). How Luke Walton protects the guys asked to fill the void, some of whom probably aren't really qualified, will be one of his bigger challenges.

Finally... Jimmy Butler!