The Lakers open the season tonight! The real games begin. It's Lakers vs. Warriors, on Peacock! (Something new for this year, and an early taste of a new TV arrangement for the NBA.) 

The Warriors are a team that mirrors a lot of what we think about the Lakrs. Obviously very good. Capable of beating any team in any series, even if they're not quite capable of winning four of them to get an NBA chip. But in any best-of-seven, if playing at full strength, nobody will want to see them. On the other hand, they rely on a bunch of old guys (more than the Lakers) and if anyone significant gets hurt? Forgettaboutit. (The Lakers in this sense have an advantage over the Warriors, because when people talk about old guys, it's really just LeBron.) 

So with LeBron injured, are the Lakers being knocked too far down in the West? What's a fair evaluation? 

And who can raise their ceiling, and the floor? What could happen that would rip a hole in that floor? 

Well, it starts with Luka. There's a massive difference between him performing like one of the two or three best players on the planet, and being a more conventional All-NBA level performer. Someone who'd make evan a second team. The Lakers are banking on him being the guy who averaged a 30 point trip-dub (more or less) two years ago in Dallas. That raises the team's ceiling. Anything less, and the Lakers may not get where they want to go. 

Meanwhile, deeper into the supporting cast, we explain why Deandre Ayton has tremendous ceiling-raising potential, while an injury to Marcus Smart or Jarred Vanderbilt could have an outsized impact relative to their skill level and spot in the proverbial pecking order. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers open the season tonight!

SEGMENT 2: Is Ayton the team's best floor raiser? 

SEGMENT 3: What about Luka? 

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