The first long road trip of the season is off to a perfect start for the Lakers, who followed up Friday's win over Milwaukee with another victory, this time beating the Wizards 130-119 in Washington, a game the Lakers basically led throughout. It was another monumentally dominant performance from Anthony Davis, who laid a double nickel on the Wiz (that's 55 points to the uninitiated) along with 17 rebounds and three blocked shots. All of this on an uber-efficient 22-30 from the floor.

LeBron James, meanwhile, had another very strong game (29/8/6), and Lonnie Walker IV chipped in with 20 points. The Lakers have now won eight of ten, and crept to within two games of .500 and ever so close to the mix of teams in the Western Conference's (early season) playoff conversation.

The dominance of Davis makes many things the Lakers do seemingly less important. On another night against another team, for example, maybe Darvin Ham's choice for starting lineups, and maybe even closing lineups, which included both Dennis Schroder and Pat Beverley. Broadly, it feels like Ham will have to make some choices about who he wants to play, because on the surface at least it seems like insisting on big minutes for his veteran guards (all of 'em) means some odd combinations on the floor.

Nice to have first world problems again, because when the team sucks, it really doesn't matter if the rotation isn't maximized.

So this run makes trade rumors that much more interesting. So many of the things that seemed like they'd drive a trade when the Lakers were 2-10 look different after winning eight of ten. Are the needs the same? Is it a given that you'd trade Westbrook? What do they need back? So is the rumor about Westbrook to Chicago for DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic the type of trade that works in LA's interest?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers win in Washington, and Davis is just crushing people.

SEGMENT 2: More on AD,a great start to the road trip, and what has made Russ effective.

SEGMENT 3: Would Russ for DeRozan and Vucevic make sense?

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.

BetOnline

BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA

PrizePicks

First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON

MasterClass

With MasterClass, you can learn from the world’s best minds - anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace. his holiday, give one annual membership and get one free! Go to MASTERCLASS.com/LOCKEDON today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices