Buha's Block with Jovan Buha

In the latest episode of The Great Western Forum, a Lakers show hosted by Jovan Buha, Pete Zayas, and Anthony Irwin, the trio analyzes the Lakers' Game 1 win and looks ahead to Game 2 and beyond.

Jovan, Pete, and Anthony discuss Game 1, the adjustments they expect for Game 2 from the Lakers and Rockets, Kevin Durant's eventual return, if the Lakers have any chance against the Thunder (if they advance), and more.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
4:57 Luka Doncic and JJ Redick snubbed from awards
18:58 Game 1 reaction + why the Lakers can win this series
29:13 Game 2 adjustments
40:12 Impact of Kevin Durant's eventual return
46:40 LA leaning more into athletic lineups?
52:17 Does Game 1 change LA's outlook against OKC?
1:01:10 Outro

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Jovan Buha shares additional thoughts on Game 1 of Lakers-Rockets after his rewatch, then goes into adjustments for Game 2.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

1:11 Game 1 rewatch observations and addendums

25:01 Game 2 adjustments

30:46 NBA awards finalists

41:42 Q&A

2:00:29 Outro

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Jovan Buha reacts to the Los Angeles Lakers' 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series on Saturday, April 18. 2026.

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
4:02 Buha's Big Picture: Houston, you have problems
17:17 Notable performers
36:44 Stats of the night: Luke Kennard's playoff career-high 27 points + LeBron James' playoff career-high 8 assists in the first quarter
37:42 Takeaway No. 1: Early Game 2 adjustments (pre-rewatch)
46:28 Takeaway No. 2: The trade that changed LA's season
51:00 Takeaway No. 3: The playoff rotation
53:52 Q&A
2:15:39 Outro

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Jovan Buha is joined by Khobi Price of the California Post to discuss their 2025-26 awards, preview each playoff series, and then ran the top 10 players and top 5 teams going into the playoffs.

Follow Khobi on X: https://x.com/khobi_price

Read him at the California Post: https://nypost.com/author/khobi-price/

Read his story on how to fix the 65-game rule: https://nypost.com/2026/04/03/sports/nba-needs-to-change-rules-to-qualify-for-awards/

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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
2:37 What has this been like for Khobi? How is he approaching awards voting?
6:40 MVP
18:31 All-NBA teams
23:52 Defensive Player of the Year
26:55 All-Defense teams
30:36 Coach of the Year
37:39 Rookie of the Year
45:48 All-Rookie teams
48:33 Sixth Man of the Year
49:40 Most Improved Player
57:58 Western Conference playoff series picks
1:20:09 Eastern Conference playoff series picks
1:23:50 Top 10 playoff players draft
1:35:25 Top 5 contenders going into the playoffs
1:46:14 Q&A
1:48:36 Outro

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Jovan Buha and Tim, aka Cranjis McBasketball of the Lakers Exceptionalism podcast and BBall Index, preview the first-round playoff series matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.

Jovan and Tim discuss one big question for each team, one player X-factor, one statistical X-factor, one series X-factor, their series prediction, and more.

Follow Tim on X here: https://x.com/Tim_NBA

Check out Lakers Exceptionalism here: https://linktr.ee/lakersexceptionalism

Check out BBall Index: https://www.bball-index.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing, rating, and reviewing.

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Follow Jovan on TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@jovanbuha

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
1:28 How did Tim prepare for this series?
4:28 Setting the stage with the season numbers
9:55 Tim's Lakers question: Can the Lakers adapt their defensive identity?
18:12 Jovan's Lakers question: Will the Lakers be able to score consistently enough?
23:28 Tim's Rockets question: Which defensive coverages will Houston deploy?
29:21 Jovan's Rockets question: Can they capitalize when they have an offensive advantage?
34:39 Tim's Lakers X-factor: Jake LaRavia
40:18 Jovan's Lakers X-factor: Deandre Ayton
46:21 Tim's Rockets X-factor: Amen Thompson
50:55 Jovan's Rockets X-factor: Amen Thompson (honorable mention to Jabari Smith Jr.)
58:52 Tim's statistical X-factor: Houston's foul rate
1:00:14 Jovan's statistical X-factor: Houston's offensive rebound %
1:07:02 Tim's series X-factor (non-Luka/Austin): How creative is JJ Redick? And how does Imu Udoka adjust?
1:10:40 Jovan's series X-factor (non-Luka/Austin): Can LA keep it close and dominate the clutch?
1:14:56 Final points/notes/stats
1:30:17 Tim's series prediction: Rockets in 5
1:32:30 Jovan's series prediction: Rockets in 6
1:40:12 Outro

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