The biggest game of the NBA season so far is the Lakers vs Bucks matchup on TNT at 8 p.m. ET tonight. Both teams are 24-4, and are the current favorites, if you had to make a prediction today, to reach the 2020 NBA Finals.
While the Bucks are without injured guard Eric Bledsoe, the Lakers will have forward Anthony Davis in action, said the team this evening.
Per ESPN.com, “Davis did not play in the Lakers’ loss at Indiana on Tuesday due to the mild ankle sprain. It was the second game Davis has missed this season. He is leading the team in points (27.4), rebounds (9.3) and blocks (2.6) per game.”
“Load management” is getting more attention than it deserves. Only a handful of NBA players sit out sometimes, usually during one game in a back-to-back, and occasionally in other situations.
How does LeBron James feel about it? Here’s the LA Times reporting:
“If I’m healthy, I play,” James said after the Lakers’ 101-96 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. “I mean, that should be the approach. I mean, unless we’re getting to like late in the season and we’ve clinched and we can’t get any better or any worse, it could benefit from that, but why wouldn’t I play if I’m healthy? It doesn’t make any sense to me, personally.
“I mean, I don’t know how many games I got left in my career. I don’t know how many kids that may show up to a game and they’re there to come see me play and if I sit out, then what? That’s my obligation.”
The Lakers are 24-3 so far this season. That’s 27 games. LeBron has played in all 27.
On Sunday, the Lakers beat the Timberwolves 142-125. The star of the night was big-man Anthony Davis, who is having as good a season as almost any players in the league.
Shooting 20 for 29, Davis put up 50 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals, one block and just one turnover in 39 minutes of action.
LeBron James also had himself a game: 32 points and 13 assists. And off the Lakers bench, Alex Caruso earned himself a mention: 6 of 11, 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
But Davis, who has gotten attention all season for his defense just as much as his offense, had as good a game as anyone has put up in the league so far this season.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the following: “Davis became the third player to post 50 points on the Wolves this season while James was no slouch either with 32 points and 13 assists. Davis was an especially efficient 20 of 29 shooting and 10 of 10 from the free-throw line. He did a lot of work around the basket, and the Wolves had no answer for him defensively. ”
From the OC Register: “Davis’ prolific, proficient output — combined with James’ 32 points in 28 minutes — mitigated a productive night offensively by the Timberwolves, who shot 51.8 percent, had eight players score in double-digits and needed only until the start of the fourth quarter to exceed opponents’ 103.7 points-per-game scoring average against the Lakers.”
The NBA on Saturday announced that they have fined Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo $35,000 for the following reasons:
– Making unsportsmanlike physical contact with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder
– Verbal abuse of a game official
– Failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection.
Rondo received a Flagrant Foul 2 and was ejected, early 4th quarter this past Thursday, on the road in OKC.
A video clip of the incident is here: http://www.nba.com/video/2019/11/23/lal-okc-rajon-rondo-112219
The Lakers are off to a fantastic start this season. Through yesteday’s games, they have a league-best 13-2 record and are currently riding a six-game winning streak.
Rondo has played in just five games this season, entirely off the bench as a reserve, averaging 7.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.6 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game.
Here’s the OC Register getting Lakers guard Lonzo Ball’s opinion on UCLA head coach candidates:
The only Bruin on the Lakers has an opinion on whom the next UCLA basketball coach should be.
Lonzo Ball said after Wednesday morning’s shootaround that he would like to see Earl Watson, a former Bruin himself, get the head job.
“I know Earl personally,” Ball said. “I think he has coaching experience in the league. Obviously he went there, he’s alumni, so I think he’s a good fit.”
Even if you don’t follow college hoops or UCLA, it’ll be interesting to see who actually gets the job.
At 8 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN, LeBron James and the Lakers visit Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and the Warriors. Here’s the LA Daily News with some thoughts on the matchup:
The timing of the game is intriguing, given that the Lakers are coming off a week hot with James saying he’d like to play alongside Anthony Davis. With rumors earlier in the month that the Lakers were open to trading for Trevor Ariza and other trade talk rumors continually circling the team, even a regular season game can take on a mountain of seemingly high stakes. It has the feeling of an audition — even if that’s not something the Lakers will admit.
For their own part, the Lakers did their best to tamp down the importance of the Warriors’ game. Both Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said it was just another game, and Luke Walton said he thought it was imprudent to start sizing up how the Lakers match up with the Warriors.
“I never like to put too much importance on one game as far as it shows you how close or how far you are,” he said. “They’re a team that can hit 30 threes in a night, doesn’t mean they’re that much better than you, or we can go up there and win. Doesn’t mean now they need to close that gap to us. It’ll be a lot of fun.”
The only Laker who admitted to looking forward to the game more than others was JaVale McGee, who will be receiving his 2018 championship ring before the game.
Tuesday’s NBA Christmas day action begins at 12 p.m. ET with the Knicks hosting the Bucks.
The Grizzlies on Sunday outscored the Lakers by 11 points in the 4th quarter to leave Los Angeles with a 107-99 win. Rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. did big things in the win. Here’s the Los Angeles Times reporting:
Jackson finished with 27 points while Marc Gasol and Conley each scored 17 for the Grizzlies.
Lebron James led the Lakers with 22 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Ivica Zubac added 19 points and Brandon Ingram had 20.
Although center JaVale McGee was cleared to play, the Lakers held him out for one more game as he recovers from an illness that eventually became pneumonia. McGee played against the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 15 after he began to feel ill, then missed the Lakers’ next three games.
The Lakers are now 19-14 this season, which puts them in a three-way tie for the 4th best record in the Western conference. The Grizzlies are now 17-16, which is the 10th best record in the West — yet they are just 5.5 games out of first place. Because that’s how close the West is this season.
Here’s the L.A. Times reporting on Lakers forward Brandon Ingram:
Brandon Ingram’s MRI Thursday evening confirmed a sprained left ankle and Ingram will be reevaluated in one week, the Lakers said Saturday.
That means Ingram will miss at least two more games after Saturday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers play the Miami Heat at home Monday and will start a four-game road trip that begins in Houston Thursday.
Ingram is averaging 15.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this season. He suffered the injury in the first quarter of Wednesday’s win over San Antonio when he landed on the foot of Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge after taking a jump shot. Aldridge was whistled for a flagrant foul 1 for sticking his foot where Ingram was going to land.
LeBron James and the Lakers visit Cleveland tonight to play a Cavs team that has been in shambles this season and looks nothing like the contender they were when LeBron was still on the squad. The game will be on national TV. Seeing the type of reception LeBron receives during pregame intros and an expected video tribute will be fun to watch. More on the game from Cleveland.com below:
Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson opted for the canned answer when asked about the importance of Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Just another game. Another game on the schedule,” Thompson said following shootaround. “Another opportunity for us to play at home and compete and be on our floor.”
Only it’s not. Wednesday marks LeBron James’ first return to Quicken Loans Arena since leaving the Cavaliers a second time in free agency.
Promos have been playing for weeks on ESPN. It’s one of two games nationally televised for the Cavaliers this season. This is the one fans have had circled on the calendar since it was released.
The Lakers through Tuesday’s games are 9-7 and the West’s 8th seed, while the Cavs are an NBA-worst 2-13 and currently dealing with a reported trade request/demand from veteran shooting guard J.R. Smith.
The Lakers began the season 0-3, then won 7 of their next 10 games, and at 7-6 are currently the 8th seed in the Western conference through Sunday’s games. Rotation adjustments will likely continue for weeks or longer as head coach Luke Walton continues to learn how to mesh LeBron James with young players that the team hopes will be around for a long time with the team’s veterans, many of whom are signed to one-year deals.
As for how they closed things out in a one-point win Sunday against a rebounding Hawks squad, here’s the LA Times reporting:
With the outcome of the game in the balance, Lakers coach Luke Walton chose to use an unconventional lineup — with no point guard — to close against Atlanta on Sunday, a decision he made because he wanted his best defenders on the court.
In the final minutes of a tense game at Staples Center, Walton’s resolve to leave point guards Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rondo on the bench served the Lakers well.
Ball had replaced Rondo with seven minutes, 41 seconds left in the game. Ball had not played in the fourth quarter of the previous two games, but now he was getting his opportunity.
Then with 4:32 left and every defensive stand being crucial in a game the Lakers were trailing by three points, Ball was replaced by Josh Hart, who the Lakers consider to be one of their better defenders because of his ability to guard multiple positions.
Hart closed out the game with LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Tyson Chandler.