Category: Latest Lakers News

LeBron James throws down incredible dunk on Kings forward Bjelica

Lakers F LeBron James was called washed in some corners but he reminded everyone just how explosive he can be with a dunk against the Kings

The Washed King is here to remind challengers that he is still liable to posterize takers looking to block a ferocious dunk from LeBron James. In the Los Angeles Lakers’ Friday night matchup against the Sacramento Kings, James had an incredible dunk against the Kings.

James has led the NBA in assists over the first 11 games of the season and he has led the Lakers to the NBA’s best defense over that same time. For much of the early going on Friday, the Lakers were a little sluggish. But the they closed the half with a fury, capped off by the dunk from James over Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica.

James is one of the greatest dunkers of all time even though he has never participated in an NBA dunk contest. His ability to finish in games, and through traffic, may be the greatest we’ve ever seen. Friday night, approaching age 35, he showed another example of delivering special moments with astonishing regularity.

Tom Brady jokes he will play football ‘until he can’t dunk’ anymore

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had some fun with comments by Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James comparing the two on Friday.

GOAT talk isn’t something that you hear about every night but it’s also not every night that LeBron James and Tom Brady decide to talk about what they share in common. But LeBron James started the comparisons on Friday morning by saying that he sees himself in the same light as Brady in that he plans on playing his sport of choice until he “can’t walk.”

James has talked in broad strokes in the past about wanting to stick around in the NBA until he has the chance to play with his son Bronny James, but Brady took the opportunity of LeBron’s choice of comparison to make a joke and also let everyone know he doesn’t plan on going away anytime soon either, even though he’s nearly eight years older than James.

I don’t know if Brady can dunk or not anymore at age 42, but he has said as recently as 2018 that he believes he can still dunk it. Maybe he still can (if he’s Vince Carter) and that’s been the secret to his longevity all along. Work on that dunk, aspiring quarterbacks, Tom Brady is working on his.

LeBron joked that he would stop playing ball until he can’t throw touchdown passes anymore, so get used to a lot of these guys.

Bronny James Jr. and Sierra Canyon to have 15 games streaming on ESPN

The high school squad of LeBron James Jr. and Zaire Wade will be broadcast 15 times on ESPN streaming services.

Move over, Disney+. There’s a new streaming event that promises to sweep the nation. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are currently the best basketball team in town and the Western Conference with a 9-2 record through 11 games and the No. 1 ranked defense in the NBA, but the team that may rival their following during the season is not the Los Angeles Clippers but rather a high school boys team from Chatsworth: Sierra Canyon.

If you had previously doubted the level of attention in Sierra Canyon, who feature Bronny James Jr. and Zaire Wade, sons of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, as well as top recruits BJ Boston and Ziaire Williams, their level of inclusion on ESPN’s slate of high school games should change that. ESPN will carry 15 Sierra Canyon games this season on their ESPN 3 channel, with the first one coming only six days from now, according to Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times.

Canyon has already played fall league games in preparation for their upcoming season, with some of the highlights from those games leaking out to show pretty hyped gyms including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. If those tune-ups are any indication, atmosphere for these games should be remarkable to witness.

 

Avery Bradley out at least 1-2 weeks with hairline fracture in leg

After getting Rajon Rondo back this week, the Los Angeles Lakers continue to deal with other injuries in their backcourt.

Just when it seemed like the Los Angeles Lakers were entering a healthier stage of their season, they’ve lost a key member of their backcourt for at least a couple of weeks.

The Lakers announced on Friday morning that an MRI on starting guard Avery Bradley revealed a hairline fracture on the ‘non-weight bearing’ portion of his lower right leg. Bradley missed a game earlier last week after initially suffering what looked like an ankle injury in a Nov. 3 win at San Antonio. According to the Lakers release, Bradley will be re-evaluated in 1-to-2 weeks.

Bradley has stayed in the starting line-up, averaging 9.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He’s stayed in the line-up mostly because of his on-ball defense and activity. He’s also doing a good job scoring inside the 3-point line to off-set a cold shooting start from the outside.

Without Bradley, the Lakers started Kentavious Caldwell-Pope against Chicago on Nov. 5 but Caldwell-Pope is currently listed as questionable for Friday’s game against the Kings. If KCP can’t go, Alex Caruso or Quinn Cook would be the likely next candidates to take Bradley’s place in the starting line-up.

Bradley will get to do a good portion of his recovery in Los Angeles as the Lakers aren’t scheduled to play a road game until a week from Friday in Oklahoma City.

Report: Anthony Davis probable, KCP questionable for Friday vs. Kings

The Los Angeles Lakers will likely get Anthony Davis back in the line-up when they host the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers should get back one of their key players when they host former head coach Luke Walton and the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Staples Center.

Anthony Davis is officially listed as probable, meaning he has a 75% chance to play, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group. However, while the Lakers will likely get back Davis on Friday they will likely be without reserve guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who is questionable after turning his ankle in the closing moments of Wednesday’s win over the Golden State Warriors. However, getting Davis back will likely be more than enough against a Kings group missing De’Aaron Fox.

While the Caldwell-Pope injury was concerning, the Lakers did get some solid contributions from other players who will have to step in for however long KCP has to sit out. Quinn Cook played nearly 25 minutes while Alex Caruso eclipsed 27 minutes on Wednesday.

Caldwell-Pope’s absence will call for more minutes from the Lakers younger guards, but Caruso, Cook and even Troy Daniels have proven they can step in to produce in a pinch at various points so far this season.

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LeBron James credits Lakers teammates for NBA assist lead

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James credited his teammates ability to convert opportunities for his NBA lead in assists.

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As a LeBron Wire reader, you may not be surprised to see that LeBron James is leading the NBA in assists. It was the leading preseason prediction for our site heading into the season and James has made good on the play in the preseason, using the arrival of Anthony Davis and improved outside shooting to become the current NBA assist leader.

James has tons of NBA accolades and statistical achievements on his resume. But leading the NBA in assists is something he’s never done before. A big reason is the addition of Davis, who gave James an efficient volume scorer — the likes of which he has never played before.

But James wanted to credit the entire team for his statistical accolades, telling ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

I’m just trying to play within the system of what we’re trying to do in the game plan, and get my shooters and get my bigs opportunities. I don’t get the assists if my teammates don’t make the shots. That’s what it all boils down to. So they deserve all the credit.

This is nothing new for James, who has taken great pride in creating opportunities for his teammates. Even though James Harden is generally associated most with creating 3-point shots these days, ESPN analyst Kirk Goldsberry found that nobody had assisted on more 3-pointers in the past decade than LeBron.

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LeBron James says it’s not that weird playing an injured Warriors team

The Los Angeles Lakers star also eluded to his 2015 NBA Finals when he played the Warriors without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

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LeBron James doesn’t think it’s all that weird to play a Golden State Warriors team without both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but he did acknowledge when he’s watching them on TV the absence of the Splash Brothers is a lot more jarring.

After last night’s comfortable 120-94 win over the Warriors on Wednesday night, James was asked about the state of the Warriors as they fell to a league-worst 2-10 record. LeBron obviously knows what they’re going through, but he wouldn’t use the word “weird” to describe the feeling of playing against a deleted Warriors squad, because he’s been used to playing them with a depleted unit before in the 2015 NBA Finals without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

Video from Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group

Irving played only one game in the 2015 Finals before suffering a broken kneecap in the first game of the series. Obviously James is still a little salty about that Finals run and who could blame him, as he pushed the Warriors to six games with Matthew Dellavadov and Timofey Mozgov as his 2nd and 3rd options.

James had an incredible stat line in a losing effort in the 2015 Finals, averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebonds and 8.8 assists per game.

JaVale McGee collects more rebounds than Warriors’ starters in Lakers 120-94 win

Los Angeles Lakers center JaVale McGee collects more rebounds than Warriors starting five during Lakers 120-94 win.

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With Anthony Davis sidelined for Wednesday night’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors, JaVale McGee stepped up big for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers center dominated the glass throughout the evening by collecting 17 rebounds against his former team. That total was four more rebounds than Golden State’s starting five, combined.

The Lakers finished with a 120-94 victory.

To go along with a season-high 17 boards, McGee also scored a season-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shots in support of 23 points and 12 assists from LeBron James. McGee grabbed 12 defensive rebounds, five of them on the offensive end, and also blocked three shots. Meanwhile, Dwight Howard came off the bench to deliver a 15-point, eight-rebound performance in relief of McGee, who has started every game at the center spot this season

Following the win, the former Warrior talked about the impact a traditional center like he and Dwight can still have on today’s game, telling reporters after the game:

I feel like because of Golden State, the whole league has gone away from the standard big man. So me and Dwight are definitely working hard to bring it back. Just letting people know that it’s necessary for a big man in the game. And where better to do it than where the best big men played.

If I’m having a bad game, then he’s picking me up. If he’s having a bad game, then I’m picking him up. If we’re both having a good game, we’re winning the game. … Like Golden State, who had the opportunity to make teams go small, I feel like we have the opportunity to make people go big.

 

If McGee continues to have dominant performances like he did on Wednesday, the Lakers will most certainly make teams consider going big to match up against them as the season moves on. This will especially be the case when Davis is healthy and back in the lineup, and if they’re also getting the type of production they did from Howard during the win over Golden State.

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LeBron drops 23 and 12 as Lakers take care of Warriors at home

LeBron James had a solid night as the Los Angeles Lakers notched a win without superstar forward Anthony Davis on Wednesday.

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LeBron James had 23 points and 12 assists on Wednesday night to help the Los Angeles Lakers hold off a depleted Golden State Warriors squad on Wednesday night.

LeBron’s performance in the 120-94 victory was one of several that helped the Lakers overcome the absence of starting forward Anthony Davis, who missed Wednesday’s game due to shoulder and rib injuries.

Kyle Kuzma scored 22 points in the spot-start for Davis, going 7-of-12 from the field. Former Warrior JaVale McGee also had his best game of the season: 18 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.

As for Golden State, former Lakers draft pick D’Angelo Russell led the way with 21 points. And while the Warriors made the Lakers sweat at times, they were out of winning range with plenty of time left for the Lakers to seal the deal.

The Lakers did get another kind a scare late in the game when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went down with an apparent ankle injury. Luckily for them, the Lakers will have a few more days at home, with their next game being at Staples Center on Nov. 15 against the Sacramento Kings.

Report: Anthony Davis officially listed as out against Warriors

Anthony Davis is officially going to sit out Wednesday’s game for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Golden State Warriors.

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Star Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis has officially been ruled out of Wednesday night’s matchup with a much-diminished Golden State Warriors group, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Earlier today, doubt was cast on the six-time All-Star’s availability for the contest, due primarily to a rib injury sustained in Tuesday’s win over the Phoenix Suns. With forward Kyle Kuzma having returned from an ankle injury sustained in FIBA World Cup play this summer, Davis’ presence may be being viewed as superfluous given the opponent at hand.

However, with X-rays coming back negative, it appears the sorry state of their opponent’s roster and the potential for a more serious injury playing in a game that should be easily winnable without Davis seems to be playing a role in the news the Chicago native will be sitting Wednesday night.

With a long season still ahead and one of the West’s thinner frontcourt rotations, a cautious approach is absolutely a wise move. Given Davis typically misses roughly a tenth of the season or more to injury even in a good year, preserving the critical big man’s health for more difficult regular-season matchups, particularly when they aren’t on the back end of a back-to-back.

With a relatively easy slate of games ahead for the rest of the month, facing struggling and rebuilding franchises like the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards should allow the Lakers to play their star players limited minutes, minimizing the need for load management until December.