Category: Latest Lakers News

Frank Vogel on Anthony Davis: ‘There’s no one like him in the NBA’

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel continues to heap the praise on his star big man Anthony Davis.

Anthony Davis may be finding his shooting stroke from the outside, making one of the league’s elite two-way players even scarier for opponents. Over the last four games, Davis is shooting over 40% on 3-pointers to add to his solid passing and incredible defensive impact over the first month of the season.

The way Davis is playing is only validating what the Lakers already thought of him, as an equal to LeBron James rather than just a running mate. James has been excellent all season and the Lakers want to make sure he’s officiated fairly, but they also want to make sure people appreciate how special Davis is.

Frank Vogel told reporters after Saturday’s win in Memphis that there’s nobody else like Davis in the NBA, according to Silver Screen and Roll.

There is no one like him in the NBA. That’s how unique it is. Like I said, the amount of ways he impacts the game. Shooting threes … attacking the basket, two four-point plays tonight and elite defense all over the place. He’s something special.

Vogel is absolutely right that what Davis is doing is special. If Davis is able to maintain his current run, he would join Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) as the only player in NBA history to average over 20 points and three blocks per game while shooting over 35% from the 3-point line, according to Basketball-Reference.

Lakers continue on road trip with second visit to San Antonio

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have already won once this season in San Antonio and look to win their eight straight on Monday.

The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the floor Monday night as they play the penultimate game of their four-game road trip later this evening against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center. It’s the second meeting between the two teams this season while Monday is also the second and final visit to San Antonio for the Lakers this season.

The Lakers were in San Antonio during their last long win-streak, a 103-96 win when they were without Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo but were led by a monstrous 14-point, 13-rebound performance off the bench from Dwight Howard.

The primary focus for the Lakers defense on Monday will be the same as it was in their Nov. 3 win at San Antonio: point guard Dejounte Murray. Murray nearly saved the Spurs in their last Lakers game by scoring 16 consecutive points for them in the 4th quarter, showing his talent even against an elite defensive squad is difficult to contain.

Although Murray managed to get loose, the Lakers did an excellent job against the Spurs star duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, holding the team to 22 points on seven of 24 shooting from the field.

The Lakers will need another solid performance on both ends to come through with the road win and push their current win-streak to eight games.

Memphis sending NBA a message that they won’t buyout Andre Iguodala

The Memphis Grizzlies have one of the most intriguing pieces for a contender, but getting him there isn’t going to happen via a buyout.

Nobody would blame the Los Angeles Lakers if they weren’t too worried about adding to their team as they currently sit atop the National Basketball Association with a 14-2 record, riding their second seven-game winning streak of the young season. But being that they are trying to a win a championship, finding some more talent would be prudent. But if that talent is exiled Memphis Grizzlies forward Andre Iguodala, the evidence is mounting that would have to happen via trade.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recently discussed the message the Grizzlies have been sending the Lakers and the rest of the NBA that they will need to trade for Iguodala if they want add him to the team.

Transcribed by Christian Rivas at Silver Screen and Roll:

“He’s still a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, and the message that Memphis has been delivering to the entire league, to teams who would love to get him, especially for the postseason. The Clippers, the Lakers, the Houston Rockets, you’re going to have to trade for him. We are not buying him out. He is not going to be on the free agent market. And I think the date of Dec. 15 will be an important day for Andre Iguodala. That is when the summer’s free agents, almost 40% of the players in the league are eligible to be traded. Now you can get more creative with deals. At 35 years old he is fine sitting right now, taking a look at what the marketplace is going to look like, preserving his body, but Iguodala is a player, who Memphis is telling people ‘you’re not going to get him in a contract buyout.’”

This latest update is just the latest in a steady stream of reports about Memphis not wanting to just give Iguodala away to a would-be contender. If they want him for a playoff run this season, it will cost a team an asset to get him. If it wasn’t clear enough before, it should be clearer now: the 2015 Finals MVP won’t be a gift for the league at the cost of the Grizzlies long-term plans.

LeBron James, Lakers baffled by lack of free-throw attempts

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are baffled by the lack of calls The King is getting on his drives.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers remain the hottest team in basketball after winning their seventh straight game, matching their longest win-streak of the season and winning their 14th game in 15 tries. But there’s still one thing that the Lakers are concerned about and it has to do with the way that their star is being officiated.

LeBron James had a game-high 30 points on the night but the story from both he and the Lakers following their win was that of James not getting enough respect for someone who lives in the paint. It’s not a new story for James, who has complained about a lack of calls driving to the basket since his final season in Cleveland. But the fact that it’s not new makes it even more frustrating.

“I’m living in the paint and if you look at my arm right here, these are four or five [scratches] that happened the last two games, and they weren’t called at all,” said James, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

The problems that LeBron faces attacking the basket while being a physical specimen brings to mind the days of Shaquille O’Neal and how players were allowed to batter him in the post simply because he was bigger, stronger and faster. With the Lakers in San Antonio tomorrow night, it will be interesting to see if LeBron taking his issues public will result in some more trips to the free-throw line.

Los Angeles Lakers off to best start ever for a LeBron James team

Los Angeles Lakers off to best start ever for a LeBron James team at 14-2 through the first 16 games of the season.

After earning a 109-108 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers are now 14-2 through their first 16 games of the season. That mark represents the best start ever for a LeBron James team to begin the season. LeBron had previously earned a 13-3 mark twice with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008-09 as well as 2016-17, and once with the Miami Heat during the 2013-14 campaign. But James has never opened the season as dominantly as these Lakers have throughout his 17-year NBA career.

While competing against a Grizzlies team led by rookie-of-the-year candidate Ja Morant who was three years old when LeBron made his professional debut, King James poured in 30 points while recording a team-best plus/minus of +7 during the one-point victory for L.A. He also collected six rebounds and dished out four assists while superstar teammate Anthony Davis scored 22 to go along with five blocks. The Lakers will now meet a struggling San Antonio Spurs team on the road on Monday with the goal of extending their seven-game winning streak.

The Lakers being off to the best start of LeBron’s career from a record standpoint is a testament to how dominant James continues to be even at the age of 35. This isn’t a byproduct of LeBron being on the most talented roster of his career–that already happened for James during his time with the Miami Heat. While most of his contemporaries are either retired for fighting to keep their careers alive, LeBron is collecting more rebounds per night than his career average while also dishing out 3.5 assists more than he has throughout his career. He’s doing this while scoring 25.2 points per contest and representing the biggest factor for his team’s success so far.

LeBron has always prided himself on playing the right way and this Lakers team is a reflection of that. Los Angeles currently ranks in the top-7 in defensive rating as well as assist-to-turnover ratio. They rank No. 2 in field goal percentage as a team as well, and lead the league in blocked shots. If they’re able to maintain those efforts while continuing to improve from the 3-point line, the wins will keep piling up in record numbers for LeBron and company as we move throughout the season.

LeBron James drops 30 to survive nail-biter at Grizzlies for seventh straight win

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have matched their longest winning streak of the season with Saturday’s win at Memphis.

LeBron James had a game-high 30 points to go with six rebounds and four assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to their seventh straight victory, 109-108 over the Memphis Grizzlies. In addition to James, Anthony Davis had 22 points but the Lakers overall had a rough offensive night as they shot lower percentages than Memphis in every category save for free-throws. The Lakers forced 19 turnovers however and they made timely plays for the victory.

For much of Saturday night’s game against the Grizzlies, the Lakers played the part of a team that played the previous night in another city and arrived in Memphis in the wee hours of the morning. But down the stretch, Davis and James both made the requisite plays for the Lakers to match their longest winning streak of the season at seven games.

The Lakers took a 109-106 lead with just over 35 seconds left and after a rebound by Kyle Kuzma, Kuzma lost control of the ball to give the Grizzlies the ball leading to a lay-up by Ja Morant. A missed 3-pointer by James gave the Grizzlies one final shot to win the game with 1.3 sesconds left. The Grizzlies threw a full-court pass down the court and it was deflected by the Lakers to help them escape with the win.

The Lakers had a rough shooting night but they did get some solid production from the bench, especially from Dwight Howard, who had 10 points and nine rebounds on just four field goal attempts. Rajon Rondo had 14 points and six assists but he had 15 points to just three on the night for Kuzma, clearly a a reflection of the way the Grizzlies guarded the Lakers second unit.

Now the Lakers will head back west as they’ll visit the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

Rajon Rondo fined $35k for ‘unsportsmanlike physical contact’

Rajon Rondo was fined by the NBA after getting ejected in Friday night’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in pretty good shape as they are riding a six-game winning streak heading into Saturday night’s game against a Memphis Grizzlies team that shows promise but is very inexperienced. However, one of their players was hit in the pocketbook after a moment in Friday’s win over Oklahoma City.

The NBA announced that Lakers guard Rajon Rondo has been fined $35,000 for “unsportsmanlike contact” with Thunder guard Dennis Schroeder, which resulted in a flagrant two foul for Rondo and an ejection, as well as the “verbal abuse of a game official” and “failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection.”

Video of the offense is available on NBA.com as it looks like Rondo hit Schroeder below the belt with a knee before arguing with the officials on his way out.

Rondo is expected to play for the Lakers tonight against the Grizzlies but he will be doing so without a significant chunk of change in his pocket. Rondo made his debut a earlier this month after missing about a month of time with a calf injury.

The Lakers are set to play the Grizzlies for the second time this season in about two hours at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

A band interrupted LeBron James’ pre-game nap attempt on Saturday

LeBron James believes the fans in Memphis pulled out some extra stops to distract the Los Angeles Lakers before Saturday’s game.

Memphis may not get enough credit when it comes to being a tough place to play, even now as the team is at the bottom of the Western Conference. Because to see what LeBron James said on Saturday afternoon, it looks like Grizzlies fans are bringing postseason energy to their disruption of the visitors.

The Lakers are in Memphis to play the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday night and after getting in after last night’s game in Oklahoma City, so LeBron tried to get a customary road trip afternoon nap before facing off against the Grizzlies later Saturday night. But James was unable to get to sleep as he tweeted about a marching band playing outside of their hotel since 9 a.m.

The Lakers are on their first extended road trip of the season and tonight will be their first road back-to-back, but you have to wonder if the Grizzlies fans poked the bear on a night that he may not have otherwise gotten up for. If they did, grab your popcorn, Saturday night should be show.

Lakers continue road trip with back-to-back game in Memphis

The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the floor Saturday night after winning on Friday in Oklahoma City.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers continue on their six-game road trip tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies, less than 24 hours after holding on to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in OKC on Friday night.

Saturday marks the second game of the season between the Lakers and Grizzlies while also marking the second back-to-back of the season for the Lakers while it’s their first true road back-to-back of the young season. As for the Grizzlies, not a whole lot has changed since the first meeting between the two squads. They remain an intriguing and talented group, but are far from making noise in the Western Conference.

No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant has been incredible in the early season, making his first game-winning shot in a road win at Charlotte, giving him a nod for this year’s Rookie of the Year award as his fellow rookies don’t quite have the same singular moment that stands out.

Morant will be the key to stopping the Grizzlies offensively and last time the two teams plays, the Lakers were smothering defensively as they allowed just 91 points on 32% shooting from the field and 20.6% from the 3-point line.

LeBron James on Anthony Davis: ‘We want him to take more 3s’

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James believes that Anthony Davis must continue shooting 3-pointers with confidence.

The Los Angeles Lakers are once again on a winning streak after reaching the six-game mark with Friday night’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder as they kicked off a four-game road trip. The defense has rightfully gotten the majority of the attention for the Lakers as they’ve spent most of the season as the NBA’s top-ranked unit although they’ve currently fallen to third in defensive rating.

However, the Lakers are looking like a more balanced team these days as their offense has climbed from being ranked as low as 19th early in the season to the No. 6 ranked offense after Friday’s win. A huge reason for that jump has been a more efficient and more aggressive outside shot from Anthony Davis.

Over the last four games, Davis is shooting 41.2% on 3-pointers and has taken his personal percentage up to 34% on the season after a dismal start from the outside. LeBron James says that the uptick in shooting by Davis is not an accident, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“We want him to take more 3s,” LeBron James said after Davis went 4-for-7 from 3-point range against the Thunder. “Teams are playing off of him, and he’s too damn good of a shooter not to shoot them. And he’s been doing that the last couple games.”

The Lakers built their team this offseason with outside shooting in mind, but their two superstars had struggled from the 3-point line to begin the season. Davis is providing a remedy to that while James has been a solid 34.5% on 3-pointers. James also made six 3-pointers in Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, so it looks like he also might be finding his outside shot to go with his league-leading assist numbers.

After a season in which shooting was a struggle, the Lakers have no worries about letting it fly and it’s resulting in some of the best offense the franchise has seen in years.