Category: NBA Basketball

Lakers at Magic: Davis finds rhythm as Lakers snap losing streak

Anthony Davis finally saw the ball go through the net from all around the court in a Lakers win at Orlando.

Anthony Davis had struggled to find a rhythm in his first two games back after missing over two months of action. But AD reassured the Lakers and the reignited fears across the NBA that he is truly on the way. Davis played without restriction on Monday night, playing 31 minutes and going 8 for 15 from the field in a 114-103 win. AD’s night, as well as another double-double from Dennis Schröder, helped the Lakers snap a three-game losing streak.

While Monday’s opponent may be among the league’s surest victory right now, the Magic did not play like it on Monday and put a scare into the Lakers. Davis got off to a hot start but the Magic always had an answer, until the second half, in which the Lakers got into high gear. Montrezl Harrell also had one of his best games in quite a while, scoring 18 points for just the second time this month.

The Lakers got a needed win to snap out of the funk and they may soon get LeBron James, who is teasing his return.

Lakers at Mavericks: L.A. unable to hold halftime lead in Dallas

The Los Angeles Lakers were unable to hold on to their double-digit lead on Saturday night against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Los Angeles Lakers started out Saturday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks with a great first half but they were unable to hold off a rally from the home team. The Mavericks outlasted the Lakers in Saturday day night’s primetime affair, 108-93. The Mavericks outscored the Lakers by 27 points in the second half to retake the lead and the game, helping the Mavericks add to their lead as the 6th seed in the Western Conference.

Despite the loss for the Lakers, they are still 1 and 1/2 games ahead of the Mavericks for the 5th seed in the West, which is clearly the most desired lower seed given the recent injury to Denver’s star guard Jamal Murray.

Anthony Davis played twice as many minutes as he did on Thursday, playing 28 minutes and scoring 17 points, three assists, and three rebounds. However, his efficiency was lacking as he was just 5 of 19 from the field. Ben McLemore led the Lakers with 20 points on the nights but was unable to will the Lakers to victory in a road situation.

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LeBron James jokes about Ohio bar owner who won’t air NBA games

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James reacted with humor to the latest story of hatred towards him from an Ohio bar owner.

Sometimes you have to laugh at things that seem ridiculous or even cruel. LeBron James reacted to the latest story about someone hating him by using his sense of humor on Saturday afternoon, just a few hours before his Los Angeles Lakers took on the Dallas Mavericks.

The Washington Examiner reported that a bar owner in Cincinnati, Ohio, has announced that he will not air any NBA games until LeBron James is “expelled” from the league. This absurd story was posted on Twitter by MSN, where LeBron found it and decided to offer up a joke that he had to cancel his plans to watch the Lakers tonight at the bar.

LeBron James is used to being a target of attacks from people from across all walks of life, but it usually relates to James being outspoken about things he believes in and being a target of politicians like Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, or former President Donald Trump.

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Lakers at Mavericks: Mavs spoil AD’s return to action

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in Anthony Davis’ first game back from injury.

The Los Angeles Lakers came into Thursday night’s game with a chance to welcome back Anthony Davis to the lineup with a victory. However, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks proved to be too much for the Lakers and Davis to handle on Thursday night. Despite a valiant effort in the second half, the Lakers fell to the Mavericks, 115-110. Doncic had 30 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and three steals in the win for Dallas.

Anthony Davis played 17 minutes in his first game back and scored four points on 2 of 10 shooting. It was definitely a night of shaking off the rust fo Davis, on both ends. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Lakers with 29 points and Dennis Schröder had 25 points.

While the Mavericks won the game, they did lose Kristaps Porzingis to an injury during the game. While it’s unclear how severe the apparent ankle injury is for Porzingis, it seems like a safe bet that he won’t play in the second match-up between these two teams on Saturday night back in Dallas.

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Lakers at Mavericks: Lineups, injury report and broadcast info for Thursday

Anthony Davis will make his return to the floor for the Lakers against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night.

Things will look a lot different for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night and it’s not just because they will be visiting the Dallas Mavericks. Anthony Davis is scheduled to make his return to the floor on Thursday night for the first time since getting hurt on February 14 against the Denver Nuggets.

Davis talked about making his return to the floor with reporters on Wednesday, but we’ve been talking about Davis and his return for quite a long time. Finally, for the Lakers and for Davis, the talking can subside and action can take center stage.

Awaiting Davis is a very talented Dallas team that will challenge him, particularly on the defensive end, as well as any offense in the league can. The pick and pop game of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis should present an interesting challenge for Davis and the elite Laker defense.

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:

  • Date: Thursday, April 22
  • Time: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT
  • TV Channel: TNT

READ: The 5-year anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s final game 

Injury Report:

Los Angeles: Davis is officially listed as questionable but told reporters on Wednesday he intends to play. Andre Drummond, Markieff Morris and Dennis Schroder are all probable to play. Marc Gasol is also listed as questionable. LeBron James and Marc Gasol are both listed as out. 

Dallas: The Mavericks did not submit an updated injury report.

Probable starting lineups

Los Angeles Lakers

  • F Kyle Kuzma
  • F Anthony Davis
  • C Andre Drummond
  • G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
  • G Dennis Schroder

Dallas Mavericks

  • F Dorian Finney-Smith
  • F Dwight Powell
  • C Kristaps Porzingis
  • G Luka Doncic
  • G Josh Richardson

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Klutch Sports: Former Sierra Canyon star BJ Boston signs with Klutch

Klutch Sports is already preparing for the upcoming draft by bringing on one of Bronny James’ former teammates.

While the Los Angeles Lakers will soon welcome back Anthony Davis to their lineup, Klutch Sports is preparing for yet another NBA Draft. On Wednesday afternoon, we learned more about the incoming Klutch class of 2021, which includes a familiar name for those who have followed the career of Bronny James.

Bronny’s former Sierra Canyon teammate, Brandon Boston Jr. (aka BJ), is one of the newest signees of Klutch Sports. Boston was a transfer to Sierra Canyon for his senior season, in which the Trail Blazers made it to the CIF Open Final before the coronavirus pandemic canceled their championship game. Boston is one of the players featured in the latest documentary series about Sierra Canyon, Top Class, which is available on Amazon Prime Video.

The signing of Boston is likely just the start of former Sierra Canyon stars choosing Klutch Sports as their representation in the near future. Stanford’s Ziaire Williams, who also was part of the 2019-20 Sierra Canyon squad, also recently declared for the draft.

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Lakers news: Anthony Davis says he plans to return Thursday vs. Mavs

Anthony Davis is expected to make his long-awaited return to the court on Thursday.

After missing more than two months of the season, Anthony Davis is finally set to return to the Lakers’ lineup on Thursday.

Davis last played on Feb. 14 against the Denver Nuggets, but was cleared for basketball activities last week. Lakers coach Frank Vogel confirmed that Davis will be on a minutes restriction, and will be eased back into his standard workload as we approach the playoffs.

On Wednesday, Davis said that as long as he feels good to go, he’ll be suiting up against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. LeBron James’ return is on the horizon, as well, as ESPN reports that he’s been doing “light work.” The Lakers have gone 7-9 with both Davis and James out of the lineup, and currently sit in fifth in the Western Conference standings.

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More Than A Vote released a new podcast on COVID-19 vaccine

‘More Than A Vote’ teamed with Jemele Hill and Bakari Sellers to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine in the Black community.

Among the several things that LeBron James has going on, including working on getting back to playing shape after missing the past month with an ankle injury, James is becoming even more involved in the political sphere.

In particular, his voting rights advocacy group, More Than A Vote, is using its power to promote awareness and provide clarity on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Earlier this month, More Than A Vote released its first foray outside of the electoral sphere as they teamed with Jemele Hill and Bakari Sellers to produce a two-part podcast about the COVID-19 vaccine and the Black community.

The goal is to provide historical context to potential hesitations about the vaccine, while also presenting facts about vaccines to encourage a quicker end to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected Black and brown communities.

“While Black Americans are no more skeptical of taking the COVID vaccines than any other population group, those who are hesitant have an incredible amount of history to point toward to justify their position,” said More Than A Vote Chief Communications and Content Officer Michael Tyler. “Our goal is to fully unpack that history and demonstrate that even as vaccine distribution hits full speed, the racist nature of the American healthcare system is not a relic of the past but a current burden that stands in the way of justice for our community and a full and equitable recovery from the current pandemic.”

Part 1 of the podcast is on the feed of the “Jemele Hill Is Unbothered” podcast while Part 2 is on the feed of “The Bakari Sellers Podcast.”

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Jazz at Lakers: Return of Jazz regulars spells trouble for L.A.

The return of several key players for the Jazz was too much for the Lakers to deal with on Monday night.

The Utah Jazz were at something resembling full strength on Monday night and with their regular players in the lineup, they were able to dominate the Los Angeles Lakers and avenge their overtime loss from the weekend, 111-97.

Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and Derrick Favors all returned to action on Monday night after missing Saturday afternoon’s overtime win by the Lakers. Conley (14 points, 10 assists) and Gobert (14 points, 10 rebounds) each finished with double-doubles in their return to action. Former Laker Jordan Clarkson, who started in the previous outing on Saturday, led the way for the Jazz with 22 points off the bench.

As for the Lakers, second-year guard Talen Horton-Tucker was the high scorer as he finished with 24 points off the Laker bench. However, the rest of the Lakers were held in check by the Jazz as no other Laker cracked the 20-point threshold on Monday night.

The Lakers lost on Monday night despite shooting over 40% from the 3-point line.

Jazz at Lakers: Prediction, point spread, odds, over/under, betting picks (Apr. 19)

The Los Angeles Lakers could get Anthony Davis back in the lineup soon but it likely won’t be tonight.

The Los Angeles Lakers take the floor again on Monday night against the Utah Jazz, whom they beat in overtime on Saturday afternoon. With only 15 games remaining in the season, the Lakers are just 1 and 1/2 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the 4th seed in the Western Conference and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

While its been said by everyone with a microphone in the basketball world that playing on the road is an obstacle for everyone but the Lakers, playing at home is still the preferred option for any team. Especially for a team with two superstars returning from injury who led the Lakers to a championship less than six months ago in the bubble.

The Jazz will have Gobert and Conley in the lineup, but this is still a winnable game for the Lakers.

The lines, courtesy of BetMGM

  • Point spread: Jazz -6.5
  • Money line: Jazz -250 / Lakers +200
  • Over-under: 214.5

Place your legal, online sports bets in VA, CO, IA, IN, NJ, PA, TN and WV at BetMGM.

Advice and prediction

Conley and Gobert bring an added dimension of competence on both ends for the Jazz in tonight’s game. However, the Lakers have demonstrated a consistent level of defense that keeps them in almost any game. Also, one of their biggest struggles on Saturday was dealing with the shooting of Ersan Ilyasova at center. If Gobert is in the line-up, while he’s miles better than Ilyasova overall, it might be a better match-up for the big Lakers.

Take the Lakers and ride the money line. The Jazz are the better team but the Lakers being at home and having more to play for is why I’m leaning Lake Show again.

Prediction: Lakers 111, Jazz 107