Tag: Danny Green

Danny Green (hip) limited in Game 2, will be re-evaluated on Saturday

The Los Angeles Lakers are going to re-evaluate the health of their starting guard tomorrow after he was limited in Game 2.

The Los Angeles Lakers allowed a lot of free-throws and a lot of 3-pointers in Friday night’s Game 2 but it didn’t matter as they took a 2-0 lead in their NBA Finals best-of-seven series. But the Lakers didn’t get out of the matchup without suffering any potential losses.

Lakers starting guard Danny Green, who was the free-agent acquisition for the Lakers in the summer of 2019, played only 22 minutes in Game 2 while going 1 of 8 from the field. According to head coach Frank Vogel, he was dealing with a hip issue, which is why we saw J.R. Smith get some minutes in Game 2. Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported the update that Green will be re-evaluated on Saturday after being limited by hip tightness.

If Green is unable to go, it would make sense to see Alex Caruso in the starting lineup and also see more of Smith, as well as perhaps a taste of Talen Horton-Tucker, as they look to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

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Lakers-Heat NBA Finals Game 2: Scouting Report, How To Watch

What happened in Game 1? How can the Los Angeles Lakers be better in Game 2?

While the Miami Heat lost key players to injury in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with starting point guard Goran Dragic and All-Star center Bam Adebayo being listed as doubtful to play in Game 2, their emotional leader Jimmy Butler isn’t going to let them feel sorry for themselves. Dragic and Adebayo are doubtful as of this writing, likely meaning the Heat will have to revisit previous identities they last knew in January, with Kendrick Nunn getting more minutes at point guard and playing more Meyers Leonard at the center spot. Both players were starters for the Heat for the majority of the season, helping them earn a spot in the middle of the Eastern Conference.

But regardless of who the Heat put on the court, they have to be aware of the type of game they are getting into. As they learned very early in Game 1 of the Finals, even though they posted a double-digit lead in the 1st quarter, playing the Lakers, very literally, hits different. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was crucial for the Lakers offensively but the Heat have a learning curve to get around before they can get comfortable with thinking they have a chance in this series.

Lakers physicality

Before he had to be subbed out with what would be diagnosed as a neck strain, Bam Adebayo caught a blindside hit worthy of primetime Hines Ward from Danny Green after he missed a 3. At 6-6, 215 pounds, that’s not an easy hit. But Green is not even the smallest guy in the Lakers starting lineup. Look at the hit below and tell me it didn’t shake Adebayo at least a little bit.

Even though Adebayo is doubtful, whoever plays for the Heat, has to come with the appropriate toughness to meet the force the Lakers play with at the point of attack. Kelly Olynyk, Meyers Leonard, and Derrick Jones Jr. are likely going to see more time, all will need to play physically against this Lakers group. Because the Lakers won’t give them anything easy, even when things are going well. But does Spo dare to bring in Haslem to give it all for one last ride? Without knowing what comes next, it almost feels right that Haslem gets to play a role in these Finals.

How To Watch

Time: 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern

Channel: ABC

Spread via BetMGM: Lakers -9.5

Will the Lakers continue to splash from outside?

Aside from the physicality from top to bottom in their lineup, the Lakers also benefitted from outshooting the Heat in Game 1. While the Lakers normally shoot a smaller percentage of their shots from the 3-point line than Miami does, the Lakers took a higher percentage of their shots in Game 1 from the 3-point line than the Heat did and the Lakers were more efficient from the 3-point line as well.

Part of that had to do with the fact that the Lakers stopped Duncan Robinson from getting the room to roam from the start of the game. While Bam Adebayo is a great passer, Howard doesn’t care about leaving him open to make a play rather than letting Robinson step into a 3-pointer. The biggest reason why is that Howard believes he can get back after the pass is made, which he did for most of Game 1.

Now, while the Heat defense will suffer greatly without Adebayo, they have to implore his replacements to attack Howard in an unpredictable fashion. Whether it’s Olynyk, Leonard, Jones Jr. or someone else, they have to be aggressive when Butler, Robinson, Herro, or anyone else, is doubled on the ball because if they aren’t, the Lakers will be able to sit back and see everything happen, with no fear of missing the next play.

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Finals Between The Families: Heat-Lakers, Game 1, How to Watch and what to look for

How hard will LeBron come out in Game 1? How will the Miami zone work? Can the Lakers replicate offensive rebound success?

The NBA Finals have arrived and while a Lakers-Celtics matchup would be the most classic matchup in terms of the entire history of the league, a matchup between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers ultimately offers so many more interesting angles to discuss. And an opportunity to close the loop in the most symmetrical way possible, for a season that has involved more detours than any in the history of the NBA.

For LeBron James, this season has been a continuation of the marathon of his entire life. Of course, LeBron has led the Lakers to the NBA Finals for the first time in 10 years. But he’s been proving that he’s ready to become his own elite franchise ever since he took his talents away from South Beach. So what will it be like now that the Heat are trying to beat him in the NBA Finals? How will it play out between two families, forever intertwined in basketball lore, in a battle for the glory of the NBA’s most grueling championship?

How To Watch

Time: 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern

Channel: ABC

Spread via BetMGM: Lakers -4.5

A bit of history

Both franchises have been armadas passing in the night and Pat Riley has led the greatest glories of both. From teaming up Shaquille O’Neal with Dwyane Wade, or the Heatles becoming the first dynasty of the decade in the 2010s, Riley is entering territory reserved for Red Auerbach, the architect of the Celtics Dynasty, for what he has done with the Heat. That’s without even considering the greatness he was a major part of with the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s. While LeBron chases Jordan while also trying to honor the memory of Kobe Bryant, whose tragic death still is a shadow over this season, James is also in a position to further enhance his playing legacy. That LeBron James and Pat Riley are the two to make the connection between the eras and franchises seems only right, given the combination of greatness and longevity both share, and the bad blood as well.

It seems only more fitting now that LeBron wears a Lakers uniform going against the Heat, for whom he always a guest of honor but never a pillar of the home, while going against Pat Riley who famously helped turn the Lakers into ‘Showtime’ but eventually was forced to leave town. It’s not only the fact that LeBron James and Rich Paul decided to chart their own path after the Miami Heat reached an unprecedented 4th straight NBA Finals, nor how hard the Heat took it after LeBron left them after so many years of sustained success.

How will the Lakers handle the Miami Zone?

A lot has been made about the zone the Miami Heat occasionally threw out there in their win over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. While the Lakers haven’t been a great 3-point shooting team, they have been a great offensive rebounding team in the bubble. The Celtics posted an offensive rebound percentage of nearly 24% in the Eastern Conference Finals, whereas the Lakers have had an offensive rebound percentage of 25.6%. While the Heat are scrappy and play hard, the offensive glass has been one of their few weaknesses.

The other aspect of the zone is that the Lakers, while they aren’t a feared team from the outside, will have opportunities to get good shots. If you’re trying to figure out what it looks like when the Heat are in a zone, look for where Adebayo is if the center is setting a screen. If he’s hanging way back and the ball-handler is getting guarded by two guys, that’s usually a sign Miami is not in a man-to-man look, as you can see below.

The other option, if the Heat are doubling the man with the ball, who would usually be LeBron James instead of Kemba Walker, is kicking it to the elbow where ball movement can create an open look. Instead of Brad Wanamaker and Marcus Smart, this play could be made by any combination Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green, Alex Caruso, Rajon Rondo, or Kyle Kuzma, if the Heat help as they do below. If their zone is too overzealous, the Lakers will have open 3-pointers, but that also could be what the Heat want.

The other option, of course, is attacking the space in the middle of the zone around the free-throw line area. Daniel Theis had success in Game 5 of the East Finals working from there, which bodes well for Anthony Davis. Davis is obviously better than Theis but he has also been shooting 57% from the field on long 2-pointers in the playoffs. If there’s anyone in the league who the Heat shouldn’t feel good about giving up that shot to in these playoffs, it has to be Anthony Davis.

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LeBron James shows support for Breonna Taylor, Black women

LeBron James vented on twitter and also wanted to call attention to the Black women who have helped him in his life.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James struggled all day to find the appropriate words for the news out of Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday that the one police officer, who was involved in the murder of Breonna Taylor, was charged with a crime that had nothing to do with Taylor’s death. James declined to talk with reporters on Wednesday but later on when he felt comfortable, James expressed his feelings of support for Black women as well as his disappointment at the lack of real accountability in the murder of Breonna Taylor.

James shared all of those feelings on Wednesday night while the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat played in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

James and several other players in the NBA have expressed their disappointment with the lack of any charges directly connected to Taylor’s murder, in her own home and her own bed. This also won’t be the last we hear of the case as the NBA Bubble is only three weeks away from completion.

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LeBron James on ending Lakers Conference Finals drought: ‘I took that responsibility’

LeBron James talks about how important it was to him and to Lakers fans to get back to winning at a high level.

For the first time in over 10 years, the Los Angeles Lakers are back in the Western Conference Finals. Not since the days of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have the Lakers won at such a high level. And the historic nature of the win, as well as the bad years that Lakers fans endured before getting back to this point, was the main talking point from LeBron James after his Lakers finished off the Houston Rockets with their second straight series in win five games.

James, as a historian of the game but also a historian of sports, knows that this type of drought is something Lakers fans aren’t used to and he made it his “responsibility” to get the Lakers back to winning at a high level.

LeBron showed up a very high level in the close out game, finishing with 29 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. In addition to LeBron, the Lakers had five other players score in double-figures.

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Danny Green says being in the NBA bubble is like ‘Groundhog Day’

The Los Angeles Lakers guard talked about the mental health challenges of living inside the NBA Bubble for almost two months.

Mental health has become a constant and necessary topic in 2020 and the NBA bubble has not been exempt from the challenges this year has brought. With the teams still in the bubble closing in on their second full month, the topic of mental health was brought up earlier in the week by Paul George, who discussed feeling anxious and a little depressed, crediting speaking to a psychiatrist with helping him have a breakout 35-point performance in Game 5 against the Mavericks.

On Friday, Lakers guard Danny Green, who was in a shooting slump for much of the bubble but is shooting 40 percent from 3 in the series, also discussed how the bubble environment can exacerbate typical situations and get a player stuck in their head. The constant and similar routine doesn’t help either, as transcribed by SB Nation’s Harrison Faigen.

“Mentally, it’s kind of like ‘Groundhog Day’ in here,” Danny Green said. “I don’t want to make it seem that bad, but the bubble is as good as your play, you know? You don’t have many escapes or outside distractions. If you’re not playing well, the walls are gonna close in on you more and more.”

The bubble has presented a lot of unexpected challenges to the players, particularly off the court.

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Danny Green remains confident that his jumper will start to fall

Green is a career 40 percent 3-point shooter but he’s had a tough time getting shots to go in the bubble.

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The Lakers offense was one of the worst in the bubble and their starting five-man unit from Game 1 of the restart, was rated as the worst five-man line-up in the bubble. A big reason for that has been the play of the Lakers offense, particularly their poor 3-point shooting. And someone who the Lakers count on to make 3-pointers, so much so that they pay him $15 million a year, Danny Green, has struggled to get shots to go. However, being a career 40% 3-point shooter, Green is not worried, according to SB Nation’s Harrison Faigen.

“As a shooter, that happens. We all go through phases and lulls. But the odds are in my favor at this point,” Green said on Zoom after the Lakers’ practice on Saturday. “I’m looking at the positives and the bright side of it. I have not lost any confidence, I’m not hesitating in taking my shots. I feel very comfortable and like I’m starting to get back to my normal self.”

Green shot 25% from the 3-point line in the seven games he played in the bubble. He’s also been shooting 38.8% overall from the field, so he could stand to improve his shooting from everywhere for the Lakers to win in the first round and beyond.

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Kyle Kuzma hits game-winner to snap Lakers 3-game losing streak

The Los Angeles Lakers snapped a 3-game losing streak with a game-winner against the Denver Nuggets by Kyle Kuzma.

In major need of a mood boost, the Los Angeles Lakers won a thrilling game thanks to a game-winning 3-pointer from Kyle Kuzma that came off of a beautifully executed sideline out of bounds play to help knock off the Denver Nuggets, 124-121. The Nuggets played their reserves for the entirety of the 4th quarter.

The Nuggets, as they have in several games over the last week, played their starters and key players only sparingly. Instead, they closed the game with a reserve laden group starring Mason Plumlee, PJ Dozier and rookie Bol Bol, whose total of career NBA games played is still in the single-digits. Things were looking dicey as the Lakers trailed within the final minute but a lay-up by LeBron James, plus the foul, which gave the Lakers a 121-119 lead with 45 seconds left.

Monte Morris split a pair of free-throws with 30 seconds left that could have tied the game, but LeBron missed a jumper over Bol Bol. Denver then went fullcourt without a timeout and PJ Dozier was fouled by Kyle Kuzma with 4.8 seconds left. L.A. challenged the call, but it was unsuccessful, sending Dozier to the line with a chance to take the lead. But he missed the second free-throw, giving L.A. an opportunity to win the game.

On the following possession, a sideline out of bounds play reminiscent from assistant coach Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee days, Kuzma ended the Lakers losing streak at three games to give them a much-needed change after losing their last three straight games.

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Lakers are not planning on resting starters in upcoming back-to-back

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel told reporters that the team isn’t changing their approach after clinching the No. 1 seed.

The Los Angeles Lakers clinched the No. 1 seed on Monday and with there being little difference in homecourt advantage considering all the teams are staying together at the Orlando and playing in the same gyms for every game, nobody would blame them if they would relax knowing that they’ll have no control of influencing their playoff position or opponent.

But rather than benching their players, Lakers coach Frank Vogel is planning on playing them in both ends of their upcoming back-to-back, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group. Vogel’s reasoning is that he believes his team still needs to build strong habits before they get to the postseason.

The Lakers still have five games remaining on their schedule, starting with back-to-back against two strong teams who will be in the playoffs, tomorrow against the Oklahoma City Thunder and then Thursday against the Houston Rockets. With both teams still playing for their playoff seeding, the Lakers will have two good opportunities to get better against a pair of formidable Western Conference foes.

LeBron James is not worried about shots that didn’t fall vs. Raptors

Outside of Kyle Kuzma, the Los Angeles Lakers have had a tough go of it from the outside through two games.

The Los Angeles Lakers started their schedule of seeding games with a tough weekend, first facing off against their L.A. rivals in a thrilling game against the Clippers and then a less thrilling performance on Saturday night against the defending champion Toronto Raptors. But one of the few consistencies for the Lakers in both games was that as a team, basically everyone outside Kyle Kuzma, has struggled with their 3-point shot.

Through the first two games of the restart, the Lakers are 21 for 76 (27%) from the 3-point line. Kuzma is shooting 50% from the 3-point line but the Lakers as a whole have struggled. In particular, the starting wings alongside LeBron James have struggled the most. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who shot well over 40% in the regular season coming into the bubble, he has gone 1 for 7 from the 3-point line while Danny Green has gone just 2 for 13 from deep, including a brutal 0 for 6 last night against the Raptors.

LeBron James told reporters that he’s not worried about the Lakers’ ability to make shots long term, according to SB Nation’s Harrison Faigen.

“We’ve been out for a while, and I think the game legs will continue to come as this AAU tournament continues to go on,” James said. “I’m not too worried about that. Our shooters shoot. We’ve got some great guys that can make some shots from the perimeter, and we’ll make them.”

The Lakers are 1-1 despite not being able to shoot the ball from the outside as a team, but they have to hope that trend doesn’t last much longer if they are going to have the playoff run they want for themselves.

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