LeBron James closed out the first half with an incredible slam dunk off of an assist from Rajon Rondo against Oklahoma City.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers brought plenty of energy against a tired Oklahoma City Thunder squad playing on the second night of the back-to-back. But perhaps no play accentuated that feeling quite like the last Lakers possession of the first half when LeBron threw down a monstrous slam dunk off an assist from Rajon Rondo.
The assist was Rondo’s ninth of the first half as he looked very much in control during his minutes on the court, perhaps the most in control he has looked since returning to the Lakers line-up earlier this month. James continued to show his explosiveness while Anthony Davis’ shooting was much improved on Tuesday night compared to his season averages.
LeBron didn’t have quite as great of a shooting night as he did against Atlanta but it didn’t matter quite as much in the first half of Tuesday’s game because Davis was so good from the outside, scoring 19 points to lead L.A. against Oklahoma City.
If the Lakers manage to hold on they will maintain their hold on the NBA’s best record while also matching the best start a LeBron team has had since 2016-17.
It didn’t take long for LeBron James and Anthony Davis to develop chemistry and get on the same page, and the numbers back that up.
After a disappointing first year on the Los Angeles Lakers for LeBron James, his team is off to a very impressive start so far this season.
Whether it is because he played the first 10 games of the season without point guard Rajon Rondo or because James has decided to run the offense through new superstar teammate Anthony Davis, James’ assist numbers are now at an all-time high.
James leads the league with 11.2 assists per game and an assist percentage of 52.4 percent. One of the reasons is that he is simply passing the ball far more often.
James has made 68.3 passes per game, the third-most in the NBA behind only Luka Doncic (70.6) and Ben Simmons (69.6) thus far. It’s significantly more passes than any of his other seasons since the statistics were made publicly available in 2013-14.
According to the available tracking data, 23.4 percent of his passes have been to Davis. James has averaged 2.5 assists per game to Davis, establishing a far better rhythm than any he has ever had with a big man.
Brian Windhorst recently wrote about the immediate chemistry that the two stars have displayed (via ESPN):
“Through their first nine games, James had assisted Davis on 26 baskets, 10 more than any other teammate, per ESPN Stats & Information research. Compare that to his first nine games with [Chris] Bosh, when it was 17 assists, and his first nine with [Kevin] Love, which produced only 11. Their pick-and-rolls have resulted in the highlight dunks that fans love and a schematic nightmare for opposing coaches. And even though they sometimes are caught a little out of position, there’s a natural flow that’s easy to see.”
Now after more than a dozen regular-season games together, the tracking data indicates that James has targeted Davis more often than any of his other teammates since 2013-14.
When dividing the minutes they have shared the court by 36, James is averaging more than 25 passes to Davis. That is the most since he averaged 22.3 passes per 36 shared to Kyrie Irving during their 2015-16 campaign, which ultimately resulted in an NBA championship.
For perspective: James averaged 16.9 passes per 36 minutes shared to Kevin Love during his final season in Cleveland and just 12.6 passes per 36 minutes shared to Dwyane Wade during his last year in Miami.
It is also worth noting that given how many more passes per game James is averaging overall this year, James is still able to find other teammates beyond Davis at a remarkably high rate as well.
While it is still a smaller sample size as he missed time to start the season due to injury, Kyle Kuzma has received 2.1 assists per game from James and that is without the forward even being in the starting unit with the four-time NBA MVP.
The new mindset for James is evident in more than just the eye test, showing his willingness to defer. The stats back up exactly how much of a playmaker he has been for Los Angeles thus far.
For the Los Angeles Lakers to continue their winning ways, they will need consistently good performances from third-year forward Kyle Kuzma.
For the Los Angeles Lakers to continue their winning ways, they will need consistently good performances from third-year forward Kyle Kuzma.
The former Utah Utes star is the only first-round pick originally drafted by the Lakers who’s still on their roster. Their other recent selections are now on other teams, which helped them land LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As the only young member of their core still around, there were very high expectations for him heading into the season.
Change, of course, was inevitable as Los Angeles pivoted at head coach from Luke Walton to Frank Vogel. The addition of a bonafide superstar in Davis was certain to alter his role as well. Unfortunately, however, Kuzma was unable to play in the preseason to help his adjustment period, as he was recovering from an injury sustained while playing for Team USA.
Kyle Kuzma just talked to reporters for the first time since media day. âWhat this team needs is exactly what I worked on this summer. Gonna surprise a lot of people,â he said. Worked on being more of an on-ball playmaker, something he hasnât been asked to do since high school
Before his 2019-20 debut, he said what the Lakers needed is “exactly” what he worked on in the offseason. Considering how much they gave up to land Davis, they are counting on him to be their third option on offense.
But upon his return, he was shooting below the league average mark of 45.3 percent from the field in his first five games back. Kuzma, himself, has spoken to the necessity for many players to get into a rhythm by literally watching the basketball going into the hoop (via Los Angeles Times):
“A lot of scorers, they always say just seeing the ball go in a couple of times, easy ones getting to the rim is definitely going to open a lot of things.”
Part of the blame for this was his shot selection, per Cleaning the Glass, as Kuzma had taken just 17 percent of his attempts within four feet of the rim. Compare that with his frequency in this zone as a rookie (34 percent) and last year (37 percent) and the difference is especially noteworthy.
Vogel recently noted Kuzma was still “finding his way” for where his shots would come from within their new-look style.
Kuzma had looked more like his normal self without Davis, averaging 25.7 points per 36 minutes without his new teammate. The bad news: he struggled to score alongside Davis, averaging just 11.6 points per 36 in his first five appearances this season alongside the big.
Then against the Phoenix Suns, he scored 21 points during the 16.5 minutes he was on the court with Davis. His shot chart shows far more reliance on looks closer to the basket to help supplement his three-pointers, which helped secure their victory over Phoenix. It was the scoring punch that Los Angeles needs when James and Davis are not able to provide it.
However, perhaps because he is recovering from injury, he still seems to be playing without as much aggression so far this season. The 24-year-old is averaging just 3.2 drives per game, significantly lower than his marks in 2017-18 (4.8) and in 2018-19 (6.0) as well. This will be another necessary addition for him as the season progresses.
Most surprising is that the 6-foot-9 forward still has not attempted his first dunk of the season. This was the most apparent during a possession against the Toronto Raptors in which he could have avoided a block if he had gone for a slam instead of a layup.
Even those have been few and far between, as Kuzma has 16 layups compared to 36 looks from beyond the arc. He has generally not even been near the basket, averaging just 1.3 paint touches per game. That is much lower than his marks both last season (2.5) and the year before (2.4).
Instead, the forward has been used more as a catch-and-shoot option for Los Angeles. He is averaging 0.91 dribbles and 1.88 seconds per touch, both a lot lower than what he recorded in his first two professional seasons.
Kuzma has focused on improving his jumper, working with coach Lethal Shooter to make him a more polished threat from beyond the arc. While the Lakers will need help spreading the floor for James and Davis and hope he can be of service in this regard, that cannot be the only facet of his game if he’s going to be their most-trusted third option.
If he can cut to the basket more often rather than just firing from downtown, he will be a more consistent and reliable option for Los Angeles.
LeBron James was thrilled to see his Los Angeles Lakers running mate Kyle Kuzma looking good in Tuesday nights win at Phoenix.
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The Los Angeles Lakers earned a quality road win during Tuesday night’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns, with Kyle Kuzma making huge shots both early and late in the victory. It was something of a breakout game for Kuzma, who just returned to the Lakers lineup less than two weeks ago.
Kuzma had 23 points, including a couple of personal runs that helped keep the Lakers close early and helped them pull away late. It was the type of performance that lends credence to his hopes and those of the Lakers that he can be the 3rd best player on the Lakers. Following the game, LeBron “welcomed back” Kuzma on Instagram.
via @KingJames
Before Tuesday’s game, Kuzma had only cracked double-digits twice in his first five games. And despite his play last night, Kuzma is still only shooting 25% from the 3-point line. Last night he did a better job of rolling hard to the rim and running the floor to get easy buckets, before hitting a couple of big 3-pointers to close the game out.
With Anthony Davis likely out Wednesday as he nurses several injuries, the Lakers will need Kuzma to once again get buckets as they host the Golden State Warriors.
Undrafted rookie Terence Davis recorded a career-high 13 points Sunday night in a win over the Lakers and had perhaps the photo of the year.
Toronto Raptors undrafted rookie guard Terence Davis recorded a career-high 13 points on Sunday night in a 113-104 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a season-high 17 minutes of work, Davis helped the Raptors stave off the Lakers by recording seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a key 3-pointer late in the game to seal the win. He finished 5-of-8 from the field and added five rebounds and three assists.
Davis also may have had the photo of the season, too.
With the Raptors up by nine points with 3:50 remaining in the game, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson found Davis wide open in the corner and hit him with a nice pass behind a defender. Davis drained the shot and reacted accordingly with a dejected Kyle Kuzma looking on in the background.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has used a short rotation for much of the season, often going with just nine players during games, and has often called upon Davis. For a team coming off of their first NBA championship, the use of Davis in crunch time situations speaks volumes to how far the former Ole Miss product has come.
Davis has seen his playing time increase over his last two games and his performance Sunday night will certainly keep him in the rotation moving forward. The Raptors are in second place in the Eastern Conference at 7-2 and have shown no signs of showing a hangover from the NBA Finals in the early going this season.
Toronto returns to play Monday against the L.A. Clippers.
