Tag: Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James on he and Tom Brady: ‘We’re gonna play until we can’t walk’

LeBron James was asked if he thought about the end of his career and compared himself 42-year old New England Patriots star Tom Brady.

The Los Angeles Lakers have raced to a 9-2 record thanks to their defense and in particular, a revived LeBron James on the defensive end, who said that he’s much healthier this season. Now that he’s healthy once again and leading the NBA in assists for the first time in his career, he doesn’t see an end in sight for his NBA career, seeing himself like a basketball version of Tom Brady.

James made the Brady comparison during Friday’s Lakers shoot around ahead of their game later this evening against the Sacramento Kings. James was asked if he could envision the end of his career, spurred by last night’s news that Carmelo Anthony would sign with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Video via Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group

Last season was the first time we saw James seriously injured in his career as he missed 17 straight games. But after the longest offseason of his career, which included filming Space Jam 2, James is also enjoying major help on both ends from superstar Anthony Davis. If he can continue to get support from Davis, as well as the other Lakers role players like Danny Green, that can only help LeBron’s hopes to play at a high level into his 40s.

Lakers starter Bradley sidelined with fracture (Hoopshype)

Avery Bradley played with a right leg contusion to start the month, now a hairline fracture in his right leg will sideline him.

Avery Bradley played with a right leg contusion to start the month, now a hairline fracture in his right leg will sideline him.

Lakers starter Bradley sidelined with fracture (Lebronwire)

Avery Bradley played with a right leg contusion to start the month, now a hairline fracture in his right leg will sideline him.

Avery Bradley played with a right leg contusion to start the month, now a hairline fracture in his right leg will sideline him.

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.

Lakers look to win third straight as they host short-handed Kings

The Los Angeles Lakers welcome the Sacramento Kings for their first meeting of the season.

The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the court Friday night as they prepare to host a short-handed, yet scrappy Sacramento Kings squad as L.A. looks to go on another win streak.

After starting the season 0-5 and one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA to open the season, the Kings have won four of their last five games and won their most recent one without star point guard De’Aaron Fox. They’ve been without Marvin Bagley since the first week of the season with a fractured right thumb and the Fox injury came earlier this week, robbing them of their best player.

Nevertheless, they stayed on a roll with a home win against a struggling Portland Trail Blazers squad even without Fox. Forward Bogdan Bogdanovic poured in 25 points off the bench and might be the biggest threat the Lakers have to consider on the offensive end.

Shooting guard Buddy Hield will also present a challenge to the Lakers with his movement away from the ball and his ability to shoot the ball from deep spots on the floor. Harrison Barnes can also take advantage of switches if he gets smaller players on him in the post, though the Lakers size might take that away tonight.

The Kings aren’t good, but they certainly aren’t as bad as their start. While the Lakers have been rolling, they can’t take them lightly. And seeing as they are coached by former Lakers coach Luke Walton, they’ll likely be a little motivated to dominate against a mostly unheralded group.

Steve Kerr on LeBron James: ‘Probably the best athlete to ever walk this planet’

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said that LeBron James is “probably the best athlete to ever walk this planet.”

Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, had high praise for LeBron James in the wake of losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 120-94 earlier this week. Kerr–who spent 15 years as a player in the NBA while winning multiple championships alongside Michael Jordan–said that LeBron is “probably the best athlete to ever walk this planet.”

It’s one thing to call someone the best athlete to ever play in the NBA since it first opened for business in 1946. It’s a whole different measure of praise to suggest that LeBron is the greatest athlete in the history of the human race. But that’s exactly where Kerr went with his compliments of James and you can count Richard Jefferson as someone who agrees.

While appearing on Jalen and Jacoby, the longtime NBA veteran offered his rationale for supporting Kerr’s claim.

“Well this is what I’m going to say–yes,” Richard Jefferson said when asked if he agreed with Steve Kerr on LeBron being the best athlete to ever live. “From this standpoint. I think basketball players are the best athletes on the planet. Start there.

“And I think, look, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, best basketball players, but as an athlete, LeBron is physically stronger than all of those guys. So I think Steve Kerr has a little bit of validation. Mind you, this guy also played with Michael Jordan.”

Beyond Michael and Kobe, there is most likely a contingent of older NBA fans who might also suggest that Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest athlete to ever live. But it’s certainly fair at this point to say that LeBron has earned a place in that conversation. During his 17th NBA season, James is currently leading the league in assists with 11.1 while also offering 23.9 points and eight rebounds and showing no signs of slowing down.

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LeBron James celebrates Carmelo Anthony signing with Trail Blazers

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James celebrated his friend Carmelo Anthony getting back into the NBA on Thursday.

One of the most disappointing teams in the early going of the NBA season made a big move on Thursday night, one that got on the radar of LeBron James as one of his closest friends in the league made his way back into the NBA.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday night that the 4-8 Portland Trail Blazers agreed to bring in 10-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony, which brought about a response of enthusiasm from NBA fans and of course, the rest of the Banana Boat crew. Dwyane Wade shared his reaction that it was ‘about time’ and LeBron echoed his friend’s tweet.

For those who are wondering, the first game between LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony is scheduled for December 6th in Portland when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Portland Trail Blazers. They will also play each other about three weeks after that in Portland on Dec. 28.

After it looked for nearly a year like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony would never play on the same court again, that chance will come sooner than anybody expected.

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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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