Tag: NBA Basketball

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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LeBron drops 23 and 12 as Lakers take care of Warriors at home

LeBron James had a solid night as the Los Angeles Lakers notched a win without superstar forward Anthony Davis on Wednesday.

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LeBron James had 23 points and 12 assists on Wednesday night to help the Los Angeles Lakers hold off a depleted Golden State Warriors squad on Wednesday night.

LeBron’s performance in the 120-94 victory was one of several that helped the Lakers overcome the absence of starting forward Anthony Davis, who missed Wednesday’s game due to shoulder and rib injuries.

Kyle Kuzma scored 22 points in the spot-start for Davis, going 7-of-12 from the field. Former Warrior JaVale McGee also had his best game of the season: 18 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.

As for Golden State, former Lakers draft pick D’Angelo Russell led the way with 21 points. And while the Warriors made the Lakers sweat at times, they were out of winning range with plenty of time left for the Lakers to seal the deal.

The Lakers did get another kind a scare late in the game when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went down with an apparent ankle injury. Luckily for them, the Lakers will have a few more days at home, with their next game being at Staples Center on Nov. 15 against the Sacramento Kings.

Report: Anthony Davis officially listed as out against Warriors

Anthony Davis is officially going to sit out Wednesday’s game for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Golden State Warriors.

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Star Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis has officially been ruled out of Wednesday night’s matchup with a much-diminished Golden State Warriors group, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes.

Earlier today, doubt was cast on the six-time All-Star’s availability for the contest, due primarily to a rib injury sustained in Tuesday’s win over the Phoenix Suns. With forward Kyle Kuzma having returned from an ankle injury sustained in FIBA World Cup play this summer, Davis’ presence may be being viewed as superfluous given the opponent at hand.

However, with X-rays coming back negative, it appears the sorry state of their opponent’s roster and the potential for a more serious injury playing in a game that should be easily winnable without Davis seems to be playing a role in the news the Chicago native will be sitting Wednesday night.

With a long season still ahead and one of the West’s thinner frontcourt rotations, a cautious approach is absolutely a wise move. Given Davis typically misses roughly a tenth of the season or more to injury even in a good year, preserving the critical big man’s health for more difficult regular-season matchups, particularly when they aren’t on the back end of a back-to-back.

With a relatively easy slate of games ahead for the rest of the month, facing struggling and rebuilding franchises like the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards should allow the Lakers to play their star players limited minutes, minimizing the need for load management until December.

 

Trae Young is first player since LeBron to have 3 straight 30-10 games

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young’s recent run is something the NBA hasn’t seen since LeBron James did it with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been thriving ever since coming back from an ankle injury that caused him to miss games earlier in the season. Including last night’s impressive win at Denver, Young has scored at least 30 points and dished 10 assists in his last three games.

With the current streak, Young became the first player to accomplish the feat since LeBron James did it in March of 2018 when he was still with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Young has been stellar as of late, carrying an incredible scoring and creation load for the Hawks to start the season.

On the year, Young is averaging 28 points, 8.7 assists and just over four rebounds per game while shooting over 40 percent from long distance. Aside from the rebounds and the 3-point shooting, his numbers aren’t unlike a typical LeBron year.

So far this season, James has taken a little bit of a step back in the scoring category as he is averaging 24 points per game after averaging over 27 points the last two seasons. Part of that is because James has taken an even bigger role as the Lakers lead guard, which has resulted in an NBA-leading 11 assists per game to go with 8 rebounds.

LeBron James to Kyle Kuzma after big 4th quarter: ‘Welcome back lil bro’

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.

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Report: Anthony Davis expected to sit out Wednesday vs. Warriors

The Los Angeles Lakers star forward will miss the game due to a variety of injuries, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to close out their back-to-back with a win on Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors, they’re likely going to do it without superstar forward Anthony Davis.

Davis, who was hit in the ribs during Tuesday night’s win at Phoenix and has been dealing with a sore right shoulder since the first week of the season, is expected to miss Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Turner also added that x-rays came back negative on Davis’ rib cage.

While the Warriors have proven that they can play competitive ball even with a depleted unit, the Lakers also recognize that it’s not the right time to have Davis play through the pain against a 2-9 team that plays minimal defense. It’s also a little bit easier for Davis to take a night to heal now that the Lakers have Kyle Kuzma back healthy.

Kuzma had 23 points in Tuesday’s win at Phoenix, including a couple of huge 3-pointers in the closing moments top seal the game and is a logical choice to slot in for Davis in the starting line-up later tonight against Golden State.

 

Lakers back home to host banged up Warriors on Wednesday night

The Los Angeles Lakers will look to cap off a winning back-to-back when they host Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors.

The Los Angeles Lakers bounced back in a big way with Tuesday night’s road victory over the Phoenix Suns and now they’ll look to ride that wave, even as Anthony Davis deals with sore ribs, as they host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night back at Staples Center.

The Warriors look way different, even compared to the last time these two teams saw each other in the preseason. Stephen Curry suffered a broken left hand a little less than two weeks ago and the Warriors also dealt with less severe injuries to Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell. Russell and Green are now back, but serious issues for the Warriors remain as it already looks like a lost season for them at 2-9.

Still, the Warriors have had some bright spots over that same time. They won their first game at Chase Center against the Portland Trail Blazers last week thanks to a 36-point performance from second round pick Eric Paschall. D’Angelo Russell also notched 52 points in a valiant effort where the Warriors lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime.

The Warriors should be overmatched in this game against the Lakers but with L.A. playing a tough game against the Suns last night, they need to be prepared for a pumped up Warriors team trying to show out in an ESPN-televised affair.

Kyle Kuzma hits huge shots to help Lakers rally past Suns

LeBron James and Anthony Davis both had double-doubles as they held off the Phoenix Suns for a win on Tuesday night.

Anthony Davis had 22 points, 11 rebounds and four assists,  LeBron James had 19 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, while Kyle Kuzma had 23 points off the bench as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns 123-115 on Tuesday night.

The Suns had three players score 20 points or more (Aron Baynes, Ricky Rubio, Devin Booker) but that wasn’t enough as Kuzma and Green hit big shots from the outside to support their stars.

Davis didn’t appear to be bothered too much by the shoulder issue as he totaled 14 points, five rebounds and three assists in the first half while the Lakers nursed a 60-58 lead at halftime.

Even though Rondo was back in the lineup, LeBron James didn’t look like he would slow down his role as distributor with nine assists to go with eight points in the first half. Rondo played 14 minutes and finished with five points, seven assists and six rebounds in his debut.

The Suns stayed in the game in large part thanks to the 3-point shot, scoring 58 points on what had been the best defense in the league. They shot 8-16 from the 3-point line in the first half with their role players mostly doing the job as Aron Baynes, Ricky Rubio and Frank Kaminsky each hit multiple 3-pointers in the first half. However, they cooled off considerably in the second half.

Kuzma provided a big spark for the Lakers off the bench, having his first breakout game of the season in Phoenix. He had 13 first half points including a personal 6-0 run to close the first quarter to cut the Suns lead from nine to just three in 57.2 seconds of game time. He also closed out the game two two big 3-pointers in the final minutes.

A huge 3-pointer by Kuzma with 2:10 left pushed the Lakers lead to 117-113, giving the Lakers the opportunity to play from ahead in the last two minutes. And then Kuzma hit another with 1:40 left to put the Lakers up by seven points.

The Lakers head back to L.A. as they will face a short-handed Golden State Warriors crew on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Rajon Rondo gets upgraded to probable for debut Tuesday at Suns

After missing the first nine games of the season, Rajon Rondo will make his season debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

After having LeBron James due basically all of the heavy lifting at the point guard spot for the first three weeks of the season, he will have considerably more help when he’s out of the game on Tuesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers are now officially expecting 14-year veteran guard Rajon Rondo to play against the Phoenix Suns.

Bill Oram of The Athletic reported the latest update from the Lakers that Rondo had been upgraded from questionable to probable following the team’s shoot around on Tuesday morning. The hope for the Lakers is that adding Rondo will alleviate some of the playmaking burden for LeBron, even though he’s done quite well with by leading the NBA in assists through the first nine games.

Rondo also has a strong connection with Anthony Davis dating back to their lone season together in New Orleans.

Davis has gone on the record multiple times saying how much he loves playing with Rondo and values his perspective. And unlike his first season with LeBron, the Pelicans did quite well with Rondo and Davis sharing the court in 2017-18, outscoring their opponents by 4.1 points per 100 possessions on their way to a first round sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Adding another playmaker to the mix, even though LeBron leads the NBA in assists, will be good for the Lakers long-term, especially if Rondo’s New Orleans success with Davis is replicated in L.A.

In addition to the update on Rondo, Troy Daniels is still questionable to play against his former team but the good news is that his MRI didn’t reveal anything concerning long-term.

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Rajon Rondo says Lakers told him calf issue similar to Durant’s from Finals

Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo told reporters he was eager to return before learning of similarities to his injury and Kevin Durant.

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have to try hard to prevent Rajon Rondo from rushing his return from a sore calf that has bothered him since the second week of the preseason. All they had to do was tell him the most recent example of someone with a similar injury returning too soon: Brooklyn Nets forward and former Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant.

Rondo, who was expected to play on Sunday but was scratched following a workout on Saturday, told reporters at Monday’s Lakers practice that the team’s medical staff let him know the similarities between his current condition and the one that eventually led to Durant’s torn Achilles during the NBA Finals in June.

While Rondo’s return seemed imminent as recently as this weekend, it’s clear that both he and the Lakers training staff are taking a most cautious approach with the veteran point guard in his 14th season.