Tag: Rudy Gobert

LeBron James got away with a hilarious travel Wednesday night at Jazz

LeBron James got away with a hilarious traveling violation in the first half of the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Jazz on Wednesday.

Maybe it was the fact the Los Angeles Lakers were on the second night of a back-to-back but for a brief moment in Wednesday night’s game against the Utah Jazz, it looked like LeBron James had forgotten exactly where he was.

As the Lakers jumped out to a 34-26 lead in the first quarter, LeBron James appeared to think he was in a summer pick-up game rather than on an NBA floor playing against the Utah Jazz. Luckily for LeBron, however, the referees who were watching him may have forgotten where they were either.

During this possession in the first quarter, James picked up his dribble to take three steps before starting his dribble again. It looked like he was making sure everyone knew what the score was or something.

LeBron’s basketball IQ is regarded as the greatest in the game but even LeBron’s once-in-a-lifetime basketball brain isn’t immune to the effects of travel and fatigue. Nevertheless, despite the brief brain fart, James has his squad in a good position to come out of their treacherous Denver-Utah back-to-back with a 2-0 record.

 

Lakers in Utah to face out of tune Jazz who have lost four of five

The Los Angeles Lakers continue their three-game road trip on Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz, who have hit a rough patch.

After coming through with their most impressive win of the young season last night in Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers will look to complete the NBA’s most difficult back-to-back 2-0 as they are in Salt Lake City to take on a Utah Jazz squad with high expectations in the middle of their first rough patch of the season.

The Jazz are finally back home for a few games after ending their five-game road trip 1-4. The bad trip has put into focus some issues the Jazz have had to begin the season, such as the struggles of former Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley and a slight drop-off in production from starting forward Joe Ingles.

Donovan Mitchell can still take over a game, but often he and Bojan Bogdanovic are asked to do everything for the Jazz offensively. On the flip side, their defense has taken a significant step back from the elite level they’ve been on for the last few seasons. According to Basketball-Reference, the Jazz are No. 10 in defensive rating after finishing in the top-three in the league in defensive rating in each of the previous three seasons.

However, the Jazz entered this season seen by many as a dark horse title contender. While they are in the midst of a bad stretch, the opportunity to come home and lick their wounds before hosting the best team in the West on a second of a back-to-back is the exact type of opportunity that can bring back belief in their season.

 

 

LeBron James is driving the Anthony Davis DPOY bandwagon

LeBron James is already hitting the gas on the Defensive Player of the Year campaign for his Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis.

Throughout most of the 16-2 start for the Los Angeles Lakers in the first month of the season, the conversation has often been about a change on the defensive end by LeBron James who had been maligned for his defense over the past couple of seasons.

But a concurrent storyline to LeBron’s defensive renaissance has been the play and leadership of Anthony Davis on that end. Davis leads the NBA in blocked shots through the first 18 games of the season and he’s making a strong case for his first ever Defensive Player of the Year award as he anchors the No. 2 defense in defensive efficiency, according to Basketball Reference.

LeBron James added his voice to that case for DPOY on Friday afternoon ahead of their game against the Washington Wizards.

James deserves plenty of credit for how this season has unfolded, telling Davis that he was a priority offensively while also letting Davis lead on the defensive end to make the Lakers one of the best defenses in the league. But being the teammate he is, James is speaking even louder about Davis to make sure The Brow’s heroic efforts get just as much shine as LeBron’s league-leading assist lead and defensive turnaround.