Tag: Taurean Prince

Taurean Prince: Anthony Davis should’ve gotten more Defensive Player of the Year consideration

One of Anthony Davis’ teammates feels Davis may have gotten disrespected in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

Plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans feel Anthony Davis is the best overall defensive player in the NBA. He is not only an outstanding shot-blocker and rim protector, but he can also switch out onto the perimeter and guard players at any position.

He has gotten big defensive stops against even small guards while switching out onto the perimeter. Most notably, he stopped Stephen Curry on back-to-back shot attempts near the end of Game 4 of last year’s Western Conference semifinals to give Los Angeles a big victory.

However, Davis didn’t win this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award. In fact, he wasn’t even named as one of the finalists for the honor.

During an interview with Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, forward Taurean Prince feels that perhaps Davis got snubbed.

“Yeah, 100%,” Prince said. “We on the team know who AD is.

“But that’s more than just an individual accolade, in my opinion. The person who got it in Rudy is on a team that’s winning exceptionally well throughout the season consistently at that time. We had a lot of ups and downs, so I think that plays a big part in it when you have people voting on that. Awards are something that are just something to look at, but nothing that really predicts the facts, in my opinion, all the time.”

The superstar big man was, however, named to the All-Defensive First Team, the first time he has earned that accolade since the 2019-20 season.

Even though he had arguably his best season ever and appeared in a career-high 76 regular season games, he still doesn’t get the respect he deserves from some fans and sportswriters.

Taurean Prince says he wants to stay with the Lakers

Lakers forward and 3-point specialist Taurean Prince is about to become a free agent, and it sounds like he wants to stay.

Taurean Prince developed into a somewhat polarizing figure among fans of the Los Angeles Lakers this season. He began the season in the starting lineup, and then-head coach Darvin Ham leaned on him. He was logging 30.4 minutes a game through his first 47 games of the season.

Some fans hated the fact he was playing so much, especially given how lackluster defensively he was.

In February, Ham pivoted and went with Rui Hachimura in the starting lineup while moving Prince to the bench. As a result, Prince’s playing time was significantly reduced, but he still found a way to help the team.

The forward ended up shooting 39.6% from 3-point range for the season, which was just off his preseason goal of shooting 40% from that distance.

In an interview with Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation, Prince, who will be a free agent this summer, said he wants to remain with the Purple and Gold.

“My family, the quality of life in Los Angeles is something that myself and my family haven’t had in probably three or four seasons,” Prince said. “So to stay here would be definitely number one. If not that, then I mean, wherever the dominoes fall and wherever it’s best, that’s where I’ll be. But I for sure want to be a Laker, 100%.”

Although the Lakers finished the regular season eighth in 3-point shooting percentage, they were 28th in 3-point attempts. Therefore, they cannot really afford to lose a good outside shooter such as Prince without securing a solid replacement.

Taurean Prince essentially accomplished his major goal for the 2023-24 season

Many Lakers fans may feel Taurean Prince is a very mediocre player, but he did do very well in one important department.

Last summer, one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ free agent signings was Taurean Prince, a 6-foot-6 forward who had played seven seasons in the NBA with four teams. He was regarded as a 3-and-D player, which was something the Lakers lacked during the previous couple of seasons.

Prince began the regular season in then-head coach Darvin Ham’s starting lineup, which led some to criticize Ham, especially when he later settled on Rui Hachimura for that starting small forward spot. Prince was lackluster defensively and didn’t help much on the boards, but he contributed in an important area: 3-point shooting.

Before the season started, he said he wanted to shoot 40% from 3-point range for the season. He struggled in November, but Ham stuck with him and played him major minutes during the first few months of the season, which led to more criticism.

However, Prince came on strong starting in December, and he ended the regular season at 39.6% from downtown.

He was moved to the bench in February in favor of Hachimura, and it seems as if that was the move that got the Lakers going. It also may have helped Prince improve his shooting efficiency.

As a starter this season, he made 43.1% of his field-goal attempts and 38.4% of his 3-point attempts. But as a reserve, he ended up at 46.9% overall and 42.9% from downtown.

Prince will be a free agent this summer. While many Lakers fans may not want him back, he can continue to help a Lakers team that struggled mightily from 3-point land early in the season, only to get hot afterward.

Darvin Ham is ‘highly unlikely’ to return as head coach of the Lakers, per reports. Here is why.

Darvin Ham may have already coached his final game for the Los Angeles Lakers.

After two years with the organization, Darvin Ham may have already coached his final game for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Despite an improbable run to the Western Conference Finals in 2023 as well as a championship in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, the Lakers arguably underperformed relative to expectations during Ham’s time as head coach.

Already reportedly on the hot seat amid a disconnect earlier this season, a first-round exit makes his case to return even less compelling.

Following another elimination against the Denver Nuggets in a second straight postseason for Los Angeles, it seemed possible that Ham had already accepted his own fate with the franchise. He reflected on his experience with the team, calling it a “hell of a two years” as head coach.

Some of the initial reporting provided further context as to why Ham may already know he could be on the way out as the head coach.

For example, the players reportedly felt the coaching staff held an “absence of effective direction” and the team occasionally felt they won games on their own (via The Athletic)

“[By] the time the Lakers’ season ended in Game 5 against Denver on Monday night, when Jamal Murray’s second game-winner of the first-round series sent the Lakers home less than a year after the Nuggets swept them last May, there were strong signs within the organization that Ham would be deemed most responsible.”

Per the report, Ham’s status as head coach is in “serious peril” and it is “highly unlikely” that he will return to the organization next season.

Other criticism included his “fluctuating rotations, game plans and lack of adjustments” during the regular season and playoffs. While players reportedly had “tremendous respect” for Ham as a person, they felt they needed someone to actually coach them as well.

Another report from Dave McMenamin was just as damning for the coach. Ham’s job status was described as “very much in jeopardy” heading into the offseason (via ESPN):

“The internal expectations to win the championship in June only heightened, while the fallout from shuffling his lineup — first benching Reaves and later D’Angelo Russell while sticking with Taurean Prince even after Jarred Vanderbilt had returned from a left heel injury that cost him the first 20 games of the season — hurt Ham’s reputation both inside and outside the organization, sources told ESPN.”

His “lack of accountability” came into question, as did his inability to settle on a starting lineup.

With all that in mind, fans of the team can likely expect a new head coach next season. As for the rest of the roster, though, that is far more uncertain.

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Taurean Prince won’t play in Friday’s Lakers versus 76ers game

The Lakers will be even more short-handed than they have been lately when the play the 76ers on Friday.

The Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams engaged in a frantic race for postseason positioning in the Western Conference. The Lakers are 37-32 and ninth in the West.

That puts them one-half game ahead of the Golden State Warriors and three games up on the red-hot Houston Rockets, who are in 11th place and have a seven-game winning streak.

On Friday, L.A. will host the Philadelphia 76ers, who are short-handed but must still be taken seriously. It has been very inconsistent all season when it comes to coming out with energy, intensity and urgency, especially against seemingly inferior opponents.

The Lakers will take the court on Friday evening without one of their main bench players. Wing Taurean Prince will reportedly not play due to what is being termed personal reasons.

The team is already short-handed. It is without guard Gabe Vincent, forward Jarred Vanderbilt and big man Christian Wood, which has significantly compromised its bench.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not, Friday also happens to be Prince’s 30th birthday. Prince is also Muslim, and he is reportedly fasting as part of the observance of Ramadan.

Taurean Prince: Being benched allowed him to be more aggressive

Although Taurean Prince was moved out of the Lakers’ starting lineup versus the Knicks, he was able to see it in a positive light.

Los Angeles Lakers wing Taurean Prince has been a fixture in the team’s starting lineup so far this season. But on Saturday against the New York Knicks, he found himself having to adjust to a different role.

Head coach Darvin Ham moved him to the bench and went with Rui Hachimura at small forward in the starting lineup. It seemed to work, as the team scored a 113-105 victory at Madison Square Garden and ended New York’s nine-game winning streak.

Fans have criticized Ham for keeping Prince in the starting lineup and giving him heavy minutes despite Prince’s defensive shortcomings. After Saturday’s game, Prince said coming off the bench helped him be more aggressive offensively.

Via Lakers Nation:

“I mean it does allow me to be more aggressive with the second unit but at the end of the day, my job stays the same, to do whatever it is to help us win as many games as possible. Whether that’s starting or coming off the bench, you can’t be salty about it. You got to be a professional and do what you got to do to get it right.”

He had 16 points on 6-of-10 field-goal shooting and 3-of-6 from downtown versus the Knicks. Despite coming off the bench, he still played 33 minutes, while Hachimura logged 19 minutes.

Whether Lakers fans love or hate Prince, he does have to play a significant amount of minutes because he’s one of the team’s few legitimate spot-up 3-point shooters and floor spacers.

Taurean Prince will not play versus the Trail Blazers

The Lakers will be without one of their few 3-point snipers when they face the Trail Blazers on Sunday.

The 2023-24 season has been a seemingly never-ending string of mild but significant misfortunes for the Los Angeles Lakers. They have been unable to stay nearly or fully healthy for more than a few days at a time, and with a 21-22 record, the chances of them missing the playoffs are growing.

After defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks earlier this week behind strong defense, they went back to their old inept ways on Friday. Facing a weak Brooklyn Nets team, they blew a 12-point lead in the first half and practically shut themselves down en route to a 130-112 loss.

While L.A. will host the second-worst team in the Western Conference in the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, they have a new injury concern. Forward Taurean Prince has been dealing with left knee soreness and will not play.

Prince is arguably L.A.’s best 3-point shooter, especially in spot-up situations. He has made 38.7% of such attempts this season, and he leads the team with 225 3-point tries on the season.

It’s becoming clear what the Lakers’ biggest weakness is

More than anything else, there is one thing that has resulted in the Lakers holding a mediocre 11-9 record.

Twenty games into their schedule, the Los Angeles Lakers are a disappointing 11-9. While they have had scattered moments of excellence as well as wins against very good teams, they are very much a work in progress.

Despite boasting LeBron James and Anthony Davis, arguably the top superstar duo in the NBA, as well as some very capable role players and complementary players, they seem to be underperforming. This begs the question of what’s wrong and what their biggest problem is.

Some would say injuries. Yes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura, to name a few players, have missed significant time with various ailments. Given L.A., as presently constituted, has only been together for about four months, these ailments have thrown a monkey wrench into its efforts to build chemistry. However, the team has had enough healthy players to win more often than it has.

Some would say defensive rebounding. That was a problem very recently, and the Lakers rank last in opponents’ second-chance points. However, they actually rank ninth in defensive rebound percentage, and their overall defense hasn’t been that bad either. In fact, in their last 12 games, they rank seventh in defensive rating and have won eight of those contests.

Some would say slow starts, but the team has improved in that area over the last two or three weeks.

Now that almost exactly a quarter of the season is in the books for the Lakers, it’s clear their biggest deficiency is their lack of 3-point shooting.

Multiple Lakers talk about the team’s lack of cohesion

Several members of the Lakers talked about how tough it is to handle players being in and out of the lineup game after game due to injury.

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 3-5 on the season with an embarrassing 128-94 blowout loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

As they have in a number of games this year, they showed a lack of effort, intensity and aggression. That combination led to them being outrebounded, 57-34 and to them being outscored in second-chance points (24-3), fast-break points (20-9) and points in the paint (68-42).

All those areas have been sore points for the Lakers to start this season. However, a new problem has developed: injuries and the associated problems.

With a number of players being in and/or out of the lineup since the exhibition season, including Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince, Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes and now Anthony Davis, the team simply hasn’t seemed to be on the same page.

After Wednesday’s game, a number of players spoke about this problem.

Taurean Prince will return on Monday versus the Heat

The Lakers will get an important role player back from injury on Monday against the Heat.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in need of a shot in the arm. After an inspiring comeback win in overtime on Wednesday over the Los Angeles Clippers, they came out soft on Saturday and were massively outhustled in a 120-101 loss to the Orlando Magic.

One problem they have had is health. Four rotation players have been out lately: forwards Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Taurean Prince, as well as guard Gabe Vincent.

While Lakers head coach Darvin Ham admitted that Vanderbilt’s return will come “later rather than sooner,” Prince is slated to return to the lineup on Monday when they take on the Miami Heat.

Unfortunately, Hachimura and Vincent will still be out, and backup center Jaxson Hayes is questionable with a sprained ankle.

It’s better to have injuries early in the season rather than later, but the injuries are starting to pile up for L.A., and the resulting lack of depth could have a ripple effect. LeBron James, whose playing time was supposed to be trimmed this season, is already averaging 35.7 minutes a game partly due to the team’s lack of depth.