Tag: Thomas Bryant

Thomas Bryant has been exactly what the Lakers have needed

No one can replace Anthony Davis, but Lakers center Thomas Bryant has been doing everything he can do to try, and he’s been succeeding.

When Anthony Davis went down with a stress injury in his right foot about three weeks ago, it was clear the Los Angeles Lakers were in trouble.

They needed someone to step up and help replace not just the production but also the intensity, energy and presence Davis provided so well prior to his injury.

Enter Thomas Bryant.

He was already playing well in a backup role before Davis was sidelined, but starting with the Dec. 16 contest in which Davis got hurt, Bryant has been playing outstanding basketball.

During that span, he has averaged 17.2 points on an incredible 68.1% shooting and 10.2 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game. Although he isn’t a high-volume 3-point shooter, he has helped space the floor by hitting 55% of his attempts from downtown.

In Saturday’s thrilling 136-134 victory over the Sacramento Kings, Bryant put up a season-high 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting, to go along with 14 rebounds.

His relentless activity on the boards, willingness to run the floor in transition and ability to get open and convert in the paint have propelled the Lakers to a five-game winning streak.

He could very well be turning into the best value signing of this past offseason: He’s playing on a veteran minimum contract worth just over $1.8 million.

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Thomas Bryant appears to have avoided injury versus the Hornets

Thomas Bryant hurt his shoulder on Friday versus the Hornets, but it appears he is good to go moving forward.

The Los Angeles Lakers headed into Friday’s contest against the Charlotte Hornets looking to stop a two-game slide. Instead, they were stung by LaMelo Ball and company, 134-130.

The Lakers have already been without Anthony Davis, who injured his foot last Friday against the Denver Nuggets. He has been diagnosed with a stress injury and has no definitive timetable to return.

During the Hornets game, Thomas Bryant, who is L.A.’s other main option at the center position, was hit in the shoulder and had to leave the game. Fans worried that perhaps he would have to miss some time, which would’ve left the team extremely thin in the frontcourt.

Luckily, it appears Bryant avoided such an injury. He is expected to play on Christmas Day when L.A. visits Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

Via Lakers Nation:

“However, further testing must have revealed that Bryant’s shoulder injury won’t cause him to miss any time as he is not on the injury report for Sunday’s Christmas Day game against the Dallas Mavericks.”

Bryant has been playing very well not just in Davis’ absence, but throughout the season. He’s averaging 10.5 points on 64.3% shooting overall and 50% from 3-point range and 5.4 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game, including 14.3 points and 9.5 boards a contest while hitting 66.7% from downtown in the last four games without Davis.

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One aspect of Thomas Bryant’s game could be most valuable for Lakers

Thomas Bryant may be rediscovering his 3-point shooting touch, and it could really open things up for the Lakers.

Some people underplayed the Los Angeles Lakers’ decision to sign free agent center Thomas Bryant back in July.

They claimed he was too pedestrian, too injury-prone and too under-equipped to make any type of noticeable impact on the Purple and Gold.

Instead, Bryant has done quite the opposite so far this season.

After missing the first few weeks of the schedule with a thumb injury, he immediately made his presence felt by coming off the bench and supplying energy, hustle and emotion. He also provided the team with easy baskets by moving without the ball, hustling for offensive rebounds and running the floor on the fast break.

But more recently, it has been another aspect of his game that seems to be taking his value to the Lakers to a higher level.

Russell Westbrook and Thomas Bryant talk about their budding chemistry

The combo of Russell Westbrook and Thomas Bryant has already been fruitful for the Lakers over the last few games.

Center Thomas Bryant has been in the lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers for three games since returning from a thumb injury, and his impact has been noticeable.

He has been playing chiefly as a backup center so far, although he has played a few minutes each game alongside Anthony Davis. He has held down the fort to buy some valuable rest for L.A.’s superstar big man.

In his first game back from his thumb injury, Bryant had eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and five rebounds in 13 minutes, and he put up 15 points while making all five of his shot attempts, plus nine rebounds in 23 minutes in his next game.

On Tuesday, Bryant managed eight points and three rebounds in 11 minutes.

A good number of his baskets so far have come off assists from Russell Westbrook. It’s no wonder, as the two played together on the Washington Wizards two seasons ago.

Thomas talked about the chemistry he built with Westbrook, and how the two have built on it since the center was signed by L.A. as a free agent in July.

“The chemistry that we had there just for that short amount of time was really great and I tried to keep that chemistry throughout the summertime, when I was injured still tried to communicate with him and learn as much as I can from him.”

Bryant was then asked how Westbrook likes to let him know that he likes to play with pace.

“He told me one time, ‘TB, get out and run!’ That’s all he had to say,” Bryant said.

Relatively speaking, the Lakers are still a small team, as they lack viable frontcourt depth, but Bryant’s presence has greatly helped in that department, as there is no longer any need to play 6-foot-9, 205-pound Wenyen Gabriel at the 5.

One reason the Lakers may be waiting to make a major trade

Reportedly, the Lakers want to see how they do once they’re fully healthy before seriously exploring any trade options.

Even though they defeated the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday to stop a five-game losing streak, the Los Angeles Lakers are still in bad shape.

With a 3-10 record, they rank 29th in offensive rating and 28th in points per game while their defense has slipped to 18th in efficiency.

They have a manageable schedule coming up for the rest of November, but it will take a marked improvement in their play to get them to .500 any time soon.

It may also take a significant trade to give them a real shot at returning to the NBA playoffs.

Although a few trade rumors have floated around lately, the Lakers are being patient. One reason may be that they haven’t been fully healthy.

Guard Dennis Schroder and center Thomas Bryant have not yet played in the regular season. With their returns looming, it looks as if the team wants to see what they provide before deciding what to do in terms of a potential trade.

Via Lakers Daily:

“The Los Angeles Lakers are expecting Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant to be back in the lineup for their next game on Friday, and it looks like the team will wait for those two to return before making “judgements that could lead to changes.”

“‘The Lakers have indeed looked at free agents for a potential in-season roster boost — first Moe Harkless and more recently Joe Wieskamp and Tony Snell — but the sense I got after spending the past week in L.A. is their preference is to wait for the returns of Dennis SchrĂśder and Thomas Bryant before making judgments that could lead to changes,’ Marc Stein wrote on his Substack. ‘The Lakers have high hopes that SchrĂśder in particular can give the offense a boost after both he and Bryant sustained thumb injuries during the preseason that required surgery.'”

Schroder and Bryant should help the Lakers and perhaps even make them look like a playoff-caliber team, but that wouldn’t be good enough for a team that features LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.

This is a franchise that defines success by winning world championships, and a loss in the first or second round of the playoffs would do virtually nothing to improve how people feel about the James-Davis era in L.A.

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Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant expected to return Friday

The Lakers are about to welcome back to important role players.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers ended their five-game losing streak by getting a 116-103 win over the surging Brooklyn Nets.

With four full days off before taking on the Detroit Pistons on Friday, the short-term future could be looking up for the Purple and Gold.

The team has a relatively manageable schedule for the rest of November, and it may be about to get two important reinforcements back.

Guard Dennis Schroder returned to the Lakers by signing a one-year contract late in the summer. He played for them during the 2020-21 campaign. As a facilitating guard who can also play defense, he’s expected to help them with scoring and a ball-handling.

Center Thomas Bryant, also a former Laker, can provide rebounding, shot-blocking, easy baskets and energy.

Neither has played in the regular season yet due to thumb injuries, but it looks like both are about to make their debut.

Schroder could give L.A. an alternative to Westbrook when he isn’t playing well. Bryant should make the frontline look a lot bigger and perhaps allow Anthony Davis to play at the 4 more often.

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Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant could return Friday vs. Pistons

The Lakers may return to full health by the end of the upcoming week.

The Los Angeles Lakers need help in the worst way right now. They are 2-10 and on a five-game losing streak after falling to the Sacramento Kings, 120-114, on Friday night.

Many have been clamoring for some sort of trade, and while there have been multiple rumors floating around, it is unlikely anything will happen on that front until at least later this month.

Until then, the best sort of help they can get is from within, in terms of getting healthy.

LeBron James missed Friday’s contest with a strained left adductor, and it is unknown how many games he will miss, although there is hope the injury isn’t serious.

Guard Dennis Schroder and center Thomas Bryant haven’t suited up in the regular season yet because of thumb injuries, but they could be less than a week from getting into game action.

Schroder could help the Lakers by giving them another scorer, ball-handler and facilitator, not to mention someone who will bring effort in terms of guarding opposing ball-handlers.

Bryant would represent a meaningful upgrade at the center position and allow the team to play bigger lineups than it has been employing.

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Thomas Bryant seems to be nearing a return

A frontcourt reinforcement may be on the way for the Lakers.

After falling to the Utah Jazz on Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers are 2-6, and the loss seemed to expose the team’s lack of frontcourt size other than Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

Head coach Darvin Ham has been playing Davis exclusively at the 5. While going with him there is advantageous in certain situations, it isn’t something the team should do nearly as much as it has.

Luckily, they may be about to get some help in that department.

Center Thomas Bryant has been out since the start of the regular season with a thumb injury, but he has been prepping for his return by working out at the Lakers’ facility.

In fact, about a week ago he engaged in a “thumb war” with teammate Dennis Schroder, who has also been out with a thumb injury.

The return of Thomas would, at least in theory, allow Davis to play a good chunk of his minutes at the 4, which would make the Lakers more dynamic on the defensive end and harder to get into the paint against.

It remains to be seen if Ham will stay with Davis at the 5 in the starting lineup or if he will move the superstar big man to the 4 while starting Bryant at center.

Both Thomas and Schroder are scheduled to be re-evaluated sometime in the coming week.

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Thomas Bryant had thumb surgery, will be reevaluated in three weeks

The Lakers will be without one of their more viable complementary players for a while.

The Los Angeles Lakers were not at full strength when they started the 2022-23 season at the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday evening.

Guard Dennis Schroder was out after having a procedure to fix a finger injury he suffered during the preseason. Small forward Troy Brown Jr. missed all of the preseason with a back injury, and he’s still not ready to make his Lakers debut.

Meanwhile, center Thomas Bryant looked very solid throughout the exhibition season, but he was not available on Tuesday versus the Warriors. He had suffered a sprained thumb, and after having surgery to fix the ailment, he will be out for at least the next three weeks.

Without him, head coach Darvin Ham started Anthony Davis at the 5. Damian Jones, the team’s other true center, didn’t get any playing time on Tuesday as Ham elected to go small.

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Thomas Bryant has sprained thumb, will not play on Tuesday

Add center Thomas Bryant to the growing list of injured Lakers players.

The 2022-23 regular season hasn’t even started, but injuries are already starting to pile up for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Troy Brown Jr. has a back ailment that caused him to miss the entire preseason. Dennis Schroder underwent a procedure for a finger injury and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Russell Westbrook has a hamstring ailment he suffered in the team’s final preseason game.

Meanwhile, Anthony Davis missed three of the Lakers’ six exhibition contests because of lower back tightness.

Now, there is a new player on that list.

Center Thomas Bryant has a sprained thumb and will not appear in L.A.’s season opener on Tuesday versus the Golden State Warriors.

Bryant has been a prime candidate for the team’s starting center spot, although head coach Darvin Ham says he is also considering starting a small lineup that has Davis at the 5.

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