General manager Rob Pelinka reshuffled the Lakers‘ roster to give LeBron James and Anthony Davis their best shot at another NBA title, but the two stars haven’t lived up to expectations so far in the Western Conference Finals, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.
L.A. trails the series 2-0 after letting a pair of winnable games slip away in Denver. James missed a layup and botched a wide-open dunk in the second quarter Thursday, while Davis shot just 4-of-15 from the field after a 40-point night in Game 1. Amick notes that neither player is as dominant as they were when L.A. defeated Denver in the 2020 conference finals, which is understandable with James considering that he’s 38, but it’s more puzzling for Davis, who should still be in his prime at age 30.
“I got the same looks,” Davis told reporters after Game 2. “… I liked all the looks that I got today. Just a lot of them (were) short. I’m going to continue to shoot those shots and I’ve got to be better, more efficient, (to) help the team win. So, I’ll be better.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- James isn’t concerned about his three-point shooting, even though he’s off to an 0-for-10 start in the series, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. James shot 32.1% from beyond the arc this season, his lowest figure in seven years, but his teammates are encouraging him to keep shooting whenever he’s open. “It’s LeBron James. I don’t think anybody bats an eye when he shoots a shot or questions his shot,” Austin Reaves said. “We want him taking whatever he feels comfortable with, just because he’s a winning basketball player for his whole career and that’s all he wants to do, he wants to win.”
- Coach Darvin Ham altered his starting five for Game 2, but the change he made wasn’t the one he needed, contends Kevin Pelton of ESPN. There was speculation that Rui Hachimura might start after he did an effective job guarding Nikola Jokic late in Game 1, but Ham opted to replace Dennis Schröder with Jarred Vanderbilt instead. Although Vanderbilt controlled Jamal Murray early on, he bogged down the offense due to his lack of shooting range. Pelton argues that Ham should consider starting Hachimura and Schröder while bringing D’Angelo Russell off the bench.
- Mohamed Bamba, who hasn’t played since April 28 because of left ankle soreness, may be able to return in Game 4 or 5, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
- The Lakers are virtually certain to match any offer sheets signed by Reaves or Hachimura, who are both restricted free agents, Wojnarowski states on the latest edition of his podcast (hat tip to Silver Screen and Roll). “I don’t see any scenario where the Lakers would not match on both,” Wojnarowski said. “They have to. … They’ve proved themselves to be win-now players with LeBron and Anthony Davis on their timeline (and) these are both starting-level players.”
Rui at the 4
This has been a straightforward series from jump, I still don’t understand that disconnect.
The starting rotation shoulda never been viewed on as settled, while you’d like it to be this time of season that just wasn’t practical with this Lakers team that didn’t even start playing all together till 2 weeks out from the end . Vando made sense on Ja but the starting spot shoulda been viewed upon more fluid Imo than anything settled
I thought Vanderbilt should start, but Beasley or Walker should start over D’lo to help the spacing/have slightly less ball stopping with Lebron and Davis, and then hopefully Anthony Davis makes shots, with his amazing defense he and lebron played in the last game…
Crazy that they didn’t make the trades earlier and allow themselves time to tinker with the line ups, and players get use to each other a little more, etc.
Instead of Malik Beasley being a key part of the deal which is what he was viewed as. He’s been terrible for the lakers and they could’ve tried trading him, same with Mo Bamba.
Don’t blame LeBron and AD for not being as dominant as they were years ago, blame the front office for not making the trade earlier and giving the coaching staff and players time to adjust.
The fact these two guys as the leaders managed to turn the season around and now lead them to the WCF on its own has been fantastic.
Everyone likes to talk down on LeBron but he smacked up Curry and last years champions the Warriors and he smacked up the future dynasty pretenders in Memphis.
In terms of line up and saving the series now it’s basically impossible.
At least it’s clear the Lakers need to let Dlo pack his bags
Why Start Russell (D’Angelo), not Russell (Westbrook)?
Are both Russell the same thing?
IMO
Rui needs to start
DLO is sixth man.
Russell for LA has to be very disappointing. The guy has disappeared lols. And his D is terrible. Never really knew that. I agree he’s a sixth man.
The Bron window just got shut. Only Kyrie playing like he can. Could open it for one more yr. You sign him for two yrs. You know Ky wants the attention LA and the Lakers will give him. And this time he will be the reason for their success. He is clamoring for that.
Wish Mo was healthy. It would have been nice to see him go against Jokic. Definitely would have helped, just as another body.
Rui has been excellent on Joker, no need f0r Mo just get Ham the message somehow, he seems to be blind today