- Though Lakers starting center Marc Gasol is averaging a career-low 3.8 PPG (albeit in a career-low 19.4 MPG), Los Angeles head coach Frank Vogel is not concerned, according to Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. Gasol’s shooting numbers, however, are a bit unsettling: he is connecting on just 36.8% from the field and 31.7% from deep. He made 38.5% of his three-point looks last season. “He’s out there to defend and rebound and play-make from the top of the key and sometimes that’s going to mean he’s going to get a couple of good looks at the 3-point line, a few short rolls and some other situations, some post-up on switches and whatnot,” Vogel said.
LeBron James has been an All-Star for the past 16 seasons, but he doesn’t believe this year’s game should be played, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
The most prominent voice among NBA players, James told the media after Thursday’s game that he believes it’s a mistake to hold the event while the pandemic continues. Twenty-three games have been postponed since the season began.
“I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” he said. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game.”
James is also unhappy about not having a mid-season break after a short offseason, calling it a “slap in the face” for him and his teammates. Because last year’s NBA Finals lasted through October 11, the Lakers had just 71 days off before training camp began.
The NBA and its players union reached an agreement Thursday to hold the game March 7 in Atlanta, rather than Indianapolis, which had originally been scheduled to host. Atlanta is one of nine cities currently allowing fans at home games. It isn’t clear whether other All-Star weekend events, such as the skills competition, 3-point competition and dunk contest, will be part of the arrangement.
“We’re also still dealing with a pandemic,” James said. “We’re still dealing with everything that’s been going on, and we’re going to bring the whole league into one city that’s open? Obviously, the pandemic has absolutely nothing to do with it at this point when it comes to that weekend. Obviously, you guys can see that I’m not very happy about it.”
Kings guard De’Aaron Fox was the first player to speak out publicly after the agreement was announced, calling it “stupid” and asking, “If we have to wear masks and do all this for a regular game, what’s the point of bringing the All-Star Game back?”
James adds a very loud dissenting voice, although his objections may not matter now that the union has agreed to go through with the game.
“It’s the agreement that the players’ association and the league came about. … It’s out of my hands,” James said. “I’ll be there if I’m selected. But I’ll be there physically, but not mentally.”
Lakers forward Jared Dudley said the team was motivated by Clippers star Paul George‘s comments last season, with Dudley clarifying further in his book released earlier this week, “Inside the NBA Bubble: A Championship Season under Quarantine”.
“We hear some of those guys talking about how they’re the team to beat in L.A.,” Dudley and co-author Carvell Wallace wrote, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “It’s fine if Kawhi [Leonard] says stuff like that. He’s defending a championship. We don’t trip if someone like Patrick Beverley is talking trash; that’s how he feeds his family. We get it. We respect the hustle.
“But we think it’s disrespectful for Paul George, who hasn’t won, to put himself on the level of [LeBron James] and [Anthony Davis]. This motivates us.”
Dudley also mentioned how the league could benefit from having a Lakers-Clippers rivalry, with both teams seemingly eager to meet in a playoff series — potentially the Western Conference Finals.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns are set to welcome back fans for the first time this season, the team announced on its website. Phoenix will host 1,500 fans on February 8, with suites being available to purchase at 25% capacity for each game after February 7.
- Marc Stein of the New York times examines the pairing of Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, exploring whether the duo has gotten even better together since signing long-term extensions in the offseason. Los Angeles has opened the 2020/21 season with a 16-6 record, good for third-best in the Western Conference.
- Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic looks at the making of Warriors swingman Juan Toscano-Anderson. Toscano-Anderson is in his second season with Golden State, with the 27-year-old adding 16 points off the bench in Tuesday’s loss against Boston. “He has an appreciation for the grind that it’s taken for him to get to this level,” teammate Stephen Curry said. “He has a spirit of representing Oakland. Playing for the hometown team for him has got to be such a dope experience. But when it comes to getting on the floor, he plays hard. He’s a smart basketball player. He’s reliable in that sense. He’s worked for everything he’s gotten, for every opportunity. … He hasn’t taken his foot off the gas pedal.”
Dennis Schroder‘s contract situation is one of the reasons why Alex Caruso isn’t logging more minutes, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register speculates. After acquiring Schroder from the Thunder during the offseason, the Lakers are hoping to convince him to sign an extension instead of allowing him to enter unrestricted free agency this offseason. That’s why it is in the team’s best interests to keep Schroder in a starting role and give him steady minutes even though his offensive production has dipped significantly compared to last season.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has noted that his stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, absent thus far from the club’s six-game road trip due to coronavirus protocols, are “feeling well,” but he would not elaborate on when he expected them to return to the team, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“Mentally, they’re in a great place,” Clippers reserve point guard Reggie Jackson said of the two unavailable wings. “They are doing all they can to get back as soon as possible.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Suns All-Star point guard Chris Paul has verbalized his frustration with his club following Phoenix’s third straight loss, according to Royce Young of ESPN. “I’m not going to say we’re not good enough, but we’re not playing well enough right now,” Paul said following a 102-97 home loss to the Thunder.
- After being traded from the Lakers this offseason, Sixers small forward Danny Green holds no ill will toward Los Angeles, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. In fact, Green stays in touch with his old teammates. “I still call them brothers,” Green said. “We still have a bond forever, because of what we achieved together and the time we spent in the bubble.”
- The Suns are hopeful that forward Dario Saric, who has been conditioning for several days after being absent due to the league’s coronavirus protocols, can return for the team’s game against the Mavericks this Saturday, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM tweets. In seven games this season, Saric is averaging 10.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.0 APG. He is connecting on 35.7% of his 4.0 three-point attempts per game.
Lakers star Anthony Davis will miss Thursday’s game vs. Detroit due to a bruised right quad, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. As McMenamin notes, Davis seemed to be favoring his right leg during Wednesday’s loss to Philadelphia, but downplayed the issue after the game and said he felt “physically fine.”
This will be the third time this season that Davis has missed one half of a Lakers back-to-back set. Assuming the injury is minor, he should be able to return on Saturday when L.A. faces the Celtics in Boston.
The NBA and NBPA have reached a stalemate in their negotiations for the possible addition of an 18th roster spot for teams in 2020/21, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
Word broke nearly two weeks ago that the league and the players’ union were discussing the possibility of adding a third two-way contract slot. Currently, clubs are permitted to carry up to 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals, for a total of 17.
The idea, which was previously said to be gaining some momentum, was broached at a time when a series of games were being postponed because teams didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
According to Stein (Twitter link), the league has maintained that if an 18th roster spot is added, it should be a third two-way slot only open to players with fewer than four years of NBA experience, as the other two-way slots are. The players’ union wants that 18th spot to be open to all veteran free agents.
Stein adds (via Twitter) that there’s some concern that adding an 18th roster spot open to any veteran free agent would give a competitive advantage to hard-capped teams (such as the Lakers, Clippers, and Bucks), allowing them to add another quality player despite their current financial constraints.
A player on a two-way contract this season is earning a $449K salary (half of the rookie minimum) and doesn’t count against his team’s salary cap.
- Lakers forward Jared Dudley is close to returning from a calf injury that has kept him out of action since January 8, according to Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register (Twitter link). Coach Frank Vogel said Dudley is probably “a game or two out” from being available. The 35-year-old has played in just six games this season.
Through lineup additions and subtractions, as well as new offensive sets implemented by their new coach, the Clippers are feeling more confident in their chemistry this season than they did during their disappointing 2019/20 run, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
“I feel like our energy is way better this season,” forward Marcus Morris said. “It’s a new season; it’s a new team.”
The Clippers have won four straight games, even with key rotational players missing. New additions Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard have managed to fit in nicely.
“Hopefully, you guys see it, just how well we are meshing,” star forward Paul George said. “We are going to continue to build off of that; we like where we are at and like where we are heading, and we want to see this thing play all the way through.”
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Adjusting to their not-insignificant roster turnover has yet to be an issue for the Lakers, says Rob Mahoney of The Ringer. The team has added four core new rotation players: new starters Dennis Schröder and Marc Gasol, plus key new bench additions Wesley Matthews and Montrezl Harrell.
- The slumping Kings are 5-10 despite an encouraging 3-1 season start, and James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area opines that it may be time to infuse the starting lineup with new blood. The club is on a four-game losing streak, and has lost nine of its last 11 contests. “It sucks losing. You can never accept it, well, I can never accept it,” big man Marvin Bagley III said after a lopsided 115-96 loss to the Clippers on Wednesday.
- Clippers center Ivica Zubac, who started for the club last year, has looked more comfortable in his new role off the bench this season, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. The newly-signed veteran Ibaka has supplanted Zubac as the starter.
- Complacency may be the toughest adversary the reigning champion Lakers confront during the 2020/21 season, says Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. Though the defensive-oriented champs have lost two games they led entering the fourth quarter this season after not dropping a single such game during 2019/20, their offensive output has improved notably, Goon opines.