The Lakers could be without their starting center for Game 3 against the Rockets on Tuesday, according to the latest injury report on NBA.com. JaVale McGee is listed as questionable with a left ankle sprain. Reserve shooting guard Dion Waiters is considered doubtful due to a sore left groin.
Rajon Rondo turned in an up-and-down performance in Game 1 of the Lakers‘ second-round series against Houston, but head coach Frank Vogel expressed confidence after that game that Rondo would be an important contributor for L.A. in the series. On Sunday, the veteran point guard proved Vogel right.
As ESPN’s Dave McMenamin details, Rondo contributed 10 points, nine assists, and five steals in the Lakers’ Game 2 win, with the team outscoring the Rockets by 28 points during his 29 minutes. While Rondo is on a minimum-salary contract and ranked eighth on the team this season in minutes per game, he’s viewed as a leader on and off the court for the Lakers.
“He has such an impact,” Vogel said of Rondo. “His impact on our team is measured in swag and just the confidence that he brings to our group.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Lakers center JaVale McGee left Sunday’s game due to left ankle pain and didn’t return, per McMenamin. Vogel said after the game that McGee would be undergoing an MRI on his sore ankle.
- Within the same story, McMenamin notes that shooting guard Dion Waiters also left the game with an injury and didn’t play the rest of the night. Waiters was diagnosed with a strained groin, and his status going forward remains up in the air.
- Within a notebook piece on the Lakers/Rockets series, Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register explores how the two clubs have been using “scout teams” in practices to try to prepare for their opponent’s star players.
- Asked on Sunday why his children haven’t joined him in the NBA’s bubble, Lakers star LeBron James explained that – despite being located within Walt Disney World – the campus isn’t especially kid-friendly. “My kids are too adventurous and they love to do so much stuff,” James said, according to Mark Medina of USA Today. “There’s nothing for them to do here. Go outside, come back in, go outside, come back in. They can stay in L.A. They’re great.”
With the season on the line Sunday, the Bucks may not have their MVP on the court. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been listed as questionable for Game 4 against Miami with an ankle issue, tweets Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, who adds that Antetokounmpo had a “very noticeable limp” today.
The injury occurred early in the first quarter of Game 3 and Antetokounmpo was seen grimacing in pain throughout the night, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN. He still managed to put up 21 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists and said afterward that the ankle felt “great” and “it wasn’t bothering me at all.”
Antetokounmpo was named Defensive Player of the Year earlier this week and is expected to be named MVP for the second straight season. The Bucks are 5-5 in games he has missed this year, according to StatMuse.
In other injury news around the league:
- Rockets forward Danuel House left Friday’s game early, but the team explained it was for precautionary reasons and he won’t have to enter the concussion protocol, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Coach Mike D’Antoni said House was fine after the game.
- LeBron James has a sore right groin, Anthony Davis has a sprained left finger and Rajon Rondo is suffering back spasms, but the Lakers list all three as probable for Sunday, according to Feigen (Twitter link).
- The Heat are listing Kelly Olynyk as questionable for Game 4 with the right knee issue that caused him to miss Friday’s game, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
- Point guard Tremont Waters will be available for today’s Game 4, the Celtics announced. He had been sidelined with a sprained knee.
In his first game back since joining the Lakers inside the Orlando campus, Rajon Rondo had an inconsistent showing in Friday’s Game 1 Western Conference semifinals blowout loss to the Rockets.
The former All-Star totaled eight points, four assists, and three rebounds, but the Lakers seemed overmatched with him on the court. Coming off a thumb fracture in July, it’s fair to expect some rust from Rondo, but the timing is far from ideal, as the Lakers face a seven-game postseason series against a dangerous Houston squad.
Yet, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel feels the NBA-champion point guard will be a factor for L.A. throughout the series, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.
“Rajon is one of the smartest players in the league, and obviously our guys’ IQ raises when he’s on the court, so he’s definitely going to help us this series,” Vogel said.
Rondo’s inclusion is just one of several roster crunches to watch as the small-ball Rockets lineup wreaked havoc on the bigger Lakers team, which has prompted reports of Anthony Davis increasing willingness to play center.
Following a blowout 112-97 loss to the Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Lakers big man Anthony Davis is willing to play the center position to give L.A. an advantage over Houston’s small-ball lineup, Yahoo’s Chris Haynes writes.
Davis, mostly a power forward during his career, has previously indicated that he feels more comfortable at the four versus the five position — even though he’s open to playing center.
“I like playing the four, I’m not even going to sugarcoat it. I like playing the four, I don’t really like playing the five,” Davis said at his introductory press conference with the Lakers last fall (per SB Nation).
The Lakers had Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, the only true centers on the team, play 23 combined minutes at the position during Friday’s Game 1 blowout.
As Game 2 approaches, head coach Frank Vogel said the Lakers would examine the situation and make decisions accordingly, including where to play their All-Star big man.
“We’ll look at the tape and we’ll see what approach we’re going to have for Game 2 and we’ll go from there,” Vogel said.
- Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo is listed as probable for Game 1 of the Lakers’ second-round series vs. Houston on Friday, per the league’s official injury report. Assuming Rondo sees action, it will be the first time he has played since March 10 — a broken thumb and back spasms have sidelined him all summer.
It has taken them a little longer to get underway due to a pair of Game Sevens in the Western Conference quarterfinals, but the second round of the Western playoffs are finally set to tip off tonight. The No. 2 Clippers will face the No. 3 Nuggets on Thursday, with the No. 1 Lakers playing the No. 4 Rockets on Friday.
The Clippers will enter their series against the Nuggets as overwhelming favorites. Of the 19 ESPN experts who made predictions for the series, not a single one picked Denver to win — and not one thinks it will take the Clippers more than six games to dispatch the Nuggets.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George figure to be major problems for Denver. It’s unclear if the Nuggets have defenders capable of slowing down the duo; and on the other end of the court, top Denver scorers like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. will face more resistance from Leonard, George, and company than they did from Utah’s defenders in the first round.
The Lakers also open as heavy favorites over Houston. The 16 ESPN experts who made picks for the series were once again unanimous in projecting an L.A. victory, though in this case at least a handful predicted it will take a full seven games.
The well-rested Lakers will have the size advantage over the Rockets, as forwards like P.J. Tucker, Jeff Green, and Robert Covington will be tasked with guarding Anthony Davis and LeBron James. L.A. also had one of the NBA’s best defenses all season long and may force Houston’s role players to beat them with outside shots.
Still, while an all-L.A. Western Finals looks – as it has all year – to be the likeliest outcome, the Nuggets and Rockets have the star power to make things interesting. Nikola Jokic, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook aren’t about to bow out quietly. And as we’ve seen in the two Eastern Semifinals so far, a solid game plan and some well-timed hot shooting streaks can quickly put a series favorite on its heels.
What do you think? Are you penciling in a Clippers/Lakers showdown already, or do you think the Nuggets or Rockets are capable of pulling off an upset?
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- According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said on Monday that point guard Rajon Rondo practiced and should be available in the second round. Rondo has not played a single game in the bubble due to a broken thumb, which he suffered in July.
The Rockets will play the Thunder in Game 6 of their series on Monday and will advance to face the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals with a win.
- Anthony Slater of The Athletic makes five observations from the Lakers’ first-round series against the Blazers, which they won 4-1 over a depleted team. Slater examined several positive developments, including the team’s better-than-expected perimeter defense, LeBron James‘ ramped up offensive production, and more.
Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue is expected to be one of the NBA’s most popular head coaching candidates this offseason, having already been connected to at least three job openings.
As we relayed on Wednesday, Lue reportedly sought $7MM per year when he was in negotiations with the Lakers last year about their head coaching job. And Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer cites a league source who says Lue will once again be looking for $7MM annually in his talks with the teams this time around.
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While Lue’s asking price remains high, it sounds like he could be more open to compromise this year. Pompey suggests that the former Cavaliers coach may end up settling for $5-6MM per year. That would be good news for teams like the Pelicans, who are reportedly budgeting about $5.5MM annually for their next head coach, and the Sixers, who will still have to pay Brett Brown $10MM over the next two years.
Here’s more on Lue, along with other NBA head coaching rumors:
- We’ve heard that the Sixers and Lue have mutual interest, but Philadelphia will face plenty of competition. The Pelicans are expected to pursue Lue “hard,” according to Pompey, who adds that the former NBA guard is also “monitoring” the Bulls‘ coaching vacancy. Lue is considered a strong candidate for the Nets as well — he expects to receive an offer from Brooklyn, as Pompey has reported.
- Lakers assistant Jason Kidd is interested in the Sixers‘ head coaching job, league sources tell Pompey. Pompey also reports that Rockets player development coach John Lucas is interested in the 76ers’ job. It’s not clear how seriously Philadelphia will reciprocate either coach’s interest.
- The Kings are making it clear to potential GM candidates that they don’t intend to replace head coach Luke Walton prior to the 2020/21 season, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. However, Anderson notes that Walton’s position will still be somewhat precarious, as he’ll essentially be “auditioning for his own job” next season.