Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid Named Players Of The Month

April 11th, 2023 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers big man Anthony Davis has been named the Western Conference’s Player of the Month for games played in March and April, while Sixers center Joel Embiid has earned the honor in the Eastern Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Davis was limited to 56 total games this season due to injuries, but he appeared in 18 of the Lakers’ 20 contests in March/April, averaging 26.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.9 blocks in 35.5 minutes per night.

Los Angeles had a 13-5 record in those games despite missing LeBron James for many of them. Davis’ strong play down the stretch helped the Lakers – who were in 12th place in the West at the end of February – move up to No. 7, securing the most favorable slot in the play-in tournament.

Embiid, who was also the East’s Player of the Month in both December and January, earned the honor a third time by capping an MVP-caliber season with 33.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.9 blocks in 33.4 minutes per game across 18 contests in March and April. Philadelphia went 12-6 in those games.

Embiid was the only player to earn three Player of the Month awards this season. Another MVP contender, Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, won it twice in the West, but no other player in either conference was named Player of the Month more than once.

Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson, and Domantas Sabonis were the other Player of the Month nominees in the West, per the NBA, while Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mikal Bridges, Zach LaVine, Donovan Mitchell, and Jayson Tatum were nominated in the East (Twitter links).

Poll: Tuesday’s NBA Play-In Games

April 11th, 2023 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

By the end of the night on Tuesday, two more first-round playoff matchups will be locked in, with the No. 7 seeds in both conferences having been determined.

The Eastern Conference’s No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup pits Jimmy Butler and the 44-38 Heat against Trae Young and the 41-41 Hawks. The two Southeast clubs will do battle on Tuesday at 7:30 pm Eastern time in Miami for the right to face the second-seeded Celtics in the first round.

Miami is the home team in this game, won the season series with Atlanta (3-1), and will enter as a 4.5-point favorite, per BetOnline.ag. The Heat haven’t looked as good this season as they did in 2021/22, when they claimed the top seed in the East and came within a couple plays of making the NBA Finals. But they’re as healthy now as they’ve been at any time this season and were far better at home (27-14) than on the road.

Miami has also done a good job defending Young — his 19.8 points per game on .356/.208/.865 shooting in four games this season vs. the Heat were the worst numbers he put up against any Eastern Conference team.

Atlanta, meanwhile, has been the epitome of a .500 club this season. Since going 13-13 in their first 26 games, the Hawks have had a .500 record an incredible 22 more times en route to a 41-41 finish.

Still, like the Heat, the Hawks are healthy entering Tuesday’s play-in game. They’ve been a winning team (38-35) when Young is available and have been a little more effective under head coach Quin Snyder (+1.8 net rating) than they were under Nate McMillan (-0.5). Perhaps Atlanta will also benefit from past play-in experience — the club won two play-in games a year ago to claim the No. 8 seed in the East.

Over in the West, the No. 7 Lakers (43-39) will host the No. 8 Timberwolves (42-20) in the second play-in game of the night to determine which team will advance to the playoffs and face the Grizzlies in round one.

The Lakers are eight-point favorites and it’s not hard to see why. Since their trade-deadline additions debuted on February 11, the Lakers have the NBA’s sixth-best net rating (+4.8) and third-best record (18-8), despite missing star forward LeBron James for 13 of those games. They’re playing their best basketball of the season at exactly the right time.

The Timberwolves, on the other hand, are entering the play-in tournament with their huge 2022 offseason addition – Rudy Gobert – set to serve a one-game suspension after punching a teammate on the sidelines in Sunday’s regular season finale. Meanwhile, breakout All-Defensive candidate Jaden McDaniels, whom the Wolves insisted on keeping when they dealt for Gobert, will be sidelined due to a separate punch — this one, aimed at a wall, broke McDaniels’ hand.

With Naz Reid (wrist surgery) also unavailable and Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) listed as questionable, the Wolves will be the shorthanded team on Tuesday, but it’s worth noting that amidst all their drama and injuries, they pulled off an impressive comeback win over New Orleans on Sunday to claim the eighth spot in the West. Maybe the turmoil will help the team come together and pull off an upset victory in Los Angeles.

We want to know what you think. Which two teams will win tonight’s games and claim the No. 7 seeds for the playoffs?

Vote in our poll below, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Shaquille Harrison Signed Two-Year Deal With Lakers

April 11th, 2023 at 7:05am CST by Luke Adams

Both Tristan Thompson and Shaquille Harrison signed minimum-salary contracts with the Lakers, but Thompson’s deal only covers the rest of this season, while Harrison’s includes a non-guaranteed salary for 2023/24.

LeBron James Says Lakers Have To Stay Focused

April 10th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Both players started the season elsewhere, and they got to their current teams in radically different ways. Durant was the centerpiece of the season’s most celebrated trade, being sent from Brooklyn to Phoenix in a four-team deal at the deadline. Westbrook was a salary dump by the Lakers, who had to give up their 2027 first-round pick to get Utah to take his contract. He signed with the Clippers after agreeing to a buyout with the Jazz.

Suns center Bismack Biyombo sat out Sunday’s game with a right knee bone contusion, but he’s confident that he’ll be ready for the playoffs, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Biyombo said he felt the worst pain of his career when he bumped knees with Lakers big man Anthony Davis Friday night, but the effects have largely subsided. “If it was a big game, I’d probably step on the court and compete, honestly,” Biyombo said on Sunday, “but the medical staff and the trainers that we have, we’re working through the process, but we’re patient enough knowing that we’ve got the playoffs starting. … That’s when things matter, which I’m really excited for.”
LeBron James is relieved to be in the play-in tournament after a 2-10 start, but he said the Lakers have to keep the same focus that propelled their late-season success, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We put ourselves in a position where we can move on. That’s all we asked for, to put ourselves in a position to move on,” James said. “We obviously had a very, very slow start. … So, to know where we are today, you can be happy about that but not satisfied.”

Lakers Sign Tristan Thompson, Shaquille Harrison

April 9th, 2023 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

12:45pm: The Lakers have officially signed Thompson and Harrison while waiving Reed, the team confirmed in a press release.

10:43am: The Lakers are making a pair of roster additions to fortify their depth ahead of the postseason, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, who reports (via Twitter) that center Tristan Thompson and guard Shaquille Harrison are joining the team.

Los Angeles had an open spot on its 15-man standard roster, so only one cut will be necessary to make room for the two incoming veterans. Davon Reed will be the odd man out and will be placed on waivers today, per McMenamin.

Thompson, 32, has been out of the NBA for the entire 2022/23 season but worked out for the Lakers last month and played alongside Lakers star LeBron James for several years in Cleveland.

The big man averaged 6.0 points and 5.1 rebounds in 57 games (15.7 MPG) for the Kings, Pacers, and Bulls last season and has career averages of 9.0 PPG and 8.4 RPG in 730 games. Thompson also has no shortage of postseason experience, having appeared in 88 career playoff contests for the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Bulls.

Harrison has made 180 regular season appearances for six NBA teams since making his debut in 2018. Like Thompson, the 29-year-old guard hasn’t been in the league for most of this season, though he did play five games while on a 10-day contract with the Trail Blazers. That deal expired overnight on Saturday, freeing him up to join a new team.

Harrison was actually in training camp with the Lakers last fall, but was cut at the end of the preseason and ended up playing for the South Bay Lakers, L.A.’s G League affiliate. Known as a stout perimeter defender, he finished third in NBAGL Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Reed, who will turn 28 in June, joined the Lakers along with Mohamed Bamba as part of the four-team February trade that sent Thomas Bryant to Denver. He never cracked L.A.’s regular rotation though, logging just 27 total minutes across eight games with his new team. His minimum salary for 2023/24 is fully non-guaranteed, so the Lakers won’t be on the hook for any money for him beyond this season.

Both Thompson and Harrison will be eligible to play in the postseason for the Lakers because neither one has been waived since March 1.

L.A. Notes: Playoff Race, George, Lakers’ Depth, Roster Spot

April 8th, 2023 at 10:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers kept the inside track on the fifth seed in the West, but they had to rally past a depleted Trail Blazers team on Saturday, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Coach Tyronn Lue admits there was “a lot of cussing” in his halftime speech as L.A. entered the locker room trailing by six after surrendering 70 first half points to a Portland squad that was missing most of its rotation players.

“We gotta be more professional with our approach, and we all realized that wasn’t our greatest first half,” Lue said. “We didn’t play the right way and we just can’t do that. And so they understood; that’s why they came out in the third quarter and played the way they did.”

The Clippers have control over their playoff destiny and can wrap up the No. 5 slot by beating Phoenix on Sunday. However, that would guarantee a first-round series against the Suns, who are undefeated with Kevin Durant in the lineup. Losing to Phoenix would carry an element of risk, as L.A. could still fall into the play-in tournament. Lue assured reporters that his plan is to play to win.

“I mean if you don’t treat the game right, basketball gods will make you pay for it,” Lue said.

There’s more from Los Angeles:

Paul George is working out again, but he doesn’t appear close to returning from the sprained right knee that has sidelined him since March 21, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Clippers officials said George didn’t suffer any damage to significant ligaments, but he had to keep the knee immobilized for a long time to promote healing.
In Friday’s win over Phoenix, the Lakers‘ reserves showed they can carry the team if LeBron James and Anthony Davis are having off nights, per Elliott Teaford of The Orange County Register. D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Malik Beasley combined for 67 points as L.A. displayed depth that it didn’t have before the trade deadline and kept its hopes alive for a top-six finish. “It’s huge for those guys to be able to carry the load and make some shots and have their own different segments during the game,” coach Darvin Ham said. “Huge, man. The more pressure we can take off Bron and AD to have to go out and save the day or make every play, the better. When they can just play manageable minutes and those other guys step up and play well, it just makes us that much more dangerous. And it saves some gas for our two big dogs.”
The Lakers still have an open roster spot, and Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report expects them to fill it Sunday, likely with a multiyear contract that is non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed for next season (Twitter link).

Lakers Clinch Above-.500 Season

April 8th, 2023 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are proud of their team for clinching an above-.500 finish after getting off to a 2-10 start, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Davis said that he and James credit the team’s in-season additions for helping to lead that turnaround. “We pointed to some guys and were like, ‘We thank y’all. It didn’t look like we were going that way to start the season,'” Davis said. “Man, we just kept pushing and kept grinding. And obviously the guys that were able to come in here helped us get some more wins and ultimately finish above .500.”

Injury Notes: Zion, J. Brown, Middleton, Schröder, Biyombo

April 7th, 2023 at 11:01pm CST by Rory Maher

Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin announced on Thursday that Zion Williamson would remain out indefinitely as he continues to deal with a right hamstring strain that has kept him sidelined since January 2.

According to Christian Clark of NOLA.com, Griffin clarified on Friday that Williamson will not suit up for the play-in tournament, and he might miss a potential first-round playoff series as well.

“I would just say that if you looked at the logistics of where we are at, it’s not possible to get the work in that would put him in a 5-on-5 workout in time for any play-in,” Griffin said. “Based on today, our best possible outcome would be if everything lined up perfectly, maybe you’re in a position to practice prior to a first round. Or maybe during a first round. But it’s going to take more than one, right? It’s really hard. We may never get to that point, either. If it’s not a situation where those things align and he feels the way he needs to feel, we’re not going to let him go to the next phase.”

Williamson had a setback in February, which delayed his return to the court. Griffin said the All-Star forward hasn’t experienced another setback since then, but he lacks confidence in the hamstring.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown cut his right hand and had to get five stitches as he was picking up a glass vase he broke while watering his plants on Thursday night, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Brown expects to be ready for the playoffs, Weiss adds.
Bucks forward Khris Middleton had an MRI on Thursday after he aggravated a right knee injury, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Nothing showed up on the imaging and Middleton is expected to rehab for the next week “in hopes of being ready” for the postseason, according to Charania. While it’s a positive development that the MRI was clean, Charania’s wording suggests it’s no lock that Middleton will be healthy when the playoffs start on April 15.
Lakers guard Dennis Schröder was ruled out of Friday’s matchup with Phoenix due to “extreme neck soreness” that stemmed from “general wear and tear,” head coach Darvin Ham told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). The team had previously listed Schröder as questionable due to neck spasms.
Suns center Bismack Biyombo was in a lot of pain and needed assistance to leave the court after taking knee-to-knee contact in Friday’s matchup with the Lakers. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest with a right knee injury, as Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports relays (All Twitter links).

California Notes: Powell, Thompson, Kings, Lakers

April 7th, 2023 at 4:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers reserve guard Norman Powell appears to be rediscovering his fighting form of late. In his most recent contest, a 125-118 win over the Lakers Wednesday, Powell notched a team-high 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register.

“I think it’s like my fourth game back coming off injury after missing 11 games so it was just being prepared and just staying mentally locked in and as (head coach Tyronn) Lue says, not playing so angry,” Powell said. “It just shows how much I love the game and how much I commit to it, and my preparation every single day.”

Playing in his first full season with the Clippers, the 6’3″ swingman is averaging 16.7 PPG on .476/.404/.815 shooting splits. All but eight of his 58 healthy contests have come off the team’s bench.

There’s more out of California:

Starting Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson has been dealing with a sore back of late, but head coach Steve Kerr said on Friday that the 6’7″ vet is feeling better and was a full practice participant today, Kendra Andrews of ESPN tweets.
The 48-32 Kings could be without several notable players against the Warriors tonight, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets. All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are both questionable with ankle injuries. Shooting guard Kevin Huerter is managing his own injury, while rookie power forward Keegan Murray has a foot ailment. The statuses of forward Trey Lyles and guards Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk are also up-in-the-air. If Sacramento wins out and the Grizzlies lose out, the Kings would be able to secure the West’s second seed by benefit of a tiebreaker, but it appears the team is happy with its current No. 3 seed.
Despite a clean injury sheet, the healthy Lakers‘ loss against a Clippers team missing All-Star forward Paul George exposes the club as being less than title-caliber, opines Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. Plaschke notes that stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James were clearly playing through ailments, and the rest of the team failed to step up to meet the moment.

Pacific Notes: Westbrook, Wiggins, Suns, Len

April 6th, 2023 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers savored Wednesday’s victory over their cross-town rivals in a game with huge implications for playoff seeding, but the win was a little sweeter for Russell Westbrook than anyone else, writes Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. Westbrook was a lightning rod for criticism and an easy target for all that went wrong during his season and a half with the Lakers. He was the subject of trade rumors dating back to last summer before being shipped to Utah in February.

Westbrook signed with the Clippers after reaching a buyout agreement with the Jazz and has been a productive if sometimes imperfect fit. With the chance to solidify a top-six seed on Wednesday night, Westbrook provided early energy with 10 first quarter points as the Clippers built a 19-point lead in the first half.

“It’s not about individual stuff, but we knew what was said about him and when he came over here, it’s the complete opposite of who he is,” Ivica Zubac said. “He’s a great dude, a great leader, always happy, always positive, always helping everyone on the court, helping a lot. So we just wanted to prove everyone wrong, all those rumors, all that stuff that was said about him, it just makes it better that it came in the biggest game of the season.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Andrew Wiggins is back with the Warriors, but he won’t play before the regular season ends, according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN. Coach Steve Kerr said Wiggins had workouts on Tuesday with director of sports medicine Rick Celebrini and assistant coach Jama Mahlalela, then participated in a scrimmage on Wednesday with young players and staff members. “Full court, 5-on-5. He looked good,” Kerr said. “… He hasn’t played in two months and he’s out there running around and looking pretty good. He still has to stack a number of days like this before he’s ready to go out and play in an NBA game. We can’t put him in a bad spot, health-wise. We got to make sure we build him up, get his strength and conditioning in a good place before we put him out there.”
Now that the Suns are locked into fourth place, they may consider resting players for the final two games of the season, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix will face the Lakers on Friday and the Clippers on Sunday, so that decision will impact the playoff race.
Alex Len appears to have emerged as the Kings‘ primary backup center as they prepare for the postseason, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.