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There was plenty to be impressed by in the Lakers first two preseason games, both wins over the Clippers this weekend. Montrezl Harrell was consistent and showed his offensive flair while second-year man Talen Horton-Tucker stole NBA headlines by leading the team in scoring both nights.
But with the regular season less than a week away, it is time for the Lakers to bring in the big guns. That means, for the first time since winning the NBA Finals in the Orlando bubble, we will see both Anthony Davis and LeBron James on the floor for the Lakers tonight against Phoenix.
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Guard Alex Caruso, battling a hip injury, remains doubtful, however.
“The only one that will be out for tomorrow’s game, or I should say doubtful, is Caruso,” coach Frank Vogel told reporters. “Caruso is still doubtful, still has some soreness in his hip flexor. He’ll be listed as doubtful. I do plan on playing AD and LeBron some first half minutes just to kind of get their feet wet, and as of right now I think everybody else will be available.”
LeBron James, Anthony Davis Working on Short Offseason
We’re still not going to see James and Davis at full speed and, frankly, it might be a while before they are back up to their normal standards. The NBA Finals, after all, ended less than 10 weeks ago and a typical NBA offseason runs about 16 weeks for teams that reached the championship round.
James has plenty of experience with shortened offseasons, having reached the Finals 10 times in his career, but he has never had so little rest, a concern for the team as he heads toward his 36th birthday at the end of the month.
Before last season, Davis had never reached the NBA Finals and had only been to the conference semifinals one time, in 2018. That year, his season ended on May 8, meaning he had 23 weeks off—the shortest offseason of his career until now.
Davis is only 27, but he has a history of nagging injuries, making the lack of an offseason a big concern for him, too. He has missed at least 14 games in five of his eight NBA seasons.
Of course, the Lakers have nine players who were on the roster for the NBA Finals, but James (236) and Davis (229) played the most minutes in the series by far. James was the series MVP.
LeBron James Happy With Lakers’ Ball Movement
From his seat on the bench, James said he has been encouraged by what the Lakers did in their first two preseason games. The Lakers had excellent ball movement in scoring 131 points on Sunday, racking up 28 assists as the team shot 56.8% from the field.
“They’ve been sharing the ball, moving the ball, playing at a really good pace, and trying to defend and rebound,” James told reporters, per the L.A. Times. “We just want to pick up back at where we left off in the bubble, but also enhance that with the new guys. I’m going to do the same thing. Whatever it takes for our ballclub to win, I’m going to bring my game. You guys know what my game provides for this ballclub and I’m going to produce that every night.”
That will start tonight.
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