The Sports Report: Lakers give Anthony Davis passing marks this preseason

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Dan Woike: The numbers in the preseason mean so little, the sample sizes smaller than the puddles of sweat generated, that teams are generally just trying to make it to the starting line healthy.

But hidden in their six-game schedule, the Lakers have found some intensity and might have worked their way into an unexpected offensive benefit.

With the Lakers fairly locked in to one another here in training camp, with the core pieces building off of what they accomplished last season, maybe Anthony Davis can be more of a hub for the Lakers with his playmaking — and not just his scoring.

“I don’t want to give AD credit [for] passing the ball,” Austin Reaves said with a grin Tuesday. “… He’s a good passer. He can actually do it. I hate to say it, but AD can do everything. That’s why he’s one of the most talented guys in the league.

“Now, with the roster we have, we have the ability to space the floor. Obviously, AD’s high priority for scouting stuff for other teams. You know, once he makes those plays, it’s just going to get a lot easier for him too.”

For a player with the skills to do it all, Davis hasn’t always had the assists to show it. Last season, he averaged 2.6 assists per game — a number slightly higher than his career average. But getting that number up is a priority this preseason.

“I kinda broke down to the team where I like to see guys on the perimeter when I’m in the post,” Davis said Tuesday. “And, they’ve been there and been able to catch the ball and knock down shots. Just playing with the pass, though. We want to up our average from last year in assists per game as a team. And you just do that by making the right plays and guys being confident in their shot.”

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DODGERS

From Bill Plaschke: Same windowless room. Same empty stadium. Same dreary weekday. Same long face.

Andrew Friedman hosted the media for a second consecutive disappointment seminar Tuesday after a second consecutive division series Dodgers postseason knockout, and the scene in the bowels of Dodger Stadium was all too familiar.

The team’s president of baseball operations sweated remorse, again. He gulped water from a giant bottle, again. He expressed shock, again.

“It’s fair to say it’s an organizational failure … our goal was to win 11 games in October and we didn’t win one,” he said.

He was more humble this time. He wasn’t confrontational. He seemed more chastened. His pain seemed more visible.

“I didn’t do a good enough job,” he said.

But once again, just like last year, despite addressing query after query, he couldn’t offer a decent answer to the only question that matters.

How on earth can you stop this from happening again?

“We need to figure out what we can do differently and how to go about it,” he said.

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NLCS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific
All games on TBS

Arizona vs. Philadelphia
Philadelphia 5, Arizona 3 (recap, box score)
Philadelphia 10, Arizona 0 (recap, box score)
Today at Arizona, 2 p.m.
Friday at Arizona, 5 p.m.
*Saturday at Arizona, 5 p.m.
*Monday at Philadelphia, 2 p.m.
*Tuesday at Philadelphia, 5 p.m.

ALCS SCHEDULE

All times Pacific

Texas vs. Houston
Texas 2, Houston 0 (recap, box score)
Texas 5, Houston 4 (recap, box score)
Houston 8, Texas 5 (recap, box score)
Today at Texas, 5 p.m., FS1
Friday at Texas, 2 p.m., FS1
*Sunday at Houston, 5 p.m., FS1
*Monday at Houston, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1

*-if necessary

CLIPPERS

From Andrew Greif: To fans who left Crypto.com Arena this week unsure what to make of seeing the Clippers, at mostly full strength, play the half-resting Denver Nuggets, take heart: You are not alone.

Several of the most experienced Clippers acknowledge that when they watch preseason basketball across the NBA, with its varying lineups and levels of intensity, even they find it difficult to gauge what might be real, and what might prove to be really misleading.

Yet at least one thing has been abundantly clear throughout the Clippers’ preseason, including their 116-103 win Tuesday. Coach Tyronn Lue is still trying to solve a math problem that has persisted for the past year: How to fit a roster with a dozen or more options for playing time into his preferred rotation of nine or 10 players.

At the start of last season, the Clippers hailed the reality of their minutes crunch, with more passable options than possible opportunities, as a good problem and dubbed “sacrifice” their mantra. But midseason trades did not alleviate the logjam at guard or forward, nor the confusion that built over time as opportunities for some, such as forward Robert Covington, remained minimal all season, while others, such as wing Terance Mann, saw their minutes and roles fluctuate on any given night.

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WNBA

The Las Vegas Aces became the first team in 21 years to win back-to-back WNBA championships, getting 24 points and 16 rebounds from A’ja Wilson and a defensive stop in the closing seconds to beat the New York Liberty 70-69 in Game 4 of the Finals on Wednesday night.

The Aces join the Sparks (2001-02) and the Houston Comets (1997-2000) as the only teams in league history to win consecutive titles.

Las Vegas did it without starters Chelsea Gray and Kiah Stokes, who were both sidelined with foot injuries suffered in Game 3. Gray, the 2022 WNBA Finals MVP, was constantly in the ear of her teammates during timeouts and shouting encouragement from the sideline. Las Vegas was also still missing veteran Candace Parker, who had foot surgery in late July.

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SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: Lionel Messi’s contract with Inter Miami will pay him a base salary of $12 million and more than $20.4 million in guaranteed compensation, according to figures released Wednesday by the MLS Players Assn. Both figures are league records, but they account for less than half of what the Argentine World Cup champion is expected to pocket during each of his 2½ seasons in the U.S.

Deals with Adidas and sportswear manufacturer Fanatics, a cut of subscription sales to Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass streaming service and equity in the team are expected to push Messi’s earnings to “between $50 [million] and $60 million per year,” according to Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas. If those estimates prove accurate, that would put Messi’s earnings on par with the most lucrative contracts in the top three U.S. sports leagues. Stephen Curry was the best-paid player in the NBA last season at $48 million, Joe Burrow leads the NFL with a contract valued at $55 million annually, and Justin Verlander tops Major League Baseball at $43.3 million, although those figures don’t include outside compensation as Messi’s does.

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USWNT’s roster for upcoming friendlies with Colombia is released

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1940 — Alabama snaps Tennessee’s defensive scoreless streak of 71 quarters but still loses 27-12. Tennessee hadn’t allowed a point since Oct. 29, 1938, when it beat LSU 14-6.

1957 — Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadians scores his 500th career goal in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Black Hawks.

1960 — After 13 years in Minneapolis, the Lakers opened their inaugural season in Los Angeles with a 140-123 loss at Cincinnati.

1966 — Bobby Orr makes his NHL regular season debut for the Boston Bruins.

1985 — Robbie Bosco of Brigham Young passes for 585 yards in a 45-23 victory over New Mexico.

1986 — Lloyd Burruss of Kansas City intercepts three passes and returns two for touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a 42-21 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

1994 — Duke beats North Carolina 3-2 in women’s soccer to end the Tar Heels’ unbeaten streak of 101 games.

1997 — Pittsburgh goaltender Tom Barrasso makes 22 saves to earn his 300th career victory with a 4-1 win over Florida. Barrasso becomes the first American-born goaltender and 13th overall to record 300 wins.

2002 — Avon Cobourne becomes the fifth Division I-A rusher with four 1,000-yard seasons as West Virginia beats Syracuse 34-7. Cobourne has 108 yards in the game for 1,002 yards this season.

2012 — The National Hockey League announces the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through November 1. A total of 135 regular-season games are now lost from Oct. 11 through Nov. 1.

2014 — Peyton Manning breaks Brett Favre’s NFL record of 508 career touchdown passes and he throws four TD passes in Denver’s 42-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The record-breaker was an 8-yarder to Demaryius Thomas with 3:09 left in the first half. Manning reaches the milestone in his 246th regular-season game. Favre needed 302.

2014 — DeMarco Murray becomes the first running back in NFL history to start a season with seven straight 100-yard games in a 31-21 win over the New York Giants. Murray, with 128 yards and a touchdown, breaks Hall of Famer Jim Brown’s 56-year-old record.

—Compiled by the Associated Press