Luka Doncic and LeBron James agree on the most important factor for the Lakers going forward
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Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where the subject about their health is a major concern for them as the season kicks back up again and where we talk about the new NBA All-Star Game format.
Health, Luka Doncic concluded, will play a major factor in the Lakers’ success post-All-Star break.
Health, LeBron James maintained, will help determine the fate of the Lakers as they sprint towards the final 28 regular-season games and a top seeding in the uber-competitive Western Conference.
As such, Doncic continues to deal with a left hamstring strain that limited him to just five minutes for Team World in the All-Star Game Sunday.
Doncic missed the previous four games with the injury. The Lakers’ first game after the All-Star break is Friday at Crypto.com Arena against the Clippers.
After the All-Star Game Sunday, Doncic was asked if he would play Friday.
“We’ll see,” he responded.
He was asked how the hamstring felt during his limited time on the court Sunday.
“It was good,” said Doncic, the leading All-Star vote-getter. “Obviously, I wanted to go out there [and play]. The fans voted me to be in this game so I wanted to be there [and] be a part of it a little bit. But it felt good.”
He was then asked what are the keys for the Lakers when they return to play.
“Just probably health,” Doncic said. “We’ve been dealing with injuries a lot. So, I would say health.”
James missed the first 14 games of the season with sciatica and has dealt with left foot arthritis that kept him out of a game. Austin Reaves missed 19 straight games with a left calf strain.
That’s what the Lakers have had to overcome this season.
So, James said it’s pretty simple how he views the remainder of the season.
“Most important for our ballclub right now is health,” James said. “I can’t state it any clearer. I mean, not quite sure how many games we’ve had where we had a full roster. We’re over the halfway point and it’s not been many games. Obviously I know it’s been a lot more than over half, for sure, and probably even plus that. And so, our success is going to come down to obviously, I think, our health. Our coaching staff putting us in the right positions. I think they are going to give us a game plan every night. But when it comes to what we have to work with, we have to actually go out and see it. We haven’t been privy of having that opportunity much this year.”
Doncic, Reaves and James have played together in just 10 games this season, posting a 7-3 record.
The three of them are central to what the Lakers do.
Doncic is first in the NBA in scoring (32.8) and third in assists (8.6), Reaves is averaging career-best 25.4 points per game, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists and James is averaging 22.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists.
If all are healthy and cooking like they have been when they share the court, Doncic likes what they can be as a team.
“Good potential, you know,” Doncic said. “I think with us three on the floor together…Like I said, we need to be healthy. But big potential for us.”
The Lakers are 33-21 and in fifth place in the tough Western Conference, just a half-game behind the fourth-place Houston Rockets.
With James at 41 and playing in his record 23rd season, he was asked if his sense of urgency has spiked because of the uncertainty regarding the rest of his career.
“No. We’re gearing up toward the postseason. It has nothing to do with that,” James said. “Same motivation. Same mind factor. We’ve gotten past the marathon and the sprint is about to start. I think everybody understands that.”
The goal for the Lakers, of course, is to win the NBA championship.
But once again, they must remain healthy to have any chance at that.
If they can, James was asked what he thinks this group can accomplish if they stay healthy.
“It’s hard to say because this is a new group,” James said. “We added DA [Deande Ayton] and Marcus [Smart] and Jake [LaRavia], just got a new acquisition on our ballclub a couple games ago [in Luke Kennard]. It’s too hard to really say what we’re capable of.
“I know that when we’ve played some of our best basketball of the season, we’ve looked very good. On the other side, when we’ve been terrible, we’ve looked disgusting. So, I think the most important is, if we can get healthy, how many minutes we can be on the floor, how much chemistry we can build with this sprint starting. You would hope that you could have the regular season to kind of build that cohesiveness and things of that nature, but I’m hoping that, if we can get healthy, we can start to build that.”
All-Star Game delivers some excitement
When Victor Wembanyama dunked with force for the first basket of the game for Team World, followed that up with a three-pointer and later grew upset when one of his teammates left Team Stars’ Scottie Barnes open for the game-winning three-pointer in overtime, the San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 stud had set the tone with his aggressive approach and attitude.
The new All-Star Game format of three teams — Team World, Team Stripes and Team Stars — playing a 12-minute, round-robin mini-tournament raised some eyebrows on how it would work.
But because of Wembanyama’s intensity and how others such as Team Stars’ Anthony Edwards and Team Stripes’ Kawhi Leonard followed, the games were competitive and left many saying this new way may have just worked after all.
They can thank Wembanyama, who fumed over Barnes’ winning shot.
“It was our second time allowing a three when we shouldn’t have,” Wembanyama said. “I would have expected us to be smarter right here, so that was disappointing.”
Then you had Clippers forward Leonard putting on a show in his home arena, Intuit Dome, pouring in 31 points, going 11 for 13 from the field and six for seven from three-point range.
Edwards, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves and was named the game’s most valuable player, gave all the credit to Wembanyama for lighting the competitive juices of his fellow All-Stars.
Wembanyama explained why he was so motivated.
“To make it more fun,” Wembanyama said. “I think it was pretty good. We got a guy like Kawhi going for 30, making every shot. No, it was a pretty good display of basketball. Better than last year, in my opinion. It was fun.”
On tap
Feb. 20 vs. Clippers (26-28), 7 p.m.
The Clippers have won 13 of their past 18 games and have moved into the 10th spot in the West. Leonard has led the way by averaging 27.9 points per game, eighth-best in the league. The Clippers have won the last two games against the Lakers.
Feb. 22 vs. Boston (35-19), 3:30 p.m.
The Celtics have moved up to second in the Eastern Conference behind the play of All-Star Jaylen Brown, who is fourth in the league in scoring (29.3), and an offense that throws up 42.4 three-point attempts per game, the second-most in the league. And of course, the Celtics and Lakers are hated rivals.
Status report
Deandre Ayton (right knee soreness)
Ayton missed the previous two games before the All-Star break with his injury. The Lakers need a healthy and productive Ayton going forward.
Favorite thing I ate this week
Boungiorno! The competition for this week’s favorite food may have been the toughest in the short history of this newsletter section. By a fraction of a point, the judges are giving this one to the pork adobo at Mabuhay. The bowl is served with a banana leaf that is torched at the table to add a smoky flavor to the rice and shredded pork. For dessert, I followed the recommendation of our server and ordered the ube float. Digging through the layers of graham cracker, condensed milk and ube, I knew he didn’t lead me wrong.
Silver medal goes to tartare panino from Il panino del Iaghetto. One of three daily specials, it had salsa verde and porchini mushrooms on the perfect crisp and light bread. Bronze medal position is the spicy pork belly from Xin Fu Ji, which had me nostalgic for my favorite dish I had at the Beijing Olympics.
In case you missed it
Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James shine at All-Star Game in L.A., but young legs prevail
Photos: Highlights from NBA All-Star Game weekend in Inglewood
Adam Silver says NBA seeking ‘every possible remedy’ to stop teams from tanking
‘I always had a mission’: How LeBron James has maintained peak performance
LeBron James becomes oldest NBA player with a triple-double in Lakers’ win
Until next time...
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