The Lakers Better Without LeBron James?
Sunday’s win was the Lakers’ second straight and fourth in their last five. The Lakers improved to 13-7 without James, including 9-2 when Doncic and Reaves are on the court together. Without James, Doncic is averaging 35.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in 14 games. Reaves compiled 28.3 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 15 outings without James.
“Even the performance of Redick’s team improves even more when Doncic and Reaves share the court without LeBron,” John Griswold of Sports Illustrated said. “In such a circumstance, the Lakers have a 9-2 record, accompanied by a remarkable +13.31 net rating, a statistic that measures the difference between the points a team scores and those it receives per 100 possessions.”
“With Luka in the role of main generator and AR15 as an aggressive complement both in the outside shot and in penetrations,” Griswold continued. “The Angelenos have found an offensive balance that allows them to sustain positive results, apart from the absence of King James.”
Speaking of James, he is questionable for the game against the Timberwolves, per Benjamin Royer of the O.C. Register.
“LeBron James, as JJ Redick said earlier, is questionable for Tuesday night’s game against Minnesota,” Royer tweeted earlier this evening.
It isn’t a surprise that James is listed as questionable for the game against the Timberwolves, as he didn’t practice earlier today, as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin relayed. However, McMenamin did add that James did watch film of the Wolves with the team. If James is unable to go, it will be the third straight absence due to a right hip contusion and left hip arthritis.
Luke Kennard is having a historic shooting season.
Kennard is one of the best shooters in NBA history and is having a historic season from beyond the arc. Kennard, who ranks second in league history in 3-point percentage at 44.33%, averages 1.6 triples at a 50% clip in 60 contests for Atlanta and Los Angeles. If Kennard can continue to make threes at such a rate, he would become just the seventh player to knock down half of his shots from deep in a campaign.
Kennard has upped his production to 10.1 points per game, shooting 24 of 47 from beyond the arc (51.1%) in 14 games with the Lakers. He has made multiple threes seven times for the Lakers, including two or more treys in each of the last six contests.
“He’s developed into an elite shooter,” Redick said of Kennard earlier this afternoon via X.
