Andy Kamenetzky here, the host of the daily Locked On Lakers podcast, with your daily Locked On Lakers newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Lakers and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
LeBron James Downgraded to Questionable Vs. Atlanta... Better That He Sits?
The Lakers have some serious problems right now. LeBron James, rather uncharacteristically, is one of them.
His play over the last 10 days or so has not been good. Not in a “by LeBron James standards” kind of way, either. The shot has been off, the turnovers are up, the defense has been... lacking. But to this point, at least, LeBron’s health hasn’t been an issue. His age? His energy? Yes to both. But LeBron hasn’t been on the injury report.
That changes tonight as the Lakers take on the Hawks in Atlanta. James is on the injury report, downgraded to questionable with foot/ankle issues. This isn’t a new problem, and ironically it comes after LeBron had one of his better offensive games in a while against Miami on Wednesday. But it’s also in the wake of both James and JJ Redick publicly seeming to reconsider LeBron’s stated goal of playing in all 82 regular season games.
Could this be the beginning of a shift in how the Lakers approach LeBron’s usage?
Were James to miss tonight’s game, and follow that up with some additional rest on Sunday at home against Portland, he’d be able to get a level of rest over the next two weeks almost unheard of in the NBA. After they see the Blazers, the Lakers don’t play again until December 13 against Minnesota. Following that with a game on the 15th vs. Memphis, the Lakers are then off until visiting Sacramento on the 19th. So if some version of getting rest for James ahead of the break, whether both games or just one, isn’t the plan, should it be?
The Lakers have to figure out what LeBron’s capabilities are, and how they can be maximized. Because while they ought to be built with enough depth to support him through the long regular season so that he can be LeBron down the stretch, they aren’t. The LeBron of the last couple of weeks isn’t going to be nearly good enough for the Lakers to make any noise, even if Austin Reaves (out again tonight) comes back soon. Especially while Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood are out. (And two of the three likely out a while.)
Are there combinations the Lakers could deploy to fix this? Would removing LeBron for a couple days break the cycle the Lakers seem to be in right now where James has a much larger usage within the offense than he did earlier in the year?
These next two weeks, whether you’re talking about the games they have to play or the rest they need to find or the adjustments they need to make, will potentially define the remainder of the season.
Dec 1, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick calls a play against the Utah Jazz during the first half at the Delta Center. | Christopher Creveling/Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images
If JJ Redick had approached the season signalling a measure of outward self-awareness that he, a former player with no head coaching experience and cohost of a podcast with LeBron James, was now head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, things might be different. If Redick had acknowledged that very obvious, and unique to our contemporary basketball moment of athlete-driven media elephant in the room, things might be different. If Redick had at any point, when asked about his new role in scrums wherein he knows the clips and audio of his answers will be immediately and robustly aggregated, balanced out his self-aggrandizing basketball sicko-hood, or answers where he likened head coaching to nothing short of personal destiny, with something like, It’s a learning curve, really anything a hair more measured, things might be different.
Things would not look different. The Lakers made no real structural changes to their roster in the offseason, so the team playing bad basketball now is the same team that was playing bad basketball last season under Darvin Ham (Redick is one game off the 13-9 pace set by Ham last season), but things might be interpreted, or reasoned with, differently. That kind of grace, for a struggling franchise with major conflicting timelines and high-stakes notions like legacy on the line, goes a long way.
There is such a fine line in coaching between collaborative and domineering, confident and arrogant, and many first-time head NBA coaches have learned the hard way what it is to lose a team, and lose them quickly. Nate Bjorkgren went into the Pacers organization not just hot but by many accounts scorching, and was expeditiously fired at the end of his lone year in Indiana. Jason Kidd may have traded in his string of short-lived head coaching appointments (Nets, Bucks — and surprise! — Lakers) for his current and seemingly steady job with the Mavs, but there is no doubt a type afforded the leniency of multiple failures in the NBA, and it tends to be white, male and abidingly faultless.
To Redick’s credit, he has vocally shouldered the blame of the Lakers recent, bad losses. When the team fell to the Timberwolves 109-80 to start the month, Redick noted their lacklustre effort was “looking more and more like it’s not an aberration”, correcting himself from a late-November blown effort against the Nuggets he said was. This week’s impressive loss to the Heat resulted in a two minute explanation from Redick that skimmed the existential and was anchored in the heavy weight of realization.
What’s difficult from here — beyond how the Lakers improve when their offensive energy is sporadic at best and their approach to defence has been to literally stand back and watch — is how to move forward into the long season still ahead, with the base level of competency and pride necessary for a cohesive team to function.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Home and Away
Biz The NBA will return to China in 2025; The first time since team executive Daryl Morey’s 2019 tweet signalled support for Hong Kong independence. (ESPN)
Feel Good Four Raptors rookies make history by playing in two games in one day. (SportsNet)
Preview Get ready for the Lakers’ next matchup against the Hawks. Find out the start time and injury report to ensure you don’t miss the action. (Silver Screen and Roll)
Analysis Despite the loss to the Heat, LeBron James and Anthony Davis continue to demonstrate their leadership. Explore their performance and impact on the team’s dynamics. (Silver Screen and Roll)
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Lakers @ Timberwolves
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Fantasy Cheat Sheet
Ayo Dosunmu’s Big Fantasy Basketball Night
Dec 5, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) looks to pass the ball while defended by San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) and forward Harrison Barnes (40) during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter/Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
The Dallas Mavericks dominated the Washington Wizards, with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving leading the charge. Doncic’s 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, alongside Irving’s 25 points, highlighted their commanding performance. Despite a lackluster showing from P.J. Washington, Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie delivered solid contributions. The Wizards’ decision to start Marvin Bagley over Jonas Valančiūnas was puzzling, given Bagley’s inconsistent play. Bilal Coulibaly’s struggles continue, and Jordan Poole’s shooting woes persist, though his minutes remain encouraging.
In another matchup, the Cleveland Cavaliers secured a significant win over the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic’s 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists underscored his dominance, despite heavy minutes. Michael Porter Jr.'s defensive contributions were notable, with four steals and two blocks. On the Cavaliers’ side, Caris LeVert’s 21 points and Donovan Mitchell’s 28 points, six assists, and six triples were key to their victory.
The Oklahoma City Thunder overwhelmed the Toronto Raptors, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge with 30 points, five assists, and two steals. Cason Wallace’s defensive prowess was on display, contributing two steals and four blocks. The Raptors struggled without Jakob Poeltl, highlighting their lack of depth at the center position.
Don’t let these episodes pass you by — stay locked in with the latest Locked On Lakers podcasts.
Lakers Beat Warriors on Last Second Layup from Austin Reaves, Davis Leaves Early with Ankle Injury The Lakers lost Anthony Davis seven minutes into their Christmas Day tilt in San Francisco against the Warriors. Bah humbug, right? Not so fast. The Lakers circled the wagons, and got big performances up and down the roster, using an Austin Reaves bucket with a second left to beat Golden State, 115-113.
Turnovers Kill the Lakers in a 117-114 Loss to Detroit Pistons The Lakers offense has been stuck in the mud for the last few weeks. Monday at the Crypt against Detroit, the Lakers shot 54% from the floor, including 47% from 3-point range. They hit 20 of their 25 free throws, a perfectly solid 80%. The Lakers got a triple-double (28/11/11) from LeBron James. Max Christie chipped in with 17. So why did they ultimately lose 117-114 to the Pistons?
Why the Suddenly Hot Lakers Have a Chance to Rise in the Western Conference An 82-game season can have a ton of ebbs and flows, and often they feel extreme. Certainly that’s been the case for the Lakers, who have followed one of the most inept stretches of team defense with another that has been, quite literally, the league’s best over their last five games. Even more confusing, an offense that was once among the best in the league has totally cratered.
