Christian Wood

Lakers Notes: Vanderbilt, Reaves, Olivari, Trade Market

Jarred Vanderbilt probably won’t play during the preseason, but the Lakers remain hopeful that he’ll be ready when the regular season tips off October 22, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The team is bringing Vanderbilt along slowly after he had surgery on both feet in May, and he continues to make progress toward being available for opening night. Coach J.J. Redick told reporters after Saturday’s practice that Vanderbilt hasn’t experienced any complications since training camp began.

“He’s following our ramp-up protocol,” Redick said. “He has not done any contact work. He has not participated in any non-contact practice. But we’re still trying to target the beginning of the season. Our ramp-up process, we’re on, sort of, target. So it remains to be seen if he’ll be available. But no setbacks. And he just continues to work his way back.”

Vanderbilt became an immediate starter after being acquired from Utah at the 2023 trade deadline and played an important role as the Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals. Injuries limited him to 29 games last season, and his return could be vital for Redick as he installs new defensive schemes.

“We’ve had some fun with one of our zones,” Redick said. “We haven’t practiced it, but we’ve used it in a game a couple times. We have another version of a zone that features [Vanderbilt]. I’m looking forward to experimenting with that. Probably won’t get to experiment with it in the preseason.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

  • Austin Reaves missed Thursday’s game with soreness in his right ankle, but Redick doesn’t believe it’s a long-term concern, Price adds. He was a non-contact participant in today’s practice and could return for Tuesday’s matchup with Golden State.
  • Quincy Olivari, who’s in camp on an Exhibit 10 deal, made a strong impression on his teammates and coaches Thursday night, per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. The rookie guard out of Xavier put up 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in the fourth quarter and helped to spark a 20-0 run. Olivari said it was a “fairly easy decision” to join the Lakers, even though there’s not a roster spot available, especially after he was recruited following the draft by Nick Mazzella, general manager of the team’s South Bay affiliate in the G League. “He takes the game very seriously,” Redick said. “He’s a player who, I talk about care factor, he’s a player who has a care factor for doing it the right way and wanting to execute whatever vision you give him. I’m excited that he’s in our program, I really am. We look at him as a coaching staff in very high regard.”
  • The Lakers are exploring the trade market in hopes of adding another center, Shams Charania of ESPN said Friday in his debut appearance on NBA Today (video link). Charania didn’t mention any potential targets, but he pointed out that Christian Wood continues to recover after having knee surgery last month, while two-way player Christian Koloko still hasn’t received medical clearance to return to the league, even though Lakers doctors remain confident it will eventually happen.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Russell, Davis, Wood, Redick

LeBron James is feeling optimistic about the Lakers while entering his record-tying 22nd year in the NBA, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.

I feel damn good,” James said Monday. “I had a great summer. … I feel really good physically. Mentally, I feel really good. Really sharp. Very fresh. Looking forward to getting to work tomorrow. I have not thought about what the future holds. Kind of just living in the moment. Especially with Bronny (James) being here, too. I don’t want to take this moment for granted.

James expressed gratitude for the chance to play for Team USA this summer and enjoyed the fact that several games went down to the wire, which he likened to playoff Game Sevens. Even though it’s unclear for exactly how much longer James will play, he showed no signs on Monday of wanting to slow down.

It felt great to play meaningful basketball,” James said. “To go out there at my age, the miles that I have, and to be able to play at the level I played at, it gave me even more of a sense of, ‘OK, I do have a lot in the tank. A lot.’ And I can help a big part of a team win the ultimate and whatever — if it’s gold, or if it’s a Larry O’Brien Trophy, or whatever the case may be, I can still get it done.

We have more from the Lakers:

  • D’Angelo Russell had an up-and-down season in 2023/24. His scoring average was his best in a Lakers uniform and he made a career-high 41.5% of his three-point attempts (7.2 per game). However, his averages and efficiency plummeted in the playoffs and McMenamin writes that he butted heads with former head coach Darvin Ham at times. Russell addressed his season on Monday. “I think for me, honestly, I really want to apologize in the sense of showing a lack of professionalism at times,” Russell said. “Showing a lack of team-first perception at times. So for me, just keeping that maturity and that professionalism throughout the year no matter the ups and downs. Holding myself more accountable on the defensive end.
  • Head coach J.J. Redick is encouraging Anthony Davis to shoot more threes this season, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register writes. Davis averaged a career-high 3.5 attempts per game in his first season with the Lakers in 2019/20, but that average has declined in each subsequent season. “Even [in] the Olympics when I [made] a three, he’ll text me ‘That’s what I wanna see,’ things like that,” Davis said. “So for him, it’s definitely gonna be just shooting more threes.
  • Lakers center Christian Wood, who is recovering from knee surgery, thinks he has about two weeks left of rehab from injury and then two weeks of ramp-up before being able to play, McMenamin reports (Twitter link). Wood played in 50 games last season for L.A., averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.
  • The Lakers almost traded with New Orleans for Redick early on in LeBron’s L.A. tenure, McMenamin writes in a separate story. James has long admired Redick, who later became his podcast co-host. When the Lakers job opened up, James and Redick got on the same page quickly before the latter was hired. “I wanted the Lakers, as a player and as a fan of the franchise, to be able to hire the coach that should be there,” James said. “Not only as I’m finishing my career, but long after I’m gone because there’s been so many guys in that seat over the last few years. And to be able to find someone that could be stable in that position is very key for any franchise. And for me to be a part of a legacy franchise, I feel like that was important.

Lakers’ Wood Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out At Least Eight Weeks

Lakers big man Christian Wood underwent a successful arthroscopic surgical procedure on his left knee on Monday, the team announced today.

According to the Lakers, Wood will be reevaluated in approximately eight weeks. That timeline indicates he’ll miss all of training camp and the preseason, as well as the start of the regular season. He’ll remain sidelined until at least early November, if not longer.

It’s the second procedure Wood has undergone on that troublesome knee this year. His 2023/24 season came to an early end when he was sidelined by a left knee injury in February that forced him to undergo arthroscopic surgery in March. The veteran forward/center was technically cleared to play in the final two games of the Lakers’ first-round series vs. Denver, but the club opted not to use him after such a long layoff.

After signing a two-year, minimum-salary contract with Los Angeles a year ago, Wood played a limited role for the team in his first year in L.A., averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game (50 games). His shooting percentages – 46.6% from the floor and 30.7% on three-pointers – were well below his career rates.

On the heels of a down year, it came as no surprise when the 28-year-old exercised his minimum-salary player option for 2024/25, guaranteeing his $3.04MM salary for the coming season.

Today’s Wood news is the second discouraging health update out of Laker Land within the past few days. A recent report indicated that forward Jarred Vanderbilt isn’t as far along as hoped in his recovery from the foot issue that kept him on the shelf for much of last season. However, with no formal word on that front from the team or the player, that should still be treated as a rumor for now.

With Wood unavailable to open the season, Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes figure to handle the brunt of the minutes at center for the Lakers.

Lakers’ Christian Wood Opts In For 2024/25

Lakers big man Christian Wood has exercised his player option for 2024/25, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The move guarantees Wood’s $3,036,040 salary for next season, postponing his free agency until 2025.

Wood, 28, remained on the free agent market for over two months last summer despite averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 25.9 minutes per game across 67 appearances for Dallas in 2022/23. He eventually signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Lakers that featured a player option on the second season.

Wood played a limited role in Los Angeles, averaging 6.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 50 games (17.4 MPG). His shooting percentages – 46.6% from the floor and 30.7% on three-pointers – were both well below his career rates and his season came to an early end when he was sidelined by a left knee injury in February that forced him to undergo arthroscopic surgery in March.

The veteran forward/center was technically cleared to play in the final two games of L.A.’s first-round series vs. Denver, but the club opted not to use him after such a long layoff.

Given how much trouble he had finding a favorable deal in free agency a year ago, it’s no surprise that Wood opted into the second year of his existing contract after a down season that ended with a major injury. His option decision doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be back in Los Angeles for ’24/25, since he could be a trade candidate this offseason.

Wood is the second player to pick up a player option this spring, joining Bulls guard Lonzo Ball. The full list of pending player option decisions – which features four more Lakers, including LeBron James – can be found right here.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Bronny, Trade Market, Vanderbilt, D-Lo, More

While Darvin Ham‘s future – or lack thereof – with the Lakers figures to be a hot topic this week, what happens this offseason with LeBron James figures to have the more significant impact on the franchise in 2024/25 and beyond.

James is considered likely to play for a couple more seasons, one source briefed on his thinking tells Shams Charania, Jovan Buha, and Sam Amick of The Athletic, so retirement is extremely unlikely. He’ll have a decision to make on a ’24/25 player option worth more than $51MM and both routes – opting in or out – remain on the table, per The Athletic’s reporters, who say the four-time MVP would like to get a sense of how the Lakers’ offseason is playing out before finalizing a decision by the June 29 deadline.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin hears that team officials didn’t have any real sense, as of last week, of what James will do with his contract, but both he and The Athletic’s trio agree that the Lakers want to bring back the star forward. LeBron’s relationship with Lakers ownership is “better than ever,” according to Charania, Buha, and Amick, and the front office would be open to discussing any contract scenario, including the maximum three-year, $164MM deal it can offer, team sources tell The Athletic.

“He’s not the problem here,” a high-ranking team official told The Athletic.

What did James have to say after Monday’s season-ending loss when asked about his contract situation? Not a whole lot, as McMenamin relays.

“I don’t have an answer … to be honest,” James said. “I haven’t given it much thought. … We’ll cross that when we need to.”

Asked if Monday’s loss might have been his last game as a Laker, LeBron replied, “I’m not going to answer that.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

  • Team sources tell Charania, Buha, and Amick that the Lakers are “very open” to the idea of potentially drafting Bronny James to help LeBron fulfill his dream of playing with his son. The Lakers currently hold the No. 55 pick in the 2024 draft — they’ll also have No. 17 if the Pelicans opt to defer the L.A. pick they’re owed until next season.
  • The Lakers are expected to be aggressive in the trade market this offseason, per Charania, Buha, and Amick, who reiterate that Hawks guard Trae Young is viewed one of the team’s “many” potential targets. Young’s backcourt mate Dejounte Murray will also be discussed, says Dan Woike of The Los Angles Times.
  • As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer notes, the Lakers will be able to trade up to three first-round picks this summer and have some appealing contracts that they could include in a deal, but there are other teams with larger collections of first-round picks who could potentially outbid L.A. for a star. League sources expect the Jazz and Pelicans to be among those who will be aggressive in trade talks, O’Connor adds.
  • Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who had been sidelined since February 1 due to a right foot injury, was available to play in Game 5 on Monday, but he didn’t see any action, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Like teammate Christian Wood, who was available for Games 4 and 5 but didn’t play, Vanderbilt should enter the offseason relatively healthy.
  • Speaking on Monday to reporters, including Price (Twitter link), D’Angelo Russell said he hasn’t made a decision yet on his $18.7MM player option for 2024/25, but acknowledged that he has some leverage and indicated he plans to take advantage of it. Despite the Lakers’ disappointing early exit, Russell was proud of his season on a personal level, per McMenamin. “Hell of a year by D’Angelo. Humbly saying that,” he said. “Through the ups and downs, through all the whatever you want to call it, it never bothered me. I always kept myself sane.”
  • After joining the Lakers on the buyout market in the second half of the season, L.A. native Spencer Dinwiddie said on Monday that he’d love to return if the team is interested in re-signing him (Twitter link via Buha).
  • Elsewhere on the Lakers front, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) previews the team’s offseason decisions, Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times argues that the club needs to do whatever it takes to bring back James, and Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times describes the Lakers as a mediocre team with no clear path back to contender status.

Lakers Notes: Game 4, Hachimura, Wood, LeBron

Despite a 3-0 deficit, the Lakers‘ confidence hasn’t waned going into tonight’s Game 4, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. has dropped its last 11 games to Denver, including seven straight in the playoffs, but the players aren’t convinced that the series is over.

“We have the guys here, we have the talent, for sure. You know, I don’t think anybody can beat us, you know, just the talent-wise,” Rui Hachimura said Friday. “… In my opinion, yes, we have the talent here, we have the guys that can beat any team in this league. And I talked to somebody about it too, but just this first round against Denver, it’s a conference final, it’s the exactly last thing. But even that, it’s the same story. We always up 20 and then we just come back and lose. So we just gotta put everything together and tomorrow we’ll see. We’re gonna play the same way and just gotta continue.”

Coach Darvin Ham isn’t planning any changes to his starting lineup, saying he wants to give his current unit a chance to respond to the challenge that the Nuggets present, Woike adds. Ham, whose job may be in jeopardy if the Lakers can’t rally, described the team as disappointed by its performance so far.

“Guys are irritated, frustrated, fed up, ready to make a change in terms of not continuously going down this road,” Ham said. “And the overall theme was just our mindset. Belabor the problems, what’s gone on up to this point or shift our focus to how do we stay alive? And looking at the film, had a really good first quarter. How can we sustain that type of performance during the duration of the game?”

There’s more on the Lakers:

  • Christian Wood has been medically cleared for tonight’s game, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The backup big man underwent surgery in March after missing about a month before that due to swelling in his left knee. Wood appeared in 50 games and averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per night in the first season of a two-year contract he signed last summer.
  • There was a sharp contrast after Game 3 as Nikola Jokic talked about the long process of building a competitive team and LeBron James questioned what some of his teammates were thinking during the game, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. The stability in Denver may lead to a second straight title, Shelburne adds, while the discord in Los Angeles will likely result in another summer of change.
  • Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report examines what the Lakers might look like if James turns down his $51.4MM player option for next season and signs elsewhere in free agency. If D’Angelo Russell, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish and Wood also opt out and New Orleans takes L.A.’s first-round pick this year, the team would have about $32MM in cap space to work with. Pincus suggests that if Russell picks up his option, he could be part of a trade package to obtain a reliable scorer such as Trae Young or Donovan Mitchell.

L.A. Notes: Leonard, George, Russell, Wood

The Clippers fell to the Mavericks in Game 3 and are now trailing the series 2-1. Kawhi Leonard, who was questionable before the game with right knee inflammation, played just 25 minutes and recorded nine points, nine rebounds and four turnovers before exiting the game for the final time with over four minutes left in regulation, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.

Leonard missed the Clippers’ last eight regular season games and first playoff game. In his Game 2 return, he played 35 minutes but missed 10 of his 17 shots and scored just 15 points. He admitted that the inflammation is still bothering him.

It was pretty good the first game,” Leonard said of the inflammation. “Like I said, it didn’t respond the way we wanted it to. Tonight it was either play limited minutes or not play. And I wanted to be on the floor to help the team. And, that’s what the results are. Frustrating that it happened to me this late in the season. But, yeah, we’re going to keep going. We’re going to get it right.

Head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters that the team was managing Leonard’s minutes and is trying to be smart with how the’s used, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk (Twitter link). According to Youngmisuk, Lue said Leonard will be available for Game 4.

We have more from L.A.:

  • Paul George is averaging 4.7 fouls per game so far in the playoffs and has committed at least four in every game. Law Murray of The Athletic analyzes how George’s fouls are costing the Clippers in the series vs. Dallas. George has as many fouls (10) as field goals made (1o-of-25) in Los Angeles’s two losses. “Defense can be physical, they can be aggressive on me,” George said. “Other side of it, I pick up quick, cheap ones. And, you know, it’s frustrating. But I got to be better — I got to be better.
  • Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has had an up-and-down series against Denver, shooting just 6-of-20 for 13 points in Game 1 before making seven three-pointers in a narrow Game 2 loss. In Game 3, as the Lakers went down 3-0 in the series, he made none of his seven shot attempts and was held scoreless. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha (Twitter link), coach Darvin Ham said he’s not considering benching Russell. Ham plans to roll out the same starting five for Game 4, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
  • Lakers reserve big Christian Wood, out since Feb. 14 with a knee injury, was upgraded to questionable ahead of Game 4, according to McMenamin (Twitter link). Wood, who averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 50 games this season, had reportedly been aiming to return in Game 3, but remained sidelined on Thursday.

L.A. Notes: Vanderbilt, Wood, George, Leonard

Injured Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (right midfoot sprain) and big man Christian Wood (left knee surgery) had both been aiming to return to action for Game 3 on Thursday, but it appears they’ll remain sidelined for at least one more game. Los Angeles has listed Vanderbilt and Wood as out on the official injury report.

As we noted on Tuesday, it’s unclear how much the Lakers would actually use Vanderbilt and/or Wood if they were available. Vanderbilt hasn’t played since February 1, while Wood has been on the shelf since February 14, so both players would likely have some rust to shake off in their first game back.

Still, the Lakers are already facing a 2-0 deficit against the defending-champion Nuggets, who have beaten them 10 times in a row dating back to the 2022/23 season. If Vanderbilt and Wood are available, it’s worth seeing if they can provide some sort of spark. However, it seems L.A. won’t get that chance until at least Game 4.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two L.A. teams:

  • As discouraging as their blown 20-point lead on Monday was, the Lakers were able to take some positives from their Game 2 performance during a Wednesday film session, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We generated some great shots. We missed a lot of shots at the rim that we’ve been making throughout the course of this season,” said LeBron James, who went just 4-of-11 at the rim, per ESPN. Head coach Darvin Ham added that he likes film sessions because they remove “post-game emotions” and allow the team to zero in on specific areas to improve: “It’s not just, ‘We failed, let’s scrap the whole plan and go this way.’ No. You have to understand why things went the way they went.”
  • Three-and-a-half months after Kawhi Leonard signed an extension to remain with the Clippers, the team still doesn’t have a new deal in place with Paul George. However, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report says that multiple sources still expect George to re-sign with L.A., either via an extension or free agent contract.
  • Leonard and the Clippers struggled to find a rhythm on Tuesday in the star forward’s first game in April, but George is confident that it won’t take long for the club to get more comfortable, as Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times relays. “I mean, y’all know this: Kawhi is one of the best in the world. He’s going to find his rhythm. We’re going to find our rhythm around him,” George said. “We feel good about it despite … I don’t ever like to take or look at the moral victories. We lost (Game 2), which is frustrating and upsetting, but it is great having … (Leonard) back out there with us and we’ll all adjust. We’ll get our timing back, our rhythm back and getting a better flow.”

Lakers Notes: James, Davis, Vanderbilt, Russell, Wood

Lakers All-Stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James submitted good-but-not-great outings in L.A.’s 114-103 Game 1 defeat against the Nuggets on Saturday, writes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.

Guided largely by the efforts of those two stars, Los Angeles led Denver by as many as 12 points in the first half. James had 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from the charity stripe, along with eight assists, six rebounds, a steal and a block. He also turned the ball over seven times.

Davis scored 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 shooting from the foul line. He also grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out five assists and blocked four shots.

No other Laker scored more than 13 points. Woike notes that Denver enjoyed distinct advantages in offensive rebounding and combined second-chance and fast-break points, which also seemed to help make the difference.

There’s more out of Los Angeles:

  • Backup Lakers combo forward Jarred Vanderbilt is in a walking boot as he continues to deal with a right foot injury, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register (Twitter link). Los Angeles head coach Darvin Ham claims the boot is not a setback, noting that “everything’s still going to plan” with regard to Vanderbilt’s recovery.
  • Starting point guard D’Angelo Russell had been on a tear for much of the second half of the 2023/24 regular season, and seemed primed to avenge his forgettable showing in last year’s Western Conference Finals defeat to Denver with this first round rematch. He had a rough Game 1, however, scoring just 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting from the floor. Ham made a point to defend Russell after his uneven showing, per Dave McMenmain of ESPN. “D-Lo is a huge reason why we’re here in the first place,” Ham said. “I’m not going to bail out on my player just because he’s missing the shots that he normally makes. So same shots were going in against New Orleans [in the play-in tournament] and other games that he’s played in to help us get to this point. So it just wasn’t his night.”
  • Reserve Lakers big man Christian Wood is hoping to return in time for Game 3 of the series, when the action moves to Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). He has been sidelined since a February knee surgery. Ham, however, cautioned that Wood “still [has] a couple boxes to check” before he can come back in this series, according to McMenamin (via Twitter).

Lakers Notes: Vanderbilt, Hachimura, Wood, Prince, Reddish, Offense

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has tinkered with the team’s starting lineup over the course of the season, but no matter what he tried, he was having difficulty finding one that stuck. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Ham planned to start Jarred Vanderbilt as the fifth starter alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in early February, but injuries to James and Davis sidetracked that plan.

Then, shortly after, Vanderbilt suffered a foot injury and hasn’t played since Feb. 1. A player with a unique skillset who helped propel last year’s late-season run, Vanderbilt’s absence was and is a big blow to the Lakers. According to Buha, there is internal optimism that Vanderbilt will return before the regular season ends next month.

Someone needed to step up in Vanderbilt’s absence and, so far, the Lakers have seen success with Rui Hachimura taking over the fifth starter spot from Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince, the latter of whom has been a starter for most of the year. The Lakers moved to 12-5 with Hachimura in the starting five next to James, Davis, Russell and Reaves after beating the Sixers on Friday.

I’ve been telling them, like, this is who we are,” Hachimura said. “We’ve been trying a lot of different things, some lineups and all this stuff, but this is the lineup we had in the playoffs and that’s how we won, so it’s simple. … It’s just that we know, we’re just really comfortable playing each other.

Buha further explores why it took so long for the Lakers to get back to lineups featuring Hachimura, which had success last postseason. As Buha explains, Vanderbilt’s preseason injury caused the team to pick between Hachimura and Prince for early-season starter, and Prince won out due to his professionalism and consistency. Prince’s ties to Ham also helped keep him in the lineup for as long as he was.

But with the team floundering and lineups featuring Prince next to the stars continuing to be outscored, the team made the move to Hachimura. So far, the new starting group is outscoring opponents by 42 points and has a plus-8.0 net differential.

We have more from the Lakers:

  • In the same article, Buha writes that while Christian Wood is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with his knee injury, there’s a chance he can make a return for the Play-In Tournament or the playoffs, if the Lakers make it. Wood is averaging 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds this season.
  • Prince missed Friday’s game against the Lakers due to personal reasons but he’s expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday against the Pacers, according to Buha (Twitter links). Prince is averaging 9.0 points and shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc in 66 appearances (49 starts) this season.
  • After he’s been in and out of the lineup due to injury over the past couple months, the Lakers are optimistic that Cam Reddish will be available and able to help the team during the final stretch of the season, The Orange County Register’s Khobi Price writes. Reddish has missed 19 of the last 24 games due to a sprained right ankle after originally suffering the injury on Jan. 23. Ham expressed confidence he’ll be able to help sooner than later. “He should be able to find his rhythm pretty quickly,” Ham said of Reddish. “Obviously, there’s gonna be a little bit of rust and it’s always like that when you’ve been out of the lineup. But for the most part, the things he needs to do to help us win, he should be able to fall right back in the pocket pretty smoothly.
  • The Lakers are running more sets and organized offense, leading to the second-best offensive rating in the league over the past two months, Price observes in a separate article. L.A. is continuing to put forth solid halfcourt offensive displays and are thriving in games with controlled offense. “Getting off to good starts, when the offense gets stagnant, we can run a few sets to get the ball popping again,” Russell said. “It’s vital for us. We’ve got a lot of guys, a lot of talent, can easily get in ‘Hero Mode’ and it can hurt us as a team. So just keeping that ball popping. Having everybody trust the pass. It’ll be contagious, making us hard to guard.