3 Things to Know

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Darius Soriano

The Lakers (11-9) return home after their  4-game trip for a matchup with the Houston Rockets (8-8) for the third time this season. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet.Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:

HEALTH UPDATESAs we enter into the full swing of the holiday season, the Lakers got the gift of good health news in their return to Los Angeles, with several players having their status upgraded heading into Saturday's matchup with Houston.

Note, neither Rui Hachimura nor Jarred Vanderbilt appear on the injury report at all, which means both are available and will play -- with Vanderbilt set to make his season debut after dealing with bursitis in his left heel since the Lakers preseason opener on October 7th.

The Lakers are now as healthy as they have been all season and, should LeBron play, will have its complete front court rotation available for the first time all season. How this might impact the starting lineup or the general rotation remains to be seen, but this is the sort of good problem Coach Ham would almost certainly prefer over the challenges of being as shorthanded as the team was over their recent road trip.

TIME TO MESHWhile the return of an almost-full roster is great news overall and the hope is that the entire team will hit the ground running, the reality is it will take a little bit of time for all the players and the coaching staff to find their footing as they try to come together.

While most of these players have practiced together in training camp this year and even gotten some game reps together either this season or last, working through how all the skill sets mesh while also re-establishing the nuances of timing and togetherness that can only cement itself through countless in-game, shared experiences does not happen on day one.

The coaches will also need time to sort through what groups work best together, and how the various three, four, and five-player groupings actually connect and execute well on the floor in practical ways rather than as ideas on paper. History tells us that even the best laid plans and the truest of intentions face bumps along the way to overcome, and sometimes require revisions in order to get on the right path towards the ultimate goal.

That said, this must all be balanced against the unrelenting nature of time and a season that does not wait for anyone to become the best version of themselves. The Lakers have survived this first stretch of 20 games with an above .500 record while dealing with a myriad of injuries and ailments. With a quarter of the season gone, finding their stride quickly may not be the easiest task, but it should be aspirational all the same.

LAKERS VS. ROCKETS, ROUND IIIThe Lakers and Rockets have split their two previous games, the first was a blowout loss in a game where Anthony Davis sat out, and the second a one-point win in which LeBron, Austin Reaves, and AD led the Lakers to a victory where Houston outshot them from deep, but the Lakers were clutch down the stretch to close out the win.

If those first two games have taught us anything, it's that the Rockets have a strong resolve on both ends of the floor and an ability to hang tight in a game due to a balance on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they have enough perimeter talent to hit shots, but are still very reliant on big man Alperen Şengün to create good offense for them out of the post while also serving as a catalyst in their pick-and-roll game via dives to the rim.

On the other end, they play hard-nosed defense on the perimeter with Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet serving as their point of attack disruptors, but with Şengün and 2nd year forward Jabari Smith Jr. using their collective size and length to disrupt in the paint. If the Lakers settle too much for outside shots, they will play into the Rockets plans of limiting their paint touches, so finding ways to create post up chances for AD and driving lanes for LeBron and the team's other perimeter players is important.

That said, the Lakers cannot abandon the arc and will need to hit shots from the outside to balance out their offense. In the last game between these teams, the Lakers connected on just six of their 29 attempts from behind the arc, which necessitated the late game heroics of LeBron and Reaves to pull out the win. The Lakers shooters will need to be better in this one if the team hopes to find a better offensive balance and create headway vs. the NBA's 6th ranked defense.

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Three Things to Know: Lakers vs. Rockets 12-2-23

Mike Trudell

The Lakers (11-8) wrap up a 4-game trip with a contest at Oklahoma City on Thursday night, on the second night of a back-to-back in what’s been a B2B heavy schedule of late. The game tips off at 4:00 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet.Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:LAKERS LACKING RESTThe Lakers have not been at their best this season when they’ve been at a rest disadvantage. That certainly isn’t unique to them, but it’s more of an issue this season, because the Lakers have 15 back-to-backs, relative to 12 in both of the previous two campaigns. LAL have the NBA’s oldest player, LeBron James, and a second star in Anthony Davis who is asked to do more than almost any other player on the defensive end, while still being counted upon for a large share of offense. It’s simply a more challenging ask for those two to play about 20 hours after they did the night before.Furthermore, the Lakers this season are at a rest disadvantage more often than their opponents. In fact, they’re noted as the “fresh*” team seven times, the “tired” team 12 times, and even with their opponent 61 times, for a total net of -5. Last season, they were “fresh” six more times than they were “tired.”*Fresh is when the your team didn’t play the night before but the opponent did; tired is when you played the night before but your opponent did not.L.A. actually started well in this context, beating Orlando, on Oct. 30, 106-103 a night after losing at Sacramento. But then they got blown out by the Kings on Nov. 15 after beating Memphis on Nov. 14, and were beaten again by Dallas on Nov. 22 after playing Utah on Nov. 21. Neither Sacramento nor Dallas had played the night before their Lakers matchup, and were thus the “fresh” team. And so will OKC be on Thursday night, setting up a third straight week where LAL are at a rest disadvantage on the second night of a B2B. This one is particularly stark as the Lakers had a long flight from Detroit to Oklahoma that didn’t deliver them to the team hotel until about 2 a.m. local time. But hey … that’s the NBA!

KEEPING ‘EM OFF THE LINEWhen the Lakers pounded the Pistons in Detroit behind D’Angelo Russell (35 points, 9 assists) and Davis (28 points, 16 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks), they employed what’s been a strength all season: contesting shots without fouling, and thus, not giving up many free throws. The Pistons managed to reach the charity stripe just 14 times, below their average of 20.9 per night. Davis is the biggest reason for this, as there’s no better big man at contesting nearly everything in his vicinity, but not committing a foul. Davis is averaging just 3 fouls committed per game, only 0.2 above his blocks per game average of 2.8, and that doesn’t count all of the shots he deters or discourages in the first place. Thus far, opponents are shooting 56.2% from less than six feet on Davis.OKC’s best drawer of fouls is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. His 7.3 FTA’s per game almost doubles teammates Jalen Williams (4.1) and Chet Holmgren (4.1). OKC as a team are in the middle of the pack, attempting 23.3 per night. That’s below L.A.’s own average attempts of 25.2, led by AD’s 6.2, and LeBron’s 5.8.Alas, on a night where the Lakers won’t have the rest advantage, they’ll need to make it up in some other areas, and the free throw line would be a good place to start.

LAL’S LENGTHY INJURY LISTThe Lakers got good news on the injury front when Cam Reddish made his return to the court in Detroit after missing the previous three games, and all but five minutes of a fourth due to groin soreness. He played 19 minutes off the bench, and missed all three of his FG attempts, but was active defensively and grabbed three boards with a pair of assists.Nonetheless, Reddish is one of eight Lakers on the injury report for the OKC game:

Christie and Hayes are the two new additions to the report, having suffered respective ailments at Detroit. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, has yet to debut this season, suffered the heel injury in the first preseason game back on Oct. 7 at Golden State. Vanderbilt has been working his way through injury protocols, and “progressing according to plan,” via Darvin Ham, including conditioning drills, basketball drills and 3-on-3 throughout the road trip. He won’t play against OKC, but he’s clearly nearing a return, making the team’s return to Los Angeles on Saturday against Houston a possibility that has yet to be ruled out.Since the team won’t hold shootaround due to the B2B, we’ll have to await a potentially lengthy update from Darvin Ham during his pregame press conference at the arena.

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Three Things to Know: Lakers at Thunder, 11-30-23

The Lakers (10-8) head to the Motor City for a matchup with the Detroit Pistons (2-15) in the third leg of their four-game road trip on Wednesday night. The game tips off at 4:00 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet.

Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:

CAM PROBABLEAfter missing the last three-plus games with a sore left adductor, Cam Reddish has been upgraded to probable to play against the Pistons, a great bit of news for a Lakers team that has been missing the majority of its projected wing rotation since Reddish and Rui Hachimura joined Jarred Vanderbilt on the injured list in the last week.

Reddish's pending return would seemingly help most defensively, where his ability to guard at the point of attack while also being disruptive in passing lanes and as a helper lead to steals and deflections. But his offensive contributions should not be overlooked either. Not counting the game he was injured, Reddish was averaging 11.3 points a game while shooting 41.9% from behind the arc as a starter.

Further, while Reddish has not been asked to be a primary initiator of offense, his ball handling and shot creation as a secondary player have proven helpful both in transition and the halfcourt. Reddish has shown a good ability to get to the rim when attacking both in isolation and out of pick-and-rolls from either corner, taking advantage of the defensive attention shifted away from him when he shares the floor with LeBron and or Anthony Davis.

Hopefully, then, Reddish can play and come close to picking up where he left off before he was injured. It will surely take some time to get back into the flow of things, but having him as a rotation option as a complementary role player will be a welcomed sight for Coach Ham.

1ST QUARTER WOESMonday's loss to the 76ers was the 8th time in the Lakers 18 games that they have trailed by double figures at the end of the 1st quarter. This strongly contributes to the Lakers possessing the NBA's worst scoring margin in 1st quarters, a list that does not include teams with strong records.

Below the list of the bottom five 1st quarter scoring margin teams, their record, and the margin:

There is not an easy data-point to single out as to where the lineup issues may be occurring, either. At first glance, it might seem simple to point to the starting group or, even, one of the bench units where one or both of the Lakers star players are out of the game.

But, the team's 1st quarter lineup data tells a similar story regardless of who is in the game, particularly when it comes to LeBron and AD:

After the loss to the 76ers, Coach Ham noted that the Lakers continue to get every team's best effort out of the gate, but in doing so also acknowledged that the execution level and ability to play through adversity must get better.

PISTONS STRUGGLESWhile the Lakers have had their issues on the scoreboard at the ends of 1st quarters, the Pistons' problems of being behind at the end of 4th quarters when the final buzzer sounds are even more pointed and pronounced. With just two wins and 15 losses, the Pistons have the worst record in the league and have the longest current losing streak at 14 games in a row.

After bringing in Monty Williams as new head coach in the offseason and getting back former #1 overall pick Cade Cunningham after missing all of last season with a shin injury, these are certainly not the results the organization would have hoped for. But with a team of mostly young players that has dealt with injuries to last season's leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic and newly acquired veterans Monte Morris and Joe Harris, there has not been the types of stabilizing, established players who can help steer this group.

On a more positive side, rookie forward Ausar Thompson and second year big man Jalen Duren have been playing well to start the season and are proving to be the types of dynamic athletes who can defend, rebound, and be a presence in the paint offensively. Duren is scoring 12.6 points and grabbing 11.5 rebounds a night while shooting 62.2% from the floor. Thompson, meanwhile, is scoring 11.4 points and pulling down 9.5 rebounds -- a fantastic number for a wing -- while also dishing out 3.1 assists a night.

Add these two to Cunningham and 2nd year guard Jaden Ivey, and future -- while not guaranteed -- has the chance to be very bright. They are, however, taking their lumps in the present.

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Three Things to Know: Lakers at Pistons 11-29-23

The Lakers (10-7) continue their road trip with a visit to Philadelphia to match up with the 76ers (11-5) on Monday night. The game tips off at 4:00 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum SportsNet+.

REBOUNDING REAVESBack on November 4th, the Lakers faced the Orlando Magic on the road and had one of their worst defensive rebounding games of the season, surrendering 19 offensive rebounds that turned into 36 second chance points for their opponent. It was a low point for the team's rebounding woes, and everyone vowed the team would be better on the glass from that point on.

And, as a team, the Lakers have seen a slight improvement on the backboards, going from 17th in defensive rebounding rate (71.2%) in the games through that loss to the Magic to 13th (72.0%) in the games since then. But, individually, no player has taken the ask to be better on the glass more seriously than Austin Reaves.

Since that Magic game, Reaves has been 3rd on the team in rebounds per game and, more importantly, has been grabbing two more defensive rebounds a game (4.8 total) than he was in the contests through the loss to the Magic. During this stretch Reaves also had three double-digit rebounding games, leading the team in rebounds each of those nights.

Earlier during the season when Austin's shot was not falling with the same consistency he's established as his norm, LeBron James commented that Reaves impacts the game in multiple other ways to help the team win that go beyond his shooting and scoring. And since that Magic game, nowhere has that been truer than with Reaves' increased emphasis on the backboards.

CHRISTIE REMAINS READYWith the Lakers suffering through a flurry of injuries all season, Coach Darvin Ham has preached a "next man up" mentality, where each player who is available should ready themselves to take on a larger responsibility and step into a role that was not available to them previously. And with Cam Reddish dealing with a sore left adductor for the past few games, Max Christie is the latest Laker to be thrust into a rotation spot after receiving only spot minutes before then.

After two solid games vs. the Jazz and Mavs while filling in for Reddish, Christie had his best game of the season against the Cavs on Saturday, scoring 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting (2-of-4 on threes) to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and an important defensive role of chasing around Darius Garland (who left the game injured) and/or Donovan Mitchell whenever he shared the court with them -- including on the final possession to help force a Mitchell miss on a would-be game-tying shot.

After the game, Austin Reaves spoke about Christie's performance and how (Max's) preparation and approach helped him for this moment.

"One thing about Max -- and I know he's young, maybe 21 or however old he is -- but he's a professional and he's been a professional since the day he got here," Reaves said of his teammate. "He always works on his craft, he's ready, he's a great kid, and that speaks for itself. Whenever he has the opportunity to make an imprint on the game he does, just because he's always ready, he never takes shortcuts."

With the Lakers facing another dynamic guard in Tyrese Maxey on Monday night, Christie will again play an important defensive role and his team will need him to be ready for the moment.

AD VS. EMBIIDWith the last three regular season MVP's, the reigning Finals MVP, and an up-and-coming crop of youngsters at the center position ready to take the league by storm, being a big man has not been this en vogue in the NBA for quite some time.

And while there are many juicy matchups of the game's best bigs on any given night, few offer the intrigue and crossmatch of offensive skill and defensive prowess as the one that happens when the Anthony Davis and his Lakers do battle with Joel Embiid and his 76ers.

Over the course of their careers, Davis and Embiid have faced off in seven regular season games, with Embiid's Sixers coming out on top in six of those contests. While the outcomes have greatly favored Philly's favorite son, their individual statistics are strikingly similar in these head-to-head battles:

A variable to watch for in tonight's matchup is new 76ers head coach Nick Nurse and how he has historically tried to defend Davis whenever he has coached against him. Maybe this had more to do with the Raptors' personnel, but Nurse has often tried to crowd and swarm AD whenever he's caught the ball, favoring instead for him to move the ball onto teammates rather than allow him to play 1-on-1 in space. Embiid has not typically been a player who gets much help in his defensive assignments, however, so the Lakers will need to plan for both scenarios.

On the other end, the Lakers have usually allowed Davis to play Embiid straight up, while staying home vs. Philly's shooters and other shot creators. If the Lakers go that route again, AD will need to be cognizant of Embiid's ability to draw fouls --whether on his own shot attempts or through his general craftiness of body positioning when his team is in the bonus. No player shoots more FT's than Embiid's 11.4 per game and Davis will need to balance playing aggressive defense with being smart and knowing his opponent's tendencies.

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Three Things to Know: Lakers at 76ers, 11-27-23

The Lakers (9-7) are back on the road for a four-game trip and will kick things off in Cleveland with a matchup against the Cavaliers (8-7) on Saturday. The game tips off at 4:30 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum SportsNet+.

RUI OUTThe injury bug has not been kind to the Lakers this season and they got another dose of bad news on Friday when the team announced that Rui Hachimura is going to miss some time after suffering a nasal fracture against the Mavericks on Wednesday.

Rui joins Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion), Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel bursitis), and Cam Reddish (left adductor soreness) on the injury report and will be sorely missed due to his combination of size, athleticism, and all-purpose offensive game.

On a more positive note, reinforcements could be coming soon. Coach Ham noted that Reddish's MRI was clean and that he is day-to-day. Vanderbilt is also getting closer to a return as he continues his ramp up towards making his regular season debut.

Without Rui available, and until Vanderbilt is ready for game action, the Lakers can lean into bigger lineups, with both Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes being potential options to see an uptick in minutes to help fortify the front court. Both have shown an ability to play on the perimeter defensively, while, between them, offering varying skill sets offensively that not only mix well into different types of lineups, but help in similar ways that Hachimura has been on that end of the floor.

LAKERS DEFENSE CLIMBINGThough the Lakers are still looking at ways to make meaningful strides on the offensive side of the floor, their defense has been setting the tone for the team and has helped them stabilize both in games and in the standings. After starting the season somewhat slowly on defense, the team has now moved up into the top-10 on that side of the ball, ranking 9th in the NBA through 16 games.

That sample size gives the team a great dividing point to look at the numbers too, not just because it is easily dividable, but because it was after eight games that the Lakers made a change to their starting lineup by swapping out Austin Reaves for the defensive minded Cam Reddish. And, for the Lakers, this change is proving impactful:

There can be a lot of noise in early season numbers, but the fact that the Lakers have turned things around to this degree is notable and matches the eye test. The new starting lineup has offered more balance defensively, slotting both Reddish and Taurean Prince into shared primary perimeter defensive roles while being backed up by Anthony Davis who has been his typical masterful self, protecting the paint by altering and swatting shots away.

Reddish, in particular, has been a disruptive force since the change, leading the league in total steals (24) and deflections (43) in the month of November, while generally taking the primary offensive and/or ball handling wing of the opponent. With Reddish and fellow defensive disruptor Jarred Vanderbilt both hopefully returning the soon, the Lakers will look to make even more headway on that side of the floor.

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Cam Reddish's Pressure Defense

LEBRON IN CLEVELANDLeBron will always be remembered as a Cavaliers legend for all he achieved during the 11 seasons across his two tenures with the organization. Add in the proximity to his hometown of Akron and the 2016 championship he won for the city in his 2nd stint with the franchise, and those positive feelings almost certainly flow from LeBron to Cleveland as well.

That said, when LeBron has had the opportunity to play in Cleveland as a visiting player, he's done his best to remind the organization and the fans of the player they twice got to call their own. As a player with the Heat and now with the Lakers, LeBron has played 10 games in Cleveland as a visitor and the stats are, as expected, fantastic for him and his team:

Further, LeBron has had some of his best single game performances in specific stats as a member of Lakers, scoring his most points (46 in January 2021), grabbing his most rebounds (17 in December 2022), and dishing his most assists (12 in March 2022) all while rocking the purple and gold.

As he makes another return to Cleveland in this game, he'll be looking to continue this success he's had and show the fans one more time that he's still that same kid from Akron.

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Three Things to Know: Lakers at Cavaliers, 11-25-23

The Lakers (8-6) are set to face the Jazz (4-9) on Tuesday evening at&nbsp;Crypto.com&nbsp;Arena for a chance to win Group A and clinch home court advantage in the quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet.Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:

WIN AND HOSTThanks to their 3-0 record and +42 point differential in the first three IST games, the Lakers can clinch not just Group A, but home court advantage in the quarterfinal round if they’re able to beat Utah.Group A Standings (Team: Record; Point Differential; Remaining Games)1. Lakers: 3-0; +42; vs. UTA2. Jazz: 2-1; +19; @ LAL3. Suns: 1-1; 0; vs. POR; @ MEM4. Blazers: 1-2; 26; @ PHX5. Grizzlies: 0-3; -35; vs. PHXWith a win, the Lakers would be 4-0, and only Minnesota (2-0) and Sacramento (2-0) – both in Group C – have a chance to match that record (every Group A and Group B team except LAL already have one loss). Because MIN and SAC play each other (Friday, Nov. 24), only one can go 4-0. That’s what would ensure the Lakers be either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the West.Say the Wolves beat the Kings in Minnesota on Friday to improve to 3-0: they’d also need to beat OKC on Tuesday, Nov. 28, to reach 4-0. If that happens, and the Lakers beat Utah, both teams would be 4-0, and the team with the greater point differential would be the No. 1 seed, and host the wild card.**The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 3 seed.

There’s also a scenario in which the Lakers could lose to Utah but still advance as the group winner. That would happen if Phoenix wins its two games to also reach 3-1. With head-to-head eliminated as the top tiebreaker due to a three-way tie, LAL would win the next tiebreaker (point differential) as long as LAL don’t lose by 12 to the Jazz, and PHX doesn’t make up LAL’s 42-point advantage. Finally, LAL could advance as the wild card if the Suns lose to either Portland or Memphis, and Utah wins Group A. LAL would have to maintain the best point differential of the 3-1 teams, of which there could still be as many as six different teams.

IST IMPROVEMENTThe Lakers have been significantly better in the In-Season Tournament than in their other 11 games thus far.LAL are 3-0 in the IST, scoring 121.0 points per game, and allowing 107.0. They’re shooting 52.4% from the field, and 50.0% from three.In other games, they’re 5-6, averaging 109.4 points per game and allowing 115.4, while shooting 47.6% overall and 29.1% from three.Their opponent on Tuesday, Utah, is struggling in general relative to the team that started last season with a different roster featuring Mike Conley, Malik Beasley, current Laker Jarred Vanderbilt.Last year’s Jazz started 10-3, scoring 118.8 points per game while allowing 112.7, shooting 47.3% from the field and allowing opponents to shoot 32.3% from three.&nbsp;This year, they’re 4-9, scoring 116.8 points per game but allowing 122.0, which ranks 26th&nbsp;in the league. They’re shooting 46.0%, but allowing 36.8% 3’s.Personnel wise, Utah’s been without starting center Walker Kessler since Nov. 6, and have been starting a smaller group lacking rim protection with John Collins and Lauri Markkanen in the front court, and rookie Keyonte George alongside Jordan Clarkson and Ochai Agbaji in the back court.

HISTORICALLY BIG STATSUtah’s been playing small of late, and that could prove especially difficult to execute against the Lakers, given the presence of Anthony Davis.There are only six players in NBA history that have averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks per game, via SportRadar, and AD is on pace to become the seventh:&nbsp;Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7 times); Hakeem Olajuwon (3); David Robinson (3); Shaquille O’Neal (1); Patrick Ewing (1); and Bob Lanier (1).Davis is currently averaging 22.0 points, 11.7 boards, 3.3 assists, 3.3 blocks and 0.9 steals. The toughest category to maintain will likely be the blocks, where AD leads the NBA. Brook Lopez is 2nd&nbsp;with 3.0 per game, and Victor Wenbanyama 3rd&nbsp;at 2.6.&nbsp;Last season, Jaren Jackson Jr. was the only player to average 3.0, with Nic Claxton and Lopez tying for second at 2.5.Davis averaged 2.0 last year; his career high is 2.9 in 2014-15, and his career average is 2.3.

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Three Things to Know: Lakers vs Jazz, 11-21-23

After a disappointing defeat to the Kings ended their three-game winning streak Wednesday night, the Lakers (6-6) are back in action for an In-Season Tournament game against the Trail Blazers (3-8) on Friday night in Portland. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum SportsNet+.Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:

UNPRECEDENTED LEBRONIn Wednesday's loss to the Kings, LeBron became the 2nd oldest player to ever record a triple double while simultaneously moving to 5th on the all-time list of triple doubles recorded. It was another accomplishment in a career full of them that will, ultimately, land James in the Hall of Fame.

Of course, even if we lower our sights from recording triple-doubles to more focused and smaller milestones, LeBron's 21st season is already off to a historical start.

In the history of the NBA, there have only been five occurrences of a player in his 21st season scoring 28 or more points in a game. Four of those belong to LeBron this season (the other was by Dirk Nowitzki). If we move the bar a bit lower down and change the total to 20-point games, there have been 13 occurrences in the history of the league. Of those, LeBron has nearly double the amount than the next two players combined, with eight of the 13 (Dirk has three, Vince Carter has two).

If we change the statistical category to rebounds, there have been just eight occurrences of a player in his 21st season tallying at least 10 rebounds in a game. LeBron has half of those game this season, with the other four belonging to Dirk (two), Kevin Garnett, and Robert Parish. And if we again change the statistic, this time to assists and lower the number five, LeBron has eight of the 10 occurrences with Carter and Garnett recording the other two.

We are only 11 games into his 21st season and, already, there is simply no precedence for what LeBron is accomplishing for someone who has played this long.

AD IN THE POSTAnthony Davis admittedly did not have a good game against the Kings on Wednesday, but that performance should in no way overshadow the high-level of play he is exhibiting this season on both sides of the floor, and particularly in the post offensively.

This season Davis has been one of the best and most efficient (higher) volume post  up players in the league this season. Davis is one of five players in the league (joining Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Bam Adebayo, and Zion Williamson) to log at least 4.0 post up possessions per game per the NBA's statistics. Of those five players, here are his ranks in various categories:

The Lakers have done an excellent job of using various actions to get Davis the ball in the post. Whether he is screening and diving to the paint for deep seals of his defender or coming off down and cross screens to get into possession to make a catch, the team is clearly leveraging Davis' mobility and threat as a roll man to get him touches in the post.

That said, the team can benefit from getting him even more opportunities to make an impact. Davis' four possessions a game could stand to go up closer to Jokic (7.5) and Embiid (6.5), with the intent of not just helping Davis be more productive, but to help lift the Lakers 21st ranked offense.

PORTLAND REMATCHWhen the Lakers matched up with the Blazers just five days ago, they rolled out an aggressive defensive game plan to pressure a Portland team down several of their main ball handlers and offensive initiators. Portland did well to use the Lakers aggressiveness against the, swinging the ball to open shooters as the Lakers defense rotated. The result was Portland "winning" the battle with 13 made three-pointers, but them losing the war on the scoreboard in a six-point defeat where they turned the ball over 15 times and mostly took shots the Lakers seemed comfortable with them taking.

In tonight's game, the Blazers will be similarly shorthanded as their trio of top guards -- Malcom Brogdon (hamstring), Anfernee Simons (thumb), and Scoot Henderson (ankle) -- will all again miss this game. Whether the Lakers go back to their blitzing defensive approach remains to be seen, but forcing the Blazers to make multiple plays off the dribble and then prove they are capable to shoot as well as they did the last game is a viable approach.

On the other side of the ball, the Lakers were without LeBron but used a heavy dose of Anthony Davis to bludgeon the Blazers in the paint. Davis scored 30 points on 10-20 shooting and the Lakers scored 68 of their 116 points inside. A repeat of this plan, but with LeBron joining the party is a nice foundation in which the Lakers can build their offensive attack.

If the Lakers be able to establish the interior offensively, it can really help both D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves get things going too. Reaves played a strong game when these teams matched up earlier in the week with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, but Russell was not quite up to his recent standards with an 11-point night on 5-of-14 from the field. If Reaves can bounce back from his game vs. the Kings on Wednesday and Russell can avoid a repeat performance from the last Portland game, the Lakers should be well positioned to get a needed victory in this one.

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Three Things to Know: Lakers at Trail Blazers 11-17-23

The Lakers (6-5) carry a 3-game winning streak into the second night of a back-to-back against Sacramento (5-4) on Wednesday evening at Crypto.com Arena. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum SportsNet+.Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:

THREE-POINT BARRAGE The Lakers entered Tuesday’s game against Memphis dead last in the NBA in three-point percentage, at just 30.4%.And then, the entire team barely missed a triple vs. the Grizzlies, drilling a franchise-record-tying 22 3’s on just 35 attempts, for a robust 62.9%. That not only brought L.A.’s season average up a whopping 3.6% to 34.0%, bumping them from 30th to 23rd in the NBA, but also cemented the highest 3-point % in NBA history with at least 35 attempts, via ESPN. Here’s the individual sniper breakdown:D’Angelo Russell: 6 of 8Austin Reaves: 4 of 4Rui Hachimura: 3 of 3Cam Reddish: 3 of 5LeBron James: 3 of 6Taurean Prince: 2 of 5Max Christie: 1 of 1The only Laker to attempt, but not hit, a 3, was Christian Wood (0 for 3).

Shooting can certainly be contagious, even at the NBA level. Note how often teams shoot free throws or threes poorly in the first quarter, and see that continue for the rest of the game as pressure builds. It can be the opposite when looks go down early, removing collective pressure as the game goes on.“Of course … you don’t want to be that guy when the team is shooting extremely well,” said LeBron. “You want to chip in and be a part of that, so, definitely a great shooting night for us, and a good win for us.”

LEBRON ON A BACK-TO-BACKWednesday’s matchup with Sacramento is LAL’s second of 15 back-to-backs on the season. In the first one, LeBron played 39 minutes in a narrow overtime loss at Sacramento, then 33 minutes the next night in a home win against Orlando:10/29 at SAC: 27 points on 11 of 19 FG’s, 15 boards, eight assists 10/30 vs. ORL: 19 points on 7 of 17 FG’s with three boards, four assists and three stealsLeBron missed Sunday’s win over Portland due to a left calf contusion suffered at Phoenix on Friday, but looked good physically on Tuesday against Memphis. He hit 6 of 11 shots towards 16 points with nine boards and six assists in 23 minutes, and didn’t have to play in the fourth quarter thanks to a big Lakers lead.

“It got better as the game went on, started to warm up a little bit,” said LeBron. “Still not 100%, but good enough for me to go out there when I went through my pregame warmups. Happy to be back on the floor with my guys.”LeBron’s officially listed as questionable, and will likely go through his pregame routine once again before meeting with the training staff to determine his status for Sacramento.The Kings bring a 3-game winning streak into the contest, having beaten Portland, OKC and Cleveland following a three-game slide at Golden State, and Houston (twice). De’Aaron Fox came back in their Monday win against Cleveland after missing the prior five games following an ankle injury sustained against the Lakers on Oct. 29.

LAKERS IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS After a 134-107 mashing of shorthanded Memphis on Tuesday, the Lakers improved to 2-0 in the In-Season Tournament, with a point differential of +30 to grab the Group A wheel:

Next up for the Lakers in the IST is a Nov. 17 tilt at Portland, prior to the fourth and final group stage game against Utah on Nov. 21. The Lakers will win the group if either of these scenarios happen:

On the flip side: if the Lakers lose at home to UTA, they can’t win the group even if LAL beat POR, because both teams would be 3-1 even if UTA loses to PHX (the first tiebreaker is head-to-head). If UTA beats PHX and LAL, they win the group. And, if the Lakers lose at POR but win vs. UTA, and POR then wins at PHX, POR would win the tiebreaker of 3-1 teams. If PHX and LAL both wind up at 3-1, LAL hold the H2H tiebreaker. If LAL lose both remaining games, they would not advance.Where things get interesting, and could involve point differential, is if the Lakers go 3-1, but wind up second in the group. They would then need to have the better differential of the other runners up from Group B and Group C in order to secure the wild card spot.Finally, the point differential will matter to determine seeding for the teams advancing to the quarterfinals. Let’s say that the three group winners are all 4-0. Using current +/- totals, LAL are +30, DEN is +14 (Group B) and MIN +10 (Group C). That would make LAL the No. 1 seed, set to play the wild card. That’s currently UTA, due to their being +22 at 2-0, relative to HOU (+3) or SAC (+7) at 1-0. In that scenario, LAL would be the home team in one quarterfinal, and DEN would host the other, before the winners would advance to Las Vegas for the semifinal.In other words, point differential won’t end up mattering as far as which team wins their group, but it will likely determine both home court advantage in the quarterfinals* and the wild card teams.*If only one team is 4-0, they would be the No. 1 seed, with the 3-1 group winners the 2 and the 3.From the Lakers perspective, there’s quite a big difference between going 4-0 and likely hosting a quarterfinal game, then a potential trip to either Denver, Minnesota or another – if unexpected – group winner that went 4-0.

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Three Things to Know: Lakers vs Kings, 11-15-23

<strong>Game Time Update</strong>: The start time for the game on <strong>1/17/24</strong> at Crypto.com Arena has been moved to 5:30pm PT