Preseason 2018

Joey Ramirez

The Warriors didn’t need a reminder of LeBron James’ brilliance, but he gave them one anyway.

Four months after James led Cleveland against Golden State in the NBA Finals, he engaged them in a much-lower-stakes preseason matchup, this time in a new uniform.

LeBron was dominant in just 18 minutes on the floor, packing them with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, as the Lakers came away with a 123-113 win in Las Vegas.

The Lakers scored 38 fast-break points — 21 more than the Warriors — and James was instrumental to that high-octane pace with the way he ripped down rebounds and immediately charged ahead in transition, setting up open looks.

That fast-break play also opened up a few layups for the league’s best driver, as LeBron shot 4-of-5 at the rim, while also drawing two shooting fouls.

He went coast-to-coast like a runaway train on one lay-in and split two rim protectors for another, but his most spectacular play was one where he practically shot the ball from the other side of the Strip.

With the buzzer about to sound at the end of the first half, James caught the ball near mid-court and swished a 34-foot 3-pointer before pausing for several seconds to admire his own trey.

Then again, James’ top play may have been his and-1 circus shot. He drove to the basket and Golden State’s center hooked his arm, but LeBron still kissed it off the glass with one hand.

“I don’t know how he made that one,” Kyle Kuzma said. “That was pretty spectacular. What can I say? He’s one of the greatest players of all time.”

James also showed off his excellent transition passing, though his best assist of the night was out of the post.

He held the ball at the top of the key and waited for the play to develop before firing a bounce pass to a cutting Kentavious Caldwell Pope (who scored 14 of his 20 points in the first quarter).

While James was done for the night by halftime, Golden State returned a trio of all-stars for the third quarter: Stephen Curry (23 points), Klay Thompson (20 points) and Kevin Durant (18 points, 12 rebounds).

However, the Lakers nonetheless expanded their lead in the third, thanks to Brandon Ingram functioning as a magnet for fouls.

Ingram has been at his best this preseason when using his 7-foot-3 wingspan to attack the paint. While he only had one basket at the rim, Ingram still put that length to use by drawing 17 free throw attempts.

Ingram hit 15 of those foul shots, inflating his preseason clip to 80.0 percent at the stripe. He finished the night with 26 points in as many minutes, including 17 in the LeBron-less third quarter.

Zo returns
Lonzo Ball suited up for the first time since March, providing seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, four rebounds and four steals in his preseason debut.

Ball — who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee over the offseason — was active defensively and brought the crowd to its feet on a dunk off a lob from James, whom has yet to play alongside at practice.

“That’s my first time being on his team,” Ball said. “But that’s my play. We run that all the time and he put it up there for me.”

Notes
Kyle Kuzma scored 22 points. … Rajon Rondo had seven assists and only two shot attempts. … Josh Hart (hamstring) was listed as questionable but played 10 minutes. … Draymond Green (knee) did not play. … Shaquille O’Neal, Derek Fisher and A.C. Green were among those in attendance. … At halftime, President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson was presented the key to the city of Las Vegas.

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LeBron, Ingram Lead Lakers' Vegas Win Over Warriors

Here is what you need to know before the Lakers’ Las Vegas matchup with the Golden State Warriors.

1) Lonzo’s back
For the first time in more than six months, Lonzo Ball will suit up for the Lakers. The 2017 second-overall pick had spent training camp working his way back from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, and now he is ready for his preseason debut.

Ball — who started 50 of his 52 games last year — will come off the bench in Vegas, running point for the second unit. However, coach Luke Walton expects him to play in lineups composed of both starters and reserves.

Lonzo — owner of the NBA’s third-highest individual pace last season — should jump-start a team that is already running at every chance it gets. And while he wasn’t able to work on the court much over the summer, he did bulk up, estimating that he added another 15-20 pounds, which he says will help him get to the basket and switch onto bigger players.

2) Don’t forget about Rajon
With Ball serving as a substitute, Rajon Rondo will continue to start at point guard for the Lakers. The three-time NBA assists champion has shown his passing brilliance often this preseason.

The definition of a pass-first player, Rondo has more than twice as many assists (28) as shots attempts (12) so far, with only nine turnovers mixed in.

He has also been effective when he has decided to try to score, hitting half of his field goal attempts, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, as some opponents have been burned by daring him to shoot.

Walton said that he wants to get a look at Rondo and Ball on the floor together — giving the Lakers two or three (depending on LeBron James’ presence) elite playmakers on the court at the same time — so keep an eye out for multi-point-guard lineups.

3) The 2-guard battle is in swing
While we know that Ball will be in action, Josh Hart is considered questionable to play due to a tweaked hamstring suffered in Monday’s practice. He has started at shooting guard twice this preseason, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has made the other two starts.

The two have similar player profiles: Both are 3-point shooters, finishers at the rim, elite positional rebounders and strong perimeter defenders.

So far, Hart has found more success in preseason, averaging 11.5 points while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 33.3 on 3-pointers. KCP has put up 7.3 points and hit 36.0 percent and 14.3, respectively.

While preseason can only indicate so much, Hart has also played better among the starters, scoring 15.5 points with the opening five and 7.5 off the bench.

The battle for the starting shooting guard spot is one of the most closely contested battles of training camp. We’ll see whether Hart plays and if either player further makes his case in Vegas.

Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. PT
TV: Spectrum SportsNet in L.A. ESPN nationally.
Location: T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas, Nevada

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3 Things to Know: Lakers vs. Warriors (10/10/18)

After more than six months of recovery, Lonzo Ball is ready to hit the court again.

Ball — who has been a participant for the majority of the Lakers’ training camp — will make his preseason debut on Wednesday in L.A.’s exhibition against Golden State.

He will come off the bench in Las Vegas, but coach Luke Walton wants to see how he plays among groups of both starters and reserves.

“A lot of the time we spend in practice he’s been with the second unit playing against the first unit,” Walton said. “To be able to mix and match that a little bit, have them play on the floor will be good for him.”

Ball hasn’t played for the Lakers since March 28, and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in July. He said it was the first major injury he had ever sustained.

“It gets frustrating when you play basketball for your whole life and then it gets taken from you for a little bit,” Ball said.

In lieu of on-court work, Ball spent the offseason adding muscle to his frame. He estimates that he added 15-20 pounds over the summer, now weighing between 205 and 210.

“You just get to the basket easier, you can switch better guarding bigs,” Ball said.

On Wednesday, Ball will run point for a Lakers offense that has constantly accelerated this preseason, ranking third in the NBA in pace with an average of 111.4 possessions per game.

Ball — who had the league’s third-highest individual pace last season (104.2) — looks forward to bringing his playmaking to a bench that has seen its share of struggles.

“I’ve been watching, we kinda take a dip when the second team comes in,” Ball said. “So hopefully I can help that out.”

With Ball coming off the bench, Walton will have Rajon Rondo start at point guard. The coach mentioned wanting to see both players alongside one another at some point, but also likes having the option to have at least one elite playmaker in the game at all times.

“It’s nice, because they’re both selfless, playmaking guards that make their teammates better,” Walton said. “Those are the type of guys we want on the floor. Most of the time, to be able to have at least one of those guys at the point is a big plus for us.”

Ball said that his conditioning still isn’t where it needs to be, but teammate LeBron James commented that it never seemed like Ball wasn’t at full health during training camp.

“Since he’s been on the floor, it doesn’t seem like he had anything done with his knee in the offseason,” James said.

James was Ball’s favorite player growing up, so naturally there is some excitement to them sharing the court for the first time outside of practice.

“We’ll be playing fast, so I’ll be getting the ball to him a lot,” Ball said. “He can do the same. Just rebound and push it. It’ll be an interesting dynamic.”

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Lonzo Ball to Make Preseason Debut in Vegas

With the regular season only 10 days away, the Lakers are inching closer to full health, as Lonzo Ball could potentially return to game action for Wednesday’s exhibition in Las Vegas.

Ball has practiced full-contact with the team for nearly the entirety of training camp, but has yet to play in the preseason as part of his recovery from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in July.

Coach Luke Walton is looking forward to seeing Ball have more opportunity to mesh with his teammates.

“I know we need the practice at it,” Walton said. “As great as it will be to be healthy and have guys [at] full-strength, for me it’s more important for them to start getting reps together. Everyone else in camp has had that opportunity for two weeks now. Lonzo hasn’t.”

Walton also mentioned that LeBron James — who has not confirmed to be playing Wednesday — could see his workload pick up from the 15 minutes per game he has been playing this preseason.

James said that Ball, as last year’s starting point guard, “knows this system better than anybody.” With either Ball or Rajon Rondo running point at all times, James sees a significant impact from having both players available.

“When you got two born point guards — they were just born to be point guards — running the show,” James said, “it just puts people in their respective, right positions. And they command that.”

The Lakers, however, did suffer a potential setback at Monday’s practice, as Josh Hart left early after tweaking his hamstring. He will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.

Walton has trotted out some unconventional lineups — including an all-guard group in Saturday’s preseason game — but would like to use the remaining two exhibitions to evaluate combinations that could see time in the regular season.

However, that is dependent on Hart’s availability.

“If he doesn’t play, the ripple effect starts to go into play,” Walton said. “We’re going to continue to look at different groups, but we also know that the season’s starting pretty darn soon now. So Wednesday would be a good opportunity for us to give more time to what we like so far.”

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Lakers Await Lonzo's Return

Mike Trudell

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Running Diary: Lakers at Warriors (10/12/18)

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Running Diary: Lakers vs. Warriors (10/10/18)

ANAHEIM — With the world’s greatest player watching from the sideline, the Lakers could not find much rhythm in their fourth exhibition.

LeBron James was given the night off and the Lakers missed the 15 minutes he has averaged this preseason, falling to the LA Clippers, 103-87.

With James and Lonzo Ball (knee) both out, the Lakers’ offense shot just 38.5 percent from the field, 3-of-18 on 3-pointers and committed 20 turnovers.

The game started all right, with the the Lakers tallying 16 assists on their first 19 baskets. Rajon Rondo did a nice job setting up teammates with 10 assists on the night, but went into halftime without a shot attempt.

“He knows how to manage a game,” coach Luke Walton said. “He’s been one of the best point guards in our league for years and one of the smartest. He knows what he’s doing. … He knows we have the confidence in him to shoot whenever he’s open. But it felt like he was just trying to get the team organized and get some of the guys going tonight.”

Kyle Kuzma — who started in James’ absence — led the Lakers with 15 points, but needed 13 shots to do so.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (10 points on 3-of-6 shooting) was the only Laker to attempt more than two shots and make at least half of them.

KCP returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the past two games. His competition for starting shooting guard, Josh Hart, had eight points and six rebounds.

Both players were part of an unusual, all-guards lineup that pushed the Lakers’ “positionless basketball” mantra to new limits just before halftime.

Hart and KCP were joined by Rondo, Svi Mykhailiuk and Lance Stephenson. They played just 65 seconds together and were outscored 5-2. The hyper-small group gave up an offensive rebound and a transition bucket to big man Montrezl Harrell.

But Walton wanted to see more from that combination on the other end of the floor.

“I thought they did a nice job of scrapping defensively,” Walton said. “We kind of stood around too much offensively. Lineups like that can be dynamic, but we have to still penetrate into the paint, whether by cutting or passing or driving.”

Notes
The Lakers trailed by just one point at halftime. … JaVale McGee had eight points and nine rebounds. … The Clippers — who were without Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Beverley, Luc Mbah a Moute and Milos Teodosic —were led by Lou Williams’ 19 points. … A crowd of 18,040 sold out Honda Center.