Lakers-Morris, it's time for heavy decisions: what will LeBron think?

source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/lakers-season-in-review-markieff-morris/ar-BB1avSxs#:~:text=Will%20he%20be%20back%3F,of%20that%20level%20of%20investment.&text=That's%20one%20advantage%20the%20Lakers,except%20for%20maybe%20the%20Clippers.

Lakers Season In Review: Markieff Morris 6 Morris unlocked an extra layer of versatility for the Lakers, and that ability was a key to their title run.How did he play? Markieff Morris was arguably the best buyout acquisition in NBA history. Most players in his position don’t even positively contribute to their new team, while Morris was a crucial rotation piece during a championship run. It didn’t immediately appear that Morris would be so helpful. The Lakers’ biggest need heading into the trade deadline (other than perhaps a playmaker) was a wing defender who could also shoot, and Morris could only fulfill the latter of those two tasks. On a team that was already stocked with bigs, Morris was something of an afterthought during his regular-season appearances, up until the Lakers’ March 8 showdown with the Clippers, when it became apparent just how much the team could use a spacing five. That moment of clarity defined Morris’ role in the postseason. When the Lakers stayed big, as they did against Portland and Denver, Morris was a mostly unremarkable backup forward. But when the Lakers went small, or at least whatever qualifies as small for a team that still employs Anthony Davis, Morris was a revelation in those lineups. His 3-point barrage in Game 2 got the Lakers going against Houston, and his inclusion into the starting five changed that series, allowing the Lakers to switch and cover the Rockets deep beyond the arc. Morris was similarly valuable in the Finals, as the Lakers needed extra speed at the center position to keep up with Miami’s pace in the halfcourt. In the first round and the conference finals, Morris averaged 3.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while making eight total threes. In the semifinals and NBA Finals, Morris bumped those numbers up to 8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and he hit 21 3-pointers over 11 games. In each series, the Lakers’ defense also improved when Morris was on the floor. Maybe he didn’t make many highlight plays, but Morris was solidly efficient for the Lakers, filling a gap that didn’t even appear to exist before he came to the team. The Lakers had been using Kyle Kuzma as the 4/5 in small lineups before Morris signed, but Kuzma was ill-suited for that responsibility. Morris was a cleaner fit in Kuzma’s role, which allowed Kuzma to shift down to the 3/4, providing the Lakers the extra wing they needed all along. In a sense, Morris’ greatest contribution to the Lakers was giving the team additional lineup versatility, which was invaluable in the postseason. What is his contract situation moving forward? Morris is an unrestricted free agent. He gave back $4.5 million to the Pistons in his buyout in February, but made $1.75 million on his Lakers deal, and even if he makes the veteran’s minimum next season, he should recoup the money he forfeited when leaving Detroit. Will he be back? The Lakers don’t have any salary cap space to sign Morris unless they use one of their exceptions, but it’s unclear as of now if they view Morris worthy of that level of investment. On the one hand, Morris was a perfect fit with this team, but on the other hand, the fact that the Lakers were able to get Morris off the buyout market demonstrates that it might not be terribly difficult to replace him. Then again, there were only 30 players in the league other than Morris who averaged at least 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game on 38.6% shooting from 3-point range. Nine of them are current or former All-Stars, and the ones who aren’t on rookie contracts are getting paid a lot more than what Morris made with the Lakers. Centers might be fungible when building a team in the modern NBA, but bigs who can shoot still have a market. If the Lakers aren’t willing to go beyond the minimum for Morris, some other team likely will. There is one also one additional element to consider regarding Morris’ future. If the Clippers re-sign his brother Marcus, as they are expected to during free agency, Markieff may be more amenable to staying in Los Angeles to be closer to his family. That’s one advantage the Lakers have over other teams, except for maybe the Clippers. There hasn’t been much chatter from either party regarding Morris’ place on the Lakers next season, but the Lakers should make an effort to keep him around. Role player alchemy is a tricky science, and not every signing works. The Lakers have had plenty of misses in the last two seasons. Now that they have found someone in Morris who fits, it isn’t the time to play around with the formula.

Big betrayal to the Lakers? Rondo in the storm

source (https://www.google.it/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/nba/news/clippers-interested-in-rajon-rondo-lakers-want-him-back-as-well-per-report/amp/)

Last offseason, the Lakers and the Clippers battled for Kawhi Leonard in free agency. They may not have met on the court in the Western Conference finals as most predicted, but that doesn't mean the two sides are done battling one another. In 2020, the two have their hearts set on the same free agent point guard: Rajon Rondo. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Clippers are interested in poaching Rondo away from the Lakers, who also want him back. Rondo has a $2.7 million player option for next season -- a 120 percent raise on his 2019-20 minimum salary -- but is obviously expected to decline it after a stellar postseason. Stein indicates that Rondo wants to test the market, suggesting that his primary goal is cashing in. So, who can pay Rondo more? Well, it's complicated. Technically, if the cap comes in at last year's $109 million total, both should be able to offer somewhere between $9M-10M. How and why they'll be able to do so, or not do so, depends on a variety of other factors. Let's start with the Lakers. As Rondo has played two seasons in Los Angeles, he has Early Bird Rights with the Lakers. That means the Lakers can pay him either 175 percent of his 2019-20 salary, or, more pertinently, 105 percent of the league's average salary. That was $9.3 million last season, so 105 percent of it would be around $9.8 million. There are caveats, though. Deals signed with Early Bird Rights must last at least two seasons. The Lakers have so far avoided giving out deals that last into the 2021 offseason, when they could possibly create cap space to pursue another star. Perhaps a non-guaranteed second season could solve that, but if the Lakers prioritize immediate improvement over 2021 ambitions, that creates another difficulty. The Lakers have two primary methods of improvement through free agency: the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and sign-and-trades. That is their best chance of acquiring a starting-caliber player, but doing so would trigger a hard cap. Last season, that hard cap was around $139 million. If the Lakers are bound by that hard cap, there is almost no chance that they would have the money to pay Rondo what he's looking for. If the Lakers choose to keep Rondo instead, they would likely only be able to use the smaller, $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception on outside free agents. Not bad, but not as impactful as they'd like. There are pros and cons to both approaches. Which path the Lakers choose depends on how much improvement they think they'll need to win in 2021 as well as how important chasing another star is to them beyond that. Hanging over any Lakers decision is their hail mary pitch to shed some salary. The Lakers have applied for a Career-Ending Injury exemption on the dead money owed to Luol Deng, whom they waived with the stretch provision before the 2018-19 season. They are unlikely to be granted that exemption. If they are, though, it would clear around $5 million off of their books, making it easier to potentially keep Rondo without impacting their other plans. The Clippers can't offer Rondo quite as much as the Lakers can. The most they can offer is the league's average salary through the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, so $9.3 million. Like the Lakers, they also have to be mindful of a hard cap. Marcus Morris and Montrezl Harrell are both free agents. It's a bit simplistic, but the Clippers will probably be forced to go one of two routes. If they let one of those players go, they can use both the full MLE and the smaller $3.6 million bi-annual exception. If they keep both, they are probably limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception. Where exactly their offers will fall depends on the other moves both the Lakers and Clippers line up. There are scenarios in which one side offers significantly more than the other. There are scenarios in which both are offering him as much as they can, and ones in which they both have to lowball him a bit. We just won't know until their other plans become a bit clearer. What we can safely say is that the Clippers are a genuine threat to steal Rondo away from the Lakers. He has relationships with both Clippers coach Ty Lue and top basketball executive Lawrence Frank from their time together in Boston. He wouldn't have to relocate. He presumably wants to continue winning, and the Clippers offer that path. LeBron James and Anthony Davis both love playing with Rondo and will surely fight to bring him back, but if money is the priority, there is a decent chance Rondo is a Clipper next season.

The players who could make it to the Lakers

 

Source: Who are the Lakers targeting to upgrade their guard position? 23 The Lakers have tried to get a scoring guard multiple times, dating back to last season. By Sabreena Merchant@sabreenajm Oct 30, 2020, 3:33pm PDT. Even though the Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship (I still smile every time I write that), the front office will surely continue to look for ways to improve this roster. One common theme that has emerged from their efforts is that the Lakers are interested in another playmaker who can bend defenses with his ability to score. Brian Windhorst indicated as much in an interview with our own Jas Kang. As Windhorst said, “There’s a deal out there for them for another guard. That would be interesting. I’ll see if they actually go forward with it. It’s a guard on the last year of his contract who was great last year for his team and that team may be looking to move him.” Windhorst doesn’t specify which guard — or even what kind of guard — the Lakers are targeting, but the front office’s pattern of behavior over the past year suggests it’s a jitterbug point guard who can alleviate some of the scoring burden on the team’s two superstars. Exhibit A: The Lakers offered Detroit Alex Caruso at the trade deadline in exchange for Derrick Rose. Rose is no longer the athlete he once was after years of knee problems, but he can still get to the rim consistently. Per Cleaning the Glass, he took 39 percent of his shots there last season, placing him in the 78th percentile of point guards. He also got another 28 percent of his shots in the floater range, demonstrating his ability to consistently put pressure on the basket. Furthermore, Rose had the highest assist percentage of his career last season on a team that wasn’t exactly bursting with offensive threats. Exhibit B: The Lakers put the full-court press on Darren Collison in February before the L.A. native decided not to come out of retirement. Collison doesn’t attack the rim like Rose, but he provides a scoring threat with his outside shooting. He has also never averaged fewer than 5.2 assists per 36 minutes, a mark that was only eclipsed by LeBron James and Rajon Rondo on the Lakers this season. Exhibit C: When Collison spurned the Lakers, they went with Dion Waiters as their backup plan. Waiters has historically been one of the league’s best guards at getting to the basket. Those numbers dipped in his injury-riddled end in Miami, but in his short stint with the Lakers, he took 42 percent of his field-goal attempts within four feet of the hoop. As a whole, his team’s offenses have always taken more shots near the rim with Waiters on the floor. Clearly, the Lakers have a type. They didn’t need this kind of player during the playoff run because Rondo morphed into his playoff alter-ego and gave the team secondary playmaking with a dash of long-range shooting and frequent drives to the rim. Playoff Rondo is who the Lakers have wanted all along. But if Windhorst is right that the Lakers are still interested in another guard, their continued insistence on finding a player of that mold suggests that Rondo has eyes elsewhere in free agency or that they expect Rondo to revert back into a lesser player when the regular season begins. The presumed accelerated pace of this regular season might also necessitate another guard because James won’t play as many minutes. That leads us to the question: Who could Windhorst be talking about? Victor Oladipo has been mentioned in trade talks with several teams given his reported desire to leave the Pacers once his contract ends after this season. Oladipo is an athletic scoring guard who would provide a different dimension to the Lakers’ offense, and the Lakers could easily put together a trade package for the Indiana guard centered around Danny Green and Kyle Kuzma. However, Oladipo didn’t have a good season last year, so he’s probably not Windhorst’s mystery man. That did not, however, stop us creating this photoshop. Graphic via Kendrew Abueg / Silver Screen and Roll Rose had a good season in 2019-20, and appears to have settled into the player he will be in this latter phase of his career, a less explosive but still efficient scorer who can also run an offense. He has one year left on his contract, and Detroit is likely headed towards a rebuild under new GM Troy Weaver, so it makes sense to cash out on Rose and get some young talent or future picks. And given Pelinka’s previous interest in Rose at the deadline, this would seem to be a highly likely possibility. There’s also Dennis Schröder, another lightning-quick point guard who just had far and away the best season of his career in 2019-20 with Oklahoma City. He shot above-average from every part of the floor, including 63 percent at the rim and 39 percent from 3-point range. He assisted on 22.3 percent of his team’s baskets, an impressive figure in isolation and more impressive considering he always played next to another point guard. Perhaps most importantly, the Thunder defense was 6.6 points per 100 possessions better with Schröder on the floor. The OKC guard finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting, so “great” is a reasonable descriptor, and he will also be a free agent in the 2021 offseason. Like the Pistons, the Thunder are probably pivoting towards the future, and at age 27, Schröder is not a part of that, making him a potential trade candidate, as Windhorst suggests. Looking at this list of targets, and considering Waiters’ minimal impact on the Lakers during his time in purple and gold, it’s worth considering if the Lakers really need a player of this ilk. Caruso’s body of work outpaces that of both Rose and Schröder, most prominently on the defensive end, and acquiring Oladipo requires a big leap of faith in his health, which seems like a perilous gamble based on his play in the bubble. Caruso is also continuing to improve as a floor general, and the jump he took before and after the hiatus shows that a traditional point guard may still be lurking within. The Lakers are also grooming Talen Horton-Tucker as a facilitator in the G League, and he didn’t look out of place when thrown into the Western Conference semifinals. Anthony Davis was a point guard during his early years, and there’s no reason why he can’t take a greater responsibility running the offense, as he did at times last season. And even if the Lakers don’t have the specific Rose/Schröder/Oladipo skill set on their roster, who says they need that? Waiters was beaten out by J.R. Smith of all people in the rotation before Rondo returned, and no one is further from a playmaker than Smith. The Lakers are defense-first outfit, and all of these potential additions are seriously lacking on that end of the floor. The Lakers were by no means a perfect team in 2019-20, and there are probably ways they could stand to improve in the offseason. The front office’s affinity for quick-twitch point guards may not feel like the best way to use their limited resources, but Rob Pelinka has earned some benefit of the doubt with their roster construction success thus far. It remains to be seen if the team’s golden touch on the margins will strike again.

Here's how the Los Angeles Lakers made their dream of glory come true

 We spend part of our days trying to inspire others onward, part of our days trying to make others proud of us. Much of that time we don’t even know how others are being affected by us.

Certainly we don’t know in cases where the people have passed.

It didn’t stop Adam Silver from trying to make David Stern proud with the bold, ultimately immaculate NBA bubble model. Or Jeanie Buss from trying to make Jerry Buss proud with the championship that her father dearly coveted for the Lakers to tie the Celtics at 17.

This Lakers team, featuring so many guys fortunate enough to be directly inspired by Kobe Bryant, deeply understood the meaning of trying to make him proud in this year of his death. In doing so, it meant inspiring others everywhere—same as whenever Bryant or other greats won NBA titles, urging us all toward our own excellence.

To understand why it meant so much for Anthony Davis to make Bryant proud, you have to understand it goes beyond their personal relationship.

Yes, Bryant welcomed Davis post-trade to the Lakers’ family. Yes, before that Bryant counseled Davis how it was more important for a leader to be respected than liked. Yes, before that Bryant was the elder statesman on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team who appreciated the 19-year-old Davis’ wide eyes signaled natural curiosity—Bryant’s favorite quality in people—as opposed to fear.

However, it goes back to Davis as a boy on the South Side of Chicago, when he was inspired by Bryant in ways Bryant couldn’t possibly know. It was a grandfather and grandson, one passing on admiration and inspiration to the other. On the porch was their own private Kobe fan club, same as countless others all around the world.

Here’s how Davis explained it back in 2015, when he got a tattoo to honor Lamont Eberhardt, his mom’s dad who died in 2010—the year of the Lakers’ last previous title: “I looked up to him. Every day I would go to his house and we would just talk basketball. He always pushed me. He always talked about Kobe, Kobe, Kobe. He always wanted to make me go out there and—I don’t want to say be better, but—do some of the same things [Kobe] did.”

A newly minted NBA champion, Davis now has. He pushed through every ache, flat-out ignored real injuries and played every playoff game. He hit a winning shot in the Western Conference Finals that sparked kids everywhere to re-enact it and imagine being A.D. (even if A.D. still yelled out “Kobe” after making it).

Then Davis played the kind of max-effort defense that has to make talented players everywhere, including his fellow NBA stars, re-evaluate how much energy can and should be poured into defense if you want to win it all.

The Lakers’ playoff motto was “Leave a Legacy.”

The Lakers’ championship accomplishment was doing just that.

It was the first time in the NBA’s 74-year history that the championship was held at a single site. Still, the 2020 playoff season might’ve had greater reach than any. To borrow the words of the day, this one hit different. The statements that the players regularly made about social injustice showed deep unity in the midst of their fierce competition.

Years from now, when the photos or videos are viewed, people will wonder, “Why wasn’t this championship played in a real NBA arena? Why was “Black Lives Matter” written on the court? What did those particular messages on the backs of the jerseys mean?”

Healthy discussion will ensue, and the Lakers are tied to that legacy. Their players fulfilled their agenda on two epic fronts. And that’s not even accounting for the unheard-of pandemic backdrop that left James writing a verbal thank-you card on championship night to Apple pioneer Steve Jobs.

“Big-time shoutout to the late, great Steve Jobs,” James said after the Lakers’ nearly hundred days of isolation, “because without him, without his vision, those FaceTime calls wouldn’t be possible.”

One legacy can and will shape another.

Even though James’ legacy is undeniably furthered by a fourth NBA championship, he spent the final moments of the last game immersed in how much of Davis’ legacy was being laid.

Because they share what Davis terms “true friendship,” James good-naturedly ribbed Davis for his emotions in the moment.

“You’re soft! Oh, you crybaby!” James needled Davis.

But behind the veil of those words, James was actually seeing his own soul when he first won an NBA title.

“Just the excitement. The ‘I can't believe this.’ I definitely saw myself: [age] 27 LeBron, 27 A.D.,” James said. “I definitely saw myself in that. And what it did for me in my career? It basically let me know that the work I put in on my craft, and the way I play the game, how I was taught to play the game when I picked up a basketball when I was 8 years old, it’s OK to play that way and be able to win.

“No matter how many people tell you: ‘You should maybe shoot more, you should maybe do this more, you should maybe be like him more,’ it let me know that the way I play basketball and the way I was taught to play basketball is the right way to play it, because you do see results.

“And then it just continues to boost your confidence. Not saying that A.D. doesn't already have confidence, but it takes it to another level.”

James’ make-the-right-play mindset by now is more accurately described as basketball transformation than mere inspiration. The game has shifted that materially through his style. How much of the Lakers’ overall harmony should be attributed to James’ on-court generosity is impossible to quantify, but he definitely led this horse to water.

And it definitely drank: James and Davis were the first pair of teammates in NBA history to average 25-plus points while shooting at least 50 percent from the field over an entire postseason (minimum six games).

What James added foremost to his personal legacy was reinforcing his status as an overachiever, even with all the initial outrageous expectations and all the past accomplishments.

“No matter what I’ve done in my career to this point, there’s still little rumblings of doubt or comparing me to the history of the game and ‘Has he done this? Has he done that?’ James said. “So having that in my head, having that in my mind, saying to myself, ‘Why not still have something to prove?’ I think it fuels me.”

Meanwhile, less seasoned players such as Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went through lean years with the Lakers but could preen in altogether different images as Lakers champions now. Once-heralded veterans such as Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard unequivocally changed the twisted storylines that cast them as players unable to maximize team-first roles.

“A couple years ago I said, ‘I am a champion,’ and people laughed,” Howard said. “It wasn’t being a champion of a basketball game, but a champion in life—knowing that there’s many times that we all fail and I fail, but instead of folding and laying down, a champ gets back up. I’m just happy to celebrate this moment with the Lakers and Laker nation and my teammates. It’s been an amazing journey for all of us.”

As much chagrin as there was when they didn’t win Game 5 in the Kobe-designed “Black Mamba” uniforms, the Lakers instead won Game 6 and commemorated their white uniforms.

Any student of recent Lakers history should remember the only other truly significant moment for the Lakers in white: Bryant’s 81-point game.

But many might not recall that Jeanie Buss, while her father was still in charge, was instrumental in the 2002 creation of those white uniforms. Those seeking poetry with their legacy will appreciate the symbolism at work in the Lakers winning in white: Jeanie’s breakthrough as the NBA’s first female championship owner certainly qualifies as inspiration on its own.

Truth be told, the Lakers were initially trying to honor another of their legends with those white uniforms. It was the year after broadcaster Chick Hearn’s death, and with the awareness that Hearn’s 100th birthday would’ve landed on a Sunday, the Lakers elected to wear white for all Sunday home games.

The beauty of being with the Lakers is that you can learn from and build upon all the greatness of those before you—if you are open to that.

If you are curious the way Kobe was and A.D. is.

If you get beyond your ego.

If you are truly secure that you can leave a legacy.

“The true mark of a legacy,” Bryant said in December 2017 when the Lakers retired Nos. 8 and 24, “is how it affects the next generation.”

The fact that both James and Davis added tattoos in honor of Bryant just days after his death in January is a testament to how much the current Lakers stars cared about continuing Bryant’s legacy.

The best way, though, to make others proud or inspired is simply to stay true to the legacy that is your own.

Davis already had a tattoo on his shoulder. It features his late grandfather’s smiling face with the words, “Rest Up, Champ.”

“Champ” is what he called his grandfather.

“Champ” is also what his grandfather called him.

How sweet it is to be able to live up to the word now.

* * *

Source: Kevin Ding is an independent sports writer, and the statements and views expressed by him do not necessarily represent the views of the Los Angeles Lakers.

To catch up on all of Kevin Ding's in-depth Lakers stories, visit The Point home page.

Lakers, Kuzma is a controversial champion but that special relationship with LeBron ...

source (https://www.google.it/amp/s/www.silverscreenandroll.com/platform/amp/2020/10/28/21537404/lakers-kyle-kuzma-season-review-contract-extension-rumors-trade-candidate)

How did he play? If there was a Kyle Kuzma hype train chugging along last summer, I was the conductor. While I never went as far as to say Kuzmacould be the Lakers’ third star, I thought his role alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis was pretty clear: play off of the ball when they’re on the floor, and be the focal point of the offense when they’re on the bench. Kuzma didn’t live up to those expectations this past season, for both reasons in and out of his control, but that doesn’t mean the hype train isn’t still rolling along; it’s just changed tracks. In his third season with the Lakers, the 25-year-old forward had the worst offensive season of his young NBA career, averaging 12.8 points per game on 43.6% shooting from the field in the regular season. He wasn’t much better in the postseason, where he averaged 10 points per game on 40% shooting from the field. The drop in Kuzma’s points per game average could have been predicted with Davis getting the lion’s share of his touches from last season, but his efficiency from the field was a bit of a letdown, especially after he worked out with Lethal Shooter, Phil Handy and Team USA in the summer. Kuzma’s third year with the Lakers wasn’t a total disappointment, though. In fact, there were a lot of positives — chief among them is the way he responded to his role drastically changing. As a third-year player with a lot to prove before he becomes eligible for a contract extension, Kuzma could have pouted about not getting enough touches — an attitude would have been detrimental to a Lakers locker room that bought into a team-first mentality almost immediately. Instead, Kuzma put his head down and did what he had to help his team win, starting with the defensive end of the floor. When the Lakers returned from their four-month hiatus in June, Kuzma was visibly more active on the defensive end, which isn’t always conducive to improvement, but in Kuzma’s case it was infinitely better than anything he had showed before. Whether that was a result of him being fully healthy or just a product of his natural development, it helped Los Angeles in a big way in the postseason. In the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers, Kuzma posted the second-best defensive rating on the team (90.9) behind Alex Caruso (94.2). With Kuzma on the bend, the Lakers’ defensive rating cratered to 110.6, a 16.4-point difference. That’s because Kuzma took on the challenge of guarding all five positions, something he’s capable of because of his size and mobility. Kuzma is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract. He’s set to make $3.56 million in the 2020-21 season. The Lakers can offer him an extension, or more likely, following the upcoming campaign, they can extend a $5.2 million qualifying offer to Kuzma, which would make him a restricted free agent in 2021. Additionally, selling high on Kuzma would give the Lakers an opportunity to maximize the talent they have in this win-now window they’re in. Is a trade package built around Kuzma enough to get Bradley Beal out of Washington? It’s highly unlikely, but it might be enough to get a certain disgruntled All-Star out of Indiana, especially since his contract expires in 2021. Yes, I’m looking directly at you, Victor Oladipo. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if Kuzma was on the Lakers’ opening night roster. It wouldn’t even be the worst thing if they extended him this fall. But, at the very least, the front office needs to see what his market is, something that they haven’t done in previous seasons. The days of Kuzma being untouchable should be over.

Lakers - All the secrets you don't know about Anthony Davis

"The scariest thing is that it's just starting to scratch the surface." So LeBron James on Instagram congratulated Anthony Davis after the two won the NBA title in Orlando, wiping out what was left of the Miami Heat in Game-6. The Los Angeles Lakers proved to be the best team of this long and weird season, in large part because they had the best two players on the pitch in every single game. During the playoffs LeBron and Davis combined for over 55 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists per game in 21 games, recording the two best Net Ratings among players on the field for more than 28 minutes on average. Wrong to someone saying that, giving the right credit to Frank Vogel and his coaching staff for the work done, to the management and the rest of the team for having been able to raise their level when the stakes are significantly increased, this seventeenth yellow and purple title it begins and ends with the performances of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. And if it was difficult to doubt the dominance that LeBron has exercised over the entire league for almost twenty years, more concerns could be raised about the real ability of AD to support the Chosen One for an entire playoff ride. Not so much of a technical nature - the fit between the two is among the best that modern basketball can conceive - but more linked to the mental stability and experience of the former New Orleans. Before setting foot at Disney World Davis had only played three career playoff series, winning one. And despite a transcendental talent, for a long time he struggled to establish himself as a star of the highest level both due to the limits of team results and personality.Instead, in the months of the bubble Davis not only scratched the surface, but also erased any question marks that were written on it, consolidating himself as one of the strongest and most terrifying players seen on the pitch and joining an even more exclusive club: that of superstars in able to level up in the playoffs compared to the regular season. After touching them for the first ten years in the NBA, Davis seemed perfectly at ease in games in which simple talent is not enough but efficiency, versatility and cunning count. Qualities that define the so-called 16-game players and that Davis had never shown at high levels, at least until now. Of course, playing alongside the most successful player ever in the post-season helps a lot, but AD has not limited himself to shoulder to LeBron; on the contrary, he often and willingly dragged the Lakers through the adversities of the various series, without the opponents being able to understand how to stop him. The cover image will remain the one impressed by his scream after scoring the triple on the siren to beat the Denver Nuggets in game-2 of the Conference Finals or the blocks that squeezed the life out of the Miami Heat in the decisive game-6, but Davis' impact goes beyond the spectacular plays of these playoffs and is to be found in the many details that have embellished the yellow-violet title season. And while LeBron rightfully won his fourth Finals MVP title unanimously, we can say that Anthony Davis helped shape this version of the Lakers as much as the GOAT. Since the first outings of this season, the identity of the Lakers has been defined especially in the defensive half - where they recorded the third best rating in the regular season with 106.1 points out of a hundred possessions - and has gradually gained more consistency up to cancel opponents' attacks in the playoffs. An anti-aircraft defense, clean and precise rotations and masterfully executed match plans have allowed the Los Angeles to adapt to each opponent faced at each turn, gradually taking the measures as the series goes by and ending up defusing the strengths of the attacks. The Lakers first saw it with two explosive guards, capable of being dangerous both with and without the ball like Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, continuing with the five out and James Harden's isolations foreseen by the Moreyball in Houston, and then arriving in Conference final against the Denver Nuggets and the most dangerous pick & roll pair on the bubble. Finally with the Miami Heat and their orchestra of shooters and smugglers, who had done so much harm to the best defenses on the east coast. All limited and managed by the cobweb woven by Vogel and his coaching staff, very good at reading the limits and strengths of the team they faced and overturning them by enhancing the staff at their disposal. LeBron suddenly returned to that of the first years in Miami, Howard a lite version of that of Orlando and Danny Green, KCP and Caruso left everything they had on the Disney World parquet by chasing opposing shooters for the blocks. In the end, however, the yellow-violet defensive castle held up against Anthony Davis’s alien ubiquity in covering the inevitable holes left by his teammates.Finished second for the season award for best defender in the NBA - went to Giannis Antetokounmpo - Davis used these playoffs to put the tags back in place, demonstrating what it means to be an octopus in your own half and what physical tools have become essential in the NBA today. The importance of long defenses is often diminished, especially when it comes to the playoffs and their value decreases in relation to the increase in overall talent on the pitch and the ability of the best forwards to exploit every little advantage. Rudy Gobert has heard this every year, when forced off the pitch by the zigzagging of the Splash Brothers, that he was only fit to play during the regular season. The NBA is constantly changing and with it the role of the long - in a transformation that has led the most pessimists to ring the bells in mourning for the species - but it always remains the cornerstone on which to build any defensive system. And Davis reminded us of the absolute need to have a player with his specific characteristics on the pitch if you are planning to go all the way in one of the most complicated competitions in world sport. Davis began his playoffs by having another long role in JaVale McGee alongside and defending on Portland's worst offensive player, Wenyen Gabriel, to be able to move from free safety to defending and finished them in man marking on the main game creator of Miami, Jimmy Butler, nine meters from the iron. A universal versatility that was not always present during his professional career, indeed one of the main questions entering this season remained the availability of AD to play consistent minutes from the center, which is why the Lakers had protected themselves with the signings of McGee and Howard. But if in the regular season Davis did not have a great desire to fight against opponents heavier than him for twenty minutes of mostly irrelevant games - also given his perversion in always falling to the ground - in the playoffs he was not afraid of spending himself. in heavier tasks, also because in this way it can force the other teams to drop one weight category. In these playoffs, in contrast to the regular season, he ended up playing 914 center-center possessions - for context in RS Davis had played 1,721 center-center possessions in 71 games - and only 621 of 4 in cohabitation with another long. And the results were not long in showing: in the minutes with only Davis in the painted Los Angeles he shredded his rivals with +15.7 points out of a hundred possessions, almost double compared to the two longs configuration (+8.3). In a league that is increasingly favoring mobility and length over height and weight, Davis is truly a unique prototype that has finally been enabled to unleash the potential he had been fantasizing about since the season in Kentucky. His telescopic arms, the fluidity of the hips and the rapidity of the feet allow him to defend practically in any game situation and against any type of opponent, in the painting and on the perimeter, on humans and in help.There is a simple reason why length, or extension, has replaced height as the most important parameter in the evaluation of a player and that is its functional application. If once the basket placed in an elevated position with respect to the pitch required athletes to be able to compete above it, now the improvement of technical skills and physical performance has dramatically enlarged the portion of the field on which you play and therefore to cover for defenses. Today the best defenses are those that manage to eat the horizontal space of the attacks without compromising their vertical dimension. And to do this, in addition to long arms, you also need fast feet and motor coordination - because if power is nothing without control, length is nothing without mobility. You certainly don't need a PhD in physics to understand that a player's wingspan acquires a whole other impact when he is free to move sensibly around the pitch, or it would be enough to watch five minutes of Mo Bamba. But no high-level defense can afford not to be built according to these principles and at the same time it is extremely difficult to be able to build a roster consistent with the qualities of one's superstars. We've seen him in the regular season with the Milwaukee Bucks and during the playoffs with the Miami Heat, but no one has hit us in the face like the Los Angeles Lakers. The yellow and purple not only have a tall team, with two long over two meters and ten always on the field, and an athletic prodigy who for seventeen years has destroyed the expectations that the world has placed in him, but above all they have a long team, where even the outsiders like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green create a wall when they open their arms. Even Alex Caruso, despite his ministerial appearance and related memes, is an athlete with above average sizes for the role. But no one has and knows how to use this combination of mobility and extension of their extremities in the NBA like Anthony Davis - besides perhaps Giannis Antetokounmpo - and the series played by the Lakers in Orlando have given us a clear demonstration.In the first round it was crucial to frustrate Lillard in his classic super high pick & roll, picking him up at the block level and obscuring his view with his arms. And if Dame - when he understood that he couldn't let go of the ball without having it intercepted - attacked the basket, AD used the bearing that the guaranteed air space of his arms to avoid being burned and contesting the point guard of the Blazers at the iron. instead he entered into Westbrook's nightmares, on which he had been hijacked given the percentages of the number 0 in the shot from outside. After the defeat in Game-1 against Houston, Vogel in fact gradually eliminated McGee and Howard from the rotations, thus lowering himself to the level of the Rockets but with more talented players, especially defensive. The Lakers tried to get the ball out of Harden's hands in every way with a complex system of spins and doubles, to force the others to create with a few seconds on the clock, also playing on Barba's laziness when not in possession of the ball. And Davis on Russell has inhibited the penetrations of the other game creator, enticing him to pull from outside or to be stubborn in the usual choices with the blinders that often and willingly result in a turnover and in two points of the opposing team on the other side. Also when AD was marking on a non-shooter like Westbrook he could freely help paint, leaving him an easier open shot or short closeout. Davis is extraordinary when there is to entice the attacker into his own trap, making him believe that there is a space and a time for the game, and then sucking him like a black hole with a unibrow.Anthony Davis represents the alpha and omega of contemporary NBA defenses. The two key points for a high-level defensive system, especially in the playoffs, are represented by the selection of perimeter shots and the percentages granted in the painted. It is no coincidence then that Davis in Orlando finished in the lead for contested shots from both two (154) and three (99), as well as first for blocks with 30 and fourth in steals (first among the longs with a wide margin) . And he cannot do one thing or the other, usually he can do them all together. He can shift to a fielder and hold it in front until he is forced into an impossible shot or close hard on a shooter without allowing a comfortable line of penetration. Humans who can perform particularly aggressive closeouts like him without leaving the frame and recovering on the ball thanks to the length of their arms can be counted on the fingers of one hand - and none of these have the balance and fluidity of Davis. The speed with which he opens his hips and repositions his body perpendicular to that of the opponent when attacked on the front foot allows him to help and recover in every game situation and is an indispensable quality for a proactive defense like that of the Lakers. The Finals represented for Anthony Davis a synthesis of everything he had already shown up to that point. He ridiculed Adebayo as if he were a poorer model in the same line of ultramodern longs, he limited Butler when it looked like Jimmy had embarked on his personal crusade in the bubble exposing his hesitations in shooting from outside. And he postponed Tyler Herro to next year, ruffling him every time the latter tried to get close to iron.And while Davis was the best defender by posting the bubble in Orlando, his double effectiveness on both sides of the field made him an unsolvable puzzle. Finally joined by a game creator - and not one by chance - of the highest level, he was able to show off an offensive game built tile after tile and that was not present just out of Kentucky. It remains the most sensational vertical threat in the NBA to this day, a marvel of coordination, timing and hands that come above all others. The speed with which he can climb over the iron both with and without the ball enhances the photographers' flashes and represents one of the most profitable ways in which the Lakers have exploited their physical size to their advantage. Davis at Disney World has closed 54 times over the iron, 15 of which alley-oops mainly primed by a specialist like Rajon Rondo. But his domination in the painted did not pass only from these conclusions with a high rate of spectacularity. Davis has found the iron way even without having to be primed a few steps from the basket, indeed now he is at ease not only in dynamic situations but also when he must take advantage of the advantages in isolation. With each passing year he has been able to add a dribble to his ball-in-hand initiatives to become a complete scorer, dangerous on three levels.He threw a ridiculous 79.8% in the restricted area out of 114 shots and of these only two thirds came after an assistance from a teammate, a sign that he also learned to create from the dribble. Also because few manage to stay in front of Davis when he starts with that lightning first step from the infinite compass and to contest his soft release especially with his right hand, writhing in the air as if he had no spine. A frontal game opened by his average jumper, who entered Orlando much more often than he did in his career, and which made him an even more lethal weapon. He scored 49.6% of his 115 shots from the midrange - in the last playoffs Kawhi Leonard, who seemed to have resurrected the average shot by bringing it back to Jordanian efficiency, had closed with 49.2% on 118 shots - which sent Denver to the asylum, unable to find a way to stop it.Add to this that Davis, a 33% regular-season three-point shooter, has decided to raise his above-average league average to 38.3% by putting some pretty heavy baskets in the LA run, it doesn't get complicated to explain why the Lakers they raised the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Davis finished the 21 games it took to win his first NBA title with 27.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals on average and 61% real percentage. A versatility that helped Vogel's team to overcome without too many problems the minutes in which LeBron sat on the extra-large sanitized bench. Historically in James' teams, those short interludes became horror movies: in the four years in Miami in the playoffs the cumulative plus / minus of the quintets without LeBron on the pitch was -22, in the second edition of Cleveland -96. This year the quintets that included only Anthony Davis have a positive differential of +4.5 points on 100 possessions, those with only LeBron +0.4. Numbers on non-sensitive samples but which represent how special the union between CEO and LeBron was and how the two are currently both in a separate category when it comes to their respective roles. Just as LeBron has revolutionized an entire generation of wing creators at the same time steroid and crazy, imposing new rules and new scenarios on the game, so Anthony Davis can establish himself as the most perfected all-rounder, the oversized second violin that fits all quintets.In the AD bubble he played the role of Mr. Wolf for the Lakers: he gradually solved every problem that Vogel's gang could encounter on their journey. And the Lakers continually took advantage of his services, moving him around the pitch where he could most terrorize opponents' executions. He marked Nikola Jokic and Bam Adebayo without needing to double, limiting their playmaking against the rotating teams; he switched on opposing game makers by taking them out of the game - by turning off Butler in Game-4 and Game-6 and effectively handing the title to the Lakers; he found the way to the basket with great efficiency, discovering the best way to hurt each time and showing a rainbow of moves in attack; scored the heaviest and most iconic baskets of the bubble to address series that would otherwise have become quite complicated. Davis has been wherever the Lakers needed him to be, a luxury that no team in the NBA can afford with such freedom and that ultimately made a difference. In an age in which we wonder what the future of the seven feet in contemporary basketball will be, Anthony Davis responded by outlining the path to follow.

"Shame on you, you are ridiculous", Shaq vents against some Lakers players

The former yellow-violet center did not mention any names but was very clear: "If you didn't win as protagonists, stop posting on social networks as if the Lakers title was your merit." An accusation that - with the exception of LeBron James and Anthony Davis - may have the entire supporting cast of the Lakers as a recipient. But some players' social timeline helps get an idea. Shaquille O'Neal in the Los Angeles Lakers jersey has won three NBA titles and has also raised the MVP of the final series three times. He knows what it means to win, and he knows what it means to be the protagonist. Like LeBron James did in the series against Miami, or how Anthony Davis did. But the others? It seems that the (excessive) social celebrations of some players in the yellow-violet supporting cast have left the former Lakers no. 34 a little annoyed, who in his podcast objected: "You know what I don't like as a player? That a lot of Lakers players on their Instagram accounts bragged as if they were the reason for winning the ring. I will not mention names - O’Neal hastened to add - but I know that you understand very well who I am talking about. Stop. There are those who lead the race, and those who get on the winners' wagon. Stop. Post a photo, if you really have to, and then get it over with ", the harsh words of the former player not surprisingly nicknamed" The Big Aristotle ". Any idea about the players who ended up in Shaq's sights? Soon said, just look at the social timelines of some Lakers players.

Rondo between Lakers and Clippers, the level of conversation is trashy a bit everywhere

SOURCE, https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-fans-trash-clippers-via-twitter-on-rajon-rondos-vacation-photos/.

Rajon Rondo is having the time of his life vacationing in the Maldives after a grueling, championship-winning season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Photos of the four-time All-Star on his much-deserved break made its rounds on social media, and ruthless Lakers fans used this as an opportunity to take a shot at their cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers. Rondo will be a free agent in the offseason, and it has been rumored that the Clippers are interested in recruiting the 34-year-old veteran. Lakers supporters are having none of this, and made sure to make their feelings known (h/t Orlando Silva of FadeAway World): That’s enough trashing for one day, I guess. Although if you’re in the mood for more, there are a few other hilarious jabs in the comments section of the above post. Clearly, there is no love lost between Lakers and Clippers fans. The fact that the Clippers infamously failed to reach the West Finals in a supposed “Battle of L.A.”, by embarrassingly giving up a 3-1 series lead in the West Semis against the Denver Nuggets presents itself as the latest of many insults that can be thrown in the face of Clippers supporters. Unfortunately for them, this has the makings of one that’s going to stick for years to come. All jokes aside, though, the Clippers could realistically bring Rondo on board for next season. They could potentially offer him a better package than what the Lakers can put on the table, so at this point, it seems that it’s going to be all about Rondo’s priorities.

Lakers, Howard is in trouble: his prompt response arrives

 

Dwight Howard has recently responded to his son who criticized him publicly through social media. The 12-year-old boy called his father a “deadbeat dad” which did not sit well with Howard, who addressed the issue in an interview on the Frank Ski Show with Nina Brown. “I’m not the person to get online or go through the media and bash anybody,” Howard said. “The only thing I will address is the issue of anybody thinking I’m a deadbeat father. Currently, I have a child with me now. My son lives with me. There’s no way I could be a deadbeat dad if I have a son that lives with me. The situation with my other son, it’s unfortunate that a lot of things have been made public.” Braylon Howard is the son of the Los Angeles Lakers center with Royce Reed, a former Orlando Magic dancer. Reed also spoke out against the elder Howard earlier for neglecting his duties as a father. “Unfortunately, I haven’t [spoken to Braylon],” said Howard. “It’s a lot of things that are going on, but it’s personal. I’d rather keep that side out. No matter what is going on, I love my son. I would never disrespect his mom. One day, we’ll be able to get past this toxicity and realize that we’re living in a day now where they’re kill off a lot of our Black men. And I don’t want anything to ever happen to my son. He’s too precious. His voice is great. He has a great mind.” Aside from Braylon, the 16-year veteran has four other children with four different women. The elder Howard celebrated his first championship when the Lakers won the title last season. Having the spotlight on him for contributing mightily to the Lakers’ first title since 2010, he is receiving backlash for not having similar success in his personal life. Omar Guerrero Omar is a former writer for King James Gospel. The very first team he rooted for was the Showtime Lakers and his favorite player back then was James Worthy. Seeing the Purple and Gold win back-to-back championships in the '80s made him a basketball junkie for life. He has witnessed and celebrated every Lakers championship since then and is now looking forward to a new era of basketball in Tinseltown led by LeBron James. NEXTWoman sexually assaulted by Yasiel Puig at Lakers game shares graphic details » PREVIOUS « LeBron James might be laying the groundwork to land a big-name free agent 1 DAY AGO

Lakers market, the trade is brilliant: so you can easily win another title

An Eastern Conference general manager is convinced the Lakers will end up taking Chris Paul to put him alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis chasing the repeat. Organizing an exchange with the Oklahoma City Thunder however will not be easy, thanks to the high salary of CP3: this is how an exchange would work according to NBC Sports.The Los Angeles Lakers have won the 2019-20 title with merit and will return to the starting line of next season still as favorites to repeat. But if there is one flaw that emerged from the Orlando games it is the lack of a third high-level player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, always having to look for a different interpreter as the team's third violin. This is why the yellow-violet on the market could go in search of a third star, sacrificing their depth to have more star power by taking some offensive responsibility off the shoulders of James and AD. One of the biggest names on the market is certainly Chris Paul: the 35-year-old veteran seems to have already said goodbye to the Oklahoma City Thunder after an over-expected year and would like to use the last few years of his career to win an NBA title he has always missed. And what better place to do it than in Los Angeles? "CP3 would love the chance to return to L.A., it would be a dream for him," an unnamed Eastern Conference general manager told Bleacher Report. "I know for a fact that LeBron trusts him blindly, and together they would work great." Leading the Lakers' decision would also be a Western Conference which should be even more competitive next year: “It seems like a risk, but sometimes you have to be ambitious to take a step forward. The Warriors will be better, the Clippers probably too, the Nuggets won't get any worse. It went well in Orlando, but will it be the same in a normal regular season without the bubble? I don't know if that will happen, but taking a third scorer and point guard of Paul's level is a choice that you shouldn't even think about. ”If from a technical-tactical point of view there is little doubt that a point guard of CP3 level would work well together with James and AD, the more difficult it is to find a square from the point of view of the exchange to organize. The NBC Sports website thought so, starting from the fact that Paul has a $ 85.5 million contract over the next two years, with the second year with an option in his favor that he will certainly exercise. In order to close a trade, then, the Lakers would have to "go out" at least $ 33 million by adding more than one contract and sacrificing some of their rotation. Certainly the 15.3 million due to Danny Green should return, but also the 5 million of Avery Bradley, the 4.2 of JaVale McGee, the 3.5 of Kyle Kuzma, the 3 of Quinn Cook and at least one between Alex Caruso (2.75 million) and the choice number 28 in the Draft (1.9 million). However, there are other important issues to be resolved: Bradley and McGee should exercise their player option for next year before they are traded, and both will be convinced to do so; Cook should be guaranteed the whole contract to make it exchangeable at that price (only 1 million is guaranteed) and the salary of choice number 28 can count in an exchange only 30 days after signing the contract. Another possibility is that the Lakers will enter Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the trade with a sign-and-trade, although KCP would very unlikely agree to go to OKC and therefore would need a third team to make everything work - making the trade even more complicated.

Lakers masters of the NBA market, another absolute champion is coming

 

had already been close to the Lakers in February. Rob Pelinka, the yellow-purple GM, had sent the offer to the Pistons: Alex Caruso more choices in the draft for the former NBA MVP. Too little, the response obtained from Detroit - and so everything was resolved with nothing (and the Lakers convinced that they could still strengthen even after the expiration for the trades using the buyout market). "The interest was already there at the time - says an NBA general manager, who remains anonymous today - but it was not so serious: the Lakers might have insisted on getting to Rose if the Clippers or the Nuggets had made some big trade. Today, however, the hypothesis of a trade makes much more sense for both parties ". The Lakers in fact fear they could lose Rajon Rondo - free agent refusing his player option of not even 2.7 million dollars, and interested in discovering his market value rising after the finals; Rose has just one more year on her Pistons contract, for less than $ 7.7 million. FOCUS The resurrection of Derrick Rose Pushing to bring the former Bulls player to Los Angeles, also a fellow citizen like Anthony Davis, who having been born as Rose has Chicago has always had an excellent relationship with the youngest former MVP in league history. Rose's figures at the Pistons are very respectable, over 18 in the evening with 5.6 assists and 49.0% from the field: he could be the third offensive option behind LeBron and Davis, at the same time bringing experience and leadership to high levels in the locker room of the Lakers.

Lakers, do we have cowards ?! Here comes the sensational reverse ...

NBA, Pat Riley backs off: "Star on us, the Lakers were better." When the word "asterisk" is used to refer to an NBA title, there is always an inevitable controversy. And if someone like Pat Riley utters that word, then it immediately becomes news. Speaking to the media after the end of the season, the Miami Heat president expressed his regret for not having been able to see his team in full during the Finals, thanks to injuries to Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. And while underlining that the Lakers "beat us clearly", he added that "there will always be an asterisk, because with the two of them 100% we could have reached game-7". Words that were not particularly liked by the parts of Los Angeles and especially by Lakers fans, given that the "asterisk" is often used for the abnormal conditions with which a season shortened by the pandemic ended. Riley then wanted to point out what he meant, saying that his words were taken out of context: “The asterisk is close to the name of the Heat, not the Lakers. Their title is legitimate. Our defeat has an asterisk [due to injuries], but the Lakers were the better team. And that's that". Words that serve to soften the controversy, even if actually a full final would have been better for everyone - but injuries are part of the game, and Pat Riley knows this perfectly well.

You can say anything you want but this is the real secret of the Lakers

Basketball is played in five, but the Los Angeles Lakers took the field this year with one more man. Call it the “Black Mamba” effect (the nickname he himself gave himself inspired by the lethal snake), the hand of the great Kobe Bryant was still decisive. In 2010 it was on the parquet. This time in the hearts of the yellow-violet players, ready to do anything to honor the memory of the champion, who died in the tragic helicopter crash on January 26th together with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna (Gigi) and seven other people. And so after the ten worst years in their history, the Lakers, by winning game 6 on Sunday night, put the ring back on the finger of NBA champions, equaling the record of titles, seventeen, of the Boston Celtics, the bitter rivals. But it wasn't a walk in the park at all. The team, led by the stellar duo James-Davis, has become aware of their phenomenal potential. And in the final he had to sweat a lot against the surprising Heat, the real revelation of the most anomalous season ever. Honor to Miami, for giving it all: there is the regret of not having been able to count on its stars at 100% (especially for the injuries of Dragic and Adebayo) but the team gave everything as coach Spoelstra admitted in tears. And he found in the tale of Jimmy Butler, from homeless to champion, a warrior you can count on: "I'll bring a title to Miami, I promised it."But the Lakers really had an edge this year. Kobe wasn't there, but it's as if he had been. In the spirit and on the shirts, like the black uniform inspired by the venomous snake (Black Mamba) that Bryant himself had designed three years ago. Coach Vogel has revealed that there has been no training in which his players have not charged to the cry of "1-2-3 Mamba". Remembered with gestures and words in every game: the winning 3-pointer on the siren against Denver thrown by Anthony Davis is already in history, with the player cheering at the top of his lungs shouting: "Kobe". It is the most significant image of a triumph inspired from above, the most unprecedented championship victory that the NBA remembers. Behind closed doors in the waterproof anti-Covid “bubble” of Disney World that now football and other sports would like to import elsewhere (but will it really be replicable?). Those who, on the other hand, did not cure the virus are the Lakers fans who took to the streets of Los Angeles in their thousands, despite the invitations to stay at home and avoid crowds. But the whole world is a country, so off to the yellow-violet party with flags, smoke bombs and fireworks, with the very popular "8" and "24" tank tops, in homage to Kobe. Everything happened, even that the team for the celebrations forgot a player, Quinn Cook, who only discovered via social media that his parents were returning by bus to the hotel.After all, for the yellow-violet people it is the end of what seemed like a real curse after the 2010 title. Not even the arrival of The King last year, LeBron James, had managed to reverse a heavy course of disappointments and defeats: six years without qualifying for the playoffs, a record fast for a legendary franchise, that of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson just to name two myths of the parquet who wore this tank top. And the "King", called to take up the heavy baton from Kobe (five Lakers titles) this year did not betray expectations. Fourth title with three different jerseys (after the two with Miami and one with his Cleveland), and at the age of 36 a series of personal records that is getting longer and longer and consecrates him on a planetary level as a worthy heir to Jordan and Bryant. Growing up without a father, LeBron again could not hold back his emotion and remember the sacrifices of his mother to save him from the street: "I love you, I adore you and you are the reason why I managed to do all this - he explained between the tears - After all that we have found ourselves facing, I will never be afraid of anything ». He, who has never forgotten the Catholic college of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, where he met his wife, admitted how life in the bubble was not easy and asked himself: "Is it worth sacrificing my family life? I have never been away from her for so long. I was not present when my daughter went to kindergarten, I missed my son's 16th birthday ... ". Now he can make up for it. The promise made to Kobe on his farewell day was kept: "I ask Heaven to give me strength and assist me in this mission," he said then.And Kobe had foreseen everything, his wife Vanessa revealed, congratulating the manager, a friend of Mamba, Robert Pelinka. And he added: "I wish Kobe and Gigi were here." Inevitable then the memory goes to that tragic Sunday morning when Kobe and his daughter had gone to Mass before the crash. The Catholic faith of the Mamba who, as he has always reiterated, had saved him from the darkest moments of his life, still shines in his family: "Kobe, take care of your Gigi, I'll take care of our other daughters - Vanessa said the day of his funeral - All together we are still the best team. May you enjoy yourselves in Heaven until we meet again. " Precisely by virtue of his faith together with his wife he was dedicated to many charitable initiatives. He had also explained it once to the Los Angeles Times: he didn't want to look back and feel satisfied for having "had a successful career, because I have won so many championships and scored so many points", but he wanted to leave something different: "You have to do something that has a little more weight, a little more meaning, a little more purpose ». And one of his last solidarity baskets was recently made known by Vanessa on social media: the children of the elementary school of St. Theresa Bethany in Uganda, Africa, will have access to clean water without having to walk kilometers and kilometers thanks to the well built in honor of Kobe and Gianna in collaboration with The Orange Catholic foundation. Kobe's legacy, on and off the pitch, is more alive than ever.

Lakers, the bombshell on the 'white GOAT'

Among the favorite players of the Los Angeles Lakers fans are surely LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso. The 26-year-old from Texas is on the L.A. since 2017 after he was not chosen in the 2016 Draft. Many NBA fans esteem and appreciate the young guard, also known for his very particular style. But Caruso is often included in different market items, and many franchises would be interested in the Texan. Mike Penberthy, assistant coach of the Lakers, former 2001 title winner alongside Kobe and Shaq, in a recent interview with Ryan Ward of Lakers Daily, confirmed these rumors: “Whenever we were trying to make a trade during the offseason or before the trade deadline, every team wanted Alex Caruso. He is well known by the management of the whole league and very respected and appreciated " But Caruso is especially appreciated by his own team. Within the rotations he plays a fundamental role, and although he is certainly not an All Star, he always tries to have his say. In the last NBA Finals he averaged 6.3 points and 2.3 assists, starting in the decisive Game 6 of the series that handed the ring to the Lakers. Penberthy also spoke of the importance of Caruso and what makes him such a special player: “It is the piece that completes a perfect puzzle. What makes Caruso great is similar to what made me great, which is to be able to play alongside two great stars. To do this you have to be a complementary player, and if you are the stars will always want you on the court with them. LeBron and A.D. they want him on the pitch because they know he can shoot well from the outside, he can defend and he doesn't make stupid mistakes. His strengths are perfectly suited to those of the LeBron-Davis duo, and that's why we always want him here with us "

Lakers, unclog your ears: that's what LeBron James really wants

It seems to have already proved - and won - everything. He will turn 36 in a couple of months, he has just returned from the double ring + MVP award of the finals and yet LeBron James has no shortage of goals yet to be achieved to consolidate an already legendary career and perhaps aspire to the title of GOAT, Greatest Of All Time. Let's see what are the goals within its reach. THE GOALS OF AN ALREADY LEGENDARY CAREER | In a couple of months he will turn 36, has been in the league since he was 19, in his career he played 48,551 minutes in the regular season and another 10,811 in the playoffs, winning the NBA title 4 times, playing 10 NBA finals and earning the right to sit at the table in the eternal discussion for the strongest player of all time. What can still push and motivate LeBron James? For example, these goals, all within his reach. 1. BEST SCORER EVER | At the moment LeBron James is third in the list of all-time top scorers (which only takes into account the points scored in the regular season). His total in 17 NBA seasons is 34,241 points, having finished last season - where he dominated the league in the assist account - with almost 1,700 points scored. SECOND PLACE IS KARL MALONE | The two-time MVP of the Utah Jazz sits in second place with 36,928 points scored, a total that - maintaining last year's averages (in which Anthony Davis was already the top scorer of the Lakers) - LeBron could comfortably overcome in two years, during the 2021-22 season. IN THE RACE OF THE LEADER, KAREEM | Since 1984, the best scorer in NBA history has been him, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 38,387 points. A figure that for a long time seemed out of reach for everyone but not for LeBron James, who if he stays on the field for another three seasons (thus accepting to play up to the age of 38) should be able to overcome the No. 33 of the Lakers even with a slight inflection in his average points.MOST MVP TROPHIES | He has already won 4 in his career, but the last one only in 2013, coming close this year but finishing second behind Giannis Antetokounmpo - and second place in the MVP votes saw him protagonist three more times in the course of his career . However, by many he is still considered the strongest of all (especially after the title won) and if he were to maintain these standards he could add a Maurice Podoloff Trophy or two to his wall.FIVE IS BILL RUSSELL AND MICHAEL JORDAN | An extra MVP award and LeBron James would match Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell and none other than Michael Jordan, whose "ghost" he has always admitted to chasing. Both in their careers have won 5. STILL KAREEM FIRST: 6 TIMES MVP | Three times voted best player in the league when he played for the Milwaukee Bucks, three more times when he was the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers' captain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is also the all-time leader in the number of MVP trophies he won, well 6.3. THE OLDEST TO BECOME MVP | If he were to return to win, even once, the NBA MVP title, LeBron James would be the oldest ever to do so, completing the feat at 36 (he will turn 36 on December 30th). KARL MALONE | When he won his second career MVP award in 1999, Karl Malone was a couple of months away from turning 36. Michael Jordan (winner in 1998) was also already 35, but only for three months. MOST ALL-STAR GAME OF ALL | Today the No.23 of the Lakers is in third place for the number of career appearances in the star game, as many as 16: he wasn't there in 2004 (as a rookie) but then he was always present at the mid-season kermesse, and in the last four years has always been the most voted player in the whole league.

Los Angeles Lakers, be careful. Here are the dangers for you

 

ON THE HUNT FOR THE REPEAT | The Los Angeles Lakers hadn't won the NBA title for 10 years (the last in 2010, led by Kobe Bryant), but we need to go back to the beginning of the millennium to see the Lakers  able to repeat their own success. They succeeded twice, in 2001 after winning in 2000 and then again in 2003, completing the triple iteration of the Kobe & Shaq era. LeBron James and Anthony Davis would like to imitate them, but The Athletic's John Hollinger has sorted out the most serious threats to a Lakers repeat 2nd BAND | GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS | The core of the three titles (and the five finals) is available again: Curry (32) -Thompson (30) -Green (30) are scary, but it all depends on the decisions of the franchise to the Draft (with the 2nd absolute choice ) and on the market (Andrew Wiggins as a trading pawn?). If desired, Golden State also has a $ 17 million trade exception available: watch out for the Warriors ... 2nd BAND | BOSTON CELTICS | There is a focus (perhaps unfairly) on the center position as the one in which the Celtics must act in order to think of succeeding the Lakers. From 1 to 4 (Walker, Brown, Tatum, Hayward can + Smart from the bench) a few much better than Boston but with their hands tied from a salary point of view but with three first choices available in the next Draft coming soon.    | MILWAUKEE BUCKS | Could the missing piece at the Bucks be Chris Paul? There is some urgency in Milwaukee, for the future of Antetokounmpo but also because there are doubts about Eric Bledsoe and so many players who are about to expire (Pat Connaughton, Wes Mathews, Kyle Korver and Sterling Brown, with Marvin Williams retiring). The Wisconsin team seems to have reached a fundamental crossroads.

🤬 THIS IS WHAT MADE HIM DESPERATE ✍ King James made it known on social media

 The Lakers superstar posted a story on his Instagram account expressing his "desperation" for what is effectively the shortest rest period ever imposed by a professional league, almost two months shorter than the shortest rest period ever.  NBA players between seasons

 In the United States there is a statistic for everything, you know, and so those at ESPN did not take long to highlight how the period of time elapsed since the end of the last championship (11 October 2020, Lakers champions in the Orlando bubble)  early next (December 22) will go to books as the shortest ever: only 71 days.  A detail obviously not appreciated by LeBron James, given that the Lakers superstar photographed the screen proposed by ESPN and published it in a story on his Instagram account, together with the emoticon representing a resigned desperation.  The data then underlines how the previous shortest stop in NBA history was 127 days (56 more - almost two months!) Than what LeBron and colleagues will be forced to, and how behind this new NBA "record"  there is only the National Hockey League, with a rest of only 99 days between the 2012-13 season and the following one and 104 on two other occasions.

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 Players agree, the NBA kicks off on December 22nd

 James, the Lakers and all the Miami Heat are obviously the most damaged by this rapid restart, having remained on the field most of all last season, even if it is difficult to imagine that the restart on December 22 - ratified in these days by the association  players - did not even have the official blessing of a superstar like LeBron James.  However, he nevertheless wanted to express his desperation.

Rose to the Lakers, the ones who don't want him are the same ones who didn't (wrongly) Howard ...

 

The Lakers want Rose. The Lakers need Rose. For some it's a gamble, for others it's a finite player. But is not so. Rose is not finished, she still has a lot to give. The only unknown is his physical problems but the Lakers medical staff are sure they can make him perform at their best. Even at the time of Howard's arrival there were many doubts (to put it mildly ...) but his purchase proved invaluable. McGee alone wasn't enough. Rose could represent an added value for the reigning world champions. LeBron wants it, this should be enough and advance ...