#dennis-schroder

#dennis-schroder

One of the hottest talking points for the Boston Celtics heading into the trade deadline on February 9 is the decision of whether or not to trade third-year reserve combo guard Payton Pritchard.Pritchard is no longer the primary backup at the 1, where he took on a more significant role last season after the Celtics found a deal for Dennis Schroder.

(Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said Tuesday that LeBron James has earned the right to take some time to consider his options this offseason, including retirement.James hinted on Monday night following the Lakers' elimination from the playoffs that "I've got a lot to think about" when it comes to his future and later reiterated that retirement was a possibility.

LeBron James may not be close to returning from the foot tendon injury he suffered nearly three weeks ago, but that hasn't left his Lakers teammate Dennis Schröder completely without optimism about his prognosis.The Lakers point guard and LeBron medical update enthusiast spoke with reporters at the team's Friday shootaround, and while he couldn't say what he knew about James' status... he also basically said what he knew about James' status:

Dennis Schroder on LeBron: "I know.

LOS ANGELES - After dropping last night's game against the Knicks, the Lakers are in a four-way tie for ninth-place in the West, but only a game out of seventh, two out of six, and two-and-a-half out of fifth.With 16 more games to go, L.A. has bought themselves a real shot at not just playing an 83rd game, but maybe even making a little playoff run.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

LeBron James would yawn, often, when the cameras were, and weren't, aimed at him.From early in the season, when the Lakers were still trying to tackle to unsolvable problems of last year, until deep into this playoff push, it never was much of a secret.He was tired.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

As Rui Hachimura stood at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, a chant rang out from the fans inside Crypto.comArena:
"Ru-i...Ru-i...Ru-i...Ru-i!"When he made the second of his two free throws, Hachimura had given the Lakers a one-point lead over the resilient Denver Nuggets.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

When Lakers coach Darvin Ham met with the media Wednesday at the team's hotel, he used the word "recalibrate" when asked about the size advantage the Denver Nuggets ' starting lineup had the night before in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.Ham did not reveal whether there would be a lineup change for Game 2 on Thursday night.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Dennis Schroder had just picked up the dangerous Stephen Curry near halfcourt, the Lakers guard's eyes glued on the basketball the Warriors guard was dribbling.In a flash, Schroder reached with his right hand and poked the ball away from Curry, stealing it and waltzing in for a layup early in the second quarter.

LeBron James held the microphone while addressing the media Sunday before the NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, focusing on what's ahead for the Lakers."It's 23 of the most important games of my career for a regular season," James said."And, it's the type of mindset that I have and I hope the guys will have coming off the break."

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

A wall of video cameras surrounded Nikola Jokic as reporters piled around the two-time MVP after the Nuggets finished their final practice before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.All eyes were on him.And for Lakers coach Darvin Ham, that's a problem.

I actually think that Denver is a better matchup for the Lakers compared to the previous two they've had in Memphis and Golden State.The Lakers being a bigger and older team - older in a certain sense - struggle with those dynamic, shifty or explosive guards.I actually think they will fare well against everyone else besides Jokic.

The Los Angeles Lakers simply proved to be too big, too long, too deep and too determined to lose to the once great, fine-tuned and unstoppable scoring machine known as the Golden State Warriors.Even with the loss of Dennis Schroder, the Lakers just kept coming!It was if a Ferrari ran into a bulldozer on too narrow a highway.

NBA players can project absolute confidence from the podium of a postgame press conference, but out on the floor, in the heat of play, they'll show you what they're really afraid of.A young player might clam up when the ball swings their way in crunch time.An aging veteran-feeling their own athletic mortality-might balk at the kind of fast break they used to dominate.

After overhauling their roster at the deadline - and starting with a win over the Golden State Warriors no less - the new-look Lakers finished the season with 18 wins in 27 games and the NBA's third-best defensive rating during that span.Still, it was hard to know if they'd be any good when the games really counted, if they could even get there.

Maybe it was how it happened that set off Darvin Ham, the Lakers coach clearly disappointed not only in his team's loss but also in the overall approach."Energy, effort and urgency - we've been writing those words on our board," Ham said."We should know what the circumstances are.It's no reason, no excuse for us to come out and not have that against a team that we're competing for to try to get a [playoff] spot.

(Brandon Dill / Associated Press)

Ja Morant scored over D'Angelo Russell, then he hunched over and lowered his right hand a few inches away from the FedExForum court and did the "too small" gesture at the Lakers point guard.On this night in Game 5 of the first-round playoff series, Morant and backcourt running mate Desmond Bane were too tall an order for the Lakers to handle.

Long after the Lakers locker room has cleared out, the smallest player on the team waddles toward his locker.Dennis Schroder has been beaten up.His legs are wrecked.And his postgame massage has outlasted any stragglers in the room.None of his teammates have had the year he has, the most minutes played by any Laker this season.

In the Lakers ' search for someone to provide energy against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, they found it with Wenyen Gabriel.And the Lakers rode with Gabriel in the all-important fourth quarter, playing him alongside Anthony Davis, relying on the backup center as a defender and rebounder.Gabriel did the job, playing all but one second in the fourth quarter, 23:16 overall, while collecting 11 rebounds to go with nine points.

The Toronto Raptors were awesome in the first quarter last night, and incredible in the third.Unfortunately basketball is a game of four quarters, and the Raptors let the Los Angeles Lakers walk all over them in quarters 2 and 3, and the Lakers came away with 122-112 win.O.G. Anunoby was a massive bright spot for the Raptors in this one; he was incredible on both ends, holding Anthony Davis in check on D, and scoring 31 points on just 14 shots the other way.

The Mavericks went right to work Sunday afternoon building the mountain the Lakers would spend the rest of the day climbing.Luka Doncic, smothered by Anthony Davis, coolly stepped back and flicked his wrist, splashing home a three.And then another and another.Dallas couldn't miss; the Lakers couldn't make.

The Lakers couldn't miss.Then they could.And then they couldn't again.Best to keep the inexplicable simple.Despite being outscored by 32 points in the second quarter, the Lakers came back from 25 down in the third to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 121-112 on Sunday night.It was the second-largest second-half comeback in franchise history.

Russell Westbrook's shot was blocked at the rim, triggering a Denver fast break pushing the other way.And just after Bruce Brown's floater bounced in off the backboard to beat the third-quarter buzzer, Wenyen Gabriel walked off the floor with both of his hands on his head in total exhaustion.For the last five games, it didn't matter who the Lakers had on the floor - they played harder, tougher, quicker and more effectively.

The Lakers clearly have a roster construction and balance issue.It's a problem that's been staring them in the face since the start of last season, and a problem that was on full display vs the Celtics, with head coach Darvin Ham limiting his rotation to only six players for the final 16 minutes of the game and overtime, part of why the team was dead tired.

I'm sure every person reading this has gone on a road trip of some kind before.Some road trips are a blast.You get to spend plenty of time with friends and/or family, traveling in a vehicle to a destination - or many destinations - in the pursuit of making great memories along the way.However, road trips can end up as terrible experiences.

They both had missed the Lakers ' first 13 regular-season games, Dennis Schroder with a right thumb injury and Thomas Bryant with a left thumb injury, but both were back in action for the first time this season and made their mark.Schroder, a point guard, gave the Lakers another playmaker and perimeter defender.

Both Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schröder remained on track to return to the court on Friday by taking part in Wednesday's practice.It was the second straight day the pair practiced and the first full practice the two have taken part in for the Lakers.And in even more good news, the pair apparently looked great in their return to the court with the team, at least according to Anthony Davis.

For one of the few times this season, the Lakers experienced a night of fun and joy on Sunday, beating the Nets 116-103.Impressively, Brooklyn has found a way to have worse vibes than the Lakers this season and looked like a team mailing it in by the fourth quarter.On this week's episode of "Can U Dig It," a podcast by Silver Screen & Roll network, Honi joins me to talk about the Lakers third win of the season and the most dominant Anthony Davis performance of the year.

Austin Reaves peeled the bandages and ice bags off his knees as he walked toward his postgame news conference.Unprompted, he wondered at what he witnessed earlier in the night - 38-year-old LeBron James snatching a lob pass and turning it into a two-handed windmill."He's sick," Reaves repeated.

The risk you run when you commit to big-picture thinking is that you can get nights like this, the Lakers a combination of sick, tired and old as they rolled into Toronto early Wednesday morning after losing in Cleveland on Tuesday night.Anthony Davis would stay in the back, receiving medicine and fluids as the Lakers try to get him ready for the final games on their trip.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, pictured during Tuesday's loss to Cleveland, is unavailable Wednesday against the Raptors in Toronto due to a sore left ankle.James missed five games in November because of a strained left adductor.(David Richard-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters) Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James sat out Wednesday's game at Toronto because of a sore left ankle, one night after he played 36 minutes in a 116-102 loss at Cleveland.

This is what the margins look like.The Lakers had reignited hope for their season over the last 10 games, refashioning themselves as an Anthony Davis-led juggernaut that warmed up against lesser teams like the San Antonio Spurs before formalizing their rise with wins against the Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Wizards at the start of their current six-game trip.

The Washington Wizards and LeBron James have met many times over the past decade and a half, with the latter usually victorious, at least when he was in the East.Now, in the midst of a tough stretch for the Lakers, perhaps the Wizards can capitalize.When: Sunday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
How to watch: NBC Sports Washington
Wizards: Rui Hachimura (Out)
Lakers: Dennis Schroder (Day-to-Day).

The ever-competitive nature of the NBA means that any opportunity, big or small, has to be seized upon.Dennis Schröder is the latest example of this playing out in the last week for the Lakers.After Patrick Beverley's 3-game suspension from his altercation with DeAndre Ayton and the Suns, Beverley was forced out of the starting lineup, making way for Schröder to return to his previous role with the Lakers.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

As the Lakers struggled to get stops in the fourth as the Pacers dissolved their 17-point lead over 10 minutes, some problems reemerged.The Lakers, especially in the final two minutes, couldn't snuff out possessions as the Pacers dominated the boards, leading to second chances.

As far as trades that haven't happened go, this one has been talked about plenty.The idea goes something like this: Buddy Hield is one of the best high-volume three-point shooters in the NBA, the kind of marksman that is a must on a winning LeBron James roster.Myles Turner is one of the best shot blockers in the league and pairing him with Anthony Davis would make life hell on attacking offensive players.

The Lakers lose the Pacers 116-115 to win their third straight game and improve to 8-11 on the season.Anthony Davis led the way with 25points and 13rebounds in the defeat.With Anthony Davis and LeBron James listed as probable, it was a relief when both started the game.Unfortunately, early in the first quarter, LeBron James rolled his ankle and had to sit out for the rest of the first quarter.

On the second night of a back-to-back, a rematch from yesterday, Los Angeles got the job done against San Antonio.They won 143-138 with Anthony Davis out due to a hamstring injury he suffered the night before.The first was an up-and-down quarter for the purple and gold.LeBron was taking highly contested threes and missing them, San Antonio was able to score in the paint with ease sans Davis and Russell Westbrook was coming off the bench and producing well.

Being whole is not a luxury the Lakers have had during the early season, and not having Anthony Davis for Saturday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs because of a bruised left calf is the latest hit for the team.It was left up to LeBron James to carry the burden for the Lakers in just his second game after missing the previous five with a left adductor strain.

LeBron James was in a very good mood before the Lakers' game Friday night, his happiness coming from his return to the court against the Spurs after having missed the previous five because of a strained left adductor.James had watched the Lakers go 3-2 in his absence, with Anthony Davis becoming a force while dropping at least 30 points in four of the games and averaging 17.4 rebounds over those five games.

The Los Angeles Lakers are 2-8, and things have been just about as ugly and miserable as the record reflects.Their most recent loss came Monday at Utah, the second game of a back-to-back as well as the second matchup with the positively surprising Jazz in the past week.Now, the Lakers will look to break their three-game losing streak (which would've been four if it wasn't for Matt Ryan) "on the road" against the Los Angeles Clippers.

After a frustrating loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, the Lakers are back at it exactly 15 hours later, but this time on the road for a rematch battle versus the scorching Utah Jazz - the same feisty team that outperformed the purple and gold in their homecourt last Friday.Although this time, the Lakers are hoping to rewrite the script.

Darvin Ham gave Pau Gasol the floor to speak to his team Tuesday, hoping that the former Lakers great and NBA champion would impart the same values about winning that Ham has tried to instill since becoming the team's coach.It was a chance to, again, build credibility - the challenge that every coach undertakes with his team.