This week, the biggest stories surrounding the Lakers focused on the players as people rather than on what happened on the court.
We had Luka Dončić in Dallas, LeBron James in Cleveland, and Lakers head coach JJ Redick discussing the uncertainty of the future for some of his players as the trade deadline looms.
Through it all, the Lakers won as much as they lost, going 2-2.
5 things I liked and didn’t like
1. Is LeBron James attempting an Irish goodbye?
A couple of weeks ago, LeBron quoted Jay-Z’s track “December 4th,” reciting the lines “If you can’t respect that, your whole perspective
is whack. Maybe you’ll love me when I fade to black.” After playing in his first back-to-back of the season.
I’ll take those lines and raise him another from the same track.
“They say they never really miss you ’til you dead or you gone. So on that note I’m leavin’ after this song.”
Is LeBron preparing to walk away from all of us this season? Wednesday’s game against the Cavs certainly felt that way.
It was LA’s only stop in Cleveland this season, and the Cavs organization gave him a King’s tribute.
During a pregame video presentation for LeBron, he soaked it all in and was literally moved to tears, covering his face to try keep the moment to himself. It was shocking to see him respond this way. After all, he’s gotten tributes here before. Why respond like this now? Is it because this is the last time he’ll ever play here?
LeBron wouldn’t say that it was, but he also wouldn’t say that it wasn’t
Perhaps the retirement tour has begun, and we don’t know it. There have been signs that LeBron was soft-launching his retirement before, but these tears were the biggest hint that it’s all coming to an end.
We still don’t know, but it’d be wise to watch every LeBron game we have left, because it’s clear there won’t be many more.
2. Luka still loves Dallas
Speaking of returns, Luka was back in Dallas this week. He didn’t get moved to tears like last year, but he still thinks about his Texas ex.
Luka signed his extension last summer, so he has taken the actions needed to move on. But just because one is moving forward doesn’t mean they don’t look back.
Dončić shares more about his emotions than most superstars and it’s refreshing to see. Hopefully, as time goes on, he feels about LA as he did about Dallas.
3. Playing on the trading block
The NBA trade deadline is next week, but very little has happened. However, the rumor mill is buzzing with talk of Donte DiVincenzo, De’Andre Hunter and Keon Ellis being trade targets for the Lakers, to mention nothing of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s trade demand, or as close as he’ll get to making one.
While fans have fun tinkering with the trade machine, this situation is anything but enjoyable for the players involved.
A move will force them to uproot their lives and take them away from the teams they’ve played for all while they have little to no control over where they will go.
The uncertainty and tension can easily distract someone, making it that much harder to show up and do one’s job.
After the Lakers loss to the Clippers, Redick spoke about this situation.
“I think it just goes back to the human element of everything,” Redick said. “Guys are worried about their futures and that’s what happens when you have a team full of free agents and player options. I think it’s just natural you’re going to worry about the offense. I’ve been there. You can get a little bit in your head. ‘I played five minutes. I haven’t got a shot yet.’ That’s a human thing. It’s not anybody’s fault.”
How many of us have ever had our work/life situation hang in the balance like this? To feel what it’s like to not be wanted?
To have fans calling you every name, putting you in countless trade scenarios, then ask you to still give a full effort for the same team that might be wanting to get rid of you?
It can’t be easy.
Redick, as a former player, can relate to this and I’m certain he’s doing his best to help players navigate it all.
4. I’m tired of talking about the same thing
Watching the Lakers fall to the Cavs on Wednesday, I felt an emotion I rarely experience during a basketball game: indifference.
It’s hard for me to get riled about and ask why they lost when I already know the answer. The Lakers are an awful defensive team and lack the quality wings necessary to compete against the best teams in the league.
Sure, there have been a few instances where the Laker defense has looked better. Luka turned into a defensive stopper against the Mavs and the team has leaned on their defense at times over recent games, particularly in their comebacks against the Clippers in Dallas as well as the win over the Bulls.
Still, over the past 10 games, LA has a defensive rating of 119.3, the fourth-worst in the NBA. The other three teams worse than the Lakers are the Magic, Bucks, Nets and Jazz. Orlando is the only team above .500 team.
It’s getting tiring to explain it in different ways on new dates after every defeat against a quality opponent.
No trade will happen in the next week that’s going to make the Lakers title contenders. This team is stuck between the twilight of the LeBron James era and trying to reshape the roster to fit Luka. I’m sure they’ll eventually get there, but I’m also certain it won’t be this year.
So, forgive me for not jumping for joy during wins or condemning them for losses. They are who we thought they were. And that’s a pretty mid team with a couple of really great players.
5. Luka is a bucket
Luka really is something on offense, isn’t he?
This week, he was the Lakers’ leading scorer in every single game. His best performance came against the Bulls, where he dropped 46 points, his second-highest total of the year.
Luka is leading the NBA in scoring, averaging 33.6 points per game. He is an offensive marvel, and when he gets hot, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
I’ve said it privately, but I’ll say it publicly here: Luka will surpass Kobe Bryant’s 81-point scoring game before his career is over. He is that good.
Stat of the Week
LeBron reached another milestone this week, becoming the first NBA player to log 60,000 minutes.
Considering load management, the possibility of injury and having to be good enough not just to stay in the NBA but to play big minutes deep into your career, this might be the most unbreakable achievement LeBron has.
Play of the Week
Luka was dominant, scoring the basketball in Chicago, but the best play of the week was his assist to Jake LaRavia.
There are multiple ways to create separation with an opponent, from using strength, speed and footwork.
On this play, Luka used an amount of ballfakes that would’ve made Kobe proud.
Dončić starts by driving to the basket before two Bulls stop him at the restricted area. He immediately hit Isaac Okoro with a shot fake that got him airborne, and then a pass fake that got Okoro’s arms reaching on the sides.
Luka went with another shot fake that Okoro and Nikola Vucevic both fell for. Then Luka faked a pass to Ayton, causing Vucevic to swipe at it, which bought Luka enough time to stepback and create enough separation so that he could find LaRavia open in the corner.
To ensure LaRavia stayed open, he had one more fake to pull off. With Josh Giddey staring Luka down, he looked past him and pretended to be passing directly behind Giddey.
However, no one was there, and Giddey just kept looking around, wondering where the player was.
And that’s how Luka turned a double team, four ball fakes and a no-look pass into an open catch-and-shoot 3-pointer for the Lakers.
Player of the Week
Rui Hachimura has started to turn things around. After some struggles recovering from his calf strain, he strung together a pair of quality performances in Lakers wins.
He had back-to-back clutch 3-pointers to complete the comeback win over the Mavs and shot 9-11 from the field against the Bulls.
With Hachimura embracing a bench role, Redick can optimize his play, giving him a chance to continue excelling in Los Angeles.
Stories of the Week
“The Bucks are ready to talk Giannis trades. So are the Warriors, Knicks and others” – The Athletic
It’s clear Giannis’ time in Milwaukee is nearing its end. Sam Amick details the current situation with the Greek Freak and uses an odd quote from Giannis about eggs to explain where things currently stand.
“Just because I like my eggs scrambled today, I don’t have the opportunity to eat my eggs sunny-side up tomorrow?” he said with a smile. “We’re human, right? So it’s the same thing in basketball. But again, in my nature, I will never (ask for a trade out of Milwaukee). I will never. That’s not who I am.”
Giannis has a level of hilarity and cringe that LeBron could never reach.
“NBA Midseason Rookie Report: The Freshman 15” – The Ringer
This is the best in-depth analysis of the NBA’s rookies. Check out what Danny Chau has to say about Kon Knueppel of the Hornets.
The layers upon layers to Knueppel’s game reveal themselves with every possession until you realize he’s integrated himself into every fiber of the Charlotte Hornets offense. The natural impulse at Duke was to think of Knueppel in a Corey Kispert or Isaiah Joe mold at the NBA level; by the end of the season, it became clear he possessed a latent dynamism that was more akin to a bigger, broader Desmond Bane. That optimist’s view of Knueppel’s game has materialized in the league. Almost from the jump, the fourth overall pick has become an organizing principle of a once haphazard offense.
The beauty of basketball is that it never ends. While LeBron saying goodbye is sad, we have a freshman class that’s exciting and players we don’t even know yet who will take over the world and change it in ways we could never predict.
Hopefully, each of us does our part to make the game better than when we left it.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
