Lakers News: LeBron James Injury Scare, Westbrook Talks Struggles and More Buzz
The Los Angeles Lakers notched their first win of the 2021-22 season on Sunday night. They survived a 40-point onslaught from Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant and prevailed 121-118 in a game that featured its fair share of drama.
Coming into Sunday, Los Angeles had lost its first two home games of the season for the first time in franchise history. This followed a winless preseason and plenty of questions about when and if the new Big Three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook could find its groove.
The Lakers also avoided disaster, as James went down hard in the second quarter with Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane rolling onto his ankle. It was a play eerily similar to the one that cost James significant time last season—he suffered a high ankle sprain in March when Atlanta Hawks forward Solomon Hill landed on James.
Here, we'll dive into James' thoughts on Sunday's injury scare, Westbrook's thoughts on his the team's early struggles and more.
'Not Again'
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Injuries played a big part in Los Angeles' disappointing 2020-21 campaign, as both James and Davis missed significant time. James ended up only playing 45 regular-season games, and the ankle sprain hampered him well into the offseason.
"It took a while. I didn't do much basketball stuff for probably like the first two months of the summer—which is very rare for me—because my ankle wasn’t responding how we would like for it to respond," James said, per Jacob Rude of Silver Screen and Roll.
James admitted that he experienced a bit of unfortunate deja vu on Sunday.
"The first thing I was thinking to myself was, 'Not again,'" James said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Because obviously it was almost similar but not the same kind of play. Guy falls into my leg and there's nothing you can do about it and I couldn't get my leg out of there in time."
Fortunately, James was able to stay in the game, finishing with 19 points, six assists and six rebounds.
According to McMenamin, James plans to undergo "around the clock" treatment in preparation for Tuesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs. Hopefully, this ankle injury won't be a lingering issue for James.
'I'm OK with Adversity'
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It hasn't been a great start to the season for Los Angeles. Injuries to Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn have diminished L.A.'s supporting cast, and the Big Three didn't do enough in the first two games to win.
Westbrook has also underwhelmed, averaging just 12.0 points and 8.7 assists while shooting 34.9 percent from the floor. He isn't concerned with the early struggles, though, and is instead focused on what lies ahead.
"I'm OK with adversity, honestly," Westbrook said Saturday, per McMenamin. "I never panic throughout the course of a season. Especially at the start of the season. There's really no need to. The season is too long and nobody is winning nothing right now. ... I like to make sure that I'm—as the season goes on—I'm constantly just getting better and better and better."
Despite making only five of 15 shot attempts and scoring 13 points Sunday, Westbrook did have a respectable outing. He finished with 13 assists and seven rebounds, allowing James, Davis and Carmelo Anthony to do most of the scoring.
Westbrook is still figuring out how he fits into this lineup, something coach Frank Vogel admitted will require "an adjustment period."
How Westbrook performs late in the season will be far more meaningful than how he's been through the first three games.
'He's Really Going to Help Us This Year'
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When the Lakers brought in Carmelo Anthony in the offseason, it was fair to be a little skeptical. The 37-year-old hasn't played at an All-Star level since the 2017 season and struggled for nearly a year to find a team before signing with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019.
However, the Lakers added Anthony to help spark the team's bench scoring, which is precisely what he did Sunday. Anthony dropped 28 points in 28 minutes and in the process passed Moses Malone for ninth place on the all-time scoring list.
"It's just beautiful to continue to see," James said, per Mark Medina of NBA.com, "especially when you know they gave up on him."
Anthony shot 6-of-8 from beyond the arc Sunday. As Vogel noted, the 10-time All-Star is going to get plenty of chances to be an impactful role player.
"He's been a great culture fit with our group and obviously really playing at a high level on the floor. He has a lot left in the tank," Vogel said, per Medina. "He's really going to help us this year."
Three games in, Anthony is averaging 26.0 minutes, 17.7 points and 4.0 rebounds. While Los Angeles is still looking to make things work with Westbrook, it knows exactly how Anthony fits into the equation.
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