The Los Angeles Lakers were able to stop their massive bleeding, at least temporarily, when they defeated the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
Although LeBron James has missed their last two games with a strained adductor, guard Patrick Beverley said that the four-time MVP has been active and engaged during practice.
Pat Bev gives credit to LeBron for being vocal during practice and not letting guys get away with things: "I gotta give a lot of credit to LeBron. He started to get on guys the right way. Big credit to his leadership."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) November 14, 2022
The Lakers had been on a five-game losing streak, and with a 2-10 record heading into Sunday’s contest, their chances of making the playoffs were already starting to look very grim.
But they came out as a defensive-minded team versus Brooklyn and held it to just 45.0 percent shooting overall and 25.9 percent shooting from 3-point land.
Kevin Durant and company had won five of their last seven contests, and even without the suspended Kyrie Irving, it looked like the team was figuring things out after its own disastrous start.
Durant was his usual self, finishing with a highly efficient 31 points plus nine rebounds and seven assists, but he had very little help offensively.
For Los Angeles, Anthony Davis led the way by being completely dominant. He hit the proverbial turbo button and scored 37 points while grabbing 18 rebounds, and unlike the last several games, he continued to attack his opponents in the second half.
Shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV also picked up the slack with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting overall and 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, while Russell Westbrook dished out 12 assists.
The Lakers, who are the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting team, hit 40.7 percent of their attempts from long distance, and there are signs their marksmanship from downtown is improving.
They will now have four days off, which will give them the opportunity to not only hold multiple practices and video sessions, but also allow James to heal enough to possibly return to action on Friday against the Detroit Pistons.
Guard Dennis Schroder and center Thomas Bryant may also make their regular season debuts that same night. That would really help a team that is now 3-10 and 14th in the Western Conference.
Both Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant have progressed well from their respective thumb surgeries, and are set to be re-evaluated on Thursday, Nov. 17.
Presumably, if that evaluation went well, both could be cleared to play on Friday, Nov. 18 vs. Detroit.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 12, 2022
