LeBron James, wearing a gray plastic hiking boot, a black hooded sweatshirt and a black mask, and Anthony Davis, in a lime green jacket and bright yellow mask, were hard to miss on the sidelines at the Los Angeles Lakers’ 111-94 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
But Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder said that as long as LA misses its two stars in uniform, the Lakers will need to completely rethink their approach.
“I think how we played with them two on the field before, it’s totally the opposite now, I think,” said Schroder after the Lakers were 18 points behind and never went ahead against the Suns. “I think we have to move the ball, we have to play with more tempo. On the defensive side, we have to be more scrappy. And yes, I mean, anyone who comes across the floor has to be able to knock confidently. affect play at the defensive end. “
When asked who would be called up for leadership during James’ indefinite absence of a high right ankle sprain and while Davis is sidelined for at least another week with a calf strain and tendinosis in his right leg, Lakers coach Frank Vogel mentioned Schroder.
“It is clear that Dennis Schroder will be the head of the snake with the ball in his hands the most, and will dictate some of the action,” said Vogel after the 27-year-old had won a trade with Oklahoma City. Thunder during the match. off-season, had 22 points and three assists on Sunday. “But we have a lot of experienced guys on this team who can lead, and we encourage our guys to lead from every seat in the room.”
Including from James’s chair, which was next to the couch in the Phoenix Suns Arena.
“It tells me he cares about this organization,” Schroder said of James who took part in the team flight just hours after undergoing an MRI and X-rays on his ankle. “In my career I’ve seen people get hurt and not come on a road trip; and for him, because he’s the best – one of the best this game has ever played – you can see him sitting on the couch. if he’s hurt, it means a lot to me and everyone else [players on this team] to.”
Schroder may have been in control for quite some time. Vogel admitted that high ankle sprains usually “take a while to heal … They are slow to recover.”
With the NBA’s compact schedule due to COVID-19, even if James had a relatively quick rehab process and missed three to four weeks, it would mean 13 to 16 more games without him for a squad that fell back to 0-2 if he didn’t. did. do not play.
LA, meanwhile, is trying to find the silver lining. Vogel said he was “optimistic” based on how the Lakers fought against the Suns, the Western Conference’s No. 2 team. Schroder went so far as to say that playing without the co-captains is “great for everyone” because they can “prove to teammates and the organization that they can play”.
And Vogel pointed out that some free time for a 36-year-old man who played in his 18th season and who started just 71 days after the end of his 17th season might not be bad for James.
“We encourage him to take a mental break and recharge mentally a bit so that when he comes back we can end where we can do a playoff push and make some noise, obviously when we get the go into playoffs, ”Bird said of James.
The thought of a mentally and physically fresh James rejoining the team may be a consolation to LA – after all, he led the Lakers to the championship after a 4½ month hiatus last season – but there’s still an immediate challenge to them will enter into. face in the meantime.
“We try to play as hard as possible, play the right way and [we’re] “Lakers great man Montrezl Harrell will still come out with wins,” said Montrezl Harrell.