From a historic loss for LeBron James to a crushing injury setback for one of the NBA’s most promising players — here are the latest talking points from around the league!
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‘Wait a minute!’ Smith blasts ‘idiots’ | 02:01
LEBRON CAN ONLY HELP SO MUCH AS LAKERS SUFFER HISTORIC LOSS
When LeBron James talks, you listen and when he says very little you listen that little bit closer.
In the case of Tuesday’s 138-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, James only had two words to offer when asked what needed to change after the worst defeat of his career.
“A lot,” he said.
When asked to elaborate on anything specific changes James wanted to see made, he again repeated those same two words.
Obviously there are some changes the Lakers will eventually be able to make that will help, without Cam Reddish, Jared Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura on Tuesday.
Getting those guys back will certainly help bolster the Lakers’ perimeter defence but it will do little to solve the team’s 3-point shooting woes.
Outside shooting has been an issue for the Lakers for a number of years now and the front office seemed to have made a concerted effort to address that weakness this summer with the addition of Taurean Prince and Vincent.
In spite of that the Lakers rank 28th in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (33.8) and dead last in 3-pointers made per game (9.8).
When asked how the team should react to the blowout loss, James again didn’t have much to say initially.
“I can only speak for myself,” he said.
So, what does he think?
“I don’t like it,” James added.
The biggest issue for the Lakers is the fact they went into this season reportedly wanting to limit James’ minutes but instead have once again had to heavily lean on the 38-year-old.
They don’t have much choice either, with ESPN’s Zach Lowe reporting on his podcast that the Lakers are +59 with James on the floor and -92 in the 302 minutes he has been on the bench.
Then there is the issue of Anthony Davis reportedly making it “clear” to the Lakers entering the offseason that he wanted to play less time at centre this season.
Having been dominated by Sixers big man Joel Embiid, there could be an argument that the Lakers can’t compete with the best teams if Davis remains at centre instead of moving him to power forward.
For ESPN’s Brian Windhorst though it is a more complex discussion than that.
“Let’s say we give AD what he wants and put him at power forward. In 2023 you can’t have a non 3-point shooting power forward unless you’ve got a great 3-point shooting centre,” he said on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’.
“They’re already dead last in 3-point makes, dead last in second-chance points and they start the game off poorly almost every game. That’s insurmountable. The only way you could move Anthony Davis out of centre is if you get a centre that can shoot 3s because if you put Anthony Davis at power forward and he shoots one 3 a game, which is what he’s averaging this year, it totally undercuts the way you need to play offence.
“He just signed for $60 million a year. He’s been paid to excel at that position.”
Davis himself said after Tuesday’s heavy loss that the best thing the Lakers could do is quickly move on and that may well be the case given L.A. had won four of its last five games before the 138-94 defeat.
Those wins had come against the Trail Blazers, Rockets, Jazz and Cavaliers though so maybe the loss to the 76ers still says something about where the Lakers stand in the championship race this season, even when at full health.
Booker torches the Garden with dagger 3 | 00:37
KEY DUO’S RETURN COMES AT RIGHT TIME FOR PELICANS
It took an honesty session for the Pelicans to turn around their sluggish start to the season.
Now New Orleans has dropped back-to-back games against the Utah Jazz, although this time it shouldn’t take much for the Pelicans to get back on the right track again.
Things were already concerning on the court for the Pelicans earlier in the month before Zion Williamson put the organisation under even more pressure by suggesting he wasn’t completely on board with taking “a little bit of a back seat” on offence.
In case you missed those comments, they came after a 136-124 defeat to the Mavericks as the Pelicans lost their fifth-straight game having started the season 4-1.
Vibes certainly weren’t good at that point and Williamson wasn’t feeling it, even if he was trying to as the Pelicans superstar continually stressed to reporters.
“Last year, we had a team meeting and we brought up some things I can do better, especially with buying into the program,” Williamson said at the time.
“Right now, it’s tough. I’m taking a little bit of a back seat right now. I’m trusting the process. I’m trying my best to buy in right now.”
Hardly the stamp of approval you’d want from the face of the franchise.
As was revealed last week though, the Pelicans then went on to meet up at practice the next day for nearly an hour to sort it out.
The result was a resounding 131-110 victory over Dallas with wins over Denver, Sacramento (twice) and the Clippers to follow.
“As a team, we weren’t on the same page before,” Williamson said after the 129-93 win over the Kings.
“Now, we’re on the same page. We had a team meeting. We talked about what we want to do as a unit. That’s what we’re going to live and die with. Since we’re all on the same page, I think we’ve been gelling together a lot better.”
According to Pelicans beat reporter William Guillory, who writes for The Athletic, there were two “main points of emphasis” to come out of that team meeting.
“One was the need for the group to buy-in on a specific identity instead of everyone pulling in different directions. Three core characteristics needed to be non-negotiables for everyone moving forward: effort on defence, scoring in transition and sharing the ball,” Guillory wrote.
Pelicans coach Willie Green had made as much clear before but the players themselves were now more aware of the role they needed to play in ensuring that happened.
Spurs fall short despite Wemby heroics | 00:51
“The other intended purposes of the meeting was to make clear that Williamson and Ingram were the emotional heartbeats of the team — especially with CJ McCollum sidelined with a partially collapsed lung — and things would only change once both fully committed to pushing the team in the right direction,” added Guillory.
Now Williamson and Ingram have enjoyed some of the best stretches of the season on both an individual level and as a duo working in tandem to power the Pelicans offence.
Williamson’s efficiency has shot up, powering through defenders in the paint, although there is one issue that remains and it was exposed in the team’s most recent loss to Utah.
The Pelicans dominated in the paint with 68 to Utah’s 38 but made just seven 3-pointers and sit 25th in the league in 3-pointers made per game with 11.1.
There is good news for New Orleans though, with the impending returns of both Trey Murphy (knee) and C.J. McCollum (collapsed lung).
For context, Murphy and McCollum were responsible for 35.7 and 35.2 per cent of the Pelicans’ 3-pointers made last season according to the NBA’s official website.
McCollum’s return should see Australian Dyson Daniels moved back to the bench despite his impressive defence and improvements on offence with increased minutes this season.
Daniels has shown glimpses of his potential with the ball in hand, especially when driving to the rim with aggression, but his 3-point shooting remains a significant weakness.
That much was clear against the Jazz when the young guard was consistently left wide open by defenders as Utah put multiple men on Williamson instead and found success in that strategy.
Daniels shot 1-of-6 from the field in the loss and did not make any of his four 3-point attempts.
NBA CAN’T IGNORE CHRIS PAUL’S ‘PERSONAL’ FEUD WITH REF
Chris Paul and Scott Foster have a problem. But they’re not the only ones.
The NBA has a problem too and without action could see last week’s ugly clash between the Golden State Warriors star and veteran referee repeated when it matters most.
In case you missed it, Paul was ejected just before halftime of Golden State’s 123-115 loss to his former team Phoenix after picking up two quick technical fouls.
The first was for unsportsmanlike conduct having approached Foster for what was described in commentary as a “lengthy conversation” after being called for a foul on Kevin Durant.
Eventually Foster had enough of Paul and gave him his first technical, only frustrating the Warriors star even more as he then yelled something back at the referee to receive his second technical foul of the game.
Replays seemed to suggest Paul may have called Foster a “b***h”, with the All-Star guard later claiming in his post-game press conference that it is “personal” between the two.
“We had a situation some years ago, and it’s personal,” he said.
“The league knows, everybody knows, and it’s been a meeting and all that. It’s a situation with my son and so, yeah. I’m OK with a ref talking, saying whatever, just don’t use a tech to get your point across.
“I’ve got to do a better job making sure I stay on the floor for my teammates. But yeah, that’s that.”
Paul seems to have come to terms with it and at this point in his career it is about all he can do given the pair’s lengthy history.
Paul later went on to reveal there was even a meeting a few years ago with himself, his dad, Foster, Doc Rivers and former referee Bob Delaney during his time at the Clippers.
All of this is to say, should the NBA be doing more to address the lingering tension between the pair, especially given the fact the Warriors could very well factor in this year’s playoffs when it is only more important than ever that games are decide by the players and not officials?
Zach Harper of The Athletic certainly thinks so, especially when you consider Paul’s records in games with Foster officiating.
According to The Athletic, Paul’s teams are 3-17 in the playoffs when Foster is the referee and 73-56 in the playoffs without him.
Harper though wrote that Paul’s latest run-in with Foster is also in other ways illustrative of a bigger issue in the league this season.
“Whether or not NBA Commissioner Adam Silver publicly admits it, the league has an officiating problem,” he wrote.
“Stars are routinely being ejected in horrendous fashion. Giannis Antetokounmpo was a recent example against the Pistons. Days later, Nikola Jokić was ejected in Detroit.”
Jayson Tatum, for instance, picked up a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a dunk late in the second quarter of Boston’s loss to the Orlando Magic last week.
While not ejected it still didn’t make a whole lot of sense to Tatum.
“That’s a rule that they just implemented that, quite frankly, I don’t think makes any sense,” Tatum said after the game.
“Anybody that’s ever played or dunked the ball, you know your momentum … just trying to make sure you’re stable when you land and make sure nobody’s underneath you.”
WILL LAMELO EVER GET A CHANCE TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?
Just when LaMelo Ball was really starting to put together an All-Star calibre season, the Charlotte Hornets guard looks set for another lengthy sideline stint.
Ball, who had already undergone ankle surgery in the offseason, is expected to miss an “extended period” after suffering an ankle sprain in last week’s loss to the Orlando Magic according to NBA insider Shams Charania.
It is just the latest setback for Ball, whose 2022-23 campaign came to a premature end in February after fracturing his right ankle — the same one he strained on Monday.
Injuries also disrupted Ball’s rookie campaign, limiting him to just 51 games.
It is particularly unfortunate timing given Ball’s recent form, having averaged 32 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the nine games before Monday’s meeting with the Magic.
Then you add in the fact that Charlotte, while not a genuine playoff contender this season, still had plenty to get out of a full year seeing what it had in Ball and rookie Brandon Miller.
Now Miller may have to take on more responsibility as a ball handler until Ball is healthy again, with Charlotte’s guard room without the All-Star already a work in progress.
It doesn’t necessarily sound like a serious setback for Ball but the Hornets are right to be cautious in their approach to the injury given the 22-year-old is still a key part of their future.
More than anything it is just a shame that Ball, who in 2022 became the fourth-youngest to ever play in an All-Star game, could be denied a chance to earn his second All-Star honour.
