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LeBron James, wearing a gray plastic walking boot, black hooded sweatshirt and black mask, and Anthony Davis, in a lime green jacket and bright yellow mask, were hard to miss on the sidelines of the 111 Los Angeles Lakers. -94 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
But Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder said as long as Los Angeles misses its two stars in uniform, the Lakers need to completely rethink their approach.
“I think the way we’ve played before with the two of them on the pitch is totally opposite now I think,” Schroder said after the Lakers were trailed by no less than 18 points and never led against. the Suns. “I think we have to move the ball, we have to play with more rhythm. On the defensive side we have to be more disjointed. And, yeah, I mean everyone that comes on the floor has to be confident to hit. the blow or to have an impact on the play on the defensive end. “
When asked who would be called upon to lead during James’ indefinite absence for a sprained high right ankle and as Davis is sidelined for at least another week with calf strain and a tendinosis in his right leg, Lakers coach Frank Vogel mentioned Schroder.
“Obviously, Dennis Schroder will be the most leading snake with the ball in his hands, dictating some of the action,” Vogel said after the 27-year-old, acquired in a trade with Oklahoma City Thunder during the off season, had 22 points and three assists on Sunday. “But we have a lot of veterans on this team who can lead, and we encourage our guys to lead from every chair in the room.”
Including from James’ seat, which was adjacent to the Phoenix Suns Arena bench.
“It tells me he cares about this organization,” Schroder said of James joining the team flight just hours after having an MRI and x-rays on his ankle. “In my career, I have seen people get injured and not come on a road trip; and to him being the best – one of the best that has ever played this game – that you see him on the bench being there even though he’s injured means a lot to me and everyone else [players on this team] too much.”
Schroder could take the reigns of the pitch for a while. Vogel allowed high ankle sprains to generally take “a while to heal … They are slow recoveries.”
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 team that fell to 0-2 when he doesn’t. do not play.
LA tries to find the silver lining in the meantime. Vogel said he was “optimistic” about the way the Lakers faced the Suns, the No.2 team in the Western Conference. 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 free time for a 36-year-old playing his 18th season which started just 71 days after the end of his 17th season might not be a bad thing for James.
“We encourage him to take a mental break and to re-energize a bit mentally, so that when he comes back we’re in a stretch where we can do a playoff push and make some noise, obviously, before the playoffs. “Vogel said of James.
The idea of a mentally and physically fresh James joining the squad may be a comfort to LA – after all, he led him to the Championship after a 4.5 month hiatus last season – but there is still an immediate challenge that the Lakers will face. in the meantime.
“We are looking to play as hard as possible, to play the right way and [we’re] will still come out with wins, “said Lakers big man Montrezl Harrell.” Just keep it up while these guys recover and come back. “
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