[ad_1]
PORTLAND, Ore. – With a mahogany teakwood-scented candle from White Barn burning in the empty locker stall next to him, LeBron James set the mood for his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Before the Lakers embarked on what could be a roller-coaster season, James was a picture of tranquility. And then it did not take a long time for the Lakers in an emphatic way.
In front of the likes of NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Nike co-founder Phil Knight, James' first two sneakers as a Laker came on thunderous tomahawk jams. But despite James pouring in 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, the Portland Trail Blazers spoiled James' Lakers debut with a 128-119 win at the Moda Center.
The Lakers, who have lost 16 straight to Portland, were within 101-100 after a Lonzo Ball 3-pointer with just over eight minutes remaining. But the Blazers went on an 18-6 run to put the game out of reach. Damian Lillard (28 points) and CJ McCollum (21 points) combined to score 20 points in the final eight minutes, and Nik Stauskas added 24 points for Portland.
The game started off for the Lakers, who led by James after the game with a bang. James' first basket in purple and gold came after he stole a pass from Jake Layman before soaring in an uncontested breakaway power jam with 9:21 left in the first quarter. Less than 20 seconds later, James came through the lane before throwing another rim-rattling dunk. After both slams, James looked at Knight and Nike executive Lynn Merritt, who were seated at the courtside where James dunked.
At the start, the game felt like a major event, bigger than your typical season James joined the Lakers. Before the Lakers madness started, James sat at his locker stall with the candle burning, playing to his pre-game music while wearing a Nike T-shirt with an ad of wearing a Lakers jersey.
He seemed oblivious to the row of cameras and reporters capturing his every move in a cramped visitors locker room at the Moda Center. As he put on his warm-up gear, an "NBA 2K" commercial video game with James in a video game.
Up until Thursday, no one could really know what the Lakers would look like in a real game of simulating it on a video game. Still, James liked what he saw in the preseason.
"I love what we have so far, I love our potential, but only time will tell," James said at the Lakers morning shootaround. "And this is the first step of a long journey for us."
The attention and hype surrounding the Lakers and James since the star decided to move to Los Angeles in intense agency has been intense.
Luke Walton stopped at the team's training facility. The two talked about how long it has been since James joined the team in early July to the season opener.
"It feels like it's been a week, it does," said Walton said of the time flying. "It's funny, from my seat, being a coach, I felt like it was all that happened." It's been awhile for me, it's been short.I think it's just being a coach and knowing how much more I'd like to get in. It's gone quickly. "
Walton tried a variety of themes in the season opener, using Lakers' signature Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee. Walton also had James play alongside the Lakers' prospects Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Ball and Josh Hart.
One area that could be a concern for the Lakers this season is 3-point shooting. The Lakers their first attempts at the arc before. Hart would also bury another triple at the third-quarter buzzer but the Lakers shot 7-of-30 from 3-point range for the game.
The Lakers are hoping their up-and-coming core adjusts to play alongside James quicker than expected. James debuted with a new team, it took a while for him and his new teammates to gel.
The Heat stumbled to a 9-8 start in James' first season in Miami before winning 12 consecutive games, finishing 58-24 and reaching the first of four straight NBA Finals appearances.
When James returned to Cleveland, the Cavaliers opened 19-20 under David Blatt before winning 12 straight, finishing 53-29 and making the first of four straight NBA Finals.
As James, he walked by Ingram. James and the Lakers are hoping Ingram takes a step towards becoming an All-Star this season.
One of the other young prospects, Kuzma, wore the same Nike Zoom 2k3 pair of shoes that an 18-year-old James wore in his first practice as an NBA athlete in 2003. Kuzma recently signed a sponsorship deal with sneaker resale GOAT app wore the shoes from the sponsor during his pregame walk-up.
Of course, the most important step taken Thursday was the Lakers' first with James to start the season.
"Every step along the path is always different and challenging in its own right," said a new franchise. "So no matter how comfortable you are, they have their own feeling and you have got it all together, so I'm looking forward to this challenge."
Source link
