Reality has begun to set in for the Los Angeles Lakers and coach Luke Walton.

The 2018-19 season hasn’t gone to plan for the franchise after signing LeBron James to one of the most consequential free agent contracts in the history of basketball.

The Lakers are currently 30-35 and in 11th place in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.

With only 17 games left in the regular season, they are 6.5 games behind the cross-town rival Clippers for the 8th spot in the Wesr.

For these reasons, the Lakers and Walton have decided to cut back on LeBron’s minutes for the rest of the season in an attempt to keep him healthy in future seasons.

James has averaged 35.6 minutes per game this season. Despite the Lakers’ woes, he has turned in a typically excellent season, averaging 27.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game.

The superstar turned 34 years old in December,

The Lakers say that LeBron probably won’t play in back-to-back game nights during the rest of the season, which should afford him rest and the opportunity to recover.

The next step will be regrouping and figuring out how to lead the Lakers to the playoffs next season.

The post Lakers Plan to Cut Back on Minutes for LeBron appeared first on SportzBonanza.

One of the most accomplished NBA franchises hasn’t seen the playoffs in five years and is two years removed from having a proper superstar on the team after Kobe Bryant retired. This is why LeBron James’ arrival brought so much hope to the fans, who are hoping their team can be a title contender once again. It can, but just not this year.

The biggest issue with the Lakers, constructed as they are at the moment, is that they don’t have a “go-to player” besides James. They don’t have another player who can take over the game in certain moments and carry the team to the win. Lonzo Ball couldn’t hit threes and jumpers consecutively if his life depended on it, Kyle Kuzma is a catch and shoot type of player, and Brandon Ingram will get to that level in a couple of years. All their most significant competitors in Western Conference – Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets – have two or more such players.

Now, Los Angeles Lakers have a terrific mix of young players and veterans and that is their strength. However, the Lakers’ young stars are all projected to start, and veterans will warm the bench. With teams who are thinking about contending for a title is another way around, since experience is crucial when the game is on the line. And once again, LeBron James as great as he is, can’t do it all by himself like last season. He isn’t in the Eastern Conference anymore.

But both LeBron James and Lakers organization know all of this, and they are not expecting much from this season. The plan is to get James comfortable, see where they stand with the young players and determine which veterans deserve to stick around next season. Because its the next season when these new Lakers with James plan on to make a push to get back in NBA Finals again. This is of course if they manage to land some of the 2019 big free agents like Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, or maybe even Klay Thompson.

So, where will the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James end up this year? Probably somewhere between 6th and 8th seed. James can get you that even in the Western Conference. Then the Lakers will face an early playoff exit and focus on 2019-2020.

But don’t worry Lakers’ fans, your team is in a perfect place to be good for at least five years or even more if LeBron decides he will break all the longevity records. That is what matters the most, right?

The post Opinion: Even With LeBron James, LA Lakers Can’t Do Much This Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Just when it looked like that a young Los Angeles Lakers team might not be so bad, eighth straight loss placed them on the last spot of the Western Conference with 11-26 record. The most painful defeat came on Wednesday night, while playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After a tied first quarter, the Lakers were crushed in the following three and suffered a 133-96 defeat. To make things even worse, the Thunder played majority of the second half with bench players. In words of Lakers’ promising rookie Kyle Kuzma, the team just “gave up”.

“We gave up,” – Kuzma said to ESPN after the game. “You could see, they got basket after basket, we had no resistance on them on the defensive end and offensive end. When things got tough, we tried to do it individually, and you can’t do that in this league. They took a little lead, and we just went to being selfish on the floor. We didn’t compete on defense. They killed us. … To lose by [nearly] 40, it is pretty embarrassing to be out there.“

Lakers’ coach Luke Walton added that both the fans and the organization “deserve better than that.“

It is important to note that the Lakers were without rookie point guard Lonzo Ball during this losing streak. Although Ball still didn’t provide enough to prove he is the future of the Lakers, he continues to progress and improve in his first NBA season.

Kuzma, the 27th overall pick in last year’s draft, on the other side, is fully embracing the chance he received from Walton. Clinching a starting position earlier in the season, he is currently averaging 17.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and plays well above the preseason expectations.

The Los Angeles Lakers will have a chance to snap their losing streak on Friday when they face the Charlotte Hornets.

The post Kyle Kuzma Says LA Lakers “Gave Up” in their Loss Against the Oklahoma City Thunder appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Reality has begun to set in for the Los Angeles Lakers and coach Luke Walton.

The 2018-19 season hasn’t gone to plan for the franchise after signing LeBron James to one of the most consequential free agent contracts in the history of basketball.

The Lakers are currently 30-35 and in 11th place in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.

With only 17 games left in the regular season, they are 6.5 games behind the cross-town rival Clippers for the 8th spot in the Wesr.

For these reasons, the Lakers and Walton have decided to cut back on LeBron’s minutes for the rest of the season in an attempt to keep him healthy in future seasons.

James has averaged 35.6 minutes per game this season. Despite the Lakers’ woes, he has turned in a typically excellent season, averaging 27.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game.

The superstar turned 34 years old in December,

The Lakers say that LeBron probably won’t play in back-to-back game nights during the rest of the season, which should afford him rest and the opportunity to recover.

The next step will be regrouping and figuring out how to lead the Lakers to the playoffs next season.

The post Lakers Plan to Cut Back on Minutes for LeBron appeared first on SportzBonanza.

One of the most accomplished NBA franchises hasn’t seen the playoffs in five years and is two years removed from having a proper superstar on the team after Kobe Bryant retired. This is why LeBron James’ arrival brought so much hope to the fans, who are hoping their team can be a title contender once again. It can, but just not this year.

The biggest issue with the Lakers, constructed as they are at the moment, is that they don’t have a “go-to player” besides James. They don’t have another player who can take over the game in certain moments and carry the team to the win. Lonzo Ball couldn’t hit threes and jumpers consecutively if his life depended on it, Kyle Kuzma is a catch and shoot type of player, and Brandon Ingram will get to that level in a couple of years. All their most significant competitors in Western Conference – Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets – have two or more such players.

Now, Los Angeles Lakers have a terrific mix of young players and veterans and that is their strength. However, the Lakers’ young stars are all projected to start, and veterans will warm the bench. With teams who are thinking about contending for a title is another way around, since experience is crucial when the game is on the line. And once again, LeBron James as great as he is, can’t do it all by himself like last season. He isn’t in the Eastern Conference anymore.

But both LeBron James and Lakers organization know all of this, and they are not expecting much from this season. The plan is to get James comfortable, see where they stand with the young players and determine which veterans deserve to stick around next season. Because its the next season when these new Lakers with James plan on to make a push to get back in NBA Finals again. This is of course if they manage to land some of the 2019 big free agents like Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, or maybe even Klay Thompson.

So, where will the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James end up this year? Probably somewhere between 6th and 8th seed. James can get you that even in the Western Conference. Then the Lakers will face an early playoff exit and focus on 2019-2020.

But don’t worry Lakers’ fans, your team is in a perfect place to be good for at least five years or even more if LeBron decides he will break all the longevity records. That is what matters the most, right?

The post Opinion: Even With LeBron James, LA Lakers Can’t Do Much This Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Just when it looked like that a young Los Angeles Lakers team might not be so bad, eighth straight loss placed them on the last spot of the Western Conference with 11-26 record. The most painful defeat came on Wednesday night, while playing against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After a tied first quarter, the Lakers were crushed in the following three and suffered a 133-96 defeat. To make things even worse, the Thunder played majority of the second half with bench players. In words of Lakers’ promising rookie Kyle Kuzma, the team just “gave up”.

“We gave up,” – Kuzma said to ESPN after the game. “You could see, they got basket after basket, we had no resistance on them on the defensive end and offensive end. When things got tough, we tried to do it individually, and you can’t do that in this league. They took a little lead, and we just went to being selfish on the floor. We didn’t compete on defense. They killed us. … To lose by [nearly] 40, it is pretty embarrassing to be out there.“

Lakers’ coach Luke Walton added that both the fans and the organization “deserve better than that.“

It is important to note that the Lakers were without rookie point guard Lonzo Ball during this losing streak. Although Ball still didn’t provide enough to prove he is the future of the Lakers, he continues to progress and improve in his first NBA season.

Kuzma, the 27th overall pick in last year’s draft, on the other side, is fully embracing the chance he received from Walton. Clinching a starting position earlier in the season, he is currently averaging 17.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and plays well above the preseason expectations.

The Los Angeles Lakers will have a chance to snap their losing streak on Friday when they face the Charlotte Hornets.

The post Kyle Kuzma Says LA Lakers “Gave Up” in their Loss Against the Oklahoma City Thunder appeared first on SportzBonanza.