LeBron James, with a gray plastic boot bag, a black sweatshirt with a hood and a black mask on, and Anthony Davis, in a lime green jacket and a bright yellow mask, were hard to miss along the sidelines during the Los Angeles Lakers lost 111- 94 on the Phoenix Suns Sunday.
But Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder said that as long as LA misses its two stars in uniform, the Lakers need to completely revamp their approach.
“I think how we used to play with the two of them on the field, I think it’s quite the opposite now,” Schroder said after the Lakers trailed by as many as 18 and never led against the Suns. “I think we had to move the ball, we had to play with more pace. On the defensive side we had to be more scratchy. And yes, I mean everyone who comes on the floor has to be confident to knock. The shot down or to influence the game on the defensive end. “
Asked who will be asked for leadership during James’ indefinite absence from a high right ankle sprain, and while Davis is sidelined for a minimum of another week with a calf strain and tendinosis in his right leg, Frank Vogel mentions , Lakers coach, Schroder.
“Obviously, Dennis Schroder will be the head of the snake with the ball in his hands the most, which dictates part of the action,” Vogel said after the 27-year-old man traded with the Oklahoma City Thunder during the out of season, had 22 points and three assistants on Sunday. “But we have a bunch of veteran men in this team who can lead, and we encourage our guys to lead from every chair in the room.”
Safe from James’ seat, which was next to the bench at Phoenix Suns Arena.
“It tells me he cares about this organization,” Schroder said of James joining the team flight hours after undergoing an MRI and x-rays on his ankle. ‘In my career I’ve seen people get hurt and not drive on the road, and for him he’s the best – one of the best who’s ever played this game – that you see him on the bench there, even if he’s hurt , it means a lot to me and everyone else [players on this team] also.”
Schroder may take the reins for some time. Bird has allowed a high sprain of the ankle usually takes a while to heal … This is slow recovery. ‘
With the NBA’s compact schedule due to COVID-19, even if James had a relatively quick rehabilitation process and missed three to four weeks, it would mean an additional 13 to 16 games without him for a group up to 0 -2 dropped if he did not play.
LA, meanwhile, is trying to find the silver lining. According to Vogel, he was ‘optimistic’ based on how the Lakers compete against the Suns, the number 2 team in the Western Conference. Schroder has gone so far as to say without the fellow captains it is ‘great for everyone else’ because they can ‘prove to teammates and the organization that they can play’.
And Vogel pointed out that a time for a 36-year-old man playing in his 18th season, which just 71 days after his 17th season ended, would not be a bad thing for James.
“We encourage him to break mentally and recharge a little bit so that when he comes back, we’re in a piece where we can make a playoff shot and make a little noise, of course when we go to the playoffs. “Bird said of James.
The thought of a mentally and physically fresh James rejoining the team may be a consolation for LA – after all, he led the Lakers to a championship break after a 4-month hiatus last season – but there is still a immediate challenge face in the meantime.
‘We want to play as hard as we can, play the right way and [we’re] is still going to come out with victories, “said Montrezl Harrell, grandson of Lakers.” Just keep it going while these guys recover and come back. “