LeBron James and Anthony Davis will make their preseason debuts Sunday against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, with both Lakers stars set to rejoin their team after being rested Friday in a preseason opener. season. loss to Minnesota.
“I think we want to continue what we did today in practice,” James said Saturday. “I think we were very determined about what we wanted to achieve in the future. I think yesterday was one of those early games. It’s been a while since a lot of guys have played in a game setting. And it looked like this.
James said his son Bronny, who scored two points and blocked three shots in the first game, was in for a real adjustment period. The two talked about the match afterward, but Bronny said he preferred to keep the details private.
“For him, it’s obviously an adjustment,” LeBron said. “Every rank you move up, it’s always an adjustment to get used to it. When he went from middle school to high school, from high school to USC and now to the pros, it’s always an adjustment to make. I thinks that the more time he spends on the field with pros, the more the speed, the cadence, the more you improve, the more time you spend on the field And you have to think that he lost about a third of. last season due to illness (heart).
“But he’s getting better every day. He keeps working. And it’s up to us, the veterans and the guys here, to try to help him and to help Dalton (Knecht), to help everyone young people.”
For Knecht, who scored 16 points in his first game, the runway could be short.
Learn more: Lakers fall to Timberwolves in preseason opener
“He’s a pro,” LeBron said. “He’s ready to go now.”
Bronny said Knecht was an “incredible player.”
“I have been working with him for over two months now. And, you know, I like this guy,” Bronny said. “He’s great.”
JJ Redick, who coached the Lakers for the first time, said the defense in the first game was too complicated, which made him question himself.
“I was most disappointed with our reds one through four, which is our changeup. I was just really disappointed,” Redick said. “We didn’t execute that at all. For example, we may have run it less than 10% of the time. That’s something we learned and it was very clear in the pre-match meeting that that’s what we were doing. So you’re probably wondering: “Am I not being clear?” Is this something I do?’
The Lakers apparently responded on Saturday.
“The group is in a good position,” Redick said. “And we talked about being a process team and just focused on the day-to-day work to get better. We did it and we did it again today. It was fun.
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
