The Los Angeles Lakers are gearing up for the season and are coming off their second preseason win.
Check out the latest news and rumors below.
Randle Impresses Scott
Julius Randle’s performance has been criticized by coach Byron Scott over the preseason, but Scott praised the rookie forward after Sunday’s win.
“His effort was great [and] his communication on the defensive end was much, much better,” Scott told Lakers Nation.
“Offensively he was really good. He made some mistakes, but it wasn’t because of lack of effort.”
Randle scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds, and blocked two shots in 20 minutes of action.
Scott recently admitted that he may be too tough on Randle.
“I think we all tend to forget too -- because we are in the National Basketball Association -- that he is 19 years old,” Scott said last week after a practice, reported ESPN. “He’s still a baby. I’ve been a little hard on him at times.”
However, Scott emphasized that Randle has to improve.
“He has a lot to learn,” Scott added. “It’s not that he’s not willing to learn; it’s that he’s got to be willing to put forth the effort. It’s a lot harder here than it was at Kentucky. This is big boy’s league. That’s the bottom line.”
Randle says he understands Scott being hard on him.
“I mean, he should (be),” Randle said. “Those guys are proven. I shouldn’t be treated the same as those (veterans). I haven’t done anything. I have got to hold myself responsible. I can’t worry about what other guys do. The only thing I can do is hold myself accountable and improve every day.”
Bryant Leads Lakers Past Jazz
LOS ANGELES—Kobe Bryant scored 26 points and Carlos Boozer added 19, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 98-91 preseason victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
Boozer also had nine rebounds and six of the Lakers’ 17 steals. Los Angeles converted 29 Jazz turnovers into 34 points and outscored them 17-8 in second-chance points.
Alec Burks scored 21 for the Jazz, who had only one field goal after his jumper with 5:16 remaining. Enes Kanter had 14 points in 38 minutes before fouling out with 15.2 seconds left.
The lead changed hands six times in the fourth quarter before Ed Davis’ hook shot put the Lakers ahead for good at 86-85 with 4:50 to play. Wayne Ellington added two free throws and a 3-pointer that extended the margin to 91-85 with 2:50 remaining, and Bryant helped close it out with five free throws in the final 1:24.
Trailing by 16 at halftime, the injury-riddled Lakers opened the third quarter with a 23-3 surge that put them ahead 61-57 with 5:51 left in the period. Boozer helped fuel the rally with eight points.
Burks helped the Jazz build a 54-38 halftime lead with 13 points. Bryant, who missed five of his first six shots, reported back in with 7:13 left in the second quarter and the Lakers trailing 41-22. He made a 3-pointer on his next shot, ending the team’s 0-for-19 drought from behind the arc. The two-time scoring champ was 3 for 7 on 3s and 7 for 22 overall in 31 minutes.
The Lakers shot just 28.3 percent before halftime. Ellington, the first player off the bench, missed all six shots in the first and finished 2 for 9 from the field after going 0 for 8 in Thursday’s 119-86 loss to the Jazz down in Anaheim.
Ellington signed with Los Angeles as a free agent four weeks ago after spending last season with Dallas. The Mavericks traded him to the Knicks in June before he was dealt to Sacramento in August. The Kings waived him on Sept. 3.
Lin Not Bitter About Rocket’s Trade
Jeremy Lin says he has no hard feelings about the trade that dealt him to the Lakers.
“It was a time for me to go through some bumps and some hurdles and learn how to grow,” Lin told the Los Angeles Times.
“When I first got there, I was supposed to be the guy and they were supposed to kind of hand the torch to me. And I ended up getting traded away basically for nothing. Actually, they had to give up a draft pick to convince someone else to take me. Pretty much given away for nothing. Definitely not how I envisioned it.”
Lin says he’s ready to step up in Los Angels, and said fans have been embracing him.
“They’re very thankful. I can’t tell you how many people have told me they'll be there on opening night,” Lin said. “They all talk about that game when I was in New York playing against L.A. That gets brought up a bunch.”
Former teammate Stephen Curry believes that Lin will have a good year.
Nash Day-to Day
Coach Scott says that the health of Steve Nash is day-to-day.
“I don’t have any expectations right now, to be honest with you,” Scott told ESPN.
“When Steve and I talk, and I talk to [Lakers trainer] Gary Vitti, it’s all about day-to-day right now. You just kind of pencil him out until you know he can play, and then you pencil him back in. Right now, we just have to assume that he’s not going to play every game, obviously, and the ones that he can go, we'll go with him on those nights.”
Nash has missed multiple practices and games, or parts of games.
Nash’s failing health appears to open up the starting spot for Lin, which Scott recently acknowledged.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, other players have been dealing with injuries. Sunday’s game saw them without eight players, including Lin, Nick Young, and Xavier Henry.
“You have to be a little concerned, especially with the guys we have out being players that we expected to depend on,” Scott said when asked about the injuries. “It’s a little concerning, but we have a little less than a week and half or so to go, and hopefully a couple of those guys will get healthy and be ready to play. We know Nick is not going to be healthy for another three or four weeks, but if we can get a couple of guys back healthy, we'll be OK.”
“I think he’s gotten better as a player just looking from afar and seeing where his game’s at now,” Curry said.
“I know it’s going to be a great opportunity for him to play significant minutes and have a good impact with the team, with Steve not knowing how much he’s going to be able to play this entire season. Jeremy’s going to be a huge part of what they do.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
