Right before Sunday’s contest before the Chicago Bulls at Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Lakers got some very unexpected news, as LeBron James was made available for the game after sitting out for a month with a right foot tendon injury.
He had been upgraded from out to doubtful on Saturday, but few actually expected him to suit up.
Unfortunately, James’ return did not translate into a productive afternoon for the Lakers.
They fell behind by as many as 20 points in the second quarter, and although they moved to within eight at halftime, they were never able to sustain any real momentum that would’ve made the game competitive, resulting in a 118-108 loss.
The Bulls simply outhustled and outworked L.A., as they shot 54.0 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from 3-point range while forcing 18 turnovers and turning them into 34 points. The Lakers contributed to their demise as well by only mustering five fast-break points and making just 67.9 percent of their free throws.
They will face the Bulls again on Wednesday, this time in Chicago, so they will have a couple of days to figure out how to get back on track after their three-game winning streak was snapped. That contest will be the first of five straight on the road for L.A.
Anthony Davis: C
After an outstanding performance in Friday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Davis was very lackluster on Sunday.
He shot 6-of-8 from the field, but eight shot attempts are simply way too low for a player of his caliber, and the lack of shot attempts resulted in only 15 points. After the game, he pointed out the fact that he was facing plenty of double teams, which has been something he has had to deal with lately, although he hasn’t been able to find a remedy for that strategy.
Davis spent time in foul trouble, as he accumulated five fouls and didn’t check in during the fourth quarter until there was 6:47 left in the period.
He did grab nine rebounds and contribute five assists, one steal and one blocked shot, but Los Angeles simply needed a lot more from him.
Jarred Vanderbilt: C-
Vanderbilt didn’t seem to have much of an impact on any facet of the game. He scored just four points on 2-of-5 shooting and got just four rebounds while playing 21 minutes, which is low for him.
Defensively, he didn’t do much to slow down Chicago’s star players. DeMar DeRozan shot 7-of-13 and had 10 assists, while Zach LaVine put on a dunk fest and scored 32 points on 13-of-19 from the field.
Troy Brown Jr.: A+
Brown has been playing perhaps the best basketball of his life over the last several weeks, and it continued on Sunday. He helped the Lakers stay within range early before the roof caved in on them, and he ended up with 18 points on 7-of-13 overall and 4-of-9 from downtown, which included two transition dunks in the second quarter.
The forward also added six rebounds, two steals, two blocked shots and one assist. Both of his blocks came on the same possession in the fourth quarter as the Lakers were attempting to make a run.
Dennis Schroder: B
D’Angelo Russell missed his second straight game with a hip ailment, so Schroder got the start once again. He shot 4-of-10 from the field and 2-of-6 from downtown, but he managed to get to the free throw line, going 7-of-8 there, giving him a strong 17 points on the day.
Schroder continued to do a solid job of facilitating by dishing off five assists against just one turnover, and he also added three rebounds and two steals.
Austin Reaves: B/B+
After a poor game on Friday, Reaves bounced back by going 6-of-10 from the field and scoring 13 points to go along with seven assists. However, he attempted just one free throw, and he contributed to perhaps the Lakers’ biggest problem on Sunday by turning the ball over five times.
Wenyen Gabriel: B
Perhaps Gabriel was a casualty of James’ return, as he played just nine minutes after getting plenty of playing time while the four-time MVP was out.
Against the Bulls, the 6-foot-9 man was on the court for just nine minutes, and he managed two points on free throws, two rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist.
Not finding a way for every viable player on the Lakers to get playing time is a good problem for head coach Darvin Ham to have, as they have a deep team, something they haven’t had in a while.
LeBron James: B/B+
James came off the bench in his return and played 30 minutes, and he looked good physically, as he didn’t seem to be limited by his right foot injury. Some rust was obviously expected, and it came in the form of five turnovers.
However, he did shoot 6-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line to score 19 points while adding eight rebounds and three assists.
It will take a little while for James to shake off the cobwebs, but the fact that he has returned a little earlier than expected is undoubtedly a boon for Los Angeles.
Malik Beasley: B+/A-
All 14 of Beasley’s shot attempts on Sunday were from beyond the arc, and he made six of them, which will certainly give his 3-point accuracy on the season a bit of a bump.
Every time he has a strong game like this one, there is the opportunity for him to use it as a springboard to play well over an extended stretch. However, in just over a month with the Lakers, he hasn’t done so, at least not yet.
Lonnie Walker IV: D
In 13 minutes, Walker failed to give the Lakers a lift, as he took just three shots and made one of them. Despite falling out of their rotation, he has often done well whenever he has gotten playing time, but Sunday wasn’t one of those contests for him.
