What the Lakers are looking for as LeBron James rounds into form
Lakers guard Austin Reaves drives to the hoop as Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends in the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The Lakers have secured their place in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, but there are still important games to play.
With a 3-0 record in West Group B, the Lakers can take home-court advantage into the quarterfinals with a win Friday against the Dallas Mavericks in the group stage final. A win would be the easiest way to avoid resorting to the points tiebreaker that could still be in play to determine the No. 1 seed in the West. Outscoring their opponents by 36 points, the Lakers’ point differential is 27 points behind West Group A leader Oklahoma City (2-0 in group play) for the potential No. 1 seed. The seeded team will host the wild-card team, who earned their place in the quarterfinals by being the best second-place team in group play. Portland and Denver are tied atop West Group C with a 2-1 record.
The three-year-old NBA Cup, modeled after similar in-season tournaments in European leagues, has brought confusion to colorful courts and ever-changing group stage scenarios. The potential extra travel and extra championship game could end up further tiring teams with bigger playoff ambitions, but the price is worth it: $500,000 for each player.
“I’ll obviously take money,” Doncic said with a sarcastic smile. “It’s easy… I played it in Spain, something like that, so I like it. Just the courts, please.”
Doncic said the Lakers’ NBA Cup court — bright yellow with the gold and black trophy painted on the key — caused a few players problems when they slipped on the new hardwood. An area near the free throw line in front of the Clippers bench looked particularly slippery. Doncic said he could tell immediately during warmups that the surface could be an issue.
“I slipped a few times and you could see a lot of players sliding,” Doncic said. “And it’s dangerous, man.”
Redick said he noticed players slipping, but also noticed them falling before that. He said the team would look at the field.
