BANG: LeBron James out for Warriors-Lakers as Golden State embarks on home stretch

[Allen]

LeBron James out for Warriors-Lakers as Golden State embarks on home stretch
The Warriors open their second half with seven games in 11 days

>Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (23) shoots over Golden State
Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11) in the first overtime of their NBA game at
Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. The
Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Golden State Warriors 145-144 in double
overtime. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

Danny Emerman is a Bay Area News Group sports reporter
By DANNY EMERMAN | deme...@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: February 21, 2024 at 6:18 p.m. | UPDATED: February 21, 2024
at 6:32 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/02/21/lebron-james-out-for-warriors-lakers-as-golden-state-embarks-on-home-stretch/


The Warriors’ first game out of the All-Star break against the Lakers
will be much less glamorous than anticipated.

LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) is listed as out for
Thursday night’s Lakers-Warriors matchup in the Chase Center.

James, 39, played 14 minutes in the All-Star Game on Sunday. The Lakers
are currently 1.5 games ahead of the Warriors for ninth place in the
Western Conference standings.

Each of the final 29 games are crucial for the Warriors, who need to
jump several teams in the standings to escape the play-in round. In the
team’s first film session after the All-Star break, Warriors coach Steve
Kerr displayed the West standings to remind them what’s at stake.

“I think Steve told us today that we’re 23-3 in our last 26 playoff
series,” rookie guard Brandin Podziemski said. “So, we’ve got the utmost
confidence that we can beat any team, no matter the seed, in a
seven-game series. Once you get above that seven mark, you’re guaranteed
at least four games. So we’re not really focused on seven-eight-nine-10,
we’re looking at number six and number five.”

Their quest for a true playoff berth will begin with James — who’s
averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists in his 20th season —
on the sideline. Chris Paul, who’s recovering from hand surgery, will
also miss the contest but is nearing a return.

Paul was a full participant in Golden State’s Wednesday practice,
including 5-on-5 work, Kerr said. The veteran point guard has missed the
past 18 games, but his return is on the horizon.

“He’s getting close,” Kerr said. “He’s feeling really good, he played a
lot over the All-Star break, he told me. The next step is for the
training staff to get a feel for where he is conditioning-wise and just
making sure everything is set for him to be out there.”

Even with some much-needed rest, the Warriors will need as many bodies
as they can to get through the home stretch. Their 29 games remaining is
tied for the most in the league, and they open their second half with
seven games in 11 days.

James’ absence to start off the run should ease the Warriors into post
All-Star life, but that won’t mean it’ll be easy. Basketball Reference’s
playoff probabilities report gives the Warriors an 86.4% chance at
claiming a seed between seven and 10, which would put them at risk of
playing do-or-die games to earn a standard playoff series.

“We’re in 10th,” Kerr said. “We’ve been on a good run, but we’ve got to
carry that forward. And there’s no reason why we can’t keep winning and
do what we did a year ago, which was climb up the standings and put
ourselves in a favorable position for the playoffs.”


Buzzer-beaters

-The Warriors are reportedly converting Lester Quinones’ two-way
contract into a standard one and backfilling the roster with former
college lacrosse superstar Pat Spencer on a two-way deal, but the team
hasn’t made either move official. The deadline to convert Quinones is
Thursday, so both moves are likely imminent.Spencer, who starred at
Loyola on the lacrosse field before transferring to Northwestern to play
hoops, has been with the Warriors organization for the past two seasons.
He isn’t expected to play this year because of a season-ending wrist
fracture suffered on Jan. 27. Still, count rookie center Trayce
Jackson-Davis as a fan.“Amazing teammate,” Jackson-Davis said. “Hard,
hard worker. So those are two things that you can control, and that’s
what he controls very well. Having him up here as another dude that’s
going to be a great teammate and show leadership, that’s going to be great.”

-According to sports business outlet Sportico, the Warriors franchise
has vaulted into the second most valuable in the world, at $8.2 billion.
In 2009, Steph Curry’s rookie season, the franchise was valued at an
estimated $315 million.For as much credit as team owner Joe Lacob
deserves for consistently spending on payroll — and he deserves a lot —
the Curry Effect makes a world of difference.

-The Warriors’ decision to move Klay Thompson to the bench might not end
up being permanent, but all signs point to them continuing with the
Curry-Podziemski-Kuminga-Wiggins-Green starting lineup for now.“I think
with the starting five, I think Brandin’s skill set is very
complementary to JK and Wiggs, in particular,” Kerr said. “Rebounding,
taking charges, moving the ball, cutting. It seems to unlock that group
really well. The numbers show it, the eye test shows it. And so I really
like this idea going forward of that starting five. We’re going to get
Chris Paul back, and Chris Paul and Klay Thompson coming off the bench —
that’s pretty good.”

In his first game coming off the bench, Thompson dropped 35 points in 28
minutes against the Jazz. He referenced Manu Ginobili in his postgame
comments as someone who disregarded ego and embraced his bench role.
Kerr added Warriors great Andre Iguodala as a model of a player who can
come off the bench and make a great impact, even winning a Finals MVP.

Thompson’s move to the bench is bound to hit occasional rough spots. The
future Hall of Famer rarely seems to hide his emotions, both on the
court and with the media. A cold shooting night could lead to limited
minutes, and he’ll have to learn how to bounce back from that mentally.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Kerr said. “Everybody’s going to have to
sacrifice and understand it may not be their night that particular
night. I love our guys, I love the chemistry they have together. I think
we can make a really good push this way.”