NBA Player News

After two seasons as the Lakers’ head coach, Ham has been relieved of his duties. The Lakers lost to Denver in the first round after being eliminated by them in the Western Conference Finals the year before, though they had to play in the Play-In Tournament both years. Early candidates for the position according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania are Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson and JJ Redick, though Tyronn Lue will be considered if he becomes available.

With Rui Hachimura sidelined by a calf injury, LaRavia made his tenth start of the season on Tuesday. He didn’t have a great night shooting the basketball, but the Lakers forward did record four steals and one blocked shot in 38 minutes on the floor. Those stats are encouraging for fantasy managers, especially since Hachimura is expected to miss multiple games. LaRavia is rostered in 10 percent of Yahoo! leagues, so he won’t be too hard to find on the waiver wire.

LeBron’s 41st birthday was not a joyous occasion for the Lakers’ star, as the Pistons took control in the third quarter and won with relative ease. Simply put, Detroit did on Tuesday night what “Father Time” has failed to do to the future Hall of Fame forward. In addition to the poor shooting, James was responsible for five turnovers, with only Luka Dončić committing more (eight). He and the Lakers will look to bounce back when they host the Grizzlies on Friday and Sunday.

While fantasy managers will likely be pleased with Dončić recording another 30-point double-double, that did not tell the whole story of his night. There were a few defensive lapses, and the Lakers’ point guard compounded those errors by committing eight turnovers. With Austin Reaves (calf) out for at least four weeks, Dončić and the Lakers have an extremely slim margin for error. They were able to hang around until the second half of the third quarter, with the Pistons’ takeover leading to Dončić and the other starters watching the final four minutes from the bench. The Lakers end Week 11 with games against the Grizzlies on Friday and Sunday.