By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Los Angeles Lakers fell to 28-15 after the loss to the Phoenix Suns Sunday. It was their first game without LeBron James due to his recent ankle sprain, while Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol, among others, remained sidelined.
German point guard, Dennis Schroder, one of the few regular starters still available, produced 22 points in 30 minutes.
“It starts with me, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma. Everybody has to step up,” he mentioned picking the players he believes need to take on a larger leadership role moving forward without James.
James, 36, made the trip with his teammates despite being ruled out indefinitely.
“It tells me that he cares about this organization,” noted Schroder, “In my career, I’ve seen people getting hurt and not coming on the road trip. For him, being one of the best who ever played this game, seeing him on the bench, being there even if he is hurt, means a lot to me and everybody else too.”
It is certainly a unique situation for the defending champions. However, the German floor general aims to make the best out of it.
“I think we got to move the ball more, play with more pace, on the defense we have to be more scrappy, and everybody coming on the floor got to be confident to knock down the shot and to impact the game on the defensive end. We got to shoot more threes,” he said on necessary adjustments.
“It’s great for everyone else,” he added commenting on the increased minutes for the players actually available in the demanding stretch, “We never play like that. I think everybody can get minutes and prove themselves to teammates and the organization. That’s how we have to take it.”
Coming up, the New Orleans Pelicans on the road Tuesday.
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