Vanderbilt sits out season opener
DENVER » Before they kicked off the season, the Lakers announced that a starter from last year's playoff run and one of their rookies wouldn't be available to start the 2023-24 season.
Forward Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel soreness) and rookie guard Jalen HoodSchifino (right patella contusion) weren't available for the season opener against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
Vanderbilt, a starter during the Lakers' run to the Western Conference finals last spring, only played in one of the team's six preseason games — the opener against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 7.
Coach Darvin Ham said Vanderbilt's status is “dayto-day.”
With Vanderbilt sidelined, the Lakers started D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince,
LeBron James and Anthony Davis against the Nuggets — a quintet that started three of six preseason games.
Hood-Schifino will be re-evaluated by team doctors on Nov. 3, the Lakers said, meaning he'll likely miss at least the first five games. The Lakers begin a four-game road trip with a matchup against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 4.
James commercial
James, who officially kicked off his 21st NBA season on Tuesday, has previously said he'd like to play alongside his oldest son, Bronny, before he retires.
A commercial released by Beats featuring James suggests he has even greater ambitions.
In the commercial that also starred Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and was co-voiced by James' wife, Savannah, and Haaland's father, the commercial touched on what motivates James toward the end of his career.
“Tell them you're not done until you play with your son,” Savannah says midway through the commercial. “Then, do that — again.”
When Savannah says “again,” a close-up of Bronny's face turns into a closeup of Bryce, James' younger son.
Bryce, 16, is a junior at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks.
Under current NBA rules, the earliest Bronny, a 19-year-old freshman at USC, and Bryce would be eligible to play in the NBA would be the 202425 (Bronny) and 2026-27 (Bryce) seasons, respectively.
Those would be James' 22nd and 24th NBA seasons, respectively.
Respect shown
Much was made of the offseason chatter from the Nuggets directed toward the Lakers after they swept L.A. en route to winning the 2022-23 NBA championship.
But Coach Michael Malone made it clear pregame they have nothing but respect for the Lakers and their team entering this season.
“For us, we understand that we're playing against a team that had the second-best record (in the NBA) post-All-Star break,” Malone said. “And what Darvin Ham did with that team last year, he did a tremendous coaching job.
“As I said the night that we beat them in L.A., LeBron James obviously is arguably the best to ever play this game, in Year 21 and he is still doing what he does. Anthony Davis. Look at Austin Reaves and the summer he had representing our country.
“And then you got to give (General Manager) Rob Pelinka credit. They went out and added some pieces. They are a good team. They are a deep team. They are a talented team.”