James, Davis will be ‘ready to go’ for regular season
LOS ANGELES — At this moment, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel said, Lebron James and Anthony Davis “are not ready yet” to play in regular-season games.
But when the season does start on Dec. 22 and the Lakers open their NBA championship repeat campaign against the Los Angeles Clippers, Vogel left little doubt that James and Davis will be ready to perform.
Vogel held out James and Davis from Sunday night’s exhibition game against the Clippers at Staples Center, making that two games the dynamic duo has not played in so far.
“Well, they’re not ready yet, but they will be on the 22nd, and when we’re ready to start games, those guys will be ready to go,” Vogel said on a pregame videoconference from Staples Center. “But we’ve been trying to strike that balance of easing them in enough while at the same time making sure they’re working to be ready for the beginning of the season. I think they both look really good. They’re probably not ready to play in a regular-season game today, but they’re both in good shape and hopefully can continue to build up to the start of the season.”
The Lakers have had five practices, allowing James and Davis to get in their work with the group.
Vogel said he expects James and Davis to play in the Lakers’ exhibition games at Phoenix on Wednesday and again at the Suns on Friday.
“They’ve been participating heavily in practice, and gonna sit these first two preseason games out,” Vogel said. “Hopefully (they) play in the final two
preseason games, play some in Game 3 and more in Game 4. Get as close as possible to a dress rehearsal leading into the regular season.”
Injury update
Alex Caruso didn’t play because of what Vogel described as a “hip flexor strain” that was suffered in Friday night’s exhibition game against the Clippers.