Davis, Kuzma expected to play Friday
Anthony Davis was held out of the live portion of the Lakers’ practice Thursday morning because of soreness in his right shoulder, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.
The good news? Vogel said Davis should be fine to play Friday against the Dallas Mavericks. And he might be joined by Kyle Kuzma.
Kuzma participated fully in Thursday’s practice — his first with the Lakers since being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left ankle while training with Team USA in August. If Kuzma’s ankle reacts well to the practice, he will make his season debut against the Mavericks.
“Just wake up, move around, go to shootaround,” Kuzma said. “Game time if I feel fine, I don’t feel no aches and pains, then I’ll play.”
Davis was asked Thursday morning about his shoulder, and he insisted that it felt fine.
He admitted after Tuesday’s victory over the Memphis Grizzlies that he jammed his shoulder on a dunk attempt during Sunday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets.
Davis had his shoulder treated after the first quarter and at halftime Tuesday, when he had 40 points and 20 rebounds in three quarters. He said he never considered missing the game.
“I think we want, for us, we want him to do what’s best for him,” LeBron James said. “And if he felt like he could go, which he did, we’re all for it. But this is a marathon, and we understand that.”
Rajon Rondo will make the trip with the Lakers, but he won’t play Friday because of an injury described initially by the Lakers as calf soreness. Rondo had an MRI over the weekend after which the Lakers amended his injury description to “minor calf strain.”
Tricks and treats
James’ famous Halloween party wasn’t technically his own this year. His wife and her friends planned it, but they allowed James a few invitations.
He invited his teammates and they didn’t disappoint.
Kuzma dressed as the rapper Blueface. JaVale McGee dressed as Beetlejuice — a costume James had considered for himself.
James’ trainer, Mike Mancias, dressed as the Penguin, a Batman villain. His look was so convincing that none of the partygoers recognized him until they spoke with him.
There was no costume competition this year, but one person’s look stood out.
“Dwight [Howard],” Kuzma said after Thursday’s practice.
“For sure. He was Rasputia. You didn’t see it? Let me show you. It might be pulled up already. One second, right here.”
He took his phone out of his pocket to share a picture with the assembled reporters that showed Howard dressed in a suit of an obese woman wearing pink lingerie, a character who was played by Eddie Murphy in the movie “Norbit.”
Davis came as the Joker — the version from the movie “Suicide Squad.” He wasn’t amused by one reporter’s suggestion that that version of the Batman villain was the most controversial.
James’ wife, Savannah, dressed as Medusa, the snake-haired monster from Greek mythology, while James himself dressed as Edward Scissorhands. LeEdward Scissorhands, as he called it.
“It wasn’t the fact of how heavy they were,” James said of the scissors affixed to his hands for the look. “It was the fact that I couldn’t hold a drink.”
Between hair, makeup and the costume he wore, it took James 3½ hours to get ready for the party. Edward Scissorhands’ life isn’t one he wants.
“It’s a sad movie, to be honest, man,” James said. “A guy living by himself and being lonely, being misunderstood. I wouldn’t want to be in that situation. But [Johnny] Depp definitely aced that role for sure.”