Lakers: Gasol details battle with COVID-19.
LOS ANGELES » There’s one.
It took six tries this season, but the Lakers finally won a game without LeBron James or Anthony Davis -- a 100-86 rockfight with the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers that should remembered only for the final score. Montrezl Harrell led the way with a 24-point, 10 rebound double-double as the Lakers stopped the bleeding they’ve felt since losing LeBron James to an ankle injury on Sunday.
Even as the Cavaliers helped deliver the Lakers a much-needed win to break a four-game losing streak, off the court, the organization made a move that could ultimately mean more to the Lakers than a single game’s result. Friday was the day the Cavaliers finally parted ways with Andre Drummond, the 27-year-old, 6-foot-10 two-time All-Star whose career has hit a squall. But buying out the remainder of Drummond’s $27 million salary this season could mean that his next stop is with the Lakers, who covet adding one of the league’s most prolific rebounders as they languish without their stars.
Drummond and the Lakers have been widely reported possible partners for weeks; Yahoo Sports reported that he would be meeting with them virtually in addition to the Clippers, Nets, Celtics and Knicks. While Drummond eventually stopped playing for Cleveland last month when they decided he would take a backseat to younger center Jarrett Allen, he averaged 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds when he took the court — and the Cavaliers sent him off with plenty of compliments.
“He has the ability to single-handedly shut down the paint with his intelligence, being in the right spot, and his ability to defensive rebound the ball,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “And then on the offensive end, he’s a threat. You gotta send bodies to him when he’s in the pickand-roll to keep him off the glass, or keep him from finishing. So I think he’d be an asset, big-time, to any contender.”
He might have been an asset to a Cleveland team that went desperately cold in the third quarter, on a clinching 28-10 Lakers run. As the Lakers caught steam with a pick-and-roll attack led by Dennis Schröder and Montrezl Harrell, the Cavaliers shot only 3 for 21 as they lost a slim halftime lead. The Lakers had success with rim-running, shot-blocking centers last season, and Drummond fits that mold. He’s averaged 1.5 blocks per game for his career, and he’s led the league in rebounding four times. The Lakers center rotation of Marc Gasol and Harrell has had bumps. Gasol has been a high-IQ player, but at 36, he’s not as limber as he used to be, and he’s often been reluctant to shoot (he just returned from a threeweek tussle with COVID-19). Harrell has had strong scoring games, but has often looked out of sync on offense.