Four of the five trade deadline acquisitions have already made their debut for the purple and gold, with the lone exception being big man Mo Bamba, who had to finish serving a league suspension for an on-court scuffle. But despite not yet being on the court, Bamba already feels familiar with his new teammates and may be endearing himself to the superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The most difficult thing oftentimes when a team makes a lot of changes mid-season is building up that chemistry and continuity with one another as that usually takes a lot of time. But Bamba doesn’t think that will be the case for the Lakers.
In speaking with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Bamba noted that having players like LeBron and Davis, whom he has nicknamed ‘Three 6 Mafia’ after the Memphis-based rap group, makes things much easier:
“I think continuity is really easy when you got ‘Three 6 Mafia,’ that’s the nickname I gave em, AD and LeBron. It’s easy when you got guys who are that far into their careers. I mean he’s on year a million, AD is coming up on year 10 if he’s not on year 10 already. And then when you have a guy like D-Lo, I spent a little time with D-Lo in Chris Brickley’s blackoff runs and I was just watching, it was when I was a rookie, but I was just soaking in how he and Jarrett Allen was. I was just asking him about screens and how he wants his screens, and do you necessarily have to hit every time, or can you just tap and dive or do I wanna spin out or do I wanna do this or that and he just had all of the answers and this was four years ago, five years ago. Just him having that mature NBA mind, it’ll take us a long way so I don’t think continuity is gonna be an issue with this group.
“I mean I’ve known all the young guys. Only guy I didn’t really know too well was Austin [Reaves], but I met him in the summer, we got along just well. But Lonnie [Walker IV] is somebody I’ve grown up with since the eighth grade. Troy [Brown Jr.] we came up together in AAU. Rui [Hachimura] I played in college, Jarred same thing, AAU. There’s continuity there as far as familiarity, but obviously it’s different when you get on the court, but I don’t think it’ll be too much of a challenge.”
There is undoubtedly a difference between familiarity and continuity on the court. Even playing with players at different points growing up, while it does help some, is still completely different now as they are all in different roles on this Lakers team than they were in AAU ball. But one thing Bamba is completely spot on about is LeBron James and Anthony Davis making that transition easier.
This is especially the case for LeBron, who is the ultimate quarterback and will make sure everyone is in the right spots at the right times. And that will be even more important as time is running out for the Lakers to make a playoff push.
LeBron James returning for Lakers Wednesday vs. Pelicans ‘in all likelihood’
Bamba will be eligible to make his debut on Wednesday for the Lakers when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans and the team could be at full strength on that night as head coach Darvin Ham said that LeBron James will be making his return ‘in all likelihood’ that night as well.
LeBron has missed three straight games since setting the all-time scoring record with ongoing soreness in his left foot, but the team will need him at his best to lead the Lakers through this final stretch.
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