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Following the Lakers’ seventh loss in 10 games, a 118-106 defeat to Orlando on Monday, All-Star guard Luka Doncic took some accountability for the club’s recent struggles. Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Doncic believed that it fell to him and fellow L.A. All-Star LeBron James to lead the Lakers out of this stretch.
Both players missed multiple bouts in this 3-7 run, which also included a rough slate of six games played in eight days. Doncic sat out two contests with an ankle ailment, while James was shelved for seven games with a groin issue.
“I think me and Bron, think we should be the guys to do that,” Doncic said. “That’s on me. Obviously, I’ve got to do better, I’ve got to talk more. I talked in the first half, then just kind of [let my] voice down and I shouldn’t do that.”
Los Angeles recovered somewhat on Wednesday, defeating Indiana 120-119 on the road with a buzzer-beating James tip-in of a Doncic miss. They’ll face off against Chicago on Thursday night, in the second game of a back-to-back slate.
There’s more out of California:
- Against Indiana, Lakers guard Jordan Goodwin wrapped up the last active game of his two-way player eligibility, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Marks observes that Goodwin’s deal will need to be converted to L.A.’s standard roster if the contending club wants him to suit up in any more regular season or postseason contests. All 15 standard roster spots are occupied, meaning the Lakers would need to cut someone to promote Goodwin.
- After losing four straight and eight of their last 10, the Kings are struggling to finish their 2024/25 regular season strong. Pricey new trade acquisition Zach LaVine called out the energy around Sacramento, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “The vibe is not good,” LaVine said following a Monday defeat to Boston. “It shouldn’t be. We’re not happy with the way we’ve been performing individually and as a group.” Interim head coach Doug Christie disputed LaVine’s claims.“He was incorrect,” Christie said. “I think when you ask a question like that when you go through a little bit of a losing streak, it’s more about not being happy that you lost, like I’m upset that I lost.
- Clippers reserve guard Kris Dunn is bringing the same acumen he displayed as an on-ball defensive specialist with lottery-bound Chicago and Utah clubs to a fringe West contender, as he told Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda in a new interview. “I think it’s probably just being on a bigger stage,” Dunn told Afseth. “I’ve done this in Chicago, I’ve done this in Utah. I think also me being healthy plays a part in that — from my earlier years to now, I’ve been doing the same thing for sure.”
More must-reads:
- Lakers get encouraging Luka Doncic injury update
- Hawks move to add big-man depth with Rockets G League standout
- The 'NBA minutes leaders by season' quiz
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Luka Doncic receives his diagnosis after injury with national team
Luka Doncic now has a diagnosis after suffering a frightening injury in EuroBasket play on Saturday. The Los Angeles Lakers star Doncic has been diagnosed with a right knee contusion, veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported to Substack. Stein further notes that Doncic’s injury is not believed to be serious. Doncic was injured while suiting up for his native Slovenia during Saturday’s exhibition contest against Latvia. During the third quarter, Slovenia’s Gregor Horvat was playing defense on the perimeter when he went flying into the paint, where Doncic was standing stationary. Horvat fell onto Doncic’s right leg, and the two crumpled to the court in a heap (video here). A contusion, otherwise called a bruise, is probably a best-case scenario for Doncic, all things considered. Slovenia, who lost to Latvia 100-88, has two more exhibition games before starting formal group-stage play at EuroBasket on Aug. 28. Dan Woike of The Athletic further reports that Doncic still intends to compete for his country at EuroBasket after the scare. As such, the five-time NBA All-Star will have roughly 12 days to recover before the group-stage opener. Doncic (along with fellow star teammate Goran Dragic) helped lead Slovenia to the EuroBasket title back in 2017 when he was just 18 years old. However, they finished just sixth in the competition during the last time that it was held in 2022, failing to advance past the quarterfinal round. With 2025 marking the last EuroBasket until 2029, it appears that Doncic intends to gut it out with Slovenia and try to bring home another EuroBasket title.
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's biggest find is ready to take a huge step forward, and it could be huge for Brian Flores' defense
After joint practice on Wednesday between the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots, I was asked by some members of the Patriots beat about just one player. "Who's 61? He's a dude." That player is Jalen Redmond, who has quite the story heading into his second season with the Vikings. He was playing in the UFL in the spring of 2024 with the Arlington Renegades. He was a signing the Vikings made on June 18th, 2024, which came after mandatory minicamp. Redmond was the 90th player on the roster and excelled throughout training camp to earn a roster spot. That ability is showing up once again. Jalen Redmond is taking another step forward The signing of Redmond was a massive win for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his scouting staff, especially Ryan Grigson, who was given a lot of credit for finding him. "I remember he [Grigson] called me and said, 'I like this guy.' I think it was late May," Adofo-Mensah explained. "You have to ask yourself, what's your standard for bringing people in, because a lot of good players are on teams already, so there's going to be something there that's not perfect, not clean, and earlier he had injuries, so you've got to understand why he's available, but ultimately here's why he might be a good bet. "And you saw the flashes for an interior guy with burst, his run defense kind of jumped out to me. That's the other thing, when you've been together for two or three years, and my history with Grigson before, he knows how to communicate with me, makes a cut-up, knows exactly what we look for." You can see the power and explosiveness in Redmond's game. He rarely gets washed out by the offensive line, and often penetrates the backfield with his ability. Where things have gotten really interesting with Redmons is seeing how good he can be from a short and long-term perspective. Last season, Redmond played in 13 games and flashed in a major way. While he went undrafted out of Oklahoma, it wasn't so much due to talent, but a health issue that kept him from being selected. He certainly looks like a player who should have been selected. Over the course of the season, Redmond got one sack and 6.0 tackles for loss to pair with 18 tackles. His ability to be a penetrating force on the line earned him a starting role at the end of the season, with two starts in his first year with the Vikings. Going into year two, Redmond shouldn't be overlooked. He won't be a starter with the additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, but it shouldn't be much of a surprise if he approaches 500 snaps as a rotational player. His teammates believe he's a stud, something that Jonathan Greenard emphasized last week. "Redmond is a dog," said Greenard after Redmond's great practice on Thursday. "Jalen's been a dog since last year in training camp. I knew he was a dog when he got thrown out of practices last year. So I was like, listen, from that day forward, he got thrown out, he came back in just completely, just dominating. And at that point even to see it during the season and see him continuously build. Now I'm like, man, everybody knows, but when you see, obviously, you bring in two guys like JA [Jonathan Allen] and Grave [Javon Hargrave], you kind of think that he gets put in the wayside, making the same place he was last year, if not more. And that just helps us out to know that it's not gonna drop off whenever those guys get a breather or something like that. If I'm coaching, I'm putting him in." Don't sleep on Redmond going into this season, as he's only getting better.
Dallas Cowboys' top-rated players for NFL preseason Week 2 vs. Ravens
A 31-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens dropped the Dallas Cowboys to 0-2 this preseason. While the records don't matter, it's still unsettling to see the Cowboys lose a game in such fashion. As was the case in their Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Cowboys were bullied at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. They also saw quarterback Joe Milton III continue to struggle with accuracy. The good news, however, was that several players stood out with solid individual play. Here's a look at which Cowboys graded the highest on offense and defense, according to PFF. Cowboys top-5 rated players on offense Princeton Fant, TE (83.4) Malik Davis, RB (74.6) Jonathan Mingo, WR (70.3) Deuce Vaughn, RB (67.1) John Stephens Jr., TE (66.2) The offense was responsible for just six points, but there were still some bright spots. Princeton Fant had a 33-yard reception and held his own in blocking. Malik Davis showed some burst when he was on the field, and Jonathan Mingo had an excellent catch to set up a field goal. Unfortunately, Mingo was injured on the play but has been one of the bright spots throughout the offseason. Cowboys top-5 rated players on defense Andrew Booth, CB (91.8) Troy Pride Jr., CB (83.8) Jack Sanborn, LB (79.2) Earnest Brown IV, DT (76.7) Kemon Hall, CB (75.6) Andrew Booth not only led the way on defense, but was the highest-graded player on the team. Two other cornerbacks, Troy Pride Jr. and Kemon Hall, made it into the top five as well. Linebacker Jack Sanborn and defensive tackle Earnest Brown IV were there as well. Sanborn had three tackles while Brown recorded two. —
Sooners HC Brent Venables gave fans the perfect news they needed after having some PTSD from an eerie 2024 situation
Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson leaving Colts with impossible decision
Will the Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback please stand up? With only one preseason game remaining, the Colts look no closer to reaching a conclusion in their quarterback battle between incumbent starter Anthony Richardson and 2025 free-agent addition Daniel Jones. Both quarterbacks had their highs and lows in a 23-19 loss Saturday to the Green Bay Packers. Jones started and was 7-of-11 for 101 yards. While he had the better passing numbers, he also fumbled a snap, badly overthrew rookie tight end Tyler Warren on a 3rd-and-13 and only led the offense to three points in two drives. Richardson led the Colts offense on scoring drives on each of his two possessions, including an impressive 12-play, 90-yard touchdown drive. His best throw, a 38-yard completion to wide receiver Anthony Gould, didn't count, with an Adonai Mitchell offensive offside penalty wiping out the highlight reel play. Richardson finished 6-of-11 for 73 yards. It's undeniable that he has more upside, but Richardson remains an all-or-nothing prospect, capable of making sensational throws yet also possessing some glaring deficiencies. Neither quarterback has made enough plays to make head coach Shane Steichen's job of naming a starter any easier. Earlier this week, he told Colts.com he was still undecided about the Week 1 starter "but sooner rather than later would be nice." Per Pro Football Focus data, Jones has gone 17-of-32 (53.1%) for 245 yards (7.7 yards per attempt) through two preseason games. He has a 9.1 percent pressure-to-sack rate and a mediocre 78.3 passer rating. (Average is 79.15) Meanwhile, Richardson is 8-of-14 (57.1%) for 95 yards (6.8 yards per attempt) while taking two sacks on seven pressures (28.6%). His passer rating? 78. Richardson's numbers would look better with his big pass play to Gould, but Jones would also benefit without his four drops, tied for the most this preseason. "Competition brings out the best in everybody," general manager Chris Ballard said during an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" in May. That hasn't been the case so far. At least, Indianapolis better hope so. Because if this is Jones and Richardson's best, it's not nearly good enough.
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