Lakers Notes: LeBron James, Luke Kennard, Jarred Vanderbilt, seeding

As noted by Melissa Rohlin of The California Post, the 41-year-old has averaged 28.0 points, 12.7 assists and 7.7 rebounds over his last three games while shooting 60 percent from the field and better than 46 percent from deep.

“I had to tap back into a role that I’ve been accustomed to in the past,” James said. “Circumstances have put me back in there, and I’m just trying to feed off my teammates, teammates are feeding off of me, and just trying to make things happen for us to continue to stay afloat.”

So yeah, still pretty good.

Kennard’s Bigger Role

With the roster thinned out, Luke Kennard has taken on more playmaking responsibility and delivered.

Kennard has totaled 31 assists over the past four games, drawing praise from coach JJ Redick and teammates alike.

“He’s just a ball player,” James said. “People just kind of gave him the narrative of just being a shooter. But he does so many more things. He can handle the ball, he can rebound the ball, he can make plays. And what we’re missing right now, we need it.”

Vanderbilt, Redick Clear Air

Forward Jarred Vanderbilt downplayed a recent sideline exchange with Redick, saying the two have already moved past it.

“We talked about it, we moved on from it,” Vanderbilt said. “At this point in the season, we both realize this is the group we got. So it’s definitely not a time for anybody to separate.”

In other words, no lingering issues. Just a team trying to get healthy and stay dangerous heading into the playoffs.

Seeding Up For Grabs

Los Angeles has already secured home-court advantage for the first round, but its exact position remains unsettled.

The Lakers and Nuggets will finish third and fourth in some order. A win over Utah on Sunday, combined with a Denver loss at San Antonio, would push L.A. up to the No. 3 seed.

Otherwise, it’s No. 4. Either way, they’ll be at home to start.