Community Picks: LA Lakers 0% vs Charlotte 0%

LeBron James gets the bonus of a scheduling advantage as he seeks to win for the 18th time in his career in Charlotte when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Hornets on Saturday night. Having gotten steamrolled by James Harden's 50-point triple-double in a 126-111 loss at Houston on Thursday, the Lakers enjoyed the advantage of relaxing in Charlotte on Friday night while the Hornets were working overtime with the New York Knicks on the front end of a back-to-back. Charlotte wound up with nothing to show for its 53 minutes of fast-paced ball, losing 126-124 to the Knicks on the Hornets' home floor. Continue to Article

December 14, 2018 11:19:pm EST

James Harden has attempted 235 free throws this season, second most in the NBA Joel Embiid, to answer your question about the most). He averages 9.8 free throws a game, again second most in the NBA. Every team complains about how he draws fouls — driving into players bodies then selling it by throwing his head back, flailing his arms and going to the ground. Continue to Article

December 14, 2018 7:59:pm EST

Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has come up in trade discussions with the Suns (for Trevor Ariza) and Rockets. But this isn’t necessarily driven by Los Angeles, Phoenix or Houston. Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times: While sources confirmed that there have been discussions about trading Caldwell-Pope, the legwork is being done on Caldwell-Pope’s side to find him a better situation. Continue to Article

December 14, 2018 11:10:am EST

"You have to trade Bradley Beal," Smith said. "The reason why you have to trade Bradley Beal is he's three years younger (than Wall), he's got two years less left on his contract, and if you scour the league every executive will tell you he's the higher commodity because John Wall's game is predicated on athleticism and speed and conditioning. Usually, father time says that dissipates, which means you're going to lower in value." Continue to Article

December 14, 2018 10:07:am EST

Houston's lead was three after Kyle Kuzma's soaring dunk, but Harden was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws to make it 112-106. Harden then made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the lead to 12 and cause Lakers coach Luke Walton to call a timeout. James was in Harden's face on the second one and Harden fell to the court as the ball rolled around the rim for a couple of seconds before dropping in. Continue to Article

December 14, 2018 12:11:am EST