Ohm Youngmisuk: LeBron James on Kevin Durant’s comeback from Achilles injury when asked by @Dave McMenamin: “There was never any doubt from myself or anybody in this league…I heard there was only like really 1 group of people that had any doubt on him coming back full strength. Not going to name them.”
Source: Twitter @NotoriousOHM
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Quick @LockedOnLakers reaction video after the 133-110 loss to the Spurs. 66 points from LeBron/Westbrook, but also 30 for Keita Bates-Diop (seriously… 30), indicative of how badly everything went for the Lakers. @LockedOnNBAPods @LockedOnNetwork pic.twitter.com/IQ61HGvwZE – 2:09 AM
Chris Palmer @ChrisPalmerNBA
LeBron has been playing out of his mind. Don’t waste his remaining years. – 2:00 AM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on the season: “This is the unknown. I say, ‘Every year has its own challenge.’ This is another year where you can literally have one guy one night and the next night you won’t.” – 1:42 AM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron James believes “there was never any doubt” Kevin Durant would come back from his Achilles surgery at “full strength” following the devastating injury in the NBA Finals. – 1:35 AM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
LeBron James on Kevin Durant’s comeback from Achilles injury when asked by @Dave McMenamin: “There was never any doubt from myself or anybody in this league…I heard there was only like really 1 group of people that had any doubt on him coming back full strength. Not going to name them.” – 1:34 AM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Yo that Bron shade thooooo💀 – 1:34 AM
Melissa Rohlin @melissarohlin
When a reporter pointed out that LeBron has suffered a lot of injuries, but never a torn Achilles while setting up a question about KD, LeBron literally interrupted him because he wanted to knock on wood. He settled for knocking on the back of a reporter’s computer. – 1:32 AM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
LeBron mentioned the ones against the Lakers as among his favorite Christmas games. Can’t blame him. In 2009, his Cavs beat the Lakers so badly, fans threw their foam fingers on the court. AK – 1:28 AM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on Kevin Durant overcoming an Achilles injury: “There was never any doubt from myself or anybody in this league.” – 1:28 AM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
LeBron James on trying to survive with so many players going into protocols: “I literally been saying this is survival of the fittest.” – 1:26 AM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James on what it’ll take for the Lakers to be a good defensive team: “All of our defensive guys are in health and safety protocols.” – 1:26 AM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron: “We have no chemistry with any lineup” due to the fact they haven’t logged enough minutes together. – 1:25 AM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
LeBron James on navigating the unknown and chaos of this season with COVID: “It’s literally a crap shoot every time you take a test (to see who will be out in health and safety protocols)… we have no chemistry with any lineup… it’s the truth.” – 1:24 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
LeBron, venting about the chaos of guys going in and out of protocols: “It’s literally a crapshoot every single time you take a test at this point.” – 1:23 AM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron thinks he played in the best Christmas Day game ever when Warriors faced his Cavs. – 1:23 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Asked what the Lakers need besides a full roster to play the defense they want, LeBron James says: “We don’t need a full roster. We just need some of our guys back.” – 1:23 AM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
LeBron James on what the Lakers need to improve their defense: “All of our defensive guys are in health and safety protocols… we got a couple more (but majority is out).” – 1:22 AM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
66 Points from LeBron and Russ.
44 Points from every other Laker combined. – 1:20 AM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are the first Lakers duo with 30-point games at 33 years of age or older since Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain did it on Feb. 22, 1972 per @ESPNStatsInfo. Rest of the Lakers scored 44 points combined tonight. – 1:15 AM
Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
LeBron cooked tonight and they still lost by 30? – 1:12 AM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
The Lakers say goodbye to Staples Center with a 138-110 loss to the Spurs. LeBron 36p on 15-of-26 9r 6a 2b; Russ 30p on 12-of-20 7r 4a 5tos; THT 13p on 5-of-13. LAL (16-17) has BKN (21-9) up next at Crypto.com Arena on Christmas. Bates-Diop 30p on 11-of-11 for SAS – 1:08 AM
StatMuse @statmuse
LeBron last 4 games:
30 PPG
10 RPG
5 APG
56 FG%
The Lakers are 0-4 in that span. pic.twitter.com/nGTydDsv2w – 1:03 AM
Josh Martin @LonzoWire
In a video with Uninterrupted, Lonzo Ball revealed the best advice ever given to him but former teammate LeBron James. lonzowire.usatoday.com/2021/06/11/lon… – 1:00 AM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
LeBron and Westbrook are 26-45, and the Lakers are down by 22. That is… disquieting. BK – 12:54 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Fizdale called for a tech after a foul against LeBron was called on the floor instead of on the shot. That kinda night. – 12:44 AM
Bill Oram @billoram
LeBron and Russ have combined for 59 points in three quarters and the Lakers are still down 105-92 to the Spurs. – 12:35 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
The Staples Center crowd isn’t letting this go: They chant, “LET’S GO LA-KERS!” and Westbrook obliges by charging in for a layup. Pop calls timeout, Lakers still trailing by 11. First real sign of life tonight outside of LeBron scoring in a vacuum. – 12:14 AM
Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
Lakers not named LeBron are 2-12 on 3s tonight, after going 0 for the 2nd half against Phoenix on Tuesday. – 12:08 AM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron visibly frustrated after Dwight Howard once again failed to defend at the rim without fouling – 12:04 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
I know LeBron doesn’t believe in load management but what about mental health breaks – 12:03 AM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Similar to how LeBron spends a $1M annually maintaining his body, Wayne Ellington must spend $1M maintaining his beard. It is always the most perfectly manicured facial hair I’ve ever seen. AK – 12:03 AM
Jeff McDonald @JMcDonald_SAEN
Spurs lead 66-55 at half. Lakers have one starter in double figures (LeBron, 23). Spurs have three bench players in double figures — Landale (11), Walker (10), and KBD (10). – 11:41 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron got up off the bench and appeared to see if Fizdale was fine with him closing the first half. Fizdale gave the nod of approval – 11:37 PM
Bob Garcia @bgarciaivsports
LeBron is just frustrated at this point. – 11:34 PM
Bob Garcia @bgarciaivsports
LeBron is literally keeping the Lakers in the game. He has half their points (20) and there is still 7 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. – 11:26 PM
Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
20 point first half for LeBron James:
12 paint points
6 points from three
2 points from mid-range
Spurs by 10 – 11:26 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
The Spurs have made 8 threes. The Lakers have made one, and of course, it was by LeBron. – 11:22 PM
Jeff McDonald @JMcDonald_SAEN
Keita Bates-Diop just picked off a LeBron James pass and scrambled coast-to-coast for a layup, if you want to know how this game is going for both teams. – 11:21 PM
Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
1Q: Spurs by 9 (largest lead on final possession)
McDermott 8 pts | LeBron 9 pts
Lonnie 7 pts
Spurs are winning the 3PT line by 12 points, that’s the major difference – 11:11 PM
Paul Garcia @PaulGarciaNBA
McDermott and LeBron have a combined 15 of the 25 points scored so far in this game.
Spurs by 3, with early leads in the paint and 3PT line – 10:51 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
This is trending into a game where the Lakers play zero defense and LeBron has to do everything on his own offensively. Kind of been a theme. – 10:47 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Another good start for LeBron, 3 for 3 with some tricky makes. – 10:47 PM
Ethan Strauss @SherwoodStrauss
And we are live, doing a Q&A on LeBron, Nike, and Social Schlock advertising callin.com/room/lebrons-s… – 10:02 PM
Ric Bucher @RicBucher
Why Lebron Wanted Russ Westbrook over Buddy Hield shows.acast.com/bucher-and-fri… via @acast – 9:30 PM
LeBron James @KingJames
🐐 youtube.com/watch?v=mE7HuH… – 8:35 PM
Evan Dunlap @BQRMagic
I do not see the Kevin Durant comparisons with Brandon Ingram. I DO see the Tracy McGrady comparisons. – 8:04 PM
Micah Adams @MicahAdams13
KD record vs. LeBron
OKC/CLE: 0-5
OKC/MIA: 4-9
OKC/CLE: 0-3
GSW/CLE: 11-3
BRK/LAL 0-0***
***Entering Christmas 🤞 – 5:33 PM
Chris Palmer @ChrisPalmerNBA
Top 12 High School Players I’ve Ever Seen:
1. Lonzo Ball
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Grant Hill
4. LeBron James
5. Kenny Anderson
6. Damon Bailey
7. Alonzo Mourning
8. Chris Jackson
9. Shaquille O’Neal
10. Litterial Green
11. Chris Webber
12. Kevin Durant – 5:08 PM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Thursday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast! We discuss the relationship between LeBron and Frank Vogel, then say goodbye to Staples Center. #FirstListen @LockedOnNetwork @LockedOnNBAPods
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leb… – 3:45 PM
Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
Kevin Durant and James Harden’s minutes had become a concern through the first third of the season. But there’s a silver lining to their time in the health and safety protocols:
“Definitely getting them that rest and recuperation, regeneration.” #Nets
nydailynews.com/sports/basketb… – 3:15 PM
Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Twenty four players have recorded at least 50 post-ups this season, per NBA.com Here’s how they rank by points per possession.
1. Nikola Jokic – 1.09 PPP
2. Kevin Durant – 1.08 PPP
3. Jaren Jackson – 1.07 PPP
4. Aaron Gordon – 1.02 PPP
5. Joel Embiid – 1.01 PPP – 2:11 PM
Chris Broussard @Chris_Broussard
Is it fair for LeBron to blame the Lakers slow start on injuries? Should Kupp get MVP votes? KD’s Twitter fingers strike again & more! Guests: @EricDickerson @FredNBCLA @EddieHouse_50
Catch us live weeknights 7-10p ET on @FoxSportsRadio & @iHeartRadio podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… – 2:00 PM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
NBA Christmas Day storylines: LeBron James poised to break Kobe Bryant’s record; top two teams meet again
By: @therealmikekb
cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-c… – 1:29 PM
Micah Adams @MicahAdams13
Durant.
LeBron.
The greatest individual rivalry in NBA history?
What seems sacrilegious on the surface isn’t so crazy once you actually dive into the details.
The @sportingnews G.O.A.T. series debuts with a Christmas showdown that we all want to see.
youtu.be/MDSnOCS4e4M – 1:26 PM
Ethan Strauss @SherwoodStrauss
Discussing this LeBron/Nike article on Callin today at 7:00 PM. houseofstrauss.substack.com/p/why-isnt-leb… Join us! callin.com/?link=NpkqViMm… – 1:18 PM
Anthony Puccio @APOOCH
If Kevin Durant tests out of protocols and plays on Saturday, it would be the first head-to-head matchup vs. LeBron James since… Christmas 2018. pic.twitter.com/wuaNVcCspl – 1:14 PM
Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
📅 On this day in 2007, the @Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant scored 39 points in a win over the Knicks, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points (29 years, 122 days).
Bryant’s mark has since been surpassed by LeBron James (28-107) and Kevin Durant (29-103). pic.twitter.com/3o533vJPll – 12:01 PM
Ethan Strauss @SherwoodStrauss
New post on a failed ad campaign and more: Why isn’t LeBron’s Act Working? houseofstrauss.substack.com/p/why-isnt-leb… – 11:56 AM
Brian Mahoney @briancmahoney
The Nets have enough players to fly to Los Angeles and play their Christmas showdown against the Lakers, though Kevin Durant might not be among them.
James Harden is out of health and safety protocols but Durant remains in.
apnews.com/article/corona… – 11:54 AM
Sopan Deb @SopanDeb
Kind of went under the radar this week that Kevin Durant spurred a social media pile-on by insulting a 13-year-old over a basketball move he didn’t like. (And at least one other NBA player, Isaiah Thomas, joined in.) It was really messed up. https://t.co/FptujUNX0T pic.twitter.com/BlMbPzdQXn – 11:53 AM
Ohm Youngmisuk @NotoriousOHM
James Harden, Paul Millsap, Jevon Carter clear protocols but 3 more Nets enter protocols. Nets expect to have enough to play on Christmas but Steve Nash isn’t expecting any other Nets in protocol – which includes Kevin Durant – to be cleared for Christmas espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 11:43 AM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Rich Paul says LeBron James, amid Kendrick Perkins-inspired trade speculation, not leaving Lakers nba.nbcsports.com/2021/12/23/ric… – 11:40 AM
NBA Math @NBA_Math
RPR MVP Predictor, determined by Rolling Player Ratings and team success:
1. Nikola Jokic: 14.93
2. Stephen Curry: 14.46
3. Kevin Durant: 14.21
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo: 13.93
5. Trae Young: 13.29
6. Donovan Mitchell: 12.54
7. Jarrett Allen: 12.5
8. DeMar DeRozan: 12.16 pic.twitter.com/8JoK4npEV1 – 11:30 AM
Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Now on @ForbesSports
Brooklyn Nets Stars Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Remain In Covid Protocols Ahead Of Christmas Game With Lakers
forbes.com/sites/adamzago… – 10:44 AM
Brian Mahoney @briancmahoney
Steve Nash says the Nets have enough to fly tomorrow and play Saturday. But not predicting anyone else coming out of protocols by then, which could mean they play without Kevin Durant. – 10:17 AM
More on this storyline
Mark Medina: Brooklyn Nets rule out Kevin Durant for tomorrow’s game vs the Orlando Magic because of right ankle soreness -via Twitter @MarkG_Medina / December 17, 2021
Alex Schiffer: Nets say Kevin Durant is available for tonight’s game. They need him. They’re down to eight players. -via Twitter @Alex__Schiffer / December 14, 2021
Kristian Winfield: Kevin Durant is a game-time decision tonight against the Raptors and will be a re-assessed in a few minutes to determine his availability. Durant is questionable with ankle soreness. #Nets -via Twitter @Krisplashed / December 14, 2021