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"When he came over to the bench, he just said he felt something
pulling," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "He was able to finish
the game, but then obviously discovered there was something
there after the game."
James missed a 107-104 loss to the visiting Oklahoma City
Thunder on Thursday that kept Los Angeles from sweeping its
four-game homestand. He is expected to be out for a minimum of a
week.
The Lakers might also be without eight-time All-Star center
Anthony Davis, who sprained his right thumb against the Thunder
and is listed as questionable for the Portland contest. Vogel
said he doesn't want to use those injuries as an excuse to lower
expectations.
"We're going to be a little edgy when we lose. I hope we're edgy
when we lose," Vogel said. "The film (Friday) was, and the work
on the court (Friday) was, just really about growth. Failure is
fertilizer for growth. That's the mindset that you have to
have."
The Trail Blazers should be feeling confident after returning
home on Friday night and beating the Indiana Pacers 110-106 to
end a three-game losing streak.
"This game was a grind, and we knew it would be," said Blazers
coach Chauncey Billups, who added, "I thought our urgency and
our defense were really good late."
Portland has been a different team at home this season, owning a
4-1 mark compared to 0-4 on the road.
One player who surely will be looking to turn things around is
six-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard, who shot 2-for-13
against the Pacers and scored four points. Lillard missed all
six of his 3-point tries.
His shooting slump wasn't limited to the Indiana game.
Lillard has never shot lower than 41.9 percent from the field or
34.3 percent from 3-point range in his previous nine seasons in
the NBA, but he's at 33.7 percent from the field and 21.7
percent from long distance this season. Billups said he isn't
concerned about Lillard's shooting: "No. Why would I be?"
If the Lakers continue to be without James and Davis for very
long, they'll need more from Russell Westbrook, who joined the
Lakers in the offseason with the hope of helping them to another
NBA title.
He had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists in a loss to the
Thunder on Oct. 27 when James was out with a sore ankle, but he
also committed 10 turnovers.
Westbrook cut his turnovers down to four in the latest loss to
the Thunder while contributing 27 points, six rebounds and five
assists.
"He's just got to continue to learn what we're asking him to do
within our system, and one of those things is keeping his
turnovers down, which he's done a better job of," Vogel said.
"And we got to continue to have him touch the paint and create
as much as possible."
--Field Level Media
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