Lakers get their rings, but Clippers take season opener at Staples Center

LeBron James scores 22 points, grabs five rebounds in 28 minutes

LOS ANGELES -- With NBA commissioner Adam Silver on hand, the Los Angeles Lakers received their championship rings in a pre-game ceremony without much fanfare on Tuesday at Staples Center.

LeBron James held up four fingers, representing his four NBA titles, after accepting his ring.

After the ceremony, the Lakers understandably looked out of sync to start the game, missing open looks and trailing by as many as 22 points in the first half. But James and Anthony Davis keyed a second-quarter run and the Lakers cut the Clippers’ lead to 56-54 at the half.

However, the Lakers could never get control of the game or take a lead, losing to the Clippers 116-109 in the season opener for both teams.

The Lakers had no answer for Paul George, who led the Clippers with 33 points and six rebounds

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said he would play James similar minutes to what he would do in a regular season game and he stayed true to his word. James finished with 22 points, five rebound and five assists in 28 minutes of work.

This is what it's all about 💍 pic.twitter.com/kZlYMYb93X

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 23, 2020

Top player: Point guard Dennis Schröder had a solid debut as a Laker, controlling the tempo of the game by pushing the pace with his dribble. Schröder finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

What I liked: Vogel used his bench, playing 12 players. That included preseason star, second-year pro Talen Horton-Tucker, who finished with six points in 10 minutes. … Big man Montrezl Harrell also had a productive first regular-season game in purple and gold, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

What I did not like: Marc Gasol was held scoreless in his Lakers’ debut, finishing with one rebound and five fouls in 12 minutes. …The Lakers gave up too many open looks defensively, allowing the Clippers to shoot 14-of-40 (35 percent) from beyond the arc. ...The Clippers outscored the Lakers in the paint 50-38.

Injuries: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope suffered what appeared to be a left calf injury in the fourth quarter, but shook it off and stayed in the game. Caldwell-Pope had been nursing a hip injury during preseason play.

They said it: “We want to peel back on his minutes as much as possible. The risk of peeling back his minutes too much is, in talking to our medical team, we want to keep him in rhythm as much as possible. … We have a rotation for him built in where he plays more short bursts and gets shorter rest.” – Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel on how he will play LeBron James this year. Vogel went on to say that he doesn’t want to play James for long stretches and them have him sit for an extended period of time and come back in the game cold, putting him at risk for injury. The shorter bursts allows James to keep his body warm.