West Notes: Lakers, Anthony Davis, Clippers, Rockets

Lakers

After missing a large portion of another season with yet another injury, Anthony Davis said he is ready to roll in 2022-23.

“I’m so excited that I’ve got goosebumps just thinking about this year,” Davis told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “I’m looking forward to a healthy year and doing what I know we can do.”

The Lakers bring back largely the same core, centered on Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. But they finished 33-49 last season and failed to qualify for even the play-in tournament. At least part of that can be chalked up to the injury to Davis.

“All I can do is lead by my actions,” Davis told Haynes. “I’m excited for this challenge and what’s ahead. I think we have a great group of guys to get the job done. It’s now about putting in the work.”

Davis added he focused on “strengthening my body” during the offseason.

New coach Darvin Ham was as impressed with James as everyone else has been over the years. “LeBron’s not from this planet, that’s for damn sure,” Ham said, via Mike Trudell of Spectrum Sportsnet.

Clippers

• Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, John Wall and Reggie Jackson are among the Clippers who will sit out the team’s preseason opener vs. the Trail Blazers on Monday, per Andrew Greif of the LA Times.
• Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he feels good about where things stand, and wants to manage Leonard’s workload, via Greif.
• Lue confirmed that assistant coach Jay Larranaga will remain with the Clippers, opting not to leave for the Celtics, as we relayed here.

Rockets

Second-year man Jalen Green said he feels ready to take off ahead of his sophomore season, via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

“I feel great. I’m ready to start the season. I’m excited to get back. I feel like I’ve grown a lot more over the summer and worked a lot on my game to progress,” Green said, via Feigen. “Just getting the rhythm, what’s going to work, what’s not going to work. I got to the rim some today.” 

Coach Stephen Silas said Green has clearly been on the rise in training camp.

“He was getting to the rim. Defensively, he is a lot better as far as being in the right spots and being able to anticipate plays,” Silas said, via Feigen. “It seems like he has kind of taken what he learned last year and is applying it, which is what we want.”