Yaksel LandeborgA fiery approach to the game is one of the reasons for his success, but Warriors the novice may have crossed a line when he said that he “lost all respect” for Lakers a star Luka Doncic after their first meeting. Appearing on “Inside the NBA” (Link to video on Twitter), coach Steve Kerr talked about how he handled the situation, relay Dan Dempster of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“We talked to him as employees; we talked as a team” Kerr said. “Steph (Curry) There was a great comment after that Laker game. He said, “Hey, I like Jaksel’s competitive drive, but now he has to back it up,” and I thought that was exactly what he said. So I echoed that with Yaxel, like, hey – we love that spirit, we love the competitiveness, but just know that Luca is coming.”
Predictably, Doncic was ready for revenge, scoring 37 points, including six 3-pointers. Kerr understands the balancing act with Landeborg, trying to ignite his aggressiveness without making it counterproductive.
“There’s an old saying in coaching that it’s better to tame a guy than try to make him work.” Kerr said. “And I think that’s true with Yaxel. He wants to be great. He’s got that competitive spirit. So, in terms of taming him, it’s more like — hey, that’s what the league is about. You’re going to see challenges like that all the time. And do what Steph did: back it up. And Yaxel did that. So, I love coaching him. I think he’s got an incredible future.”
There are more from the Pacific Division:
- Kerr couldn’t offer more insight Kristaps Porzingis‘ status with Warriorsaccording to Nick Friedel (Link to Twitter). Asked if he had received an explanation why Porzingis was not on the team, Kerr said: “They didn’t give it to me. And I didn’t ask for it.”
- Goodbye Thiero approaching his season debut with Lakersaccording to Hobie Price of The California Post. The second-year forward practiced at the team’s G League affiliate on Wednesday and could be ready to play on Friday or Sunday. “The exercise went well, well” coach Jay Jay Reddick said. “The plan was to let him practice live today and then he’d come back to us.”
- The sun forward Rusher Fleming was unavailable for Wednesday’s game after injuring his ankle during Tuesday’s practice, says Dwayne Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “We had a small group of ‘be ready’ coach Jordan Ott explained. “He was practicing. It was actually in the half court in a 3-on-3 situation. Just rolling. Nothing major. We think it’s more of a daily thing than a weekly thing.”
