Luka's Logo Three, Bronny's Point-Guard Audition, and Stewart Is Out Two Weeks

LAS VEGAS

Eleven days from opening night, the Lakers are starting to look like the thing they're supposed to be. Los Angeles beat the Sacramento Kings 114-110 on Thursday night at home to move to 2-1 in the preseason — and the night belonged to Luka Doncic, who banked in a three from near the logo, and to Bronny James, who is quietly turning his second-unit minutes into a real point-guard audition. Elsewhere around the league, Memphis lost its new center for two weeks: Isaiah Stewart is out with a moderate ankle sprain and will miss opening night.

Doncic's 23 points led all players, and the shot of the night was pure him: a three from close to the logo to beat the shot clock, the kind of make that gets the bench on its feet in October and gets defenders leaning in April. His shooting touch hasn't fully arrived yet — 6-of-16 from the field Thursday, 11-of-28 through two preseason games — but he got to the line nine times without a miss, and poor shooting nights don't keep him off the scoreboard. The Lakers' offense goes as he goes, and on Thursday it went.

Bronny's Point-Guard Audition

The more interesting development was the 22-year-old who played the second-unit point guard. Bronny James logged 22 minutes off the bench for JJ Redick — 4 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, a steal. The scoring line is small by design: he took only three shots, making one. The playmaking is the story. Six assists in 22 minutes, and he's now averaging 4.3 per game in the preseason.

That's notable for two reasons. One, the Lakers are replacing LeBron James's ball-handling in the aggregate, and Doncic and Austin Reaves will carry the bulk of it — but someone has to run the offense when both sit, and James is auditioning for that job. Two, the efficiency is still the question mark: he's shooting 30.8 percent overall in three preseason contests, which is technically his best preseason mark (29.7 as a rookie, 25.7 last year), but not where a rotation guard needs to be. The vision is ahead of the jumper right now. If the jumper ever catches up, the minutes will be there.

Four days off now, then a trip that matters more than most preseason exhibitions: the Lakers play the Warriors on Tuesday, October 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It's preseason, and nobody should overreact to anything in October — but that game is two teams with real October questions, in a building that's going to be loud.

First Looks: LeBron in Philly, Giannis in Miami

Thursday's headliner in the box score belonged to the Lakers, but the two debuts everyone was watching happened Wednesday. LeBron James made his unofficial 76ers debut in the 114-108 loss to the Nets — 10 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds in 18 first-half minutes. The shot chart tells you how little October means: he made the only official shot he took and went 8-for-8 from the line. What showed up immediately was the playmaking — the two-man game with Embiid, the spray-outs to shooters, the loud defensive communication. The Nets sat most of their starters after halftime, which is why the score flipped. VJ Edgecombe (11 points, 5 rebounds) and Tyrese Maxey (14) ran with the bench; Jaylen Brown had 18 for Philly; Joel Embiid added 6, 3 and 3. For the Nets — now 2-0 — Julius Randle had 14 and 6, Egor Demin added 13 and 5 assists, and Keon Ellis had 12 starting at shooting guard with Michael Porter Jr. (wrist) and Day'Ron Sharpe both out.

And in Miami, Giannis Antetokounmpo made his home Heat debut in the 128-118 win over the Pelicans — 18 points on 8-of-13 two-point shooting, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, a steal, in less than 18 minutes. No-look passes, putback dunks, minimal minutes — exactly the October workload you want for a superstar learning a new system. "We're working. We're getting better," he said afterward. "I'm trying to figure out my spots, offensively. It's going to take time." Nikola Jovic added 8, 4 and 2 blocks; Simone Fontecchio had 6. The Heat open the regular season at home against the Timberwolves on October 21.

Injury Notebook: Stewart Done Two Weeks, Porzingis Still Out

Isaiah Stewart will miss the Grizzlies' season opener. Memphis announced its new center is sidelined at least two weeks with a moderate left ankle sprain, suffered in the first quarter of his preseason debut against the Hawks on October 5 when he contested a shot at the rim. He'll be re-evaluated in two weeks — which takes him past the rest of the preseason and the October 21 opener against the Utah Jazz. This stings for a team that just absorbed the remaining three years of his four-year, $60 million extension ($15 million this season, a $15 million team option after) in the draft-day trade with Detroit. Stewart averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and a career-high 1.6 blocks in 22.7 minutes last year for the East's best-record Pistons. Memphis knew it was buying an enforcer; now it waits on the ankle. The full preseason picture lives in our injury report.

Kristaps Porzingis still hasn't joined the Warriors, and the tone is shifting from patient to concerned. Steve Kerr said Thursday he has no details on the big man's health issue and no timetable — "nothing new to report." ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel hears Golden State is bracing for Porzingis to miss the start of the regular season. There's a POTS diagnosis in his medical history, but nobody in the organization has said whether this is related, and officials have declined to discuss the specifics since he arrived from Atlanta at last season's deadline. Meanwhile, the business side is already moving: one rival West executive told Siegel he wouldn't be shocked if Porzingis — on a two-year, $40 million extension with only $3 million guaranteed in year two, effectively a tradable expiring deal — is moved at the deadline. It's early-October rumor smoke. But smoke with a contract structure attached usually has fire somewhere behind it.

Brandon Ingram still has no Clippers debut date. The Clippers disclosed at media day that Ingram is working back from a partially torn left Achilles, revealed during a May surgery on his heel — a six-month recovery that puts him back in the late-October to November range. He'll be re-evaluated then. Ingram averaged 21.5 points in 77 games for Toronto last season before the Kawhi Leonard trade; Los Angeles opens at home against the Kings on October 21, which he may or may not be ready for.

Elsewhere: Brandon Miller (shin contusion) and rookie Christian Anderson Jr. (left ankle sprain) are both day-to-day and missed the Hornets' preseason opener — and the calendar matters here, because Miller is extension-eligible until October 19. Miles Bridges rolled his right ankle Wednesday and sat the second half, but Phoenix coach Jordan Ott says the Suns "think he's in a good place." Matas Buzelis hurt his right ankle Friday in Chicago but expects to be ready Sunday. And the 76ers' frontcourt math is still ugly after Ariel Hukporti's season-ending Achilles tear — Adem Bona (foot sprain) is the only traditional backup left behind Embiid. We covered that one in yesterday's roundup.

Roster Battles: Brooklyn's Kids, Golden State's Long Shot

Egor Demin started at point guard for the second straight game for the 2-0 Nets and took a B- grade for his 13-and-5 against Philly — inefficient shooting, but the willingness to get downhill and bend the defense. The Nets beat the Hornets earlier in the week and pushed the Sixers' starters before halftime; the youngest team in the league is trying to win more games than anyone expects, and October is when that starts becoming believable.

Keon Ellis chose Brooklyn in free agency partly because of Jordi Fernandez, and Thursday was his payoff night: 12 points starting at shooting guard with Porter Jr. out, applying his usual pressure on the ball while taking some of the offense off the dribble. His attitude is the job application — some nights it's two shots, some nights it's ten, whatever the game asks for. That's how a role player becomes a rotation player.

And in Golden State, keep an eye on Brandon Williams. With nearly every Warrior starter and rotation player inactive Wednesday against Portland, the fifth-year guard on a non-guaranteed contract went for 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 18 minutes, with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. That's not just a roster-spot case anymore — it's a rotation case, from a guy who can score in bursts off the bench. The Warriors' wing minutes are about to get competitive.

Today and the Week Ahead

Four games on the Saturday slate. The Raptors and Clippers meet in Vancouver at 3:30 PM PT — a weird, fun neutral-site game and our first look at the post-Kawhi Clippers against the team that acquired him. Pacers take on the Hawks at 4 PM PT. The Wizards — remember, the team that just beat the defending-champion Knicks at MSG with Davis, Young and Dybantsa sharing the floor for the first time — host the Pistons at 7 PM ET, and suddenly that's a game with actual evaluation stakes. And the Suns host the Spurs at 7:30 PM PT, with Bridges' ankle and Tobias Harris's calf both worth watching.

Sunday is Macao, Part II: Rockets-Mavericks again, and the weekend's real question — does Kyrie Irving finally play his first minutes in 19 months? Mavericks coach Dusty May said Kyrie would appear in one of the two China games. It's the last preseason look before things get real.

And "real" is now eleven days out. October 20: Spurs at Thunder, the West Finals rematch, Harris's calf permitting. October 21: the Suns open at Portland (Bridges permitting), the Clippers host the Kings (Ingram permitting), the Grizzlies host the Jazz (no Stewart), and the Heat host the Timberwolves (Giannis, at home, in October, on purpose this time). Preseason is for eyes, not for money. But the eyes are telling us things.

Lakers 114, Kings 110. Doncic 23 pts (6-of-16 FG, 9-of-9 FT), logo three at the shot-clock buzzer; Bronny 4 pts, 6 ast, 4 reb, 1 stl in 22 min; Lakers 2-1. Next: Oct 13 vs. Warriors in Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena).