Connect with us

Sports

Lakers confident their offensive identity can help them stay hot after the all-star break

Published

on

Lakers confident their offensive identity can help them stay hot after the all-star break

The Lakers didn’t have LeBron James on Jan. 15 in Utah, the middle of a stretch during which the team played every other day for almost an entire month. They were stuck in a bit of a malaise, wins over the Clippers and the Raptors erased after the Lakers got smoked by the Suns.

Short-handed and on the road, the light seemed to get extra green for D’Angelo Russell, and the nine-year veteran has never been shy. So he called his number. Again. And Again.

Russell took 26 shots that night in a tight loss to the Jazz, but his aggression fully ignited a thought he had in the weeks prior.

He needed to do more, to be more. He had to get out of the backseat. He had to be himself.

“Just being out, I’d seen us, you know, trying really hard to get LeBron and [Anthony Davis] the ball,” he said a week after that loss in Utah. “You know, you find yourself dribbling off your foot or looking crazy trying to force it. You’ve got to be aggressive around these guys. You know, you compliment these guys by being aggressive — not passing to them. Like, that’s easy to guard. You’re easy to guard when it’s like that.”

Advertisement

The Lakers enter the second half of the season Thursday with questions looming. Can Darvin Ham pull off another late-season comeback? Will Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent factor into the Lakers’ season? Can the stars stay healthy and make an impact?

Those are all unknowns.

But one thing that’s indisputable — the Lakers are no longer easy to guard.

Since after that loss to the Jazz, the Lakers have been the fifth-most efficient offense in the NBA, scoring 120.2 points per 100 possessions. They lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio and have the second-best true shooting percentage behind the Suns and just ahead of the Clippers.

And while the sample is small — 16 games is also not something to be ignored — it’s coincided with Russell’s pledge to quit deferring.

Advertisement

“Me. Me. Me. Me first. Me first,” Russell said Wednesday when asked about what he’s looking for when it comes to setting up his teammates. “Making teams worry about me and then it becomes easy to make those decisions versus the other way around.

“… Starting with aggression is what gets the ball moving like that.”

The ball is certainly moving.

Since Jan. 15, the Lakers are the only team in the NBA with three players averaging more than six assists per game — James, Russell and Austin Reaves.

Reaves, who is fond of using the phrase “playing the right way,” said it again when asked about the Lakers’ recent momentum. The team has won three straight and six of its last seven games. Since Jan. 15, only Cleveland, Boston and Phoenix have more wins, the Lakers having won 11 times in their last 16 games.

Advertisement

“Playing unselfish. Making the extra pass,” Reaves said. “And that shows in the last 15 games where our offense has been so good. So hopefully we can continue that.”

The Lakers have a real opportunity during the next month to push if they want to fight their way out of the play-in tournament mix. Before the final week of March, they play outside of Los Angeles just three times — at Golden State, Phoenix and Sacramento — during their next 15 games. The stretch starts Thursday against the Warriors.

Wednesday, the Lakers were without Ham due to a personal matter. The hope is he’ll be able to coach Thursday. James, who has been receiving treatment on his injured ankle, also missed practice and will meet the Lakers in the Bay.

In the past, maybe having players in and out of the lineup would’ve been an issue. But the Lakers seemingly have forged an identity, which makes it easier for players to step into any voids — like they did in Utah before the All-Star break when Rui Hachimura, Russell and Reaves had big games with James sitting.

“I think it’s contagious,” Russell said Wednesday of his aggression. “One thing, it’s a mentality. Like I said, sitting out helped me shift my mentality. My mentality was definitely do what I can do to help each guy, each scenario, each situation instead of just getting to the root of it — ‘You be right, you get right, you be better.’

Advertisement

“That’s what I’ve done and it’s obviously helped myself and whoever else has fed off it.”

Sports

USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun receives controversial red card during Round of 32 match

Published

on

USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun receives controversial red card during Round of 32 match

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

U.S. men’s national team star Folarin Balogun received a red card in the second half of their Round of 32 World Cup matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night.

Balogun was making a challenge on a ball when he stepped on an opposing player’s leg.

The U.S. men’s national team is down to 10 players for the rest of the match. If the U.S. holds their 1-0 lead, Balogun will have to miss the Round of 16 game.

Balogun scored for the U.S. in the first half.

Advertisement

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Continue Reading

Sports

Dodgers’ Will Smith won’t return before the All-Star break

Published

on

Dodgers’ Will Smith won’t return before the All-Star break

The first half of the season will conclude with Will Smith in the same place he has been for the last month: the injured list.

The Dodgers’ three-time All-Star catcher has been on the IL since June 8 because of what the Dodgers list as neck inflammation. Smith said he had been diagnosed with an inflamed disk.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he “just can’t see any world” in which Smith would return before the All-Star break, which concludes July 16.

“It’s certainly longer, I know, than all of us expected,” Roberts said. “But I don’t think it’s anything real, kind of affecting-the-season type thing.”

Roberts said Smith has not been able to accelerate his rehabilitation to the point of doing baseball activities.

Advertisement

Dalton Rushing, who has taken over as the Dodgers’ primary catcher in Smith’s absence, is batting .213 with one home run and 19 strikeouts in 18 games while Smith has been on the injured list. The Dodgers gave Rushing the day off Wednesday.

The Dodgers were 14-6 with Smith on the IL entering play Wednesday.

Also Wednesday, the team scratched shortstop Mookie Betts from the starting lineup because of a sore right wrist.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Ex-NFL reporter Dianna Russini interaction with police officer to dodge traffic ticket comes to light

Published

on

Ex-NFL reporter Dianna Russini interaction with police officer to dodge traffic ticket comes to light

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Police bodycam footage appeared to refute a claim made by former NFL reporter Dianna Russini earlier this year about what she did to get out of a traffic ticket.

Russini, whose relationship with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel led to her resigning from her role with The Athletic in April, said on the “Stugotz and Company” show back in February that she FaceTimed the NFL coach, though she didn’t drop the name, of the officer’s favorite team after being pulled over for being on her phone.

It was a story that came up again during the New York Times’ deep dive into the Russini-Vrabel controversy, and now police bodycam footage has confirmed that wasn’t the case. However, she did name-drop a coach.

Advertisement

ESPN reporter Dianna Russini looks on during the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Sept. 16, 2018. (Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire)

The footage went just over seven minutes long, as Russini was stopped in Ridgewood, New Jersey, for using her phone while driving. Not only did a FaceTime never happen, but no call at all occurred during the exchange between Russini and the officer.

What did occur, though, was Russini showing the officer texts she had been having with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, and she showed the officer her phone with the texts on it.

DIANNA RUSSINI PULLED PATHETIC MOVE WITH AN OFFICER TO GET OUT OF A TICKET, AND IT SHOULD HAVE THE NFL NERVOUS

“I’m an NFL reporter, and I just broke that Seam McDermott got fired from the Bills,” Russini told the officer almost immediately, understanding why she was being pulled over. “I was gonna pull over because I have to make calls. I know you don’t care, but I’m just letting you know my reason why. It was a work thing and it was an emergency for what I do.”

Advertisement

McDermott was fired the morning of Jan. 19, which was the date shown on the bodycam footage, after the Bills’ AFC Divisional Round loss to the Denver Broncos.

The officer replied that Russini had been on her phone “for a while” before pulling her over, though he did acknowledge she had a job to do.

Russini continued, telling the officer that former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll “wants the job” with the Bills. He was connected to the team given his history with Buffalo prior to joining the Giants, but they hired in-house with Joe Brady being promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach. Daboll ended up joining Robert Saleh’s staff as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

Dianna Russini, left, and Mike Vrabel, right, are shown in a split composite image featuring Russini with an ESPN microphone and Vrabel on the Titans sideline wearing a headset. (Imagn Images)

Russini, then, asked if the officer was a Giants or Jets fan given the New Jersey ties. When he responded by saying he was a Vikings fan, it prompted Russini to seemingly show texts with O’Connell. The conversation, which included Russini saying the Vikings’ quarterback “sucks” and “KOC’s awesome” ultimately led to the officer letting her off with a warning.

Advertisement

“I’m gonna cut you a break on the cellphone,” the officer was heard saying. “I understand your job requires you to be on the phone a lot. Just try to wait until you get home, OK?”

PATRIOTS SAY THEY ‘FULLY SUPPORT’ MIKE VRABEL AMID LATEST IN CONTROVERSY INVOLVING DIANNA RUSSINI

The Center Square first reported Russini’s interaction with the officer.

Fox News Digital reached out to Russini and the Vikings for comment.

Ridgewood Police Chief Forest Lyons issued a statement on the matter.

Advertisement

“On January 19, 2026, at 9:40 a.m., a Ridgewood police officer conducted a motor vehicle stop on Godwin Avenue involving Ms. Dianna Russini for the use of a handheld cell phone while driving,” the statement read. “After following department protocol during the stop, and reviewing Ms. Russini’s driving history, the officer exercised his professional discretion and issued a verbal warning to Ms. Russini.

Dianna Russini attends the 2026 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at Pier 48 in San Francisco, California, on Feb. 7, 2026. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

“The use of officer discretion in determining whether to issue a warning or a citation is consistent with Ridgewood Police Department policy and longstanding practice. Police officers are encouraged to use their judgment and, when appropriate, provide motorists with warnings as part of the Department’s commitment to fair, impartial and community-oriented policing.”

Russini resigned from her post at The Athletic amid mounting criticism over her relationship with Vrabel after photographs of them hugging and holding hands at a private resort in Sedona, Arizona, went viral. After initially trying to downplay it, saying “reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues,” Russini ultimately released her resignation.

After the original photos, others dating back to 2020 showed Vrabel and Russini kissing at a bar in New York City. The pictures exclusively obtained by the New York Post were taken in the early hours of March 11, 2020. 

Advertisement

“They were kissing, and they were all over each other,” an eyewitness told the outlet. “He had a ring on.”

Dianna Russini appears on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors awards presentation at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 10, 2022. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

While Russini resigned, Vrabel was back with the Patriots after a counseling visit, which fell on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Vrabel said he had difficult conversations with his family, while also speaking with his players about the situation. The Patriots said before the draft they “fully support” Vrabel, allowing him to seek the counseling he desired despite four rounds of the draft still remaining.

Advertisement

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending