In Sunday’s 111-108 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers staged an unbelievable comeback, but it came at a terrible price.
Superstar LeBron James hurt his right foot in the third quarter, but he managed to stay in the game. However, the details that have emerged since have not been as encouraging for Lakers fans.
First, reporters heard James saying he “heard a pop” in his foot just after suffering the injury. Then on Monday, James shared a photo of the injury on his Instagram story, and if his NSFW caption is anything to go by, he is feeling the pain badly. Now on Tuesday, a less-than-promising timeline for the King has emerged, courtesy of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to the ESPN insider, the Lakers’ medical team will reevaluate the superstar in two weeks. However, his actual return date could be even further away than that. Woj also notes that Los Angeles’ position in the standings may impact when James returns.
Unfortunately for James and the Lakers, this injury comes at the worst possible time. Los Angeles is already fighting just to make the Play-In Tournament, sitting at 12th in the Western Conference with a record of just 29-32. While the Lakers aren’t far enough back to fully write them off, it certainly isn’t looking good after James’ injury.
With that said, here is why the Lakers will not make the NBA Playoffs following James’ injury.
Why Lakers won’t make the playoffs after LeBron James’ injury
Let’s just start with the obvious, Los Angeles is losing a massive amount of production with this injury. Even as he turned 38 earlier this season, James is still one of the very best players in the NBA. He leads the Lakers in scoring with 29.5 points per game, along with 8.4 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks. That type of production doesn’t just grow on trees, and the Lakers will have a very difficult time trying to make up for that loss.
It goes without saying, but losing that type of production has a substantial impact on the team’s record. Los Angeles is a respectable 24-23 with James in the lineup, but a measly 5-9 without him. This isn’t just an issue this season, as the Lakers are just 36-62 without James since he joined the team in 2018.
The Lakers’ current record is also not doing them any favors. Yes, they are only half a game back from the Play-In Tournament and only 2.5 back from the playoffs themselves, so they can still make it. However, they have to compete with several other teams for those spots, as the west is very close. Given their record without James, there has to be some skepticism about their ability to make it.
To be fair, though, there are other factors that favor the Lakers. They still have a pretty talented roster on paper, especially if Anthony Davis can avoid the injury bug. They also have the fifth-easiest remaining schedule in the league, with two games each against the Grizzlies and Suns and one against the Knicks being the hardest games left. The Lakers can absolutely still make the playoffs if enough goes their way.
That’s the thing, though, a lot has to go their way to make it. With their struggles without James over the last few seasons, it doesn’t seem likely that much would go right. Los Angeles isn’t dead by any means, but it certainly isn’t in a great spot.
Source: https://clutchpoints.com
