LeBron James has been carrying the Los Angeles Lakers since he joined the team five years ago. Under his leadership, they won their 17th championship in 2020. But since then, the team is facing some tough times in the following seasons. James and Anthony Davis have been the duo to watch out for. But things have yet to fall into place since 2020.
The Lakers squad has been suffering from many injury concerns, and a lack of balance in the roster was a big problem. But the Lakers’ front office took care of the latter issue, and the team looked much more balanced after the February trade deadline. But the injury issues never stopped hurting their process in the current season. And for that reason, the prominent players of the team have been out when they were needed by the team. After Anthony Davis, one of the big names on the list is none other than LeBron James.
D’Angelo Russell Credits LeBron James And AD For The Win Last Night
Last night against the Bulls, the real hero was Anthony Davis, who scored a mammoth 38 points. As a result, D’Angelo Russell spoke highly about his team’s performance on the NBA Interview youtube channel. Russell mentioned, “I don’t know what Reaves can’t do. He is great at offense, and so am I. But the two senior guys in our team are the real heroes.” LeBron James, too praised his favorite teammate, saying, “all we gotta do is to pass the ball to him, and he will do the rest.”
The Lakers are fighting against the odds at the moment, trying to make the top six. They are fighting the obstacles of injuries. And if they manage to survive this obstacle, it will be very hard to beat them. What if LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and D’Angelo Russell all stay fit and fine? Then the Lakers will not find it too hard to break the boundary of the playoffs. With the four horsemen in the lineup, the Lakers look good. Albeit LeBron James may not be fully fit due to his right foot, he may need surgery in the offseason.
Lakers Coming Out Of A Tough Phase
The new February recruits, D’Angelo Russell and Mo Bamba, both stayed out for some time with injuries. The former has now returned to the lineup after missing several games, but the latter may not be available for the rest of the season. Mo Bamba came to the Lakers as an exchange for Patrick Beverley, who is now playing for the Bulls. After Russell and Davis came back, the Lakers fans had a sigh of relief as James was gone too for several weeks. After missing 13 games on the trot, LeBron James returned to the lineup against the Bulls.
It was not the kind of return James was hoping for as the Bulls beat the Lakers in LA’s Crypto Arena.com. However, in the next game, again against the Bulls, this time in Chicago’s United Center, the Lakers made it even, winning the game comfortably. It was the first game for LeBron James in the starting lineup after he returned from injury. He did pretty well, scoring 25 points. In the last game against the Bulls, LeBron James came off the bench for the first time since 2007.