The Lakers have been on a roll since the February trade that brought key players like D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and so on to the team. The team was a mess after the start of the current season. They have been playing with the baggage of not making the playoffs last season. For the obvious reasons, they would not want to repeat that. As LeBron James mentioned, he cannot miss back-to-back postseasons as it is not in his “DNA.” James prefers winning championships more than individual records. But the way things were going at one point, it looked very hard for the Lakers to make it this time, either. The front office made the brave decision to reshuffle the team and bring in valuable players in exchange for famous players.
Afterwards, the team looked balanced. But troubles were still there in the form of injuries. The biggest concern was the injury to their most valuable player LeBron James. As the King sustained an injury to the tendon of his right foot. At first, the estimated date for the return of James was March 24 against the Thunder. But there are speculations that he might take longer. The doctors are supposed to evaluate James in three weeks. And even then, there is a chance he may not appear for the rest of the season. People, including the fans and experts all, doubted the possibility of the Lakers making the postseason without the King.
Skip Bayless Believes Lakers Are Better Off Sans James
Despite the expectations, at present, it seems the team is ready to tackle all the obstacles that come their way and keep moving forward. The Lakers, especially their leading man at present, Anthony Davis, have been in an exquisite touch. He is scoring as well as he is defending. AD is scoring above 30 points in the last few games. The eight-time All-Star has turned things around for the Lakers. Now with their latest recruit D’Angelo Russell is back and making the lineup look more robust than ever. In his return, he made a tremendous impact, scoring 28 points. And helped the team maintain the streak against the Raptors. After Anthony Davis displayed this new avatar for the team, the Lakers have climbed up to the 9th seed in the Western Conference.
With LeBron James, the squad was trying hard but could not break the door to the top ten seeds. With James unavailable, the Lakers have managed to pull off the unthinkable. Hence the sudden uprising of the Lakers has led some to think that they are better off without the King. Especially the worst critic of King James, Skip Bayless, mentioned that the Lakers don’t need him anymore. The Lakers just need to carry on the momentum they are enjoying at present. On the contrary, his counterpart, the NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, added that the Lakers would need the services of LeBron James if they get to the finals of the Western Conference. As things stand, and if the Lakers continue like this, then in the finals, they may face the Phoenix Suns.