The Los Angeles Lakers have been very inconsistent this season ever since their star players LeBron James and Anthony Davis were sidelined due to injuries. While Anthony Davis has returned after a long time and is starting to get more minutes with every game, the results have not changed. The Lakers recently lost against the upbeat Washington Wizards by a margin of 106-117 as Russell Westbrook again ended the match with a superb triple-double.
Frank Vogel’s men are missing LeBron James and there is no way that they can hide it now. He is a legend of the game and despite being in his 18th year in the NBA he still is one of the best leaders on the court. James is undoubtedly one of the best playmakers who can elevate the whole team. Adding to that he can also score, shoot threes and has even got his defensive mojo back in recent times. His presence always lifts the morale of the Lakers and therefore missing him for such a long time is somewhere affecting the mindset of the other players.
The Lakers have enough talent all over the court but still, they have struggled without the King. It is a fact that even their new center Andre Drummon has agreed to, the former Cavaliers man is eagerly waiting for LeBron to return to the floor. He has not played with him yet as he joined the Lakers after LeBron got injured.
“You know what? I don’t think my brain can process what kinds of opportunities would come with him being on the floor. Right now, we can’t control him not being there. We gotta work on how the guys are playing right now. We just got to worry about building chemistry and I’m sure good things will happen for everybody,” Drummond expressed the opportunities that will open up on LeBron’s return.
The Lakers are currently in the fifth position in the Western Conference but they are struggling to hold their place. Vogel’s men are only two games ahead of Portland Trailblazers who are in seventh position. While the Dallas Mavericks are also closing in and are 1.5 games behind the Lakers. If they keep on losing matches then they may end up in the play-in spots which will be a very embarrassing situation for the reigning NBA champions.
LeBron is getting better every passing day and may return right at the end of the regular season. But if the Lakers do not get back to winning ways at the moment then it will be too late for LeBron to propel them to a better rank in the West. However, with their current form, the play-ins are a real possibility.
