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Opinion
The Los Angeles Lakers have successfully revived a season which looked headed for the ignominy of the tank but they are far too brittle to go far in the playoffs.
Whether LeBron James can stay on the court is the be-all and end-all of their chances.
Whether Anthony Davis can stay on the court is a perennial problem which usually ends in him being rated probable to questionable, doubtful to game time decision to out.
Despite losing a crucial clash on the second night of a back-to-back to the LA Clippers on Thursday, the Lakers have risen to seventh in the Western Conference on the back of a 7-3 record in recent weeks.
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LeBron’s return last week from a foot injury couldn’t have been timelier and since trading away the ongoing distraction of Russell Westbrook, they have surged from as low as 13th and a spot in the draft lottery (which would have meant their pick went to New Orleans as part of the gift that keeps on giving to the Pelicans in the form of the Davis trade package from four years ago).
LeBron James. (Photo: Getty Images)
Even though they would have preferred to have rested after their constant injury interruptions this season, the King and AD had to back up straight after Wednesday’s overtime win over the Jazz in Utah for the LA showdown.
But despite James tallying 33 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Davis adding 17 points and 11 rebounds, they lacked the spark against a rested Clippers side powered by 25 points from their franchise star, Kawhi Leonard, and a bonus 27 off the bench from inconsistent sharpshooter Norman Powell with All-Star forward Paul George still sidelined by a knee complaint.
LeBron was held to a paltry three points in the first half as he failed to fire up in an uncharacteristically sluggish display before being accused of stat padding as he stayed in the game despite little hope of a comeback to pour in 30 in the final two quarters.
“It was one of those scheduling conflicts,” James said when asked about the Clippers getting two days off while they had to play on consecutive nights. “It definitely got the best of us tonight.”
With the Pelicans also winning, the Lakers are locked in at 41-39 with them, a game ahead of ninth-placed Minnesota (40-40) and clear of OKC and Dallas (both on 38-42) in the race for the play-in seedings.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis didn’t mix well with Russell Westbrook. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Lakers need the Clippers or Warriors (both on 42-38) to stumble in their final two games to snare an unlikely guaranteed playoff berth via a top-six finish.
But the Clippers end their schedule with the tanking Trail Blazers before a trip to Phoenix who could shut down their stars after being set in stone at the fourth seed.
And Golden State will play a likely resting Sacramento, who are cemented into the West’s third seed, and the zombie corpse of the Portland squad.
Whether the Lakers qualify for the post-season via direct entry to the playoffs or the hard way via the play-in tournament, it’s hard to see them lasting much longer even though they have two bona fide superstars and an improved supporting cast after the Westbrook trade.
They simply must avoid the eighth seed otherwise they’ll probably be first-round cannon fodder against two-time MVP Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets.
LA did split their season series 2-2 with the West’s top seed with all four encounters before their roster overhaul on deadline day and have gone 14-7 since.
The Lakers are being talked up as potential playoff dark horses if they can fashion a first-round match-up against the inexperienced Memphis or Sacramento outfits.
(Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
They won two of their three regular-season meetings with the Grizzlies but just once in their four encounters with the Kings, who have finally broken their 17-year playoff drought with a 50-30 record heading into their last two fixtures against the Warriors and Nuggets.
Sacramento hold the tie-breaker in their race for the two seed with Memphis but would need the Grizzlies to lose to the Bucks and Thunder to steal home-court advantage in a potential second-round match-up.
With Ja Morant back to his best after his recent suspension for a string of firearm-related dramas and Jaren Jackson jnr likely to win Defensive Player of the Year, the Grizz are legit title contenders even though they’re probably another year or two away from being in the sweet spot in terms of requisite experience.
The Kings are already in the bonus after over-achieving all predictions in coach Mike Brown’s first year at the helm but the rise of Domantus Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox to All-NBA calibre stars means they won’t be a pushover against whichever team they face which will undoubtedly have the edge in playoff reps.
And their Light the Beam gimmick introduced this season is one of the coolest innovations on the sports scene in a long time. Simple yet effective, it has been emblematic of this franchise’s sudden rise into the stratosphere.
Like the Warriors, Suns and Clippers who will also fill out the West playoff bracket, the Lakers certainly have a lot more championship pedigree in the form of LeBron and AD.
But the Lakers will struggle to compete with the young legs of Memphis or Sacramento in a seven-game series even if their superstar duo avoid injuries.
James has played 52 of 80 games this season with a nine-game stretch his longest continuous run while Davis has suited up 53 times with 12 his slightly better unbroken streak.
“Whatever we end up, that’s where we end up,” James said after the loss to the Clippers. “For us, it’s always about health. Over the last couple years, that’s been our Achilles’ heel.”
The King knows it, the rest of the NBA knows it – the Lakers are capable of upsetting anyone but a run to championship glory from the depths of the play-in tournament might work on a Hollywood script but anyone who thinks it’s on the cards this post-season is living in La-La Land.