– LeBron James
The injury to LeBron James has been arguably the biggest storyline of the season for the Lakers. Prior to him getting hurt, James and the Lakers were in fourth place in the Western Conference, and everything was going swimmingly. However, his absence resulted in the Lakers plummeting in the standings and a ton of trade rumors about nearly all of his teammates. While James did look a bit gingerly at times since he has returned, he is still filling up the stat sheet.
In his last five games, James is averaging a triple-double with 23.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 10.5 assists per game. While the numbers are good for James, the Lakers are just 2-3 in that span with losses to the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks. While those were road games, the Lakers really can’t afford bad losses like what happened against the Hawks again this season.
For the stretch run, the Lakers are going to need James to be healthy and playing at an MVP level. If James is able to perform well, the Lakers should be able to make up the ground in the West needed to make the playoffs.