Los Angeles Lakers: Late setbacks a microcosm of entire season

The Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff hopes are dwindling, and with the loss of some key players due to injury down the stretch a late push seems slightly farfetched.

When reflecting on the Los Angeles Lakers‘ first season with LeBron James under contract, there is a vast array of different conclusions that are drawn.

Most of those are negative.

The team seemed to be on the upswing at the beginning of the season. Through December, the Lakers maintained the fourth seed in the Western Conference. A Christmas Day victory over the Golden State Warriors further propelled the team with momentum heading into 2019.

For all that the Lakers gained on Christmas, though, they lost a piece of much greater value. James sustained a groin strain in the third quarter — one that would sideline him for 18 straight games. All the momentum that the team had garnered to that point, washed away in one play.

Although the Lakers found a way to finish the game and come out victorious, James’s injury was a turning point that led to a downward spiral.

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Before James returned to action, sophomore point guard Lonzo Ball suffered an ankle injury on Jan. 19 with an expected recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks — which was extended after team doctors discovered a bone bruise. Ball was just recently shut down for the remainder of the season after re-evaluation proved he was not ready to resume basketball activities.

Post-All-Star break, James returned to action but was reportedly playing at a much heavier weight than he was accustomed to throughout his career (around 280 pounds). He played in all 82 games for the first time in his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, but could not avoid the injury bug this year.

Stepping up in the first few games following All-Star festivities, forward Brandon Ingram was playing some of his best basketball of the season. Averaging nearly 28 points per game in the first four games following the break, Ingram was just recently diagnosed with deep venous thrombosis in his right arm — which occurs when a blood clot forms in one or more of the deep veins in your body. The discovery forced the team to shut him down for the rest of the season.

Forward Kyle Kuzma has also been plagued with ankle issues in the latter half of the regular season, missing multiple games in the process. This forced Lakers’ coach Luke Walton to mix up starting rotations and rookie center Moritz Wagner was the beneficiary of these changes as he racked up 22 points in his first career start, a loss to the Boston Celtics.

Even James has now been put on a minutes restriction, as the Lakers are saving their superstar with their playoff hopes dwindling with every passing game.

All of these late setbacks are a culminating factor when viewing the Lakers’ season as a whole. Ingram playing well and subsequently being forced to sit the remainder of the season, Ball not recovering properly leading to him being shut down, Kuzma being hampered by ankle issues and James now on a minutes restriction.

What was once a promising outlook on a young roster being led by one of the game’s greats has turned into James becoming the scapegoat for all of the Lakers’ pitfalls this year. If injuries had not persisted and chemistry not been thrown awry during trade deadline discussions, this season may have turned out a lot different.

But it did not. And here we are.

Next. 5 Lakers That Can Take Advantage Of Injuries. dark

The Lakers, through 66 games, maintain the same record they did a season ago. The outlook is more favorable for the foreseeable future this season though, as they still have a young core to build on and one of the greatest players of all time to lead the charge.

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