Let’s face the facts, ladies and gentlemen. Injuries are par for the course when it comes to sports. In the case of the 2020-21 Los Angeles Lakers, they have been especially unlucky in this regard.
Certainly, some people wondered how the Lakers would fare health-wise given that they had the shortest offseason of any team in sports history. Granted, the team won the title last season, they had to kick it into high gear pretty quickly. That is easier said than done.
Unfortunately, the Lakers’ main health issues this season have revolved around their superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Davis returned to the team just a few days back after missing 30 games due to a nagging calf strain. In terms of James, he remains sidelined because of a high ankle sprain.
While Davis is back in action, he has clearly not been himself thus far. His offensive execution has not been too sharp, for he has shot just 7-of-29 from the field since his return.
MORE: 5 players who won’t be on the Lakers in 2021
Without a doubt, it would have been unfair to expect Davis to be performing at peak level right away. There is a reason Vogel has had AD on a minutes restriction, as the latter is amid revamping his conditioning. As stated, Davis missed two months, so it is going to take a little bit of time until fans see a dominant version of him.
However, the element of time is difficult to not be mindful of at this juncture. The Lakers have just a dozen games remaining on their calendar and are fresh off two straight losses to the Dallas Mavericks. As of when this was written, the Mavs are just 1.5 games behind the Lakers for the West’s No. 5 seed.
Moreover, it is worth noting the Portland Trail Blazers are not too much farther behind in the standings. They are the West’s No. 7 seed as of now and are three games back from Los Angeles. Given how elite their backcourt is, they are the kind of dark horse team that nobody wants to face in the playoffs.
Albeit the Lakers are gradually sinking in the standings, head coach Frank Vogel is not too concerned with wins and losses at the moment. In fact, via Matt Peralta of Lakers Nation, Vogel carries the “belief” that the Lakers can make noise in the postseason at full health.
"“I don’t think there’s anything we really have to do,” Vogel said. “We have Anthony Davis and LeBron James and great support role players around those guys. We naturally have a belief in what we can do.“We’ve actually played .500 basketball. We were 7-5 in the last 12 before these last two losses, so we’ve been playing .500 basketball without Anthony and without LeBron, so you put those guys back in the mix and you feel great about what we can accomplish in the playoffs.”"
Vogel’s faith in his guys is reassuring. When healthy, LeBron and AD are perhaps the best one-two punch in the game. Given how deep the Lakers are outside of those two, one could argue the sky is the limit for the purple and gold.
Additionally, Vogel is correct in terms of how the team has played despite the health issues. Although the last two losses against Dallas have been harder pills to swallow, the team has managed to hang in there for the most part.
While the Los Angeles Lakers have hung in there, it admittedly is hard to not be a tad concerned.
The team has played 60 games now, and the regular season is winding down. For those who have not been paying attention, this is not a traditional 82-game campaign.
On that note, it is worrisome whether this group will ever reach a point where they are firing on all cylinders. Of course, that is a bit of a moot point with LeBron still out, but that’s just the thing.
Nobody knows exactly what version of James the Lakers will be getting whenever this ankle injury subsides. If he is not at 100% going into the playoffs, the Lakers are in serious trouble.
With respect to LeBron, is it fair pointing out that he is getting no younger. Yes, even though the four-time champ has defied the mythical Father Time over and over again, this is the second time in three years he has had a major injury. Thus, to have some hints of doubt brew is only natural.
As was previously echoed, Davis has been subpar since he came back from the shelf last Thursday. While he has more time than LBJ to get back to his old ways, one can only hope the big fella is able to start playing better soon. Similar to LeBron’s case, the Lakers’ chances will be a lot slimmer if Davis is not his usual dominant self.
How far this team goes is contingent upon their health. That being said, it is hard to disagree with Vogel that health is the most important thing for the Lakers right now.
Be that as it may, one cannot help but wonder if the group can gel in the nick of time. The Lakers have continued to rely on their defense to keep them in games, but they cannot afford to continue to have so many offensive dry spells.
Time tends to heal all wounds, but time is not in the Lakers’ favor. Health remains a concern and how quickly the team can learn to work together will be a major contributor to how far they make it.
One positive to keep in mind is just how talented this team really is. They were stacked prior to the additions of Andre Drummond and Ben McLemore. With them aboard the ship now, the Lakers’ true potential is absurd.
However, that “true potential” remains something that is challenging to gauge. Even when The King returns to the hardwood, certain guys will inevitably have reduced roles. That takes a degree of adjustment, and such an occurrence taking place so late in the season is not exactly ideal.
It is not to say this team’s chances of making noise in the playoffs are little to nonexistent. That is far from the case and to say otherwise would be ludicrous.
At the same time, there are some definite “if’s” with this Lakers team. No one has seen just how good this team can be yet given their health scares and new additions. However, if everything goes according to plan, the Lakers could very well be raising an 18th banner in a couple of months.
One can only hope the team can find their groove as soon as possible. Granted, the Lakers’ playoff seed may not matter, they need to start developing the right habits for the games that will matter.