If you are a Lakers fan, Jay-Z’s song might be all you can relate to. Well, you are not alone, even the Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick also referred to the song “It was all good just a week ago” during his postgame talk after his squad lost to the Bucks by 20 points. On March 7, before beginning their road trip, they were flying high with an eight-game winning streak sitting pretty on the No.2 spot in the West. The trip ended in an absolute 0-4 disaster, bringing them down to the 5th spot, and if that was not enough, LeBron James’ groin injury only made that worse. Yet, James was not alone in this.

Before the loss to the Bucks, the Lakers had sent James, Rui Hachimura, Jaxon Hayes, and Maxi Kleber back to Los Angeles to rest and recover. Redick called James, Hachimura and Hayes “day-to-day.” But he also noted that they could return within the next three days to a week, “if not a little bit longer than that for one guy.” He probably indicated James, though did not clarify. Essentially it meant, they would miss Sunday’s game against Phoenix and potentially Monday’s game against San Antonio, which are must-wins if they don’t want No. 6 Golden State and No. 7 Minnesota right on their backs. Thankfully enough, not only Hayes, Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Gabe Vincent, all of whom missed the game against the Nuggets, are available against the Suns. But what about Rui Hachimura and James?

James’ importance to the Lakers needs no introduction and it looks even more enormous since the chemistry between him and Doncic has started rolling. But Hachimura, who has been out with a knee injury for the past 8 games, has become an asset for the team. Despite only playing about 32 minutes per game, he still averaged 13.3 points and 5.2 boards while shooting half of his shots from the field. Talking about their availability, ESPN’s Shams Charania gave both positive and negative news for Lakers fans.

Reporting for ABC NBA Countdown, Charania noted that Rui is expected to be back within a week. “I’m told there is optimism he’s gonna be back here within the week.” If that is a reason to smile, that won’t last longer because the update on James is not.

“He is expected though, to miss another week. His exact return will be based on how his body responds to increased activity here over the coming days and the coming week. The Lakers AGs will be very cautious- he’s 40-years-old. This is a soft tissue injury. We know he’s played heavy minutes this season. He’s coming off the Olympics so it looks like it’s at least another week of game action for him,” Charania revealed. James was, however, seen taking part in his first on-court workout ahead of the Suns game, which is progress. But if you look at the upcoming schedule, James’ absence is worrying.

The Lakers return to Los Angeles for a five-game homestand, though it’s not as pleasant just because it is home. They play two sets of back-to-backs — the first of which starts at 12:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, roughly 36 hours after they get back from their nine-day road trip. They host the Suns and Spurs in a back-to-back, then the Nuggets and Bucks in another set, before closing the homestand with a game against the Chicago Bulls. The squad is then again back on the road for a four-game trip to Orlando, Indiana, Chicago and Memphis.

James’ absence can be terrible, especially when the Nuggets and Bucks are on the roster again. The Lakers have the sixth-hardest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon. And looking at what just happened on the road trip, it won’t be wild to fear losses in the James-less games. In that case, the Lakers truly are in a precarious situation. They are presently sitting in a comfortable 5th position. But a careful look will tell you that it is not as comfortable as it might seem.

Ahead of the Suns game, the Lakers are 40-25. If they win the next three games, they will have an identical record as the Nuggets (43-25), Rockets (43-25) and Grizzlies (43-25). Notably, the Lakers have played the fewest games among the playoff candidates, only 65 in the season. Their contenders have played 67-68 games. But here is the twist, the Timberwolves and the Warriors are quickly getting momentum. While the Lakers are on a 4L streak, they are on W8 and W7 streaks, respectively. Also in their last 10 games, the Warriors are 9-1 and the Timberwolves are 8-2. The Lakers stand at a decent 6-4. However, all is not gloomy for the Lakers.

The Lakers fight hard even in the absence of LeBron James and Luka Doncic

The silver lining for the Purple and Gold is the Nuggets game. Yes, they lost. But the character the team showed is indeed remarkable. The squad played without 6 of their top 8 players- James, Dončić, Hachimura, Hayes, Finney-Smith, and Vincent. Yet they were on the verge of delivering, probably the shocker of the year. The squad that boasts someone like Nikola Jokic, needed 38 free throws and a game winner to clinch the game against the shorthanded Lakers squad. Rose, to the occasion, were Austin Reaves and rookie Dalton Knecht.

A couple of miscues in the final seconds of the game marred the efforts of Reaves (37 points, eight rebounds, 13 assists and four steals) and Knecht (32 points, his second-highest total of the season). But they also received support from Shake Milton (16 points), Jarred Vanderbilt (nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals), Jordan Goodwin (10 points and six rebounds) and Christian Koloko (eight points and seven rebounds). Importantly, Bronny James played a season-high 16 minutes and looked confident and comfortable with the group.

“We went 0-4, so it’s a pretty bad trip,” Austin Reaves said. “But s—, JJ said a week ago, ‘Everybody’s, like, Lakers in five.’ We just don’t listen to any of it. We know when we’re fully healthy and got everybody on the team that we have a really good chance to beat anybody. I just see this group coming together, locking in on one common goal, and that’s to win.”

“I think (Friday was) the biggest testament to that. Very shorthanded and went and played a really good basketball team with, probably, the best player in the world and went toe-to-toe and had an opportunity to win it and just didn’t execute the last 50 seconds. I guess that’s what you take positive,” he further added.

Amid everything, Redick’s target remains unchanged: “We gotta figure out a way to get in the playoffs, and that’s my focus. We need to get some more wins to be in the playoffs.” Indeed, the coming stretch is the litmus test of the Lakers’ character and championship contention.