Home/NBA

USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

The Lakers have been a box full of surprises ever since they had LeBron James injured. In the past one month, they’ve defeated the likes of the Suns, Nuggets, Jazz, and Nets but lost heavily against the on-paper inferior teams. 

As of now, the Lake Show is 38-30, sitting just 0.5 games behind the Blazers who are enjoying the safety net of being in the top six. Evidently, the road ahead is full of obstacles if Bron’s recovery does not take a magical turn. Why demanding that miracle? That’s because an NBA insider’s recent words hinted at the same need. 

Adrian Wojnarowski gave a fresh LeBron James injury update

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

USA Today via Reuters

Celebrated sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski recently sat down to discuss the potential postseason clashes. He picked up the Lakers and showed a rather grim picture on his evaluation of LeBron James’ return.

The 52-YO reporter expressed, “The concern for the Lakers right now, that right ankle of LeBron James that kept him out for six weeks, has put him out again. This is not going to get a lot better. He’s going to have to play with discomfort in the postseason. It’s not going to be till the summer. So, there’s an even greater load on Anthony Davis here.”

Although the injury report suggests that the Akron Hammer can return against either the Knicks or the Rockets, nothing is certain. In fact, Frank Vogel must think it through before endangering Bron because his 2-game stint went in vain and the Lakers will need him healthier for the play-ins. 

Just as Woj added, “How effective LeBron James can be? When he was back for those two games last week… difficulty, exploding off that ankle, and making hard cuts. So he’s taking more time away from it now. But Jalen’s right, they’re gonna need him playing at optimum level to beat this Utah Jazz.”

Read AlsoFormer All-Star Reacts to Lakers Dropping to the Play-In Spots After Loss to Blazers

Can the Lakers bouncing back against the Suns help?

Well, this 123-110 win over the Suns on Sunday night will certainly help the Lakers in two ways. One, they can regain the lost confidence because they could defeat a #2 team without LeBron, Dennis Schroder, and Kyle Kuzma. Two, this will help them eye the #6 rank and not rush Bron’s return to make that happen.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Even better, Anthony Davis’ 42-point double-double night further showed that the big-man can lead the team from the front. Alex Caruso also proved to be a very efficient starting option, and the bench, headed by Montrezl Harrell, saw an increasing contribution from Ben McLemore. All-in-all, the Lakers will gain immense confidence out of this game because the Suns are their potential first-round rivals. 

Can the Lakers win the upcoming games and take up #6? Help us know in the comments.