A total of seven games remain before the end of the Los Angeles Lakersâ regular season, meaning there are seven opportunities to figure out some of the key questions surrounding the team before the real business of defending their NBA championship begins. Hovering around a pack that occupies the fifth to seventh spots in the Western Conference, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis back from injury but evaluated nightly, the Lakers are a weird old conundrum. Looking for holes in their title-toting armor? Theyâre everywhere. Seeking hopeful reasons why the playoffs may breathe positive purple-and-gold energy into a campaign of flux? Thereâs no shortage of evidence there, too. The Lakers are a mystery – and good luck figuring out what to expect from them.  If LeBron and co. stand a chance of getting what they want out of the season, there are challenges in their path. If another run to the Finals is within them, theyâll need to answer some core truths. Theyâll need to rack up some Ws, and theyâll need to find the solution to some Ws as well, as in their âWho, What, Where, When and Why.â The âwhoâ centers around who will step forward and lead the surge. All eyes naturally focus toward James and Davis as the two primary stars on the squad and it is hard to see L.A. getting very far without at least one of them at their best. Thatâs where more question marks lurk, however. James is coming off a 20-game, six-week layoff due to a high ankle sprain, the longest injury-themed absence of his career. Davis has just returned from sitting out for nine weeks and 30 games with calf and Achilles issues. Neither is in sparkling form yet, though itâs also fair to assume theyâre both holding a little in reserve. âThis is the lowest weâve been,â Davis said last week. âBut the only way is up.â  The âwhereâ centers on the surrounding pieces in the Lakers group. Namely, where is the requisite amount of help going to come from? There will be no âplayoff Rajon Rondoâ this time because there is no Rondo at all, with the veteran energizer having been moved to the Los Angeles Clippers and shaping up as a potential first round opponent. Dennis Schroder did a solid job of holding things together when James and Davis were out, but now he is set to miss up to two weeks through health and safety protocols, amid some confusion as to whether he has received the COVID-19 vaccine or not. Andre Drummond was the big prize in free agency, but he has work to do to prove his presence can be transformative, while Montrezl Harrellâs addition hasnât worked out into what the organization hoped for when they brought him in last offseason. All of which kind of leads into the âwhat.â What is the Lakers identity? Are they James and Davis plus a few dudes along for the ride who can chime in when necessary? That only works if you have a unified core and some pieces that are knitting together well.  Thatâs what they had last season in the bubble and itâs what they donât have now. Having lost six of their last seven games before Monday nightâs impressive win over the surging Denver Nuggets (without James), the Lakers had little cohesion to speak of, a point not lost on forward Kyle Kuzma. âI just donât think weâre connected right now,â Kuzma told reporters. âI just think weâre unhealthy and not good enough. We just got to get back onto it, try to find out some way, somehow to get it clicking again.â The Lakers now find themselves with a playoff route that is almost certain to be tricky. Going into Tuesdayâs games, they sit in fifth place in the Western Conference standings, marginally ahead of the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers. Fifth or sixth would virtually guarantee an opening round meeting with either the Nuggets or the Clippers, neither a particularly appetizing prospect. A drop to seventh and the dreaded play-in tournament comes into focus, an innovation James made his feelings clear about. âWhoever came up with that (idea) should be fired,â he said. To avoid such a fate means the Lakers must at some point burst into life. But ⌠âwhen?â Is it reasonable to expect such a shift of energy and form to come about the moment the postseason begins?  âI still believe in âPlayoff LeBronâ but I am concerned because I also believe in Father Time,â FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard said on âFirst Things First.â âA few years ago LeBron would have come through this injury with flying colors. Now, at age 36, it lingers. Will he be able to carry the Lakers? It is just tougher as you get older.â So how about the âwhy?â Why can the Lakers do it all again? FOX Bet has them at +400 (second favorite) and the bookies are in little mood to doubt James, who has been to the Finals on 10 separate occasions and has won four of them. The Lakers did it last year â but last year L.A. didnât have the Brooklyn Nets to contend with, with their three-headed superstar collection currently barreling through the East. Back then, there were questions too, but they were all about the other teams and whether they could conjure enough force and form to stop James and the crew surrounding him. Now the mirror is turned back on them. The Lakers are still the Lakers, theyâre still the reigning champs, but they need to answer their crucial queries to get it done this time.  Hereâs what others have said … Shannon Sharpe, Undisputed (on the Lakersâ win over the Nuggets): âThey’re a long way from being back, but this was a much needed team win after coming off two horrible losses. The guy I was most impressed with was Anthony Davis, he was aggressive last night.â Dylan HernĂĄndez, LA Times: âThe Lakers are toast … The Lakers are racing against time on multiple fronts, working to heal their injured players while trying to establish a semblance of cohesion on a team that has often looked disjointed on both ends of the court.â Michael Shapiro, SI: âEven if healthy, the Lakers will likely have to beat three of the Clippers, Nuggets, Suns and Jazz to reach the Finals, with Los Angeles not expected to hold home court in any single series. Itâs foolish to bet against LeBron as weâve seen time and again. But this is a stacked conference and an imperfect Lakers roster, with plenty of obstacles in the way on the road to the Larry OâBrien Trophy.â |
