LeBron James Out Another Week as Lakers Keep Pace in West, Earn Tough Win Against Suns 

Things have not been kind to the Lakers over the past week. The team, who was skyrocketing up the standings after acquiring Luka Doncic, crashed back down to Earth after LeBron James went down with a groin injury.

While the team (and James) both hoped the ailment would be minor, it appears to be hanging around

Initial reports stated the Lakers star would only miss a few games. Now, the team now believes he’s set to miss at least another week.

(Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

That’s bad news for the Lakers, who have greatly relied on James to win games. Even with Doncic’s high-level play, they’ve largely struggled without their leader on the floor.

Missing him led to clear problems, and culminated in a four game losing streak. However, their most recent game shows there might be cause for hope after all.

Taking His Time

James has been a strong anchor for the Lakers on both sides of the ball. He can push the offense, but also does a great job at taking away the opposing team’s best player.

He’s strong, intelligent, and knows how to move the ball around the floor.

Him sitting out makes the Lakers a much worse team

They still have talent, but everyone seems much more out of sync. That puts the Lakers in a tough position.

They want to get James back as soon as they can, but in a way that doesn’t risk re-injury or put his postseason play in jeopardy.

Groin issues aren’t typically long term or extremely debilitating

Even so, James is 40-years old and at a high risk for further injury if he comes back before fully healing.

Avoiding that is worth a lot to the Lakers, even if it means dropping a few extra games in the meantime.

James, as shown during his bounce back from foot injury in 2023, can return to form and play at a high-level. His body just has to be ready for that return.

One mistake with recovery could very well spell an early end to the Lakers season. That’s why caution is key.

Seeing the Right Path

Los Angeles isn’t the same team without James. They lost the game he got injured in, falling apart after he went out.

They then dropped their next three contests to the Nets, Bucks, and Nuggets

That slide is concerning, and caused the Lakers to fall from the second seed all the way down to the fifth.

Making up that ground with James won’t be easy. Luckily, that’s not the goal. The goal is to remain relevant.

The Lakers don’t need to win every game over the next week or so, they just need to win enough to keep their current standings.

Los Angeles has one of the best duos in the league

All they need to do is get into the postseason past the play-in games (sixth seed or higher) and then let them take over.

That’s a tough road, but it’s more than doable for a team led by Doncic. The supporting cast hasn’t shown up in the recent games.

Even so, if they can rally and keep pace in the Western Conference without James, they should be able to cruise into the playoffs once he comes back.

Though the Lakers do have the NBA’s sixth-hardest remaining schedule, they are equipped without enough firepower to stay afloat.

They showed that when facing off against the Suns on Sunday night.

Knowing How to Win

While the recent injury news and disjointed play seem to spell doom for Los Angeles, it’s not all bad.

Doncic led the Mavericks with a thin supporting cast, and he’s embodying that role once again while James sits on the bench.

When hosting the Suns, the deep threat put on a show

He scored 33 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out 8 assists. That great statline didn’t just boost the guard’s individual stats, it made everyone around him better.

During the Lakers’ recent losing streak, Doncic has done a lot

However, his play largely came at the expense of everyone else. He didn’t move the ball well, and the offense seemed largely stagnant. That changed against Phoenix.

Doncic was everywhere. He dished the ball, got his teammates involved, and found numerous ways to score.

That led to three players ending up in double digits, including Austin Reaves

The quick guard continues to excel, and could be the key for Los Angeles in James’ absence.

Reaves scored 28 to go with 6 assists and four rebounds. He might not have to do that much every night, but if the guard can turn it on over the next week, the Lakers might not even notice James’ absence. In fact, when he returns it might be like he never left.

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