While not many people had the Los Angeles Lakers pegged as title contenders going into this season, I also don't think there were many (if any at all) who thought they would be below .500 and out of the playoffs at the All-Star break.
Nevertheless, that is where the Lakers currently find themselves, as they currently own a record of 28-29 and sit two losses behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Not only that, but the Lakers also have to jump the Sacramento Kings, who sit in ninth place with a record of 30-27.
This is not what LeBron James envisioned when he joined the team this past summer; that's for sure.
Now, to be fair, James missed over a month with a groin injury between the end of December and the end of January, but even since he has returned, the Lakers have not looked all that hot, as they have gone just 2-4 since James re-took the floor on Jan. 31.
So, will Los Angeles make the postseason? Or will LeBron's first year in Hollywood be an abject failure?
Here are three questions facing the Lakers coming out of the All-Star break:
3. Will Reggie Bullock provide them with a capable shooter off the bench?
The Lakers acquired Reggie Bullock from the Detroit Pistons at the trade deadline in an effort to bolster their wing depth and provide them with a much-needed perimeter shooter.
This season, Los Angeles ranks just 26th in three-point percentage. Only the Memphis Grizzlies, the Pistons, the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns are worse.
That's not very good.
Fortunately for the Lakers, Bullock is a 38.7 percent three-point shooter, so he should be able to give Los Angeles some additional floor spacing off the bench.
Right now, LA's leading three-point shooter is Rajon Rondo, of all people, who is shooting 42.3 percent from downtown on low volume. LeBron is making just 35.5 percent of his threes, Kyle Kuzma is at 31.9 percent and Brandon Ingram is converting on a meager 28.9 percent of his treys.
So, clearly, the Lakers need some sort of perimeter threat, and while Bullock is not exactly going to provide LeBron with what Kyle Korver did in Cleveland, he should still be able to represent someone who can knock down some threes.
2. Can Lonzo Ball come back and play well?
Lonzo Ball has now been in the league for two seasons, but he has spent a good portion of those two seasons on the injured list.
Last year, it was a knee injury that sidelined Ball. This time around, it is an ankle injury.
However, even before Ball went down, he was not exactly playing all that well, as he was averaging 9.9 points, 5.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds over 30.3 minutes per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the floor, 32.9 percent from three-point range and an abysmal 41.7 percent from the free-throw line.
A legitimate argument can even be made that Ball has taken a step back from his rookie campaign.
Ball is due to come back at some point after the All-Star break, and when he does, he needs to be a lot more effective.
At this point, you have to wonder if Ball will even have a starting job when he returns, as it is blatantly obvious that Rajon Rondo is a much more capable point guard than Lonzo at this point.
Regardless of his role, Ball is the X-factor to what the Lakers do over the last couple of months of the season.
At the very least, he needs to at least show he can shoot free throws better than Andre Drummond.
1. Is LeBron James really healthy?
There has been some concern over whether or not James has fully recovered from his groin injury, and the fact that he is reportedly playing at around 280 pounds—about 30 pounds above his normal playing weight—doesn't exactly lend much confidence that he will remain healthy.
Sure, LeBron was basically a robot through the first 15 years of his career, but this season, in year 16 and at age 34, the three-time NBA champion has finally shown some vulnerability, and you have to wonder how the Lakers will manage that from here on out.
Since James returned from his injury, he is playing a hefty 36.8 minutes per game, which is actually nearly two minutes above his season average of 34.8.
For a guy just returning from a groin issue, that is worrisome.
The problem is, in order for the Lakers to make a run here over the final two months, James has to play heavy minutes, as Los Angeles just isn't good enough to string together wins otherwise (as we saw when LeBron was out).
This will be an interesting situation to monitor for the rest of the season, as, for the first time in James' career, there is genuine concern about his health moving forward.
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