Anthony Davis recently made his return to the Los Angeles Lakers' lineup and fans are anxiously awaiting the return of LeBron James. In a recent Instagram post, Lakers assistant coach Mike Penberthy teased the return of the King.
LA will need a healthy LeBron and AD if they hope to compete in the playoffs this year. They are currently the 5th seed in the Western Conference, 2.5 games ahead of the 6th seeded Portland Trailblazers. They will likely finish the season with this seed if they can just maintain a steady pace, so rushing LeBron back would be a hasty decision.
Los Angeles are the reigning NBA champion and they did that mostly on the back of their star duo. In the playoffs, AD and LeBron are an incredible pick and roll threat and they tended to avoid close games. They are an elite tandem and the Lakers will need them both to be healthy in this year's playoffs.
The Lakers are likely to face the Denver Nuggets in the first round. If completely healthy, the Nuggets should not provide too much difficulty for the Lakers. Without Jamal Murray, the Nuggets don't have a go-to scoring guard and they likely don't possess the rim protection to beat the Lakers. In the next round, they will have a fascinating matchup against the top-seeded Utah Jazz.
If the Jazz are the contenders they seemed to be throughout the season, they should be a very tough matchup for the Lakers. LA thrive on rim offense and that is the Jazz's greatest defensive strength. If they hope to compete, they will need to ensure the health of LeBron and AD.
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