After being 25-31, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers' quest to make the playoffs seemed complicated. Following a trade involving Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz and D'Angelo Russell going to L.A., things changed for the Lakers. They went 4-1 and are now 0.5 games from a spot in the Play-In Tournament. However, the team suffered a major injury setback on Sunday.
During the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks, LeBron James “heard a pop” when he landed after attempting a layup. Although he played for the remainder of the game, things seemed far from perfect, given his apparent injury.
Now, James could miss two to three weeks with the foot injury, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
“LeBron James is expected to miss an indefinite amount of time… I’m told likely at least 2 or 3 weeks” @ShamsCharania with the latest on LeBron’s foot injury 🤕#RunItBack pic.twitter.com/nk2BpXx0Cd
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) February 28, 2023
In that stretch, Los Angeles will have head-to-head matchups against teams that are also battling for postseason bids in the West.
To kick off March, the Lakers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors in a span of five days. All those three organizations are, at most, 1.5 games ahead of the Lakers in the standings.
Should they drop one or multiple of those games, their playoff chances could get seriously affected. Because of that, the team's response to James' absence will be key in the next few weeks.
As a team, Los Angeles is only 36-62 with James on the sidelines since he joined the franchise in the 2018-19 season. In 2022-23, the team is 5-9 without him and 12.6 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court.
As the regular season ends on April 9, the clock is ticking for Los Angeles to make a final playoff push. With that being said, here are the three Lakers under the most pressure to step up in wake of LeBron James' foot injury.
3. Lakers HC Darvin Ham
Although he is in his first year as Los Angeles' head coach, Darvin Ham has been under pressure since he joined the team.
After they won the NBA title in 2020, the Lakers have yet to win another playoff series. That includes when they missed the postseason entirely last season.
Following the 2021-22 campaign, the front office fired Frank Vogel and brought in Ham as his replacement.
Despite high expectations for the season, the Lakers are still currently out of the Play-In Tournament. Now without James, things are about to get even more complicated. They are 29-32 and the star's injury could become a big problem depending on how he recovers from it.
As the head coach, Ham should be under even more pressure as he has to find James' replacement as soon as possible while also figuring out the best rotation without the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.
If the team goes back to losing without James, a lot of the blame will likely rest with the Lakers' coach.
2. LA G D'Angelo Russell
After starting his NBA career with the Lakers, D'Angelo Russell returned to the franchise in the trade involving Westbrook.
Since rejoining the team, the guard is averaging 13.5 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds across four games. He is shooting 44.2% from the field, 35.3% from the 3-point line and 76.9% from the charity stripe.
While Russell might need some time to adapt to this new system, Los Angeles will likely move him to the secondary scoring option on the roster.
This means he will need to step up on offense, both as a scorer and playmaker, dictating the offense and controlling the team's pace on the court.
Because he was the Lakers' main acquisition at the trade deadline, Russell is one of the players under the most pressure without James. If he does not step up for the occasion, fans might question if he was the right choice for a trade.
1. Lakers PF Anthony Davis
Perhaps the player who will gain the most attention in James' absence is Anthony Davis. The eight-time All-Star should be Los Angeles' main scoring option for the next few weeks, meaning the team will likely live and die on how well he plays on a nightly basis.
For the season, Davis is averaging 25.7 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists, all above his career marks, plus 2.0 blocks a night. He is making 56.4% of his field goals, 24.1% of his attempts beyond the arc and 81.3% of his free-throw shots.
While he is putting up some of the best numbers of his career as a Laker, Davis is once again dealing with injuries. The big man has played in just 37 games this season. He ended up missing 20 consecutive matchups between December and January due to a foot injury.
In the last two seasons, he only appeared in 40 and 36 games, respectively. Now without James, the Lakers cannot afford to see Davis potentially going down again.
All things considered; Davis is the Laker under the most pressure after James' foot injury. The former Kentucky Wildcat will need to show he can still play like he did before his injury-plagued years. If he does so, Los Angeles can stay alive in the playoff battle if and when James returns.
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