The Los Angeles Lakers were dealt a brutal blow on Monday, February 27, as it was reported that LeBron James could be out several weeks with a right foot injury. The 38-year-old had been dealing with left foot and ankle pain before the All-Star break, but he made his way back and then suffered this new injury in Sunday’s big road win over the Dallas Mavericks. At one point in the game, LeBron went to the ground and was seen telling teammates that he heard a pop.
The timing of this injury is miserable for Los Angeles. The Lakers are currently in 12th place in the Western Conference standings, which means they’ll have their work cut out for them in order to earn a play-in spot. Los Angeles did make some massive improvements before the trade deadline, essentially turning Patrick Beverley, Russell Westbrook and Thomas Bryant into D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba and Rui Hachimura. That had some of our experts feeling great about Los Angeles’ chances of making the playoffs at -110 odds (before the injury).
Are the Los Angeles Lakers good?
?? Tune in to the latest episode of the Hardwood Handicappers podcast, as @meJVT and @KelleyBydlon discuss whether the Los Angeles Lakers are becoming contenders in the Western Conference ?? https://t.co/0ZBp6hrKb3#NBA #LosAngelesLakers pic.twitter.com/mL6Al4REUr— VSiN (@VSiNLive) February 27, 2023
The bad news is that those Lakers players were brought in to play with LeBron, not carry the team without him. Los Angeles also gave up a first-round pick in one of those deals, and that will sting if the team is unable to make the postseason this season. The Lakers pushed all of their chips in to ensure success in what could be LeBron’s final two years with the team, and it would be a nightmare if this ended up being a wasted season.