NBA 2021 Los Angeles will have to try to survive more games without James and Anthony Davis
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PLa Riley said a few decades ago that rehearsal is even harder than winning the first title. It was more about the egos of the players, but also why some wealth is needed in terms of wounds to get the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Health smiled on the Lakers last season, since in the Playoffs his rivals did not fully have Damian Lillard, Russell Westbrook, Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler. Now they have the other side of the coin.
Anthony Davis has not played since February 14, and his return will be until mid-April. LeBron managed to keep the boat afloat, struggling to adjust to the start (they lost 4 of the first 5), but they had 7-6 points before Saturday’s match, in which “El Rey” fell.
James suffered an ankle sprain in the first trimester that left him out indefinitely.. He might as well return more or less when “La Ceja” re-registers, although it’s true that James is having a hard time wasting injuries. S, the same LeBron admitted that it is the biggest pain he has felt in his career, but it is also true that he suffered 8 sprained ankles and lost only three games, although ESPN published that similar injuries usually last 10 recovery games; practically a month.
There is a possibility that. The Lakers are without the first two digits for a similar period and this will change the season. The first impact of this injury is that heThe western post-season run will be changed. After losing to Atlanta, the Lakers are third in 28-14, 2.5 games behind the Utah Jazz, but just three losses less than the seventh in the conference, Spurs.
The itinerary from here until the end of March includes games with the Lakers, Pelicans, Cavs, Magic and Bucks, and in the first 20 days of April they will have to face Clippers, Heat, Nets, Celtics and Jazz twice. It will be a historic collapse if the Lakers miss the postseason, but it could fall to the bottom of the table and, even with stadiums without maximum capacity, would imply the need wins three homeless series to reach the final, with a more complicated path and not with favorable duels to be the first seed.
The other point that is affected is the race for the MVP. LeBron was one of the favorites after Davis’ injury and the loss of Joel Embiid. But few have won the MVP by losing more than 10 games. This could open the door for someone else to sneak into. Nikola Jokic and almost triple-double could be the beneficiary, especially if his Nuggets manage to overtake the Lakers in the table (today are 2.5 games), something not so crazy to think without James in the team or if the Nets succeed to grow towards the top of the East with James Harden to command.