Not all is right for the Los Angeles Lakers just yet.
Anthony Davis and LeBron James have both made their return from an extended absence due to injury, but not all is right for the Los Angeles Lakers just yet. They still have plenty of work to do ahead of the NBA playoffs.
Davis, who missed 30 games in February and March due to an Achilles injury, returned April 22 and has now played in five games for the Lakers. LeBron, who missed 20 games with an ankle injury, made his return to the Lakers’ lineup Friday night against the Sacramento Kings.
However, after both of their respective returns, one thing that remains very clear is that the Lakers have some figuring out to do. One thing they don’t really have right now, though, is time. With only nine games remaining in the regular season, the Lakers need to get things right and get them right fast.
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The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled recently with AD and now LeBron
Since his return from injury, Davis is averaging 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists per game on just 44 percent shooting from the field and 21 percent shooting from 3-point range. The team overall is 1-3 in those games. In his minutes on the floor, the Lakers have a plus/minus of -8.5.
In LeBron’s first game back, he looked a little better. In nearly 32 minutes in his first game back, LeBron finished with 16 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the floor.
The Lakers lost to the Kings, but LeBron looked a little more like usual than Davis has since his return.
It’s natural for there to be a lag due to both players getting back into rhythm and that’s exactly what the Lakers have been going through over the last four games. In those games, Los Angeles has just the 22nd ranked offense and 16th ranked defense.
The worst part of it all, besides the fact that there are only nine games remaining in the regular season for the Lakers to figure it out, is that the team is not locked into a playoff spot. The Lakers will be in the playoffs, one way or another, but are not locked into a top 5 seed.
In fact, there’s a chance that the Lakers could fall all the way to 7th. The Lakers are currently in the 5th seed, but only a half-game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks and one game ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers.
The likelihood is that the Lakers begin to play well over the final few regular-season games and they enter the playoffs as the 5th seed, but that’s still no guarantee yet.
While Davis and LeBron may be back with the team, the Lakers are far from right. And they don’t have much time to figure it out.