When LeBron James was expected to miss about a month of the regular season, many did not foresee the Los Angeles Lakers performing well in his absence. However, L.A. exceeded all expectations by achieving a 10-4 record to this point and are coming off a 3-2 road trip.
More importantly, they finished their trip with an emphatic win against the Milwaukee Bucks. The final night of a long week on the road typically leads to a lackluster performance, but Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves set the tone and pulled out a 119-95 win.
As they now return home, it is expected that James will make his season debut soon. With excitement mounting, Reaves detailed how excited he personally is to have their leader joining them, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Very. There’s a lot of excitement for the things that we can do as a group. I spoke about it the other day, y’all know how he is. He analyzes everything to a T, so I’m sure he’s sitting at his house while we’re playing probably drinking a little bit of wine, watching the game and seeing what exactly he can do to help this team be successful. Obviously it’s LeBron and just his presence and his ability is gonna lift the team. But he’s a winner at the end of the day. He’s won his whole career and I expect him to do nothing but come in and be one of the best players. How about Bronny James starting in the NBA and LeBron is assigned to the G League? That’s awesome.”
In previous seasons, the purple and gold struggled mightily to stay above water without James in the lineup. But thanks to the acquisition Doncic, there was no need for him to rush back so he could get to 100% health.
If this Lakers squad can hold a 10-4 record and potentially higher, depending on when James officially returns, one can wonder how high this team’s ceiling truly is. With fewer offensive responsibilities, the four-time champion’s voice on defense and rebounding will be two great tools that shore up weak spots.
Ultimately, this is the structure of a good team where players can pick up slack whenever others are sidelined. No one can fill the void of one of the greatest players ever, but the Lakers did as great as anyone could have imagined doing so.
LeBron James will be full participant in Monday’s practice
The Lakers are returning home from their road trip to practice on Monday and LeBron James is expected to be a full participant. This is a great sign as he progresses toward his season debut.
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