Time is running out for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-23 season as they’ve got less than 30 games to turn things around and get back into the playoff race.
The Lakers are currently the 13th seed in the Western Conference and are two games back of the final Play-In Tournament spot. Their poor start to the 2022-23 season really set them back, so now each game feels like a must-win to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Los Angeles bolstered the roster at the trade deadline, but the most important thing is LeBron James’s health. James was forced to miss their win against the Golden State Warriors due to a lingering foot issue, though he previously got imaging done that revealed normal wear and tear.
While it doesn’t sound serious, James is likely to miss their game on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Lisa Salters just reported on ABC that LeBron is likely to return for the #Lakers against the Pelicans on Wednesday. L.A. plays Portland on Monday.
— Anthony Gharib (@GharibSports) February 12, 2023
As far as the next steps go for James, Darvin Ham said he’ll continue to rest and receive treatment via Spectrum SportsNet:
“For him to continue to get treatment, stay off of it. Again, obviously we made moves and one of the biggest moves is making sure we’re not putting him in a position and putting him at risk of a bigger issue. We got some imaging done and everything came back clean, just again a normal wear-and-tear and just a little irritated in one area. So we’re just taking this time that we have to try and get him treated and work towards getting him back so we can make a good run and he can be in the midst of it going down the stretch.”
It’s concerning that James’s foot injury will force him to miss multiple games, but at least there’s some comfort in knowing that the team has more depth to help weather his absence. Fortunately for the Lakers, the Trail Blazers should also be shorthanded as they will likely be without Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic. It’s another crucial game for the purple and gold, so hopefully, they show the same tenacity and energy they played with against Golden State.
Darvin Ham explains what trade deadline acquisitions will bring to Lakers
Los Angeles did well to address several areas of need during the trade deadline, adding shooting, playmaking and front-court depth in separate trades. Ham outlined what the acquisitions will bring to the table and it should be exciting to see how it pans out.