As the NBA season entered its final stretch, the Los Angeles Lakers seemed to have everything under control. Since making their significant NBA Trade Deadline additions, which included re-signing D'Angelo Russell and adding him to a squad that already featured superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers are 4-1. This reality, along with James and Davis's and the team's inconsistent availability, were reflected in their sub-.500 regular season.
This season, the Lakers have participated in 62 games. In 28 of them, LeBron and AD have played together. That definitely isn't a recipe for Los Angeles to win the championship. According to Shams Charania, Davis will now miss the Lakers' upcoming game against the Thunder on Wednesday night.
But things were improving! Before LeBron heard a pop, that is. And now that he will be sidelined for at least two weeks, the Lakers will once again be without at least one of their top two players.
But on Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, it seemed, at least briefly, that the Lakers would be able to weather the storm. The tiny Xavier Tillman Sr. was exploited by Davis, who was also a threat on the glass and around the rim. With both James and D'Angelo Russell out, players like Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker IV provided scoring punch, and the aforementioned Beasley and Vanderbilt provided their own sparks of offensive output and defensive/rebounding toughness, respectively.
But once the first half ended and the second one started, something amusing occurred. Anthony Davis maintained his dominance by scoring 28 points (on 19 attempts), grabbing 19 rebounds, and blocking 5 shots in the final round. though those
By converting 13 of their six attempts from beyond the arc, the Lakers outshot the Grizzlies from three-point range by over 20 percent. 56 to 47, L.A. outrebounded the Grizzlies. Yet, the Lakers were defeated by double digits despite these advantages and a stellar performance by Anthony Davis.
So much for deciphering stuff. The questions appeared to alter again after the solutions were reportedly found.
In the Grizzlies game, the Lakers committed 25 turnovers, which is unhelpful when scoring attempts result in Memphis possessions, especially in transition, where the Grizzlies excel. Nonetheless, AD only made 5 of those mistakes, which is more comprehensible given how important he was to the team and how often he played than, example, the following -
Six turnovers by Dennis Schroder
Four turnovers by Austin Reaves
Three turnovers each by Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Lonnie Walker IV
The dilemma for the Lakers is made worse by that degree of irresponsibility from probably the players L.A. needs the most with LeBron James out—those who aren't called D'Angelo Russell. Anthony Davis only needs to be extraterrestrial for everything to work.
The Lakers were unable to withstand the assault of the Memphis All-Stars thanks to their performance level. While LeBron James' absence makes the Grizzlies one of the league's top teams, the situation does not get any better moving forward.
Prior to LeBron, D'Angelo Russell will return, which will undoubtedly be helpful to some level. Players like Beasley and Schroder will be able to avoid overextending themselves by moving them closer to their optimal roles. Russell, however, does not entirely fill the vacuum left by LeBron James, despite the fact that he is a very strong NBA player.
The concept of what LeBron and Anthony Davis are as a team has been crucial to how the Lakers have been envisioned. Their combined efforts need to be the
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