The Los Angeles Lakers are in danger of missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year after a tough start to their 2022-23 campaign. Despite bright spots and winning streaks, the Lakers are still trying to climb out of the 2-10 hole they got themselves in to start the season.
15-21 isn’t looking much better but shows the Lakers have been above .500 for the last 2 months of the season. A large credit for this goes to Anthony Davis, who when healthy, was playing like an MVP candidate. His injury has caused the Lakers to fall off a cliff defensively, something that AD points to as the reason for LA’s struggles.
“Feeling a lot better. The pain has subsided tremendously” @AntDavis23 with an update and some clarity on his injury. pic.twitter.com/QNK602ZmZV
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 31, 2022
“I think our main [struggle] is defensively. We took a huge dip defensively. I think maybe three games in a row we gave up like 130 which is not us. It’s not the team we’ve been. Even when I was in the lineup we took some dips, but that’s my biggest thing right now. Obviously being the anchor of the defense and guys thinking like, ‘Okay, AD in on the back line,’ which allows us to do different schemes defensively when I’m on the floor. Just been trying to give these guys my insight on the defensive end, looking at clips, grabbing the iPad and showing guys when they come out, things like that. The offense though, we’ve been scoring. We just haven’t been defending and that’s where our struggles have been. Transition, rebounding, everything on the defensive end.”
A 38-year-old LeBron James cannot provide the defensive coverage the Lakers need, especially given his offensive load. He averaged over 31 points for the month of December, but there simply aren’t other good defenders on the Lakers’ roster to make up for AD’s absence.
Can The Lakers Make The Playoffs?
The Western Conference is looking to have 9 teams that are more or less set to be a part of the top 10. This is if the Utah Jazz continues losing games, as they’ve dipped to below .500 for the first time this season after their latest loss.
The Lakers will have to fight off the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are without Karl-Anthony Towns and on a 6-game skid right now, and just one game ahead of LA. The Oklahoma City Thunder are also in the mix, but they are still a team that could tank for a better pick.
AD and LeBron as a duo could be lethal but beating a healthy Wolves team to the final playoff spot will be a massive challenge. One trade to reinforce their defense and shooting could be all that LA needs to make the play-in and push for a playoff spot.
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