The Los Angeles Lakers fell to yet another loss when they faced the Philadelphia 76ers last night 126-121. However, the Lakers took a lot of positives from the loss, mainly how competitive they were despite LeBron James being rested for knee soreness. The team showed effort and played well, but were just outmatched against a healthy Sixers team.
Naturally, the decision for LeBron to rest against a contending team like the 76ers was criticized by many, including Skip Bayless. He and Shannon Sharpe were having a discussion on LeBron deciding to rest against the Sixers.
“In order for the Lakers to stay 9-10 and keep San Antonio at bay because San Antonio is coming, they need a rested healthy LeBron. He’s averaging like 35 points since the All-Star game. He’s averaging 40 in their wins, so he’s probably going to have to average 35-40 points over these last 9 games to keep them in the play-in. They’re not rising any higher than that. But he’s going to have to put a herculean effort just to keep them there.”
https://twitter.com/undisputed/status/1507010851009531917
Sharpe makes some very solid points. The Lakers have taken their spot in the play-in for granted and a genuine push from San Antonio is brewing. They are on a two-game win streak and are just 2 games behind the Lakers and 0.5 games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the 10th seed.
The Lakers showed they can be competitive without LeBron, but can they win without LeBron? And even if they stay in the play-in, can they actually make the playoffs without Anthony Davis? Health has rued the fortunes of this Lakers’ team, so if there is any time to be cautious with LeBron, it is now.
LeBron James will need to maximize the upcoming schedule for the Lakers, which isn’t as packed as it has been, to recover and be 100% for his team.
