Los Angeles Lakers’ troubles don’t seem to be ending as their injury list keeps on growing. While their powerhouse LeBron James and Anthony Davis were already dealing with injuries for the past month, the latest additions were Kyle Kuzma, Marc Gasol and Wesley Matthews.
Anthony Davis has been out of the game since February 14th where he was pulled out of his game against the Denver Nuggets because of calf strain and tendonitis in his right leg.
On the other hand, LeBron James has been out since last month when he suffered a right ankle sprain. With injuries marrying Lakers, it’s interesting to see how the team has reacted without the presence of their heavyweight athletes.
The injuries have come at the time when winning matches from here on will be important to qualify for the playoffs. The Lakers are currently placed fifth in the Western Conference with 33 wins and 22 losses and have maintained an average of .611 in the division.
While contrary to the popular opinion, where we would have expected the Lakers to tumble a bit, the men in yellow have seem to be doing alright without the presence of LeBron and Davis.
Over the last 11 games, the Lakers have posted the second best defensive rating in the league just behind the Utah Jazz, which has two-time DPOY player Rudy Gobert in their line up.
Infact, this all is proven by the fact that an injury filled Lakers were able to beat Brooklyn Nets, which has players like Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. Lakers beat Nets 126-101 without their key players.
The team is likely to maintain an average above .500 till Davis and James return in about three weeks time. With that being said, as good as the Lakers have looked without their all star players, it’s a scary thought to imagine how good they could be with both their players returning from injuries.
An injury-free Lakers are a powerhouse to be reckoned it and it’s part of the reason why the NBA betting sites have Los Angeles as the favourite to win the Western Conference Championship.
