Can LeBron James save the Lakers' season after Anthony Davis injury?
Looks like it's all on LeBron now.
Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis will be out for at least four weeks after an MRI revealed he suffered a mid-foot sprain in the team's 106-101 win against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Davis previously missed 17 straight games from late December to late January with a sprained MCL in his left knee. And now, it will be a month until he's reevaluated, meaning he's not guaranteed to jump back on the floor.
Where does L.A. go from here?
On Friday's "First Things First," FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard said he's pessimistic about the Lakers' season after Davis' diagnosis. In fact — if he's being realistic — he predicts the Lakers are "done" without Davis, even with LeBron James on the court.
"I do think it's over for the Lakers," Broussard said. "You always think in the back of your mind, ‘But LeBron, but LeBron!’ But looking at this realistically, I think they're done. Because we know it's not gonna be four weeks. They're gonna reevaluate [Davis] in four weeks, see if the treatment is going the right way and all that. I think it's gonna be at least six weeks.
"So let's say it's six weeks — that's April 1. He will have missed 18 games during that time. Twelve of those games are against playoff teams."
'The Lakers are done after Anthony Davis' injury, even with LeBron James' I FIRST THINGS FIRST
But has having Davis on the floor really made much of a difference this year?
With the minimum four-week timetable, Davis is on pace to play just 46 games (if he plays in every game after sitting out four weeks). It would be the second consecutive season in which he played less than 50 games and the third time in the previous four seasons that he will have played less than 60 games, after playing 60-plus games in each of his first six seasons (2012-2018).
Davis is currently shooting 70.9% from free throw line, the worst percentage of his career. He is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game, and if he finishes there, it would be his third straight season averaging under 10 boards. He is also averaging 23.1 points per game, his second straight season under 24 points a night.
This season, the Lakers are 17-20 (.459%) with Davis and they are 10-11 (.476%) without him. L.A. currently sits ninth in the Western Conference (27-31), six games behind the No. 6 Denver Nuggets, which is the spot they would have to capture to avoid the play-in tournament.
With that, Kevin Wildes questioned whether James would — and could — rise to the occasion, or would he choose to take a step back and "prioritize his health" by taking care of his own ailments considering L.A.'s struggles.
"Could you see a scenario where LeBron shuts it down? If he's had a few injuries this year? We've heard that his knee hurts. … I think it's on the board now," Wildes said.
In response, Broussard said that the Lakers should see if James can spearhead a charge up the West standings, but if not, L.A. should consider taking a safer approach with its superstar.
"If they're struggling, and they maybe even fall to the 10th spot or lower, then I think it makes sense to sit LeBron," Broussard said. "… I think it would be wise of LeBron to do that. I know he's got his sights on Kareem's record, but if he plays next year anywhere near what he's doing this year, then he can still get that record."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record is well within James' sights. But as the regular season comes to an end, the record that matters most is the one that counts wins and losses.
And the Lakers, with or without Davis, have to figure out how to record more Ws than Ls if they hope to make a postseason splash.
