National Basketball Association

Should LeBron, new-look Lakers be discussed among West favorites?

Published Feb. 27, 2023 4:40 p.m. ET

The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off this season’s biggest comeback via a 111-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Now the question is, could there be optimism surrounding the purple and gold once again, now that their trade deadline moves have bolstered the roster?

Skip Bayless expressed some on Monday’s episode of "Undisputed."

"The cloud has been lifted off your team," Bayless said to cohost Shannon Sharpe. "And I do believe Rob Pelinka should be in the running for Executive of the Year because I liked every little piece that he picked up because they equal one big piece to the puzzle."

Lakers complete 27-point comeback win vs. Luka, Kyrie and the Mavericks

Bayless maintained that the additions of Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Rui Hachimura have given the team a much-needed boost. However, he qualified his optimism by admitting, "If LeBron is flat out hurt, then you’re done."

Sharpe cited that exact problem as the reason he is not as keen on the Lakers as Bayless.

"For me, he does not look like the same LeBron James that we saw play from his birthday until he injured that foot. … The foot is clearly bothering him. There’s some things that he can’t do that he normally could do, and he’s not playing the same brand of basketball that we’ve seen from LeBron.

"As long as LeBron is not healthy, they’re not going anywhere"

Colin Cowherd probed the same issue on Monday’s edition of "The Herd." He acknowledged that the Lakers did a bang-up job addressing many of their glaring problems at the trade deadline, but Cowherd is still not sold on a deep postseason run.