In an effort to get LeBron James back into the Finals, the Lakers have had yet another dreadful start to the season. They are now 18-21 with just over half the season remaining.
Due to the inability of the Westbrook, LeBron, and AD combination to work together last year, they completely missed the play-in scenarios. Their aspirations to challenge for the championship were severely hampered by injuries and a dearth of strong perimeter defenders.
They are going through an identity issue, thus this season so far seems to be essentially the same. Although Russell Westbrook is now starting off the bench to give them some energy, the rest of their team still appears to be as disorganized as it did the previous season.
Role player underperformance and a general lack of skill on the team outside of their Big 3 are costing them. However, King James has been making every effort to keep them afloat.
In 9 of his last 11 games, LeBron has scored more than 30 points. He scored 43 and 47 points in his last two games, which were victories over the Hornets and Hawks, respectively.
Their load does not appear to alleviate any time soon, either, as Anthony Davis may be out through the end of the month.
Is LeBron James playing tonight vs Kings?
Before their match, ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin had some good news for the purple-and-gold brigade. In this crucial matchup, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are expected to compete as they attempt to reclaim a spot in the play-in game.
In their Wednesday game against the Heat, they needed some heroics from the limping Dennis Schroder to win. Considering James is there, Schroder most likely has more help this time.