The Los Angeles Lakers have been clicking on all cylinders in recent weeks, shooting all the way up to second in the West in the process. The team's defense has transformed into one of the best in the NBA, and Luka Dončić has looked like the superstar that Lakers fans expected him to be when he was acquired in the Anthony Davis trade in early February.
Luka is still relatively new to the team, as is this stretch of outstanding defense. Head coach JJ Redick has done a remarkable job of steering the Lakers ship through such changing waters this year, but if there's one constant that he's had since Day 1, it's LeBron James.
LeBron is still somehow going strong in his 22nd year in the league, and along with his new teammate and Nikola Jokic, he's the only player averaging at least 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game this year.
By any measure, LeBron is an integral part of what the Lakers do, but after suffering a groin strain in Saturday night's loss to the Celtics, he's now set to miss at least 1-2 weeks according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The Lakers are also still dealing with the absence of Rui Hachimura, who they hope will be back in about a week from his knee injury.
No team is better off by losing a decades-spanning superstar, but the Lakers need to make the best of this situation if they hope to be in position to challenge for their 18th NBA title. Losing LeBron means that everyone, especially Luka, will need to pick up the slack, but here are three ways that L.A. can spin the King's absence into a positive.
Luka can prove that he has what it takes to carry the Lakers after LeBron retires
The Lakers are very much in the mix this year, but the trade for Luka also opened up a brighter long-term future that seemed out of reach two months ago. It may not seem possible because of the longevity he's shown, but LeBron will retire one day. I'm about 75 percent sure of that. When he does, the keys will fully be handed to Luka, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to show that he's up to the challenge.
Nobody is worried about Luka's ability to carry a team, not after he lifted the Mavericks to the Finals last year as a 5-seed. Still, there's no better chance to prove that he can handle the spotlight in L.A. than to put the team on his back without his co-pilot during such a pivotal point in the season.
LeBron's absence could not only help Luka assert himself as a leader of this team, it could allow Redick to experiment with a few different lineup combinations that can still be put to use after LeBron returns.
Barring a complete collapse that seems extremely unlikely, the Lakers will be in the playoffs. This is a chance to learn a lot about themselves before the games really count.
Dropping to the 4- or 5-seed helps the Lakers avoid the Nuggets until the Western Conference Finals
Lakers fans are probably laughing at this in light of the team's dominant road win in Denver just over two weeks ago. One win doesn't erase the way the Nuggets have lorded over the Lakers in recent years though.
Given that Nikola Jokic and company have ousted L.A. from the playoffs each of the last two years, it seems reasonable to believe that they're the one team the Lakers would prefer to avoid if they can help it. For a while now, it's seemed that the two nemeses were on a collision course for a 2-3 Western Conference semis matchup, but without LeBron, that could easily change.
Despite the Lakers' hot stretch, they're still not very far ahead of the teams chasing them. They lead the Nuggets by percentage points for the 2-seed, and the Grizzlies are only one back as well. Even the Rockets, the current 5-seed, are only two games behind L.A.
If the Lakers slip to fourth or fifth, that will almost surely help them avoid the Nuggets. The Grizzlies and Rockets are good, but neither has much playoff experience, so they'd both be favorable first-round matchups. The Thunder would almost surely be waiting in Round 2, but Luka took them out last year when they were the 1-seed. OKC would be favored due to the 60+ wins they'll end up amassing, but the Lakers wouldn't be intimidated in that series.
That would keep the Nuggets away until the Western Conference Finals, unless of course they were upset first by the Warriors, Wolves or some other team. As they say in The Mandalorian, this is the way.
This is the only way LeBron was going to get some rest before the playoffs
Just as nobody ever thinks that their dad is going to get old, no NBA fan can picture a time when LeBron won't be a dominant NBA presence. It just doesn't seem possible. Father Time is and always will be undefeated though, so eventually, even the greatest fade.
LeBron still stuffs the stat sheet when he's on the court, but he's also dealt with more injuries the last few years than in the rest of his career combined. The clock is ticking, the Lakers just hope it doesn't go off in the playoffs when they really need him.
Better then that LeBron deals with this injury now. He's been playing nearly 36 minutes per night since the beginning of February, a pace that very likely would have left him short of a full tank come playoff time. If the Lakers hope to have a shot at the Finals, it's going to take everything LeBron and everyone else have to get out of the West.
It's not like LeBron is going to be sitting on the couch waiting for his groin to heal, but he also won't have to deal with the wear and tear of battling every two or three nights. Keep in mind that he's also been dealing with foot soreness this year, so this is a chance for him to get fully right before the postseason.
LeBron helped lead the Lakers to a title in 2020. That title was won in the bubble, which was the NBA's way to ensure that the show went on after COVID brought the world to a screeching halt. Is it a coincidence that the season had been on hiatus for nearly four months when play in the bubble began? I think not.
Though we're all glad that the reason LeBron is getting some rest isn't a world-altering pandemic, it's still definitely a good thing that he's able to take a load off before things really get serious.