Andy and Brian Kamenetzky on the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA, pop culture, and anything else coming to mind. The Kamenetzky's have covered the Lakers for over a decade, for ESPN.com, ESPN Radio and the L.A. Times. They are frequent contributors to Lakers coverage on Spectrum Sportsnet, as well as The Athletic.
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episode 30: LeBron James joins Anthony Davis on the injury list... How can the Lakers hang on?
The news is big, and it ain't good.
Saturday against the Hawks, LeBron James suffered a very nasty looking high ankle sprain, and has been declared "out indefinitely" by the Lakers. Whether that means seven, 10, 15 or more games remains to be seen, but with only 29 remaining following Sunday's loss to the Suns in Phoenix, the Lakers don't have much time to get their house in order before the playoffs begin.
The margin for error, if it's still there, is shrinking.
And just where might they be when those playoffs roll around? The schedule gets harder, and the shorthandedLakers, light on front end talent (if you were told an NBA team's best players were Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder, you'd say "This is not a playoff team.") are unlikely to win much until at least one of their stars return. So could they fall as low as the play-in tournament? It's not as crazy as it might sound.
LeBron's injury, by the way, is a bad example for anyone looking to pin a badge of irresponsibility and greed on the NBA for having these guys play a compressed schedule. Maybe other injuries are, but even then the conversation is hardly simple.
What can they do to win games, now? It starts with impeccable decision making. Can't afford turnovers. Can't blow easy rotations, defensively. The Lakers could end up the underdog in every game they play - even Orlando - over the next couple weeks, at least. Underdogs can't make mistakes.
Finally... Snyder Cut. You in?
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