"What he does these next 2 weeks" - Shannon Sharpe believes NBA needs to beware of a well-rested LeBron James, mention he needs to put "a herculean effort"
As the Philadelphia 76ers blew past the LA Lakers 126-121 on Wednesday, a glimpse of what Los Angeles would look like without lebron-james' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>lebron-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">LeBron James was provided.
Final count. https://t.co/IERUmHw08J
LeBron James was held out with left knee soreness Wednesday night. As it is, the Lakers (31-42) are 6-13 without James this season. If Wednesday was a preview of what could happen if James gets hurt (a possibility given his age), then resting him was probably a sound decision.
The Lakers are clinging to a spot in the play-in tournament and will look to win as many of their remaining games as they can, with only nine left.
Shannon Sharpe, on "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," talked about how James' absence affects the Lakers:
"I believe in order for the Lakers to stay nine-10, and to keep San Antonio at bay – because San Antonio is coming – they need a rested, healthy LeBron."
.@ShannonSharpe on LeBron missing matchup vs the Sixers:
"This was smart, it's giving LeBron almost a week of rest. In order for the Lakers to stay in the play-in spot, they need a rested LeBron. He's been carrying a heavy load, but watch what he does these next 2 weeks." https://t.co/YXD4YJA66i
"He's averaging like 35 points since the All-Star game. ... He's going to have to average 35-40 points over these last nine games to keep them in the play-in spot," Sharpe continued.
Sharpe also talked about what it will take for the Lakers to end up with a play-in spot:
"They are not rising any higher than nine. ... Nine-10 is where they are going to be, but he's going to have to put up a herculean effort just to keep them there."
He also lauded the Lakers for resting James:
"This was smart. It's giving LeBron almost a week of rest. In order for the Lakers to stay in the play-in spot, they need a rested LeBron. He's been carrying a heavy load, but watch what he does these next two weeks."
The Lakers will meet the 10th-place Pelicans (30-42) in New Orleans on Sunday. That game and an April 1 meeting in Los Angeles could be pivotal in deciding which team hosts the Nine-Ten Game in the play-in tournament.
LA Lakers' prospect for contention
If the postseason began today, the Lakers would play in the Nine-Ten Game. They'd have to win that game and then beat the loser of the Seven-Eight Game to claim the No. 8 seed in the playoffs.
Assuming the Lakers win those two play-in games, they'd face a daunting task.
They would face the Phoenix Suns (59-14), who hold a nine-game lead in the Western Conference with the NBA's best record. Beating Phoenix in a seven-game series is very unlikely. The Suns won the first three meetings against the Lakers by comfortable margins: 115-105, 108-90 and 140-111 (March 13).
Plus, there is no date for Anthony Davis' return. And while Russell Westbrook has picked up his play in recent games, he still cannot be relied on.
If the Lakers' bench performs up to the mark, and both Westbrook and Davis act as a decent supporting cast for LeBron James, the Lakers don't look too bad. (A glaring stat: Davis, having never played an entire season in his career, has missed just one out of the 40 postseason games for his teams.)
The Lakers trail the eighth-place LA Clippers (36-38) by 4.5 games for a spot in the Seven-Eight Game. However, the Lakers are just two games ahead of the 11th-place San Antonio Spurs (29-44) and one ahead of the Pelicans (30-42). If either one of those teams catch the Lakers, they won't make the playoffs. San Antonio has won three of its past four games.
In their final nine games, the Lakers play five games on the road (11-24 away from home this season) and six against teams with winning records. Plus, they have the crucial two games with the Pelicans.
They also face the Dallas Mavericks (45-28), Utah Jazz (45-28), Suns and Golden State Warriors (48-25), along with two games with the Denver Nuggets (43-30).
If they can somehow manage to hold on to the ninth or 10th spot and make it out of the play-in, they can, at the very least, dream of a deep playoff run.