LeBron James, Anthony Davis out vs. Jazz, 'hopeful' vs. Pelicans
Things are coming down to the wire for the Los Angeles Lakers as they look to avoid becoming one of the most-hyped super-teams in NBA history to fail to make the postseason. On Thursday afternoon, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski had updates on the injury statuses of stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers, which have lost three in a row, enter Thursday night's crucial game against the Jazz at 31-44, nursing a slim lead over the 11th-place San Antonio Spurs for the final spot in the play-in tournament. Including Thursday, Los Angeles has just seven contests left in the regular season.
Last offseason, the Lakers completed a mega-blockbuster five-team trade that landed them future Hall-of-Fame guard Russell Westbrook to join James and Davis as arguably the most impressive "Big Three" in the league — on paper. It's been a struggle for L.A. essentially from opening night though, however. The Lakers haven't been over the .500 mark since they were 21-20 on Jan. 9.
"King James" has been his dominant self, posting MVP-caliber numbers, but has also missed 20 games due to rest and various injuries. "AD" has missed over half of the season, suiting up just 37 times.
Westbrook — though he's played in all but one game — is averaging his lowest points per game (18.2) since 2009-2010, has dropped to 7.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists per contest, and perhaps most alarmingly has at times been benched in late-game, clutch moments.
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