With Anthony Davis reportedly out for at least the next month with a foot injury, the Los Angeles Lakers have truly reached an inflection point.
They have been playing much better since starting 2-10, especially offensively, but they still hold a mediocre 13-17 record, which is 12th in the Western Conference.
What they do (or don’t do) in the next four to six weeks will likely define their season and whether they will have any shot at making the playoffs, let alone making any noise there.
The saving grace for the Lakers may be the fact their schedule is relatively manageable until the final days of January. Although they have a five-game road trip starting on Christmas Day, they will play only four teams during the next several weeks that are considered anything close to championship contenders: the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers.
There is still an opportunity for L.A. to salvage its season and put itself in position to become a playoff team once Davis returns if indeed he doesn’t miss more than about four to six weeks.
To do that, LeBron James needs to show great leadership and get his team in the right frame of mind for this upcoming span. A big part of that means getting his men to believe that they will do just fine while Davis is recuperating.
James has a history of getting his teams to dig in and respond well to adversity. However, his critics would argue otherwise.