Opinion: Can the Lakers absorb LeBron James’ long injury absence?

The image appeared both comforting and discouraging.

A day after suffering a high right ankle sprain, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James sat on the bench and drew up plays on an iPad. Rarely do injured NBA stars sit on the bench during the game if they have a serious ailment.

While he was serving as a de facto assistant coach, however, James wore a walking boot on his right foot. Rarely do NBA players wear that device if they don’t have a serious ailment.

"Those things take a while to heal," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "They are slow recoveries."

In related news, the Lakers labored through a 111-94 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday that also marked the 14th consecutive game All-Star forward Anthony Davis missed because of a strained right calf. But while it doesn’t take a basketball genius to know the Lakers will struggle without James, it takes more than just a medical genius in determining how serious James' injury is.

The Lakers have declared James out indefinitely. But the Lakers offered no clarity on what the worst-case and best-case scenarios of that vague timeline actually means. They also did not provide much details on the severity of James’ high ankle sprain.

"Sorry to be boring," Vogel said. "We’re going to prepare to play without him until he’s back.”

All of which makes it hard to figure out what this means for the Lakers and their quest to defend their NBA championship.

If James stays sidelined for the next four to six weeks, it may not really matter. Although the Lakers (28-14) could fall below the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, they would immediately catapult back to title-contending favorites with a healthy James and Davis. No disrespect to championship hopefuls like the Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers, but the Lakers are nearly unbeatable so long as a healthy and mentally refreshed James and Davis are on the floor. They are that talented that the Lakers don’t need more favorable playoff matchups to ensure a path to the NBA Finals.

Unlike in most seasons when playoff seedings could affect home-court advantage, that might become a relatively moot point. Teams are hosting games with either a limited number of fans or no fans at all because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Lakers may not even be able to host playoff games with fans considering the high COVID-19 rates and the delay in vaccine distribution in Los Angeles County. And the Lakers played better in mostly empty road arenas (14-6) than at a completely empty Staples Center (14-9) anyway. Hence, who cares if the Lakers prolong their 0-2 record in games without James and Davis?

If James has to miss the rest of the season? If he cannot return until the playoffs start? If he can only return so long as he goes against the doctors’ wishes? Then the Lakers are doomed in numerous ways.

If James has a season-ending injury, the Lakers won’t host a championship parade unless they hold a posthumous one to celebrate their 2020 title. If James cannot return until the playoffs start, the Lakers may become vulnerable with James dealing with rust or a minutes restriction. If James returns without fully healing his ankle, the 36-year-old star would put himself in danger of Father Time delivering a punch even more painful than when James screamed in pain after rolling his ankle during Saturdays’ game against Atlanta.

The potentially complicated scenario to all of this involves Davis. The Lakers plan to re-evaluate him in about a week after clearing him on March 12 to advance in his rehab following the injury on Feb. 14. Then, the Lakers will find out if Davis can make a much-needed return or faces another lengthy wait. When his injury first happened, the Lakers and Davis’ agent, Rich Paul, both maintained the organization would handle Davis with care. Even with James’ latest injury, I don’t expect the Lakers to change their thought process with this.

Nonetheless, it seems unrealistic to expect that Davis’ presence could be enough to defend the Lakers’ NBA title. Davis would need some time to shed rust and improve his timing and conditioning whenever he returns. He could become vulnerable to another injury or the opposing team’s superior depth should James remain sidelined. The Lakers should not fret if Davis needs to sit the remainder of the regular season before returning to the dominant player he once was. But the Lakers should fret if Davis has to play without James in the playoffs.

"I’m optimistic," Vogel said. "We didn’t shoot the ball well, but I thought we competed at a very high level. It’s going to take a little bit of time to figure out where the shots are coming from and what our new identity is going to look like, but we’re going to play within our system. But I’m proud of the way our guys competed on a second night of a back-to-back."

In fairness, Vogel’s optimism has some merit.

While the Lakers roster is built around James and Davis, their supporting cast is competent with a top-ranked defense and a bench unit that ranks second in scoring (41.2 points) that trimmed the Suns’ double-digit deficit to seven in the fourth quarter. Montrezl Harrell is a tremendous pick-and-roll scorer and bruiser inside. Dennis Schroder is a crafty playmaker and shooter. Kyle Kuzma has thrived on both ends of the court whenever he receives increased playing time. Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Torton-Horton Tucker all offer hustle plays and shooting potential.

With the Lakers declining to keep center Damian Jones past his second 10-day contract, they will have more roster flexibility to make moves before Thursday’s trade deadline or on the subsequent buyout market. Likely candidates, including LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Drummond, could be enticed by the lure of a definitive role on a team still in the championship race. While Vogel has a proven system already, perhaps he listens to Schroder’s suggestion about taking more 3-pointers to make up for their star players’ absence.

"That’s what coach builds in the locker room every day — that next-man-up mentality and every guy being ready," Harrell said. "That’s something that’s going to take just throughout this year in general."

As much as the Lakers have become used to overcoming obstacles, James was usually there to help them steer the controls. It happened last season when they plowed through following Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s tragedy, a suspended season and a restart in the bubble. It continued when the Lakers started this season merely two months after winning the NBA title. Even with Davis’ injury and the Lakers dealing with a handful of health and safety protocols, James still kept them afloat.

So while it may have inspired the Lakers that James sat on the bench to show his investment in the team, it should have also scared them. For better or worse, only Father Time will determine whether James can ensure the Lakers win another NBA title.

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