Despite seeing all three of their top players deal with various injuries, the Los Angeles Lakers are off to a 7-2 start that has them second in the Western Conference and looking like a legitimate title contender. The most notable of those absences has been LeBron James not playing yet due to a sciatica issue.
The Lakers issued a positive update Thursday on James’ status, noting he is cleared for basketball activities and will begin ramping up to 5-on-5 work. The Lakers will re-evaluate James in 1-2 weeks to see how his body is responding to getting back on the court.
On top of James sitting out all nine games, Luka Dončić missed four games with a lower leg injury and Austin Reaves sat out their last two games with groin soreness. However, when those two have played, they’ve been spectacular to step up in James’ absence. Dončić averages a ridiculous 40.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game, while Reaves averages 31.1 points and 9.3 assists per game.
In LeBron James’ absence, the Lakers have grown into the sort of championship contender he said he wanted
Sam Quinn
Beyond those two stars, the Lakers got great play from Rui Hachimura and all three of their major offseason acquisitions. Deandre Ayton looks good as the starting center, averaging 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, Jake LaRavia brought them much-needed 3-point shooting off the bench and Marcus Smart has given them an edge on the defensive end and another ball-handler when Reaves and Dončić are off the floor.
Even with lineup instability due to injuries, the Lakers are thriving on offense with the sixth best offensive rating in the league and have managed to cobble together a league average defense despite their personnel limitations. It’s been an impressive start to the season for this Lakers roster and coach JJ Redick, who is getting the most out of his guys, no matter what combination is on the floor.
The Lakers will be thrilled to get the future Hall of Famer back on the court, but it doesn’t come without its challenges. James has a preferred style of play and Redick’s task will be figuring out how to get him going without diminishing what the others have done so far. All three of James, Dončić and Reaves will have to give a bit to make it all work, with Reaves likely the one to cede the most responsibility to the other two.
Having to figure out how to make all his best players work together will be a welcome challenge for Redick after playing lineup roulette each night with various injuries. The good news is they learned some of those lessons last year, but it won’t be a surprise if there are some growing pains early in James’ return to the floor as they work out exactly how the dynamic looks with this roster this season.
