The 2021 All-Star festivities have passed with the weekend being capped off with Team LeBron taking down Team Durant 170-150. Now that the first half of the season is over with, the Lakers are looking to continue their campaign to win their second consecutive NBA title. While the team seemed to limp to the All-Star break to end the first half, they’ve had some solid production from players such as Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schröder so far. They’re still third in the West and more than capable of staying among the conference leaders into the playoffs.
However, they’ll have to do so without the services of Anthony Davis for a little while longer. After being evaluated by team doctors on Friday, the Lakers announced that Davis will remain out of the lineup and will be reevaluated in late March. The Lakers’ big man has been sidelined since February 14.
From the Lakers: Anthony Davis was examined by team doctors this evening. He is progressing in his recovery and has been cleared to enter the next phase of his return to play process. He will be re-evaluated by team doctors in two weeks and an update will be given at that time.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 13, 2021
His absence on the court has shown as the team is 7-6 without him and 17-6 with him in the lineup. Damian Jones was recently signed to a second 10-day contract after playing through his first and the team still has Marc Gasol, but so far neither has been enough to make a real difference. The Lakers have been flirting with the idea of making a run at Andre Drummond or Hassan Whiteside ahead of the March 25 trade deadline though nothing has materialized as of yet.
Related: Damian Jones Shows What He Can Bring to Los Angeles
Getting Davis back would provide Los Angeles with a huge boost to finish out the season. It’ll be interesting to see if the Lakers make any more additions or stay put and wait.
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While Davis has been out for an extended period of time, LeBron James has been playing like an MVP. There’s no doubt that he has shouldered the load to keep LA from slipping so far down. Fans should look to see more him on the court as he reassured everyone that “it’s go time” when he spoke to the media.
“I kind of use the first half of the season as being in gear 1, 2 and 3, and then in the second half being in more like 4, 5, 6, and then when the playoffs start you’re in 7. And that’s kind of the way I’ve always kind of adjusted over the last few years of my career, really just ramping up more, more and more as the months go on as the games go on going into the playoffs.”
At 35-years old, James sat out a handful of games to manage his minutes early in the season. Yet that will seem to come to an end as he’ll continue to lead the Lakers towards glory once again.
