Just when the Los Angeles Lakers seemed to have gained some momentum, they hit a snag once again. On Wednesday night, the Sacramento Kings routed the Lakers with a 130-20 loss. A loss that could have been a win had the Lakers not let their early 19-point lead slip away. In just six minutes, the Kings flipped the script, outscoring their opponents 71-31. But the loss wasn’t even the worst part of the game. The worst happened when, with 3:56 left, LeBron James, who led a late-game charge to make the final score more respectable, limped to the locker room, grimacing in pain after he flared his ankle injury.

In the recent episode of Undisputed, journalist Rachel Nichols unraveled the doctor’s insight on the injury. “I did ask him off to the side. I said, ‘What are the doctors saying to you? How is this going to get better? What do you have to do? And he said rest and then he smirked a little bit because he cannot rest on this team,” said Nichols. As she mentions, it would be absolutely impossible for James to get the rest he needs considering their rough schedule. The Lakers are slated to face four title hopefuls next- the Bucks, Timberwolves, Kings, and Warriors.

James has been grappling with left ankle tendinopathy for over two months now. Despite being a regular feature in the injury report, he has played almost all games, missing only eight this season so far. A reason this left ankle injury keeps flaring up from time to time could be because of a lack of adequate rest.

The Lakers need LeBron James

James has been carrying the Lakers on most nights, picking up the slack when both Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves were in a slump. Even during their recent loss, he capped the night with a team-high 31 points, logging in 36 minutes on the court. Although it doesn’t seem so, James is still a 39-year-old who needs proper rest to perform well. He leads the team in scoring, averaging 25.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game this season. And the Lakers need those 25 points per game to remain competitive.

As things currently stand, the Lakers are barely keeping their heads above water, just on the fringes of the play-in spot. Given their rankings, it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to get the doctor-prescribed rest that he so desperately requires anytime soon.

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The only solace has been their improving offense. Over the last month, they have gone from 20th in offensive rating to third overall. A much-needed spike since their defense has slipped from 15th to 21st in efficiency. Do you think the Lakers can make a deep playoff run this season? Let us know in the comments!

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