LeBron James to miss must win game against Denver Nuggets
LeBron James wont play on Sunday night vs the Denver Nuggets, which means the Lakers are without their best player in a game that they must win.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a bad spot and to make matters worse, LeBron James is not available to play having failed to recover from his recent ankle injury.
LeBron James to miss Denver Nuggets clash
Though it was widely expected, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel confirmed the fears of Lakers fans when he made clear that star LeBron James will miss Sunday's game against the Denver Nuggets with a sore left ankle. Vogel actually went on to say that from this moment on James will be a day-to-day decision, as the Lakers hope to clinch a play in spot for the playoffs having fallen out of contention - unbelievably so - in recent weeks.
James had already missed three games heading into Sunday's match-up with Denver and needless to say it was not to the benefit of the Lakers. Indeed, those three as well as two more have all ended in losses making it a case of 0-5 in the Lakers' last outings. With that being the case, Los Angeles has actually dropped out of the play-in position going into the final week of the regular season, which is to say its a case of now or never if they are to make the playoffs.
Anthony Davis has returned, but does it matter?
In his second game back, center Anthony Davis will once again be in the lineup as he hopes to give the Lakers a boost in a critical moment. The big man put in an impressive performance in Los Angeles' last game, having returned from more than six weeks out with a right mid-foot sprain, but unfortunately it was not enough as the Lakers fell 114-111 against the New Orleans Pelicans. Though LeBron James at the time was hopeful saying, "Hopefully it reacts the proper way for me in the morning when I wake up and I have no setbacks," with Vogel's confirmation that his star won't play, the responsibility will now fall squarely on Davis' shoulders.
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Where exactly are the Los Angeles Lakers?
There is no sugar coating Los Angeles' situation at the moment. The Lakers currently trail the San Antonio Spurs who sit in 10th position in the Western Conference by a game with five games remaining. To make matters worse, the Spurs actually hold the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, such that it will require no less than two games made up if the Lakers are to grab the final play-in spot from San Antonio. If they are in fact to accomplish that feat, it will mean that they have to win all of their remaining games, which start on Sunday night with their clash against Denver, followed by dates with Phoenix, Golden State and Oklahoma City. Dark times indeed.