After falling to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers are officially on the outside of the postseason picture after falling to the No. 11 seed, one spot below the play-in line, tied in the loss column with the San Antonio Spurs who own the tiebreaker.
With seven games remaining, the Lakers are desperate to get their stars back, and it appears there’s good news on that front. Chris Haynes reported on the TNT broadcast of the Lakers-Mavericks game on Tuesday that Anthony Davis, who’s been out for the past six weeks with a mid-foot sprain, is targeting his return for Friday night when the Lakers host the Pelicans.
The bad news is Haynes also reported that LeBron James, who missed Tuesday night’s 128-110 loss to Dallas with a sprained ankle, is not expected to play on Thursday vs. the Jazz. On Wednesday afternoon, the Lakers confirmed that report by officially ruling James out of the matchup.
So as of now, the Lakers will be without both their stars for at least one more game, and these are basically must-win games. As stated at the top, the Lakers have dropped to the No. 11 seed. They are tied with the Spurs, who own the tiebreaker with a better conference record. The Lakers have seven games remaining, starting at Utah on Thursday.
