NBA: Lakers “The Road 2 Showtime”

It’s been nearly 3 years since 5x NBA Champion Kobe Bryant retired from the League. It’s been nearly 6 years since the Los Angeles Lakers made the NBA Playoffs in 2013. Most Lakers fans were ecstatic when they found out that Lebron James was bringing his talents to LA during the 2018 offseason. Fast forward to Christmas Day vs. the Golden State Warriors, Lebron suffers a severe groin injury and Rajon Rondo breaks his hand. The Lakers find way to step up in their absence, with the help of the young core (Ingram, Hart, Kuzma & Ball) and win the game by a great margin. Fast forward to today, the Lakers are currently #9 (25-23). PG Lonzo Ball recently suffered a sprained ankle vs. the Houston Rockets and will be out for 4-6 weeks. Lebron James is supposed to make a return to action possibly this Thursday vs. the Timberwolves.

In my opinion, the Lakers are in a interesting position. Either they will surprise the entire league by having everyone return to action completely healthy, just in time for the playoffs (to at least bring the Lakers back to the Western Conference Finals for the 1st time in 5 years) or they will face the Warriors (Currently #1 in the West) and get sent home in the 1st or 2nd round.

I don’t see this Laker team making it to the 2019 NBA Finals if the Warriors are at 100%. Warriors Big Man Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins has finally returned to action after a year of rehab (Achilles Rupture) and has the entire NBA League on notice. However, I will admit I love a great underdog story, so the Los Angeles Lakers have been one of my favorite teams to watch this season. I hope Lebron can continue to build this young core with his seasoned veterans into a championship contender. This last run in his career might just cement the self proclaimed “King” into the greats of NBA history.