Though counted as only a loss, the loss the Lakers experienced Sunday afternoon had painful layers. For one, it was a game they should have won and—given their direct competition with the New Orleans Pelicans when it comes to play-in ramifications—a matchup they needed to win.
But even though the team held a 20+ point lead in one part of the game, the team dug in and found another way to blast it, adding even more obstacles to its potential path into the postseason, with the Pelicans the Spurs, who have passed them in the general classification, are hot on their heels.
To make matters worse, LeBron James suffered a scary ankle injury during the competition that left him “dubious” for Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. And with an already low margin of error, James’ absence makes that margin almost nonexistent.
Fortunately, the club shared some positive news on the injury front, with Anthony Davis fully participating in a 5-on-5 scrimmage, which was another signal that his eventual return could be on the cards soon.
But with James’ status currently unknown and the team’s upcoming schedule growing increasingly difficult, there are still valid concerns that the team could fall out of play-in altogether. How real those concerns should be is the basis of tonight’s show.
On this week’s episode of Talk-O-Tuesday, our hosts Alex Padilla and Alex Regla spoke about the Lakers’ current playoff hopes after their crushing loss to the Pelicans, how the Spurs are coming in, and the status of James and Davis in the future.
On the show, the duo also spoke about Eric Pincus’ in-depth article on how the team got to this point and whether this season will be the wake-up call the franchise needs when it comes to avoiding the same mistakes that continue slow down their growth.
You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you don’t miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed iTunes, Spotify, stapler or Google Podcasts.
And for a quick recap pod, check out lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and prepares you for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast Feed.