Last night was a make or break game for the Los Angeles Lakers playoff chances.
It appears those chances are broken after a loss to their Staples Center roommate, the Los Angeles Clippers 113-105 last night.
In what was a near must win for the Lakers, the team came up short as they lost for the 5th time in 6 games.
The Lakers are now five and a half games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference where the Spurs currently reside.
In what has been a tumultuous season for the Lakers and amid new reports that head coach Luke Walton will be fired at the end of the season, things are stressful in Tinsel Town right now.
A burgeoning topic of discussion is the playing status of Lebron James.
Since his return from a groin injury, that saw him miss 17 games and go 6-11, the Lakers haven’t improved.
They’ve now lost nine out of their last twelve games and more glaringly have struggled on the defensive end as they have a defensive rating of 111.9 when James is on the floor since Christmas.
That’s not good.
Speculation has now turned to if LeBron James should shut it down for the rest of the season with 18 games left and the Lakers playoff chances fading.
James speaking after last night’s game said to ESPN,
“That would take a lot of convincing from Luke [Walton] on up. Unless I’m hurt, I’m not sitting games.”
Further saying,
“That conversation hasn’t occurred, but I’m sure it can happen soon.”
James has increased his workload after declaring that his playoff mode was ‘activated‘, playing 40-plus minutes in five of LA’s last eight games.
Honestly, it may make since to shut the King down.
The eighth seed earns a first-round beatdown from the Golden State Warriors and the energy needed to earn that 8th seed may not be worth it to James & co.
James, with respect to potentially resting, says he will,
“…look at the rest of the games, and look at the percentag es of what’s going on there in the future, and see what makes more sense for not only me but the team itself as well.”
If the Lakers do decide to shut down the three-time NBA Champion, it would be the final nail in the coffin that has been the Lakers disappointing 2018-19 season.
With 18 games left, time is running out on James and the Lake Show.
The Lakers return to the floor Wednesday night at home versus the Denver Nuggets.
Flip the page to see LeBron’s postgame comments.