Lebron And Crew May Need A Miracle

The Los Angeles Lakers are in serious trouble. And not just because they’re on the brink of elimination after dropping game five of their first round series to the Phoenix Suns.

As if being down 3-2 isn’t bad enough. It’s the way the Lakers just completely slept walk their way through this game and never put up much of a fight. The Lakers trailed the Suns by 30 points at halftime. Yes, you read that correctly, down 30 at halftime. Lebron James and his motley crew did not make much of a dent in that 30-point deficit as the Suns held firm control of this one with a final score of 115-85.

This game got away from the Lakers in the second quarter. After one quarter, the Suns led 34-26, then proceeded to outscore the Lakers 32-10 in the second. That was it right there. No Anthony Davis and the Lakers strolled into the half down 66-36. It would have been awesome to be a fly on the wall in the Lakers locker room on this night. What on earth was Lakers head coach Frank Vogel supposed to say to pick his team up after that first half shellacking?

THE MISSING LINK

Without Davis in the lineup helping James shoulder the load, this Lakers team is in huge trouble. The days of James carrying any and everybody to the promised land by himself look to be over. That should not be a shock.
Even if James’ most ardent fans can’t admit it, James has lost a bit of velocity on his fastball to borrow a baseball term. There has been some noticeable decline in the “King’s” game over the last year or two. James isn’t as explosive anymore, but more than that can’t be his usual explosive self as consistently as he could just a few years ago. That is something that comes with age for all professional athletes. Yes, it happens to everyone except for James, if you ask any of his super fans.

Due to this coupled with Davis being out due to a groin injury, James is on the verge of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his 18-year career. It would be shocking to see Davis make his return for game six, knowing that he’s been diagnosed with a strained groin that caused him to miss game five. Groin injuries don’t heal themselves significantly within a few days. That’s not how that injury works. A month or two of rest and treatment is what you’re usually looking at for a groin injury.

So, without some type of miracle recovery by Davis over the next day or two, James will need to find a way to muster up one of the best performances of his life, to push this series to a game seven. If James and the Lakers fail to make it back to the Finals this season, this will be the first NBA Finals in over a decade that isn’t occupied by either James, the Golden State Warriors, or both.

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WITHOUT ‘BRON

The 2009-10 Finals, where the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in seven games, with Kobe Bryant being named Finals MVP. James was still two years away from capturing his first NBA title back then.
One thing we can say for sure is, it’s been one hell of a ride for the King, but like all good things, it may be time for that ride to come to an end.