It was a promising start to the second half of the season for the Lakers as their new additions were making an immediate impact. But during Sunday’s comeback win over the Mavericks, LeBron James suffered a foot injury that appears to be very serious. We’ve taken a look at how the injury has affected the Lakers’ chance at making the playoffs and winning the NBA Finals.
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LeBron James injury: What happened?
LeBron has been dealing with a slew of injuries this season, but this foot injury appears to be the most serious. He got hurt during the third quarter of Sunday’s win over the Mavericks and appeared to be in pain for the remainder of the game. James left the stadium with an obvious limp, and the latest reports expect him to miss at least 2 weeks, possibly more. His injury is a major blow to a Lakers team that has just 21 games left in the season and is on the cusp of missing the playoffs.
“LeBron James is expected to miss an indefinite amount of time… I’m told likely at least 2 or 3 weeks” @ShamsCharania with the latest on LeBron’s foot injury 🤕#RunItBack pic.twitter.com/nk2BpXx0Cd
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) February 28, 2023
Will the Lakers make the NBA playoffs?
Following the trade deadline, the Lakers looked like a brand-new team. Jarred Vanderbilt has been the perfect addition to the Los Angeles defense and D’Angelo Russell has been the missing piece to their offense. They even erased a 27-point deficit against the Mavericks on Sunday which snapped the 0-138 record of when teams were losing by at least 27 points this season. Los Angeles’ odds to make the playoffs sat around -110 after the win, but that didn’t last long. The Lakers are now as high as +205 to make the playoffs on some sportsbooks — a direct result of LeBron’s injury. Based on those odds, the sportbooks are giving the Lakers a 32.79% chance of making the playoffs.
Los Angeles Lakers NBA Finals odds
The Lakers are fortunate to have the 5th-easiest schedule for the remainder of the season. But they currently sit in 12th place in the Western Conference standings and need to pass the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Timberwolves and Jazz to earn a spot in the playoffs. It’s certainly an uphill battle, especially if LeBron is out for several weeks. The Lakers currently have +3000 odds to win the NBA Finals at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Before the trade deadline, the Lakers had +5000 to win the Finals, so the additions of Malik Beasley, Vanderbilt and Russell made a huge impact in the eyes of the oddsmakers. Those new additions will need to step up during LeBron’s absence if they want a chance at making the playoffs and competing for a championship.
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