It’s crunch time for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers as they aim to secure a playoff spot as the end of the regular season approaches. With the West being so strong this season, James revealed the most important thing for the Lakers to be successful in the postseason.
LeBron James Praises Loaded West While Stressing Lakers’ Injury Concerns
Speaking on the “Mind the Game” podcast, James said, “The West is incredible-so many great teams. Obviously, you got the defending champions with OKC. San Antonio is playing great ball. Houston is playing good ball. Denver is playing good ball. Jokić is back.”
“Phoenix is playing good ball. You know, a lot of people didn’t think we’re going to, you know, play good ball. We’re playing good ball at times. The number one important thing for us is our health. We finally got healthy, you know, with AR coming back, then Luka goes down with the hamstring. So, that is going to be the most important for our team.”
The Lakers have struggled to find consistency and stay injury-free this season, with JJ Redick playing in multiple lineups to compensate for the absence of their stars. Austin Reaves has missed exactly half of the Lakers’ games this season, having battled a Grade 2 gastrocnemius strain he picked up on Christmas Day.
Luka Dončić has missed 12 games this season, including four straight before the All-Star break as he nursed a niggling hamstring injury. James didn’t play for the Lakers until the 15th game of the season because of sciatica. He’s played 36 games this season and has only recently ramped up to full health after missing off-season training.
Coach JJ Redick knows the Lakers need all three of his stars on the floor together if they are to make a deep postseason run this year. This season, James and Reaves have played only 10 games together, underscoring the need for more minutes together as crunch time approaches.
The Lakers currently sit fifth in the Western Conference, winning 33 games and losing 21. The top six guarantees a playoff berth, with Phoenix sitting in seventh on 32 wins. DeAndre Ayton has been a disappointment this season, with Redick regularly benching the center down the stretch because of his lack of efficiency.
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The Lakers don’t have any consistent threat from the wings, but the addition of Luke Kennard can free the offensive burden for a short while from the big three. Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura, and Marcus Smart have been good in patches, but can they be relied upon during playoff time?
James is right, for the Lakers to play good basketball, their big three need more consistent minutes together and stay injury-free if they are to be successful in 2026.
