The LA Lakers switch to survival mode as they wait for their key stars to get healthy. On Monday, the Purple and Gold head to Barclays Center to take on former Laker D’Angelo Russell and the Brooklyn Nets. This will be one of the games that will glimpse as a backdoor pilot to the post-LeBron James era with Doncic spearheading the side.
The Boston Celtics snapping the team’s eight-game winning streak was not the only bad news as they lost LeBron James to a groin injury in the same matchup. Now, they will hope that Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will be enough to tide them over in the absence of the 4x NBA champion.
It doesn’t help LA that they play the Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets in a back-to-back next, and they will do that without James and probably Rui Hachimura. If the veteran forward will indeed be good to go after a week, that should see the Lakers breathe a sigh of relief. The question for LA is if they can combine the playing hard mentality with all of their skills as they gear up for a stern test ahead.
As for the Nets, it’s been a tough and forgettable run in rebuild mode with seven losses on the bounce. They are 12th in the East with a 21-42 record and are well out of the playoffs race. With nothing to lose, they can be a handful playing without pressure. It will be interesting to see how Russell fares against his former team.
