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“LeBron James and Anthony Davis can’t necessarily show up and beat their opposition”: Charles Barkley explains why the Lakers could be in trouble in the play-in tournament

Tonoy Sengupta
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"LeBron James and Anthony Davis can't necessarily show up and beat their opposition": Charles Barkley explains why the Lakers could be in trouble in the play-in tournament

Charles Barkley explains why he believes the Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble even if LeBron James and Anthony Davis come back. 

The cards just haven’t been dealt right to the LA Lakers this season. The franchise went to great lengths to strengthen their roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Unfortunately for the franchise, the superstar duo had been sidelined for a major chunk of the season due to their respective injuries.

Even now, with the postseason closer than ever, LeBron James is still unable to lace up due to aggravating his ankle injury two games into his return. And without him on the floor, and the Brow still looking to find his feet, the franchise is struggling to say the least.

Still, many fans have maintained that the team is still a clear favorite to win it all this upcoming season. However, it seems NBA legend Charles Barkley disagrees with that notion completely.

Also Read: Metta World Peace was amazed by the Lakers star’s longevity as the NBA’s best player

Charles Barkley says that the LeBron James and Anthony Davis coming back just in time for the play in tournament could spell trouble for the Lakers 

As of now, the reigning champions sit just 6th in the Western Conference and have the same record as the 7th seeded Blazers. So, if the franchise gets into a funk and can’t get wins, it is very likely they will slip into a play in spot ahead of the postseason.

With this in mind, in the most recent episode of TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’, questions were raised about the time off that the King and the Brow could conceivably take before things got dicey. And, it seems Chuck is convinced that if they take too long, it will be terrible for the franchise. Here is what he said.

“I don’t like that idea. I don’t think you can just show up. Because those other teams, they’re going to be ready…The notion that LeBron and AD can miss all this time, and show up in a must (win) game situation… to me that’s a very difficult task.”

Its hard to disagree with the Chuckster here. No matter how incredible LeBron James and Anthony Davis are as athletes, they are still human.

They will inevitable lose a step or two for time missed. And in a competition where teams are hungry for the same spot, that could spell some real danger for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Also Read: Lakers’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope posterized Clippers’ Ivica Zubac in blowout loss last night

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

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Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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