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LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have no illusions about where they stand heading into the NBA All-Star break, and superstar LeBron James has been out in front with his public comments about the franchise’s prospects down the stretch.
During a press conference on Sunday, February 15 ahead of the game, James offered a blunt assessment of his team’s championship chances after a 33-21 start that has the group sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference with roughly one-third of the season remaining.
“Our success is gonna come down to our health,” James said.
While that is potentially true for several teams, the Lakers have a relatively unique case if they can hit the playoffs with James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves all at the peaks of their respective powers.
James has missed 18 of 54 games this season, while Doncic has sat out 12 contests and injuries have sidelined Reaves for 26 outings.
Despite that — and despite a point differential of exactly zero, meaning the Lakers have scored the same amount of points as their opponents across 216 quarters and multiple overtime periods of action — Los Angeles remains 12 games above .500.
That is because despite the Lakers’ inefficiencies on defense, the trio of James, Doncic and Reaves has allowed L.A. to function as the top clutch-performing group in the league, making big shots in big moments to pull out a 15-3 record in such games. The Lakers’ win rate of 83.3 percent in those contests is first in the NBA ahead of the Detroit Pistons (71.9 percent).
Clutch games are defined by the score being within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.
Luka Doncic Confident That Healthy Lakers Team Can Compete for Championship This Year
Lakers, Luka Doncic
GettyLuka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Doncic also spoke to the Lakers’ title aspirations and prospects during All-Star Weekend, where he started the opening game of the proceedings for the “World” team, but adhered to a minutes restriction and will sit out the remainder of the day due to a hamstring injury, per Dan Woike of The Athletic.
“Obviously, we’re trying to win the championship,” Doncic told Chris Haynes of NBATV, per Lakers Nation. “I think we can do it, we have the team for it. But obviously we’ve had a lot of injuries: me, [James], [Reaves] — everybody has been out some time. So now, coming back from All-Star, I think everybody is healthy. So that will be a good test for us.”
Doncic is leading the league in scoring at 32.8 points per game to go along with 8.6 assists and 7.8 rebounds.
LeBron James Provides Update on Retirement Decision Ahead of NBA All-Star Game
LeBron James
GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
James also spoke on Sunday to his potential retirement, though he gave no definitive answers.
“Yeah, I mean, I want to live,” James said of his pending decision, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “When I know, you guys will know. I don’t know, I have no idea. I just want to live. That’s all.”
James, now 41 years old, is in the midst of his 23rd professional season. He has captured four NBA championships and four regular-season MVP awards. James will officially become a free agent when the new league year begins this summer.