Former NBA coach believes that the Lakers are still a Championship contender this season

 

The Los Angeles Lakers are going through a rough patch as they have been majorly shorthanded due to injuries to their two superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. With the current season almost coming to an end, there are high chances that Frank Vogel’s men may end up in the play-ins spot.

While most people feel that the reigning champions won’t be able to match their tremendous feat from last season, former New York Knicks coach David Fizdale still feels that the Lakers can still win if they remain healthy. There is no doubt in the talent that this team has across the court but injuries and inconsistency have played a major role in their downfall. However, Fizdale feels that if James and AD get back to their best then they can still go deep in the playoffs this season.

However, at this point, they are in no position to think about winning the Championship or going deep in the playoffs as they are in the seventh position in the Western Conference and the pressure of playing in the play-ins is hanging on their shoulders. Although the Lakers are looking to get back their mojo as they defeated the in-form Phoenix Suns 123-110. Davis dropped a stunning performance scoring 42 points along with 12 boards and five assists.

With AD starting to fire, Vogel just needed Lebron James to come back from injury and start getting back some minutes. His return will lift the spirits of the entire team and that may allow the Lakers to somehow avoid the play-ins.

Recently in ‘Sirius XM NBA Radio conversation former Knicks coach David Fizdale opined that the Lakers may still be a threat for the NBA Championship this season. “Those two guys [LeBron and AD] are so unique with their size and their skillset,” Fizdale said about the Purple and Golds.

“The playoffs come down to matchups. And if you can continuously put a team in a situation where you have the best matchup on the floor every night. You have a guy you can’t switch over to every night and they can switch over to you. You’re probably in trouble. The Lakers with those two guys probably have the toughest matchups for any team in the league other than Brooklyn,” he added.

The Lakers need to win their last four matches in the regular season and hope that one of the Dallas Mavericks or Portland Trailblazers lose some of their matches allowing Vogel’s men to sneak into the playoffs. However for now the Championship looks a long way off for them.