Episode Details

The Lakers are still banged up. LeBron James is headed back to Los Angeles to keep rehabbing his injured groin (not a bad development, actually, big picture). Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura are out. 

Luka Dončić, who was laboring in a big way on Monday in Brooklyn thanks to a sore back, is questionable with a bum ankle. (The one he turned against the Nets.) 

So with the Lakers a game behind Denver (Friday's opponent) for the West's #2 seed, but only a game ahead of Houston for the five, this could certainly be a painful couple of days for the Lakers and Lakers fans. There is some good news, though. Dorian Finney-Smith, who missed Monday's game with his own ankle injury, is expected to play. And while the Lakers are missing so much firepower, they don't just need Finney-Smith back for his defensive prowess, though that's obviously important (though even with DFS in the lineup, LA still faces a tough challenge against the length of Milwaukee without LeBron, Rui and Hayes). The team also needs his shooting. Which gets to one of the low-key things that has hurt LA of late: DFS is in a big time slump. 

He's shooting 27% from 3-point range in March, after missing 11 of his final 14 attempts in February. Since February 22nd in Denver, DFS has twice finished with two points, twice with three points, but only once has cracked double digits. 

Nobody expects Finney-Smith to pump in 25 a night with LeBron on the sidelines. There is, without question, more onus on Donćić and Austin Reaves (who has been bad since missing two games with a calf injury) to pick up more of that slack. Same can be said for offensive-focused players like Dalton Knecht, who will get more playing time. But DFS is a guy who, for the last few years, has reliably averaged between eight and 11 points a night. There's a big difference between 10 and 3. The Lakers need him, and the other role players, to meet their baselines right now. Do better if possible, but at minimum, don't do worse. 

The thing about role players is that they tend not to excel when asked to step into something bigger. That's why they're role players. And it's a lot harder to play those roles when star players are out. 

But that's the spot the Lakers are in. If they're going to tread water with so much firepower out, everyone has to find ways to get to their averages. A nice end-of-week breakout for DFS would be a great place to start. 
 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: LeBron back in LA, Luka questionable, DFS slumping. 

SEGMENT 2: Why it hurts when role guys hit the skids. 

SEGMENT 3: LeBron vs. Stephen A! 

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