The saying goes, “You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” and that seems to be true for LeBron James and his old friend, the NBA Playoffs.
Barring a 15-games winning streak to close the season, the Los Angeles Lakers will likely miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. The last time the Lakers played postseason basketball, Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis were rookies.
James, on the other hand, hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2006 and has played in the NBA Finals every year since 2011. In the past, James has said he’d rather miss the playoffs entirely than not win in the Finals, but with playoffs looking like a near impossibility at this stage of the season, he’s circling back on that statement.
Following the Lakers’ 123-107 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, James said that he would have liked to play in the postseason this year, but he understands that it probably won’t happen this season (via Spectrum Sportsnet):
The Lakers could reasonably be back in the postseason as soon as next year, but a lot of decisions need to made before that happens.
Can the young players on the current roster develop into valuable players on a championship contending team? Is Luke Walton the right head coach for this team? Is the existing front office capable of building a team around James?
With any luck, those questions will be answered this summer, for better or for worse.
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