Lakers eye playoffs, Mavs head for lottery

NEW YORK – Lakers star LeBron James left his team in the middle of a four-game road trip and returned to Los Angeles, per medical recommendation, as he continues to progress well from his groin injury, according to ESPN.

The Lakers have lost back-to-back games, including a rivalry matchup against the Celtics in Boston, where James suffered a strained left groin during the weekend.

Injuries are mounting for the Lakers, who are also without two other starters – Japanese forward Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy) and center Jaxson Hayes (right knee contusion).

The Lakers will begin their daunting schedule of six games in eight days with a back-to-back road game in Milwaukee against the Bucks on Friday (Manila time) and in Denver against the Nuggets on Saturday (Manila time).

James is expected to miss at least one to two weeks, according to ESPN.

The Lakers (40-23) have dropped to fourth place in the loaded Western Conference after holding the second seed for a week following their 9-2 start with midseason acquisition Luka Doncic.

The former Dallas Mavericks star has logged his second triple-double as a Laker with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists but it was not enough in their 111-108 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in their most recent game.

Fortunately for the Lakers, they have built enough cushion to stay in the hunt for a playoff berth unlike Doncic’s former team, which is clinging to the final spot in the play-in tournament.

The Mavericks are 7-11 since dealing away Doncic in the most shocking trade in NBA history.

Injuries to their top stars Anthony Davis, the headliner of the Doncic return package, and Kyrie Irving, along with centers Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, have put the Mavericks closer to participating in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes in the draft lottery than in the playoffs.

Currently, the Mavericks have 1.0 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft. But if they continue to lose, they can enhance their odds, which they did in 2023 to land Lively at No. 10.

Filipino-American guard Dylan Harper, son of former Chicago Bulls guard Ron Harper, and his Rutgers teammate Ace Bailey are crowding Flagg on top of what is considered to be a deep draft class.

The Mavericks took their sixth loss in their last seven games with a 126-116 defeat to their Texas rivals San Antonio Spurs on Thursday (Manila time).

Dallas (33-34) has a 2.5-game cushion against Phoenix (30-36) for the last play-in tournament berth.