NBA: Still seeking turnaround, Lakers host Blazers

Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on a gainst the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on January 27, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP

Finally home yet still not healthy, the Los Angeles Lakers feel a playoff run is within them, they just have to prove it.

After a monster six-game trip that spanned 10 days, the Lakers will hit their home court again Wednesday for a meeting with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Both the Lakers and their shared tenant, the Los Angeles Clippers, have been on lengthy voyages to free their building for the annual Grammy Awards. Except music’s biggest night was delayed and moved to Las Vegas in April because of the latest outbreak during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Lakers hit a sour note on the trip, going 2-4 exclusively against Eastern Conference teams. They got back Anthony Davis from a knee injury in the process but lost LeBron James to his own knee issue at the same time.

Davis and James have played together just once since Dec. 19, a 106-96 road victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 25. At 16-14 before Davis went down for 17 consecutive games, the Lakers are 24-27 now and ninth in the Western Conference heading into play Tuesday.

FILE PHOTO: Jan 28, 2022; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) during pregame warm ups against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

“I still believe that we got a good team, we just haven’t been all the way healthy for our team,” Davis said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “LeBron is now out, I just came back. I think the most frustrating part is that we can’t finish games. We’ve had a lot of games that we had won and teams come back and beat us.”

The Lakers’ most recent defeat was a 129-121 setback at Atlanta on Sunday despite shooting 54 percent from the field, while Malik Monk scored a season-best 33 points and matched his career-high 10 rebounds. Davis had 27 points but just five rebounds as Los Angeles was outscored 38-20 in the fourth quarter.

The positive moving forward is that an MRI on James’ injured knee only revealed swelling, but he is not expected to play Wednesday.

The Trail Blazers know injury issues well. Star guard Damian Lillard has been out since the start of the new year and had abdominal surgery. He won’t be evaluated again until later this month. Center Cody Zeller and forward Larry Nance Jr. are out with knee injuries and forward Nassir Little had season-ending shoulder surgery Tuesday.

The Blazers are on a two-game losing streak and have lost four of their last five. They are 1-2 heading into the finale of a four-game road trip with a five-game homestand ahead that includes a rematch with the Lakers on Feb. 9.

Portland is coming off a 98-81 defeat at Oklahoma City when the Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Blazers led 31-19 after one quarter then scored 30 points over the next two periods combined.

It was their lowest point output for a game in four seasons and the third time this season they were held under 90.

“It’s crazy, I thought we really played the right way in the first half,” Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups said. “We drew extra defenders, we just couldn’t make shots. … For the most part, this was just one of those games we couldn’t make a shot. Anyone in the league scores 81 points, there’s no way you’re going to have a chance to win a game.”