Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Anthony Davis and Lonnie Walker IV of the Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Los Angeles Lakers this year. They’ve been hit by the injury bug in a big way, and now they’re looking at multiple weeks without LeBron James. But considering their place in the standings, they’ll need to win a lot of their remaining games if they want a chance at making the postseason.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, their pathway just got a little bit harder. The Golden State Warriors, who are competing against the Lakers in the West playoff race, are getting Stephen Curry back in the lineup. And according to Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report, he’s set to return to the lineup this Sunday against the Lakers.
“Golden State star Stephen Curry (leg) intends to make his return on Sunday on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers barring a setback, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport,” Haynes tweeted.
Curry has missed 10 games in a row for the Warriors due to a leg injury he sustained in a game against the Dallas Mavericks. Without him, the Warriors’ ceiling is drastically changed. They need him to be at their best, and the Lakers are going to be the first team he plays when he gets back.
As things stand, the Lakers sit in 11th place in the Western Conference standings. Meanwhile, the Warriors are up in fourth place. However, the Warriors are only 2.5 games ahead of Golden State in the standings, and there is only a 5.50-game gap between the fourth seed and the 13th seed.
Beating a team like the Warriors, especially on a night when their star player back, would be a statement win for the Lakers.
Anthony Davis Discusses Lakers Without LeBron James
Without James in the lineup, the rest of the Lakers roster will have to step up in a big way. After a recent loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Anthony Davis stated that he thinks the Lakers are still good enough to compete for a playoff spot even without James.
“We got a great team. I mean, more than enough to go out and get wins,” Davis said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “We got more than enough to get a win tonight. More than enough to get to win tomorrow. And so on and so forth. Just compete like we did tonight, and don’t turn the ball over. Guys, I think, played extremely hard. Obviously, his presence on the floor, his voice, his playmaking ability, scoring ability will definitely be missed, but other guys just got to step up. I’ll have to step up and just come out and be aggressive.”
Josh Giddey Sends Message After Losing to Lakers
Despite being without Davis, James, and D’Angelo Russell for their recent game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Lakers pulled off a victory. After the game, Thunder guard Josh Giddey spoke about what went wrong for them in the loss.
“That’s exactly how it went, it kind of was back and forth,” Giddey explained via the Thunder’s official YouTube channel. “They got a lead, we got a lead, no one really blew it out. Besides, they started that fourth, they got out to, I think, a 12 or 13-point lead. And that was probably as big as it got all game. And I think we did a good job of kind of cutting into that, but, you know, getting back from a 13-point deficit with minutes left is tough to do. But we fought. We played hard. I think we fouled a little too much. They got some big offensive rebounds. But yeah, I mean, for the most part, very winnable game on our part. Just clean up a few things down the stretch, and I think we could take care of that one.”