Lakers Chances of Making the Playoffs Takes a Huge Dip After Losing Anthony Davis

After the Lakers lost Anthony Davis to an ankle injury, their chances of making the playoffs took a huge dip. And it's not looking good at all.

The Lakers will come out of the All-Star break fighting to stay in the NBA play-in tournament. With a 27-31 record, Los Angeles has just 24 games left to try and get things figured out. 

Unfortuantely, they will probably have to do that without Anthony Davis. The Lakers big man sustained a sprain in his foot after coming down on top of another player last week. And while the x-rays were negative on that foot, he is still expected to be out of action for at least 4 weeks. 

According to FiveThirtyEight's projection system, the Lakers have roughly a 20 percent chance of making the NBA playoffs. Their chances of making the NBA Finals have also dipped all the way to below 1 percent. 

With a projected 36-46 record at the end of the season, things are looking bleak for the Lakers. And losing AD has certainly played a big role in those projections. But there is at least some good news, depending on your level of optimism. 

The Lakers are still headlined by LeBron James, who continues to play out of his mind. Bron put up 33 points against the Jazz in Los Angeles' final game before the break. He took over when AD went down, and they never looked back. 

And that's been the theme of the season for the Lakers. LeBron continues to carry them, especially when the stars go down or underperform. So while things do look bleak for Los Angeles, never count out LeBron James.