When they are healthy, there is nobody in the West that can challenge the Los Angeles Lakers. Maybe nobody in the NBA.
But they are not healthy. They are the walking wounded, and that may be a problem as they head into the playoffs, starting Sunday against a young and energetic Oklahoma City Thunder team. In recent weeks, the Lakers have not played through the pain well and have looked slow and sloppy on the court for long stretches.
The newest addition to the injured list is Sasha Vujacic, who suffered a severe ankle sprain against the Clippers on Wednesday night. He had an MRI that showed no tears or other serious damage, but Vujacic could be out a couple weeks to a month. And the Lakers may need his outside shooting.
But Vujacic is not the biggest worry. Kobe Bryant is.
The core of everything the Lakers do continues to play with an avulsion fracture to the index finger of his shooting hand. Thanks to his finger, combined with a sore ankle and a flare up of tendonitis in his knee, Kobe just has not looked like the same player.
In a conversation with Mike Trudell on the Lakers website, team general manager Mitch Kupchak noted the challenges Kobe faces.
I don't know how he does it. I just don't know. He has it taped up, the index finger on his right hand, and he's somehow figured out how to do it. But I don't think anyone would say that over his last 10 games, he's shot the ball as well as he can shoot the ball. He has had some rest here and won't play again until the first playoff game, so maybe another six or seven days will help.
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Then there is Andrew Bynum, the anchor the Lakers need in the middle to keep their defense solid. He has been off for a month with a strained Achilles tendon, but he will be back Sunday for game one. How much he can play -- six minutes a half, 15 minutes -- remains to be seen.
But any little bit would be welcome. The Lakers are 38-12 this season when both Pau Gasol and Bynum play.
There is an assortment of other injuries. Shannon Brown has a sprained thumb that has thrown off his shot. Jordan Farmar strained a hamstring just a couple games ago. Luke Walton is just back from an injury and his minutes have been limited. Ron Artest is playing through a sore thumb and an assortment of aches and pains.
In the playoffs, there tends to be more time off, longer breaks between games. More rest. The Lakers need that, because if they are going to win it all -- if they are going to get out of the first round -- they are going to have to play through those injuries and be better than they have in recent weeks.
Kurt Helin lives in Los Angeles and is the managing editor of NBC's NBA blog Pro Basketball Talk (which you can also follow in twitter).
