As is the case for most teams throughout an 82-game season, there are ups and downs. Recently, it has been more down than up with the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James.
After a disappointing four-game road trip, capped off by a demoralizing overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks in which James and his co-star Anthony Davis dropped 38 and 39 points respectively, the Lakers were left searching for answers on how to get back going in the right direction.
When the Lakers can get their two stars to perform at that level, those games cannot slip away in a tightly contested Western Conference.