After their Christmas Day beatdown of the defending two-time world champion Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers were 20-14 and had won 16 of their last 24 games. In addition to the Warriors, they had beaten other elite or near-elite teams such as Portland and Denver and were on track to make the NBA playoffs for the first time in what seems like forever.
Since then, however, it’s been a slow-motion plane crash.
First, LeBron James injured his groin.
Then, Rajon Rondo sprained a finger on his shooting hand.
Then Kyle Kuzma missed some games.