How Concerning Is LeBron's Ankle Injury and the Lakers' Defense? How Effective is Anthony Davis's Jumper? - a podcast by Locked On Podcast Network, Anthony Irwin

The sting of Wednesday's loss to Oklahoma City, in which the Lakers blew a 26-point lead, is still pretty fresh. The concern over a second straight missed game for LeBron James is palpable. Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker, Trevor Ariza and Wayne Ellington remain on the sidelines. The Lakers have not even staged a single practice with their full roster intact, and it's not going to get better anytime soon.

So what exactly can accomplish right now?Those are the big issues for Friday's show, starting with LeBron's ankle injury. No word yet about his status for Friday's game against Cleveland at Staples Center, but whether he plays or not, given his injury history with the Lakers, how much concern should missed games in the first couple weeks create? Especially given how critical he is to the team's identity and on-court continuity?

What about the defense? Guys are missing, for sure. How much impact will the return of important rotation players actually have? On the one hand, the guys they're missing are among the team's best defenders. On the other, we're not talking about a bunch of Defensive Player of the Year candidates, here. Are the Lakers going to be too reliant on LeBron and Anthony Davis to play high end defense for an entire season? What does that mean for their health, and the ability to produce on the other end? How good is good enough?Finally, it's time to check out Davis, who was the subject of an interesting mini-debate on Lakers Twitter about his performance thus far. How has his offense evolved? Where are the shots coming from this year relative to others in L.A.? Should Davis abandon the 3-point shot, which he's been encouraged to take for a while now?

HOSTS: Andy andBrian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Ok, LeBron's hurt. It's ok to be nervous, right? Because he's the sun around which the rest of this stuff orbits?SEGMENT 2: What's real and what's not through five games, particularly on defense. How much is fixable today, what might be fixed when guys get healthy, and once they are back... just how good can this team be?

SEGMENT 3: Davis is managing very high expectations. How has he played? Is the shot selection as ideal as it should be? Spoiler alert: The answer to the last one has little to do with whether he plays center or power forward.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

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