The day started poorly for the Lakers, who announced that Austin Reaves (hamstring) and Lonnie Walker IV (knee) will miss the next two weeks (at least), and meanwhile Troy Brown (quad) wouldn't be able to play Friday against the Hawks at Crypto. The Lakers were down so many bodies they signed veteran SG/SF Sterling Brown (not the actor), and had him suit up.

So would the Lakers suffer on the court, giving back a game after a fantastic win Wednesday over Miami?

Absolutely not! LeBron James was again excellent, but he had tons of help. Dennis Schröder stayed hot, scoring 21 points. Thomas Bryant was 8-12 from the floor, and had 13 rebounds. Russell Westbrook was strong, and Kendrick Nunn (remember him?) had easily his best game as a Laker. 23 points in just under 27 minutes. With so many guys on the shelf, Nunn will get more minutes now out of necessity, and doesn't need to look over his shoulder quite as much. Maybe that's the thing that can help him reach the form that prompted the Lakers to sign him, and podcast hosts to believe he could/would be a serious contributor?

It would be a nice silver lining to the injuries Nunn used this time to find his form, and became a useful player heading into the second half of the season.

We'll see what happens in Sacramento Saturday night, but the Lakers have quietly gone 16-11 since the 2-10 start. Guys are playing well around James. The light at the end of the tunnel maybe, just maybe, is actually light, not a train.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

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