The Lakers kick off the second half of the season tonight in San Francisco against the Warriors, and they'll do it without LeBron James.

He was downgraded to "out" on Wednesday with a bum ankle, well ahead of tonight's tip. It was something that LeBron himself foreshadowed at the All Star Game, noting that his treatment is ongoing and could keep him out. Could has become will. Does this mean he'll be available for Friday's game vs. San Antonio? We'll find out soon enough.

It's an injury the Lakers reportedly don't think is super serious, but hope the treatment will let James finish the season strong.

In the meantime, it should be a barnburner against a revitalized Warriors team that has turned things around, and certainly remembers how they lost an epic nationally televised battle with the Lakers only a couple weeks back. Even without James in the lineup, the Lakers do kick off the stretch run with reasons to be optimistic about their chances to make a little noise going forward. There are no guarantees, health will be paramount and so on and so on ... but look under the hood a little and you can see the Lakers have some stuff going for them.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers will be without LeBron as the 2nd half starts.

SEGMENT 2: Reasons for optimism? What do the Lakers have going for them right now?

SEGMENT 3: Reasons to worry?

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