Davis started the day as probable to play before being downgraded to questionable a little less than an hour before tipoff and ruled out 30 minutes before the game.

With Lakers big man Anthony Davis on the bench, a late scratch because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot, L.A. held on to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-101 on Friday. Austin Reaves scored a career-high 38 points and LeBron James added 29 points and eight assists as the Lakers survived after D'Angelo Russell -- whom they traded to Brooklyn last month -- missed a potential game-winning 3 with 4.

Buha's take has a lot of validity to it. The Lakers currently occupy the sixth seed in the Western Conference. They are only two games back of the Denver Nuggets for a top four seed in the conference. That gap should be one that can be closed with small improvements.