Saturday night's showdown didn't go the way that the Los Angeles Lakers planned. Not only did JJ Redick's team fall 111-109 to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, but the Lakers also lost LeBron James to a leg injury during the fourth quarter, leaving his outlook up in the air with the playoffs right around the corner.
Following Saturday's loss, The Athletic's Jovan Buha and Sam Amick reported that James might "need weeks, not days, to recover." Assuming that the Lakers are dealing with the worst-case scenario, several players must step up in "The King's" absence to help secure a high playoff seed.
That includes one veteran forward who's been underperforming recently.
Lakers News: Dorian Finney-Smith Must Step Up After LeBron James Injury
One Laker who must step up during James' potentially lengthy absence is Dorian Finney-Smith. Los Angeles acquired the veteran forward — along with Shake Milton — from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis, and a trio of second-round picks in December.
Finney-Smith, 31, was supposed to help round out the Lakers' lineup by contributing as a starter and off the bench. He made a career out of being a 3-and-D specialist, and the hope was that he could have a similar impact in L.A.
Although he's had some solid moments, Finney-Smith's performance has worsened with time — especially on the offensive end of the court lately. In his last 14 appearances (9 starts), the ex-Florida Gator is only averaging 7.9 points while shooting 38.0% from the floor and 29.0% from deep, adding 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists along the way.
Finney-Smith has played well defensively during that stretch, but he has to figure out how to do more offensively. He's finished with a single-digit point total in seven of his last eight outings, and four of those performances saw him score three or fewer points. His inability to get to the free-throw line certainly doesn't help.
Carrying a $14.9 million cap hit this season, it's time for Finney-Smith to do a better job of living up to his price tag. He has a $15.3 million player option this offseason, and while he'll likely accept it, his play must improve if he doesn't want to risk being a part of a potential offseason trade.
Finney-Smith's defense has played a role in the Lakers' success this season, and now it's time for his offense to catch up. Re-discovering his scoring touch could be the difference between the Lakers entering the playoffs with some momentum and stumbling into the postseason as a pretender.
Speaking of which, the Lakers certainly look like the real deal as they currently own the fifth-best 2025 NBA Finals odds (+1600) on FanDuel Sportsbook. Whether those odds remain favorable as more is revealed regarding James' injury remains to be seen.
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