Author: Martin Rogers, USA TODAY

LeBron James is playing restricted minutes. Young players have been shut down with injuries. It certainly looks like summer shutdown mode has begun.

If you don’t have a winning record, there is no earthly reason why you should be in the playoffs. But it could happen again this year.

There are still 19 games and five weeks left in the regular season, but due to their own ineptitude these Lakers are done, writes Martin Rogers.

MLS star Jozy Altidore believes soccer is a legitimate aspiration for young minority athletes seeking a better life.

Anthony Davis played just 20 minutes in the Pelicans’ loss to the Lakers on a night when just about everything surrounding the game was odd.

LeBron James is clearly frustrated, and as the Lakers continue to lose, it looks like he might have picked the wrong franchise.

Is it possible the Houston Rockets are better with James Harden sitting? Not exactly.

Thursday’s comeback win against the Rockets could serve as a turning point in the Lakers’ season –or it could be nothing at all.

James Harden extended his 30-point streak to 32 games, but LeBron James and the Lakers stymied the Rockets in the fourth for a 111-106 comeback win.

Games involving the Knicks, Cavaliers, Suns and Bulls take on added weight, but not because they will provide scintillating basketball.