One factor in their inability to maintain positive momentum has been injuries. It has seemed that every time they have gotten one or two players back from injuries, one or two more go down with new ailments.

On Friday, soon after they welcomed back Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt and days ahead of Gabe Vincent’s potential return, they were without Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish versus the San Antonio Spurs. The result was a 129-115 loss to a Spurs team that came in with an 18-game losing streak and the worst record in the Western Conference.

LeBron James speaks on the mental toughness of playing on the road and against #1 pick Victor Wembanyama. pic.twitter.com/ucZxv8Jhkt

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 16, 2023

But afterward, LeBron James still sounded confident that when healthy, his team is very potent.

“We just got to get healthy,” James said when asked where his team is at considering its injuries. “When we’re healthy, we’re one of the better teams in the league. When we’re not, we’ve had some ups and downs. I’ve said it over and over — when we’re healthy and we have our group, we compete versus anybody.”

Los Angeles will have two full days off to get healthier before hosting the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.