"It's now going to need LeBron James to play heavier minutes during the regular season" - Jalen Rose believes the LA Lakers' fate this season will completely depend on their talisman

LeBron James of the LA Lakers, the box office attraction in the NBA, has drawn immense criticism this season for their slow start to the campaign. With their star player James missing out on a huge chunk of games due to injuries, the Lakers have struggled this season.

Another person to pile on the criticism of the LA Lakers is former NBA player Jalen Rose. On ESPN's show Jalen & Jacoby, Rose talked about how hard it is for the Lakers to reach the Western Conference Finals this season. Jalen Rose:

"If they fall below the equator, and I'm calling that the fourth spot, they ain't getting to the Western Conference Finals."

Jalen Rose also talked about how much load LeBron James is having to carry at nearly age 37 despite having the likes of Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook in the team. Rose continued:

"LeBron James is going to need to do a lot of heavy lifting during the regular season. With Anthony Davis struggling the way he's struggled not only to stay healthy recently but also the way he was struggling shooting from the perimeter, it's now going to need LeBron James to play heavier minutes during the regular season and be lot more productive."

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Will LeBron James and the Lakers make the Western Conference Finals this season?

Russell Westbrook against the Boston Celtics

The LA Lakers always have championship aspirations. They possess the likes of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, which means anything short of a title is unacceptable.

On top of that you throw in players like Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Malik Monk, you have a team that has the right mixture of experience and youth.

Health and chemistry are the only two issues facing the Lakers at the moment. While having the oldest roster in the NBA helps with experience, it certainly leaves the LA Lakers more likely to pick up injuries every so often.

That, coupled with Anthony Davis' injury history and LeBron James' injury track record off late and the reliance on them to come up with goods, certainly leaves things palpable for the Lakers.

As mentioned, chemistry is an issue that will need sorting out quickly for the LA Lakers. Head coach Frank Vogel has consistently chopped and changed the lineup in order to find what fits best, so much so that he's even tried playing LeBron James as the center and filled the other four positions with shooters.

With all that said, the Lakers would ideally want to be in the top four of the Western Conference as this gives them home court advantage in at least the first round. But if they fail to achieve this target and even find themselves in the play-in game, as long as their three superstars are healthy and firing on all cylinders, then very few would bet against the Los Angeles Lakers from not making it to the Western Conference Finals.