LeBron James' former teammate doubles down on NBA championship window closing on Lakers: "That's a zero"

LeBron James and the LA Lakers are hopeful to see their team make it back to the NBA Finals this year. However, the team has had many ups and downs this season. And given that Western Conference teams are competitive, it could be difficult for them to achieve such a feat.

The Lakers (31-28) are coming off a 123-113 loss against the Phoenix Suns (34-24) on Sunday, putting them in the 10th spot in the standings. James did his best to lead the team with 28 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists. But that wasn't enough. On Wednesday night, they look forward to beating their city rivals, the LA Clippers (37-19).

During the offseason, the front office pursued valuable role players to help James and Anthony Davis reach the finals. Looking at how they've played, it hasn't been a smooth ride for the team, and its hopes of reaching the finals might be gone.

Channing Frye, a former teammate of James, candidly shared his take on the Lakers' chances of making the finals.

"With the Lakers?" Frye said. "That's a zero.

"If we stop right now, who they're playing in the play-in? The Warriors? That's a 50-50 chance right there. And then you gotta go against a young Minnesota (Timberwolves) or Dallas (Mavericks), who's cooking right now? Stop."

According to Frye, he'd say the same thing to James. Given that the Lakers have struggled mightily since the beginning of the season, making it to the finals could be an impossible task. However, they proved the doubters wrong last season and made it to the conference finals.

Counting them out could be a mistake as they're still competitive as long as the Lakers are in the play-in zone.

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LeBron James' latest injury status could affect the team's playoff bid

The Lakers will take on the Clippers on Wednesday night. Fans could think that it would be easy to beat the other California team as Paul George has been ruled out due to a knee injury. However, LeBron James is listed as probable because of an ankle injury.

This could be the ninth game that he won't play this season. Aside from himself, Anthony Davis was also included in the report as probable.

The next few games of their schedule are crucial as they could determine if they'll make the playoffs or not. They're 10th in the West, and it's not an ideal position, even if they secure a play-in spot.