“LeBron has a Russ problem on his hands to fix” - Skip Bayless reacts to LeBron James' impending return and its impact on the LA Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to get back on the right track. It's been a rough opening month of the 2021-22 NBA regular season for the Lakers, as the team has struggled with inconsistent play. One of the main reasons for the slow start has been the number of important pieces dealing with injuries.

The team currently finds itself with a 8-8 record this year as they prepare for Friday night's game against the Boston Celtics. Superstar forward LeBron James is expected to return as early as tonight after missing the last couple of weeks sidelined by an abdominal strain. The hope for this Lakers team is that LeBron's return can finally get the Lakers back on the right track and allow this team to start stringing together some wins.

Speaking today on Undisputed, analyst Skip Bayless said LeBron needs to figure out how to not only get the Lakers back on track, but he also needs to figure out how to get teammate Russell Westbrook back in a groove. Bayless said:

"He's going to have to figure out the guy that he handpicked. The guy who is nothing but a solo act of a stat machine who plays about 80 percent of the time completely out of control, and gets away with it..."

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The New Addition Struggling In Los Angeles

Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook looks to find his groove

Unfortunately for Russell Westbrook, it's been a tough start to the year with the Los Angeles Lakers. After having an impressive previous season as a member of the Washington Wizards, the Lakers made a big splash this offseason when they decided to trade for the energetic point guard.

The hope was that Westbrook would give the Lakers an added punch offensively alongside the likes of Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Unfortunately the trio of players haven't had too much time on the court together. LeBron has only gone on to play in six of the Lakers' 16 games so far this year, which has required Westbrook and Davis to attempt to right the ship for the team during James' extended absence.

While Davis has been one of the most consistent players in terms of production, Westbrook has continued to find his rhythm. After a slow start to the year, the explosive guard has started to put up better numbers as of late, but his play at the end of games has still drawn plenty of debate.

As of his last five games, Westbrook is averaging 20.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 9.4 assists per game while shooting 46.8% from the field. While the numbers look promising, the Lakers have gone on to win just two of those previous five games. Westbrook was brought in to make the third option on this Lakers team, but he's quickly been asked to carry the load offensively.

If LeBron can return and stay on the court for an extended period of time, it could give the Lakers all the confidence to finally start to look like the team that many thought would be one of the contenders in the Western Conference. It's been a rough start to the year for this Los Angeles organization, but the good news is that help is on the way. If the three stars can finally figure things out, the Lakers could start to build some momentum in the Western Conference quickly.

The team will face the Celtics tonight before continuing on their road trip with a couple of challenging games ahead, including a road matchup against the New York Knicks.