The Lakers lose to the Nuggets, and get an Update on Anthony Davis' Possible Return.

Winners of five straight, the Lakers basically made a calculated sacrifice of that accomplishment, going into Denver Monday night and electing to give LeBron James, struggling with any number of physical maladies despite MVP-level play, the night off.

But without Austin Reaves, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr. and, of course, Anthony Davis, there was a very, very good chance the Lakers (despite playing so well of late) would have lost in Denver even if LeBron had played. And now he'll get a chance to rest until Thursday's game at home vs. Dallas. Four full days off (Sunday-Wednesday) is about as much rest as an NBA season provides, while only missing one game. So the Lakers were wise to take advantage, something easier to do now that they've regained contact with the rest of the conference.

Still, despite a home heavy stretch through the end of the month, the Lakers still face a stiff challenge to keep the momentum going while so many players are out. And to make matters worse, Pat Beverley left Monday's loss with a hip injury. The Lakers will have more info on him Tuesday or Wednesday, but given how he's turned his season around (and that the Lakers are suddenly very short on bodies) any missed time for Beverley would be very impactful. (Russell Westbrook suffered a dislocated right pinkie finger, too, but at least for the time being appears capable of playing. Which is a big deal, especially since he and LeBron have made significant progress in their two-man partnership.)

All this gets to LA's continuing problem - they may very well have used up, or nearly used up, a whole season's worth of margin for error in the first 12 games.

So can they hang on until Davis comes back? The news continues to be as good as can be expected, at least in the sense that the Lakers currently appear to be avoiding catastrophe. Davis, reports ESPN's Dave McMenamin, will start ramping up for a return now that the Lakers are back in Los Angeles. But that doesn't mean he's hitting the court. It starts in the pool, and then on the altered-gravity treadmill, with the hope they can "eye" a return in a couple of weeks, and start "penciling in a potential return to game action," McMenamin wrote.

So there's a lot of wiggle in here, for sure.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers lose in Denver as LeBron gets well-scheduled time off.

SEGMENT 2: Russell Westbrook is playing well with James, and remains a very durable presence in LA's oft-injured lineup.

SEGMENT 3: How long can the Lakers keep surviving down so many players?

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