Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel is prioritising offensive work after seeing his side suffer a third successive defeat in the absence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

James suffered an ankle sprain last week, the issue forcing him to join Davis on the injury list, with the latter struggling due to a calf strain and Achilles tendinosis.

While James is only a recent absentee, Davis has already missed a considerable chunk of the season, with the Lakers 7-10 without him.

Center Davis is not expected back for at least another three weeks and there is growing concern James may yet need a similar amount of rest to avoid aggravating the problem.

The Lakers' latest setback came at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans in a 128-111 loss, meaning they have dropped to fourth in the Western Conference, and Vogel knows where he will be focusing much of his attention.

"We have a lot of emphasis on offensive side in last few days with LeBron and AD [Davis] out," he said. "I thought we had some growth, some real growth, some real positives about what we're doing offensively.

"We had a stretch in the second quarter where we hit a big drop that really hurt us in this game, but with the emphasis on the offensive end we didn't play well enough.

"We're going to miss guys like that, LeBron and AD, on both sides of the ball. So getting us organised offensively is probably by top priority right now.

"I know we can tighten up defensively but we've got to be better on that end."

Nevertheless, Vogel is also adamant he has enough quality at his disposal without James and Davis to steer the defending NBA champions back on track.

"We are staying positive, we have great belief in this group," he continued. "Even with Lebron and AD out, we can win games in this stretch and there's going to be a silver lining at the end of it.

"The growth we exhibit while shorthanded will pay dividends down the stretch. We're going to remain positive, keep playing super hard like today.

"We've just got to execute better and collect as many wins along the way as we can."

The Los Angeles Lakers will need a little time to adjust to life without LeBron James, according to head coach Frank Vogel, though their sidelined star was present for Sunday's loss to the Phoenix Suns. 

James is out indefinitely due to an ankle injury but still travelled to Phoenix to support his team, along with Anthony Davis, who is also currently out. 

The duo watched on as the Lakers slipped to a 111-94 defeat on the road, despite 23 points from Montrezl Harrell on 10-of-13 shooting. Dennis Schroder, meanwhile, contributed 22 points. 

Vogel explained afterwards how point guard Schroder is set to become the "head of the snake" in the absence of the team's two leading names, with the reigning NBA champions now 0-2 when playing without LeBron this season. 

"I think our guys really fought tonight," Vogel said. "We didn't shoot the ball that well, but I thought we competed at a very high level. 

"It is going to take a little time as we adjust, figure out where the shots are coming from and what our new identity is going to look like." 

He added in his post-game news conference: "Obviously, Dennis Schroder is going to be the head of the snake with the ball in his hands the most, dictating some of the action. 

"But we've got a lot of veteran guys on this team that can lead, and we encourage our guys to lead from every chair in the room." 

Schroder felt the presence of James – wearing a boot to protect the high ankle sprain he suffered in Saturday's game with the Atlanta Hawks – on the bench demonstrated the four-time MVP's commitment to the cause. 

"In my career, I've seen people getting hurt and don't come on the road trip; and for him, being the best - one of the best who ever played this game - that you see him on the bench being there even if he's hurt, means a lot to me and all the other [players on this team] too," Schroder said. 

It still remains unclear how long James will be sidelined; the 36-year-old was having an outstanding season prior to the injury, averaging 25.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.9 assists, putting him firmly in the MVP conversation. 

As for Davis, he has not played since February 14 due to a calf issue.

LeBron James believes he should have more than four MVP awards as the Los Angeles Lakers superstar staked his claim for another NBA honour on Thursday.

James posted 37 points to lead defending champions the Lakers past the Charlotte Hornets 116-105 in Los Angeles.

The 36-year-old has been averaging 25.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game for the Lakers, who have won four straight games since the All-Star break.

James was crowned the NBA's best player in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and as the four-time league champion contends for this year's honour, he feels worthy of more.

"I should have more than four... But I don't, and I don't sit around crying about it," James told reporters post-game.

Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (both five) have won more MVP awards than James.

Since James last claimed the honour in 2013, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry (twice), Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo (twice) have been named the league's best.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel strongly endorsed James as the 2020-21 MVP, adding: "He's the MVP of the league so far, in my opinion.

"He's the best player to ever play the game, in my opinion.

"It's a mistake on the voters' part to go season after season without voting the best player in the league."

In the absence of injured star Anthony Davis, the Lakers have returned to form following the All-Star Game.

The second-placed Lakers (28-13) are only one and a half games behind the NBA-leading Utah Jazz (29-11) in the Western Conference.

"We haven't really talked about it," James said of the conference race. "If it gets to a point where we can capture it, why not? But we haven't talked about seeding all year.

"We've gotten better since the break, but the most important things for our ballclub is playing championship basketball every night and being healthy."

LeBron James has not been doing anything different in recent matches but the Los Angeles Lakers' shooters have "come alive" since the All-Star break, says head coach Frank Vogel.

Superstar James registered a second consecutive triple-double in as many nights as the Lakers outclassed the NBA-worst Minnesota Timberwolves 137-121.

James, who had 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, now needs just one more to rack up a landmark 100th career triple-double, while it marked his fifth of this season.

Prior to the All-Star game, the Lakers had lost six times in eight games but are now on a three-game winning streak, with James at the heart of team's impressive fortunes.

But Vogel insists it is merely a case of the team being hotter with the ball, saying: "I honestly don't think [James] has been playing that differently than what he was doing leading into the break

"I just think our shooters have come alive. I think we hit a little bit of a wall coming into the break, and then our shooters got their legs under them a little bit, and in the last three games they've been hitting shots, so his assist totals are up."

Several players contributed for the Lakers, with Dennis Schroder putting up 16 points and seven assists, while Kyle Kuzma also had 16 points.

Youngster Talen Horton-Tucker followed up an 18-point showing versus the Golden State Warriors with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The last two games have seen Horton-Tucker excel against two 2020 first-round draft picks in James Wiseman and Anthony Edwards, and James said the 20-year-old – selected in the second round in 2019 – will only continue to grow in stature.

"It's something we've talked about all year, if you go back to the draft Talen Horton-Tucker would not go in the second round," James said about his team-mate. 

"We're super-duper lucky and blessed to grab him when we grabbed him. His ability to get downhill, his ability to get to the lane and finish or his ability to make the extra passes, he's a big guard, but with great handle and great balance. 

"This is Talen's rookie year too pretty much, he's learning, he'll continue to get better, he's a damn good player right now he'll continue to get better and better."

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said he is rested and ready to lead the team's title defence in the second half of the NBA season.

James and defending champions the Lakers will return to action against the Indiana Pacers on Friday following the All-Star break.

Lakers veteran James was in Atlanta for the All-Star Game, playing 13 minutes as Team LeBron beat Team Durant 170-150.

But after sitting out the final game before the break – a 123-120 loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 3 – James is feeling refreshed in the Lakers' pursuit of back-to-back championships.

"It's go time," James told reporters on Thursday. "It's time to get prepared and making that turnaround, that last lap going into the postseason.

"… I'm not into looking ahead saying, 'OK, let's take this off, take that off'. Nah, it's go time for me."

The Lakers (24-13) head into the Pacers clash on the back of consecutive defeats, leaving James and his team-mates third in the Western Conference behind NBA leaders the Utah Jazz (27-9) and Phoenix Suns (24-11).

In his 18th season, James has been averaging 25.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game for the Lakers.

James added: "I kind of use the first half of the season as being in gear one, two and three, and then in the second half being in more like four, five, six, and then when the playoffs start you're in seven.

"And that's kind of the way I've always kind of adjusted over the last few years of my career, really just ramping up more, more and more as the months go on as the games go on going into the playoffs."

The Lakers will welcome the Pacers to Staples Center in Los Angeles without star Anthony Davis.

Davis remains sidelined with tendinosis and a calf strain in his right leg, having not played since February 14.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said Davis will be re-evaluated by team doctors on Friday.

LeBron James showed in the Los Angeles Lakers' latest overtime win against the Oklahoma City Thunder why he is likely to win this season's MVP award, according to head coach Frank Vogel.

The Lakers claimed a second straight overtime victory against the Thunder on Wednesday, having needed two additional five-minute periods to get past the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

It was the first time in franchise history the Lakers won three straight overtime games, with the last NBA team to achieve the feat being the Minnesota Timberwolves in January 2007.

James played at least 40 minutes in all three – he last played that much in three successive games in January 2017 – and became the first player aged 35 or older in NBA history to do that in a trio of consecutive overtime triumphs.

Despite his increased time on the floor, the four-time MVP showed no noticeable dip in production. In a total of 130 minutes across the three wins he had 86 points, 30 assists, 25 rebounds and eight steals. The last NBA player to reach those numbers over a three-win span in the regular season was Michael Jordan in January 1989.

The Lakers were without Anthony Davis for a second straight game and Vogel felt the leadership LeBron displayed offensively and defensively was evidence of why he is a frontrunner for the MVP award.

Asked if he was concerned by the minutes James had racked up, Vogel replied: "Of course, there's always concern but his body's been feeling good.

"These aren't scripted plans to go to overtime each night and get him up to 40 minutes, but he's gonna be there in those situations to win the game.

"We'll continue evaluating how he's feeling, his workload on a day-by-day basis and make decisions on a game-by-game basis.

"He made several defensive plays to be honest with you, he's really leading the charge taking a matchup of [Al] Horford on certain situations. That's what Bron does. Bron does it on both sides of the ball.

"That's why he's probably going to be this year's MVP; carrying the load offensively and quarterbacking the number one defense in the league and taking these tough assignments and making the plays down the stretch, so he's played terrific."

Vogel joked that James was getting rest after the game by being excused from media duty.

He added: "These are the toughest games to play, when you have a sub-.500 team that comes in with guys out. Everybody on their team is getting an opportunity. You've got an opportunity to be the go-to guy. We've seen that with a few different games.

"We've certainly got to be better, we're not making things easy on ourselves but at the end of the day we're doing enough to grind things out in the second half and do what we need to do to get that W. Happy to get three wins but certainly got to be better.

"We're not worried about being tired. We're a no excuse team."

Kyle Kuzma praised James mentality after he contributed 25 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals in the 114-113 success over the Thunder.

"You've heard it from him: being tired is just in your head," said Kuzma, who contributed 15 points and nine rebounds.

"If you put your mind to it, you don't really see yourself getting too tired and that's always been his mindset through his unbelievable career. That dude's a beast. If he says he's not tired, doesn't get tired, [then] he doesn't get tired."