INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- There’s an old saying: Be careful what you wish for.

That’s the case when it comes to bottles getting ready to pop leaguewide with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on the verge of missing the playoffs.

For James, it would be the first time since the 2004-05 season. For 14 years, he’s been a spring staple, somehow taking his game to another level on the biggest stage and lifting overmatched teams to improbable heights. Not this year. Not in his highly-anticipated first season in Hollywood.

But Kevin Love knows James well. He spent four years in the superstar’s orbit. During their time together, the Cavs made four straight Finals appearances and won a title in 2016.

Love believes the end to this lengthy postseason streak may make James even more dangerous -- if that’s even possible.

“He’s so strong physically and so strong mentally but just having that break, being able to reassess and come back really, really highly motivated is going to be big for him,” Love said recently. “If you get Bron highly motivated anything can happen.”

Cavs head coach Larry Drew was an assistant for the four years James spent in Cleveland before leaving for Los Angeles. Drew agrees with Love’s assessment.

“I think it’s going to motivate him even more,” Drew said Sunday afternoon. “I think it’s going to fuel him even more. That’s the kind of player he is. He is a driven player.”

The Lakers were 20-14 and in the Western Conference’s fourth spot when LeBron suffered a significant groin injury that knocked him out for 17 straight games. They went 6-11 during that stretch and started to drop in the standings.

James spoke the other night about this season’s many challenges, referencing not only his own injury, but Rajon Rondo’s, which coincided with LeBron’s. Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma have also been sidelined at different points.

During this current five-game skid, the Lakers have fallen to 11th in the West. Entering Sunday, they sat seven games out of the final playoff spot with 17 games left. San Antonio, Sacramento and Minnesota are all in front of L.A. and the organization seemed resigned to its fate, willing to cut James’ minutes and shut down others for the rest of the year.

“He’s one of the, if not the biggest competitor I’ve ever been around,” Love said. “He lives, breathes, sleeps, eats basketball. He knows that everything that he does off the floor, from family to I Promise School, to everything doesn’t happen without that basketball. So I can imagine it’s got to be tough for him.

“I mentioned the other day after somebody asked me what’s it going to be like, him having an off-season, and I said, ‘I don’t know, but I know if there’s one guy that doesn’t need any more ammo or inspiration, it’s Bron.’ He’s going to get that being out for the whole summer. I think you just have to see how he looks coming out of an off-season. It’s been, what, 14 years since he’s had five or six months to get himself right? I think it could pay dividends for him and the team to come back fresh.”

This is a pivotal summer in Los Angeles, as the front office will attempt to reshape the roster and find pieces that fit better. The Lakers have eyes on this star-studded free agent class and will likely still try to make a blockbuster deal for New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis.

For years, the working model featured shooters around James, giving him space to dictate terms. The Lakers chose a different route, signing playmakers instead. The results point to a flawed philosophy.

Los Angeles will also have to determine the future of the young core. Will they send some combination of Ingram, Kuzma, Ball, Josh Hart and future picks for ready-made pieces?

Those are tough decisions, but ones that every James-led team has been forced into. The Cavs dealt away two No. 1 picks (Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett) for Love. The Heat cleared cap space, even giving up on second-overall pick Michael Beasley, to pave the way for a new dynasty. Will the Lakers make the same necessary win-now moves and capitalize while James is still dominant?

While another ex-teammate, Kyrie Irving, spoke to The Athletic recently about being empathetic toward LeBron as he struggles through one of his most difficult situations, not all of James’ old buddies share those feelings.

“If we’re not making the playoffs I don’t give a s--- what happens,” Channing Frye told cleveland.com. “How do you think it sits with us? Of course, it sucks. Well, guess what (Los Angeles)? Next time go win some more games. I don’t feel bad for him. I’m not like, ‘Oh, poor Bron. He’s not making the playoffs.’

“I’m the kid that takes his ball home when he loses. That’s what it is. You ask me about anybody else. Phoenix? Bye. Us? Bye. New York? Bye. It’s alright. Bron will be alright. Longer summer. Work on your game.”

Where else can James even grow?

In an injury-riddled season, one where James isn’t even mentioned in the MVP conversation, he leads the Lakers in points (27.1), rebounds (8.6) and assists (8.1). Those tallies are good for sixth in the NBA in scoring while ranking third in assists. During a recent loss against Denver, he moved into fourth place on the all-time scoring list.

“I don’t know what more he can work on. Jesus Christ, the guy is a passer and he just passed Michael Jordan in scoring,” Frye said. “Maybe work on his body. He’s definitely going to work on his tan living in L.A."