LeBron James has been dominating the headlines recently with his scoring accomplishments and his Los Angeles Lakers potentially making a run from the bottom of the Western Conference. He and his team completed the biggest comeback of the NBA season so far on Sunday in front of a nationally televised audience.
But he’s in the headlines for the wrong reasons this week. In that incredible game against the Mavericks, James appeared to have injured his foot in a non-contact injury that had him clutching at his shoes, and was heard saying “I heard it pop”. He would return to the game and contribute to the unlikely Lakers’ comeback, but that could end up being the last action that he sees for some time.
LeBron James Is Out. Are The Lakers Doomed In The Western Conference?
ESPN reported on Monday that the Lakers feared that James would be out for several weeks with the foot injury, though there were no specifics given. Fears were confirmed on Tuesday when it was announced that he would be re-evaluated in two weeks, meaning that he’ll miss 7 to 8 games, at the very least.
It comes at a very unfortunate time for the team. Los Angeles got off to a dismal start at the beginning of the regular season, starting off 2-11 and showing very few signs of life. Poor play dragged into December, but the Lakers began to find their footing a bit in January and February, and seemed poised to make some kind of run given their additions (and subtractions) at the trade deadline. The team had been 4-1 since acquiring the new players.
ESPN Sources: LeBron James’s right foot is expected to be reassessed in two weeks to see how much progress he’s made, but timeline on return expected to extend beyond that checkpoint. Where Lakers reside in standings by then could impact how soon it makes sense for him to return.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 28, 2023
Even with James, it would have been a tough climb up the standings, as the Lakers are currently in the 12th seed and on the outside looking in at the play-in tournament. But they are just a half-game back of the 10th and final play-in seed, and just 2.5 back of the idol 6th seed. They would have had to play some of their best basketball of the season during the most important stretch, but it would have been doable.
Without LeBron it is still possible. Anthony Davis is still a star in the league when he is healthy, and only the Trail Blazers and Pelicans stand in Los Angeles’ way when it comes to sneaking into the postseason. But James was putting together one of the finest seasons of his career in 2022-23, overly impressive for his advancing age, and being without their leader down the stretch could mean certain doom for the Lakers and their playoff chances.
Two-week re-evaluations don’t always mean that he’ll return in two weeks. The absence is very often longer, though LeBron James has had a fortunate career on the injury front before the last couple of seasons.
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