LeBron James is one of the most durable athletes in NBA history, a small ankle twist isn’t going to stop him.
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LeBron James looked like he was in pain when he landed awkwardly on his left leg, twisting his ankle in the process. While going in for a spin move, he got up, but landed flush on to Jae Crowder’s foot, causing him to lose balance.
An already depleted Lakers squad had to work a whole quarter with a James, who was in pain, sans Carmelo Anthony who got ejected for two technical fouls. Anthony Davis was out injured and will be for at least the next four weeks. Right now, it looks bleak for Frank Vogel and his men, who are fast slipping down the ranks, and look like they might not even make the playoffs.
If that were to happen, all the effort James has been put in despite his aging body would have been to waste. Turning 37 this month, there is no way he should still be the center of the offense in any squad. Putting up numbers that rival any MVP candidate right now, LeBron James is the glue to this last-minute shabbily put-together science project – ready to crumble at any time.
LeBron, asked about his ankle:
“I stepped on Jae Crowder’s foot… I’ll be ready for next game.”
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) December 22, 2021
LeBron James has missed 70 games since he joined the Lakers – He only missed 71 in the 15 years before
When James joined the LA-based team in 2018, people thought he was going there to slow down, enjoy his last years in the league, and then retire. It definitely doesn’t look like he is being allowed to slow down, the way his teammates are playing. We’ve all seen what happens to athletes when they spend more than half their lives playing at the highest level, and Bron is definitely at that stage.
Kobe Bryant’s output dropped drastically after his ACL injury, Dirk was injury-prone in his last few seasons, and Vince Carter barely played at the intensity that he had when he was young. LeBron’s diminishing durability has reflected in his recent injury run. Missing multiple games regularly now, LBJ must strategize his playtime if he was to achieve some of his personal goals in the league.
LeBron says “it makes no difference to me” whether he’s guarding bigs or other players on defense. He says he’s not worried about his wear and tear or minutes.
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) December 22, 2021
Did the Los Angeles Lakers make the right choice by putting their focus on winning now – than having a balance for the future?
When asked about what the ceiling of this Lakers roster is, LeBron had only this to say: “You guys ask me that question after every game. I don’t know… We have no idea what this team can be… How can I really assess what we have when we’re not whole?”
That is true since the Lakers have never had a complete squad since Game One of this season. LeBron is fit now, but AD is out. When AD was fit, the rest of the players were out injured.
Rob Pelinka must be sweating bullets, because he traded away what could have been the best young core of the Lakers for ages, to win just one championship that happened in the bubble. This Lakers roster is no super team, it is just what could have been, for a win-now attitude. Pelinka may have just sacrificed the LA Lakers’ future.
The purple and gold may very well be back in the ages of Robert Sacre, Xavier Henry, and Jodie Meeks since these players right now have expensive contracts and almost half the value of what they were brought in for.
