For the first time in his 22-season career, LeBron James sat out the All-Star Game on Sunday night. After experiencing continued discomfort in his left foot and ankle, the 40-year-old decided to rest over the weekend and avoid aggravating the injury further.
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“With 30 games left and us trying to make a playoff push in the wild, wild West, I felt like it was very important for me to kind of take care of myself and understand what’s coming on,” the four-time NBA champion explained.
However, as the second half of the season kicks off, James remains ‘questionable’ on the official injury report. The update suggests it’s more than likely Lebron would remain sidelined against the Hornets.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that James is currently on a day-to-day status. “I’m told that LeBron James will be re-evaluated later today and there’s optimism that he can be able to play in at least one of the next two games,” Charania shared on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for the Purple and Gold, they are scheduled to play back-to-back because the game against the Hornets was supposed to be played on January 9 but was rescheduled to February 19. As soon as the Lakers are done facing Charlotte, they will travel to Portland to take on the 23-32 Trail Blazers on Thursday.
LeBron James might not suit up for both matchups. JJ Redick will hope the supporting cast can rally against the bottom-seeded opponents in his absence. The 40-year-old star last suited up for the Lakers on February 12 against the Jazz.
So far this season, LeBron has continued to defy all expectations, playing in 48 of the Lakers’ 52 games. At the same time, he is averaging 24.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 9 assists, helping his team to an impressive 32-20 record.
With their newest addition, Luka Doncic, recovering from his own lower body issues, Redick will be hoping for contributions from at least one of his stars during the back-to-back games.
While the Lakers certainly want to get James and Doncic acclimatized to playing together, Shams explained that they are open to limiting their shared playing time over the coming weeks.
“But also, the other side of it, is weighing potentially sitting LeBron James against these two lesser opponents. … As opposed to him playing, they could be looking at nine days of total rest,” Charania said about the Lakers using both their stars while dealing with their injuries.
The next time LA faces an opponent with a .500+ record is on Saturday when they take on the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Hopefully, with Doncic off of the Lakers injury report, he can hold down the fort against Charlotte and Portland, allowing the league’s oldest player 9 days of rest to recover from left foot soreness.
