“LeBron James could take a month off and we shouldn’t say a damn word”: Stephen A Smith comments on Lakers superstar’s race to fitness before playoffs

LeBron James suffered a high ankle sprain in a loose ball collision with Solomon Hill yesterday, and Stephen A Smith wants him to take it easy.

The Lakers have shown all the signs of being dominant defending champions thus far, but only in small stretches. With AD and LeBron fully fit to start the season, they were a top offense. When AD began feeling the injury bug, the Lakers still remained the #1 defense in the league.

A spell without Dennis Schroder meant that they had to lose a few games due to a lack of scoring. But when Dennis the Menace returned, they got back quickly to their winning ways.

Also Read: “LeBron James boarded the flight to Phoenix”: Lakers superstar to accompany the team for their next game despite sustaining high ankle sprain

But this injury to James now means that the Lakers are facing up to 3 weeks without their 2 best players. It will be a tough spell of 10-15 games in which they could quickly slide down the Western Conference standings.

The Lakers are currently 29-14, but only 2.5 games ahead of the Blazers and Nuggets at 25-16. If they don’t go at least 5-5 in the next 10 games, they run the risk of having to participate in the play-in tournament.

Stephen A Smith wants LeBron James to take it easy

Adrian Wojnarowski revealed after the game that James had been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. The ESPN scoopmaster said the initial diagnosis rules LeBron out for 4-6 weeks, potentially.

Stephen A was among those who reacted quickly to this piece of news. The ESPN talking head went on record saying that LeBron James should be the MVP of the season not long back. But now he wants James to rest easy and preserve his body for the playoffs:

“There’s no issue here. The man has missed one game this way. Considering the way most stars can be with time off these days, even if LeBron took a month, we shouldn’t say a damn word.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SportsCenter (@sportscenter)

Also Read: “I’m hurt inside and out right now”: LeBron James expresses his pain after injuring his ankle in the Lakers’ loss to Atlanta last night