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“Will LeBron James join the Lakers for their 5 game road trip?” – LA Lakers head coach Frank Vogel releases a statement on the four-time champion’s abdominal injury

Arun Sharma
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"Will LeBron James join the Lakers for their 5 game road trip?" - LA Lakers head coach Frank Vogel releases a statement on the four-time champion's abdominal injury

LeBron James has not played a game since 3rd November, his last game being against the Houston Rockets.

LeBron James has been somewhat injury-prone in the past year, sitting out a lot of games at a stretch for the first time in his career. His latest injury was an abdominal strain, one that has kept him out for four games in a row. Initially thought to be severe, Frank Vogel has come out and said LeBron has been progressing nicely and is now listed as day-to-day. Fans of the kid from Akron can rejoice, they may very well see King James suit up quicker than expected.

The Lakers have had a lot of injuries to start the season off, with Trevor Ariza yet to make his season debut. Much has been said about the possibility of the team maintaining fitness, and the way they have started the season confirms that. Currently seventh in the west, the Lakers have had five separate long-term injuries, which means the time to build chemistry isn’t there yet.

They also lost to OKC, both those games came when James was injured. Losing by giving up 15+ point leads both times. LeBron has been missed by the purple and gold this season. With the team being very erratic with their scoring, winning by a whisker even when they did.

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The Lakers may be overly dependent on a slowing down LeBron James

The majority of the Lakers roster is filled with players above the age of 30, something that has been a talking point amongst the fans everywhere. With the Lakers trading away young players in search of a championship, this gamble needs to pay off otherwise the future is in big trouble. While this could be proved wrong, dependency on a soon-to-be 37-year-old James to win games isn’t ideal.

Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook had been tipped to lead the Lakers in the absence of James, but an unlikely hero Carmelo Anthony has been the one that has grabbed all the headlines this season. He’s been putting up consistent numbers that have put him in strong contention for the 6MOTY title. Frank Vogel would love to go out on a road trip on the back of a couple of wins at home.

This early season chatter may just as well be proven wrong, with the Los Angeles team making strides game by game and improving team chemistry. How this all transpires into a title-winning team with such a start, we are yet to see. One thing is for sure, LeBron James is needed on the floor as soon as possible because the team cannot seem to find a groove without him running the offense.

Also Read: “Fred VanVleet, that gesture is absolutely obscene!”: NBA fines the Raptors guard $15,000 for his inappropriate “Big Balls” dance against the Sixers

About the author

Arun Sharma

Arun Sharma

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Arun Sharma is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. A double degree holder and a digital marketer by trade, Arun has always been a sports buff. He fell in love with the sport of basketball at a young age and has been a Lakers fan since 2006. What started as a Kobe Bryant obsession slowly turned into a lifelong connection with the purple and gold. Arun has been an ardent subscriber to the Mamba mentality and has shed tears for a celebrity death only once in his life. He believes January 26, 2020, was the turning point in the passage of time because Kobe was the glue holding things together. From just a Lakers bandwagoner to a basketball fanatic, Arun has spent 16 long years growing up along with the league. He thinks Stephen Curry has ruined basketball forever, and the mid-range game is a sight to behold. Sharma also has many opinions about football (not the American kind), F1, MotoGP, tennis, and cricket.

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