LeBron James stated that he might not be able to play in the Lakers’ rematch with the Warriors due to the treatment he would be getting for his injured ankle after participating in the All-Star Game.
The Lakers didn’t even have a game this weekend and still somehow received bad injury news. At least kind of.
After taking part in Sunday’s All-Star Game, LeBron James revealed postgame that the treatment he would undergo on his ankle in the coming days may rule him out for the Lakers’ upcoming game on Thursday against the Warriors.
Pregame, LeBron spoke about receiving treatment in the days after the All-Star Game. After the game, he was further asked about that treatment and if it could impact his availability on Thursday.
“It possibly could,” LeBron said. “It depends on the recovery process. So possibly, but we will see.
“I’m feeling okay. I definitely wasn’t going to put too much pressure on the game tonight for me physically. I want to try to be as healthy as I can be physically. This last part of the season is very important for us. I got to make sure of that.”
LeBron did not arrive for All-Star weekend until Sunday, something he said was a result of receiving treatment in the days leading up to the game on Sunday. In speaking to the media before the All-Star Game, LeBron talked about said treatment and his focus for the remainder of the season being on his health.
“Yes, I did seek treatment the last few days, trying to get my ankle as strong and as back to where I feel confident that I can finish off this last third of the season,” LeBron said. “I’m seeking some more treatment tomorrow going into this week, because we have quite a few days this week as well. We don’t play until the end of the week. See how that goes.
“But the most important thing for me is definitely my health, where I’m at right now, where our team is leaning. We’re trending in the right direction. Obviously, with our Laker team, it’s been about health all year. Trying to do what’s best for me for the betterment of the team.”
There is certainly plenty of legitimacy to LeBron’s injury. It’s been one he’s dealt with for the majority of the season and if there’s something he can do to improve his health long-term during this break, he should do it.
However, it’s also hard not to look at the location of the game in San Francisco and the biggest news story surrounding the Lakers and Warriors both being the LeBron trade story and wonder if that also plays into this to some degree. That’ll at least be a question asked, but to his credit, LeBron was asked about the trade rumors on Inside the NBA and addressed them head-on.
There’s a whole other set of questions that come from that, but he has addressed the rumors.
In the end, I don’t think this is anything other than injury maintenance and recovery. LeBron has a legitimate injury that I think he is legitimately getting treatment on and there isn’t much else to it.
