THE Lakers suffered a frustrating loss to the Sacramento Kings Wednesday, but the most notable thing that happened in the game was LeBron James’ ankle injury.
With 3:56 left in the fourth, LeBron left the game and headed straight to the locker room. He never returned to the bench, but after the game, LeBron spoke to the media and it appeared the injury was the same ankle issue he’s been dealing with for most of the season.
James didn’t want to dwell too much on the hurt, so he kept his words short and sweet.
“Yeah, you’ll be fine,” James said.
When asked to elaborate on what caused that left ankle to worsen, LeBron described it as the same ongoing problem.
“It’s just my ankle,” James said. “What I had to deal with before and after the break, I’m dealing with the best I can.”
Seeing Bron leave a game early to get treatment on his ankle, which has been an issue all season, is concerning, but if we trust LeBron’s word, then he should be fine. Still, it’s an ongoing problem and even Bron doesn’t know if a bad ankle will get worse and force him to miss some games.
Health is wealth and even though the Lakers have avoided major injuries to Bron and Anthony Davis, they still have key rotation players like Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt absent. If Bron were added to this mix, it would inevitably put a nail in this season’s coffin.
Bron won’t have much time to rehab his ailing ankle as the Lakers play the Milwaukee Bucks next Friday, then Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
With just 19 games remaining, the Western Conference standings are tighter than ever and the Lakers are clinging to that final play-in spot as the tenth seed. They’ll need all hands on deck for this latter part of the games, so if Bron can play, he needs to be out there.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
