The severity of LeBron James' ankle injury and what it means to the Lakers.
Every Laker fan held their breath yesterday afternoon after witnessing LeBron James yell in agony hurting his right ankle suffering a high ankle sprain. While diving for a loose ball Atlanta Hawks Solomon Hill landed right on LeBron James’ right ankle, twisting James’ ankle in an awkward position. James had an MRI on his ankle right after yesterday’s matchup and the tests came back negative, which is a great sign meaning there was no structural damage to his ankle. Despite the negative MRI James is still going to miss some games to recover as it was reported this afternoon by Lakers head coach Frank Vogel that James is out indefinitely:
“Out indefinitely. High ankle sprain, those things take a while to heal. They are slow recoveries. We’re prepared to be without him indefinitely.”
LeBron James in pain hurting his right ankle in the 2nd quarter of yesterday’s game.
“I haven’t seen him scream and scowl like that probably ever, even with that groin injury.”
Lakers Kyle Kuzma said he had never heard James scream like that before, even when James injured his groin back in 2018.
As being one of the greatest players in the history of this game you have to be one of the most durable. LeBron James has been one of the most long-lasting players in the history of the NBA because of his longevity of availability throughout his career. James understands how much this Lakers team cannot afford to be without him and after tonight’s game, James voiced the frustration of his ankle injury on Twitter saying:
James traveled with the team yesterday night as the Lakers are set to face the Phoenix Suns tonight for their second game of a back-to-back.
It looked as the Lakers were starting to catch a break from injuries after a much-needed all-star break, but things still have not gone the Lakers’ way with the injury bug this season. Now it’s looking like the Lakers are going to need their role players to prepare for some time without LeBron James.
The Lakers’ first significant injury dealt with this season was the calf injury Anthony Davis has dealt with. Anthony Davis has not seen action since February 14 against the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers then had to deal with starting point guard Dennis Schroder being out due to COVID protocol who missed 4-games from February 18–24th, in that stretch the Lakers went 0–4. Right before the All-Star break, the Lakers have been also out with starting center Marc Gasol. Who is out for another game tonight vs the Suns, making it the 8th straight game he will miss due to COVID protocol.
It is important to look at the next couple of weeks LeBron James will possibly miss for this Lakers team. The Lakers are currently 28–14 and can easily move down in the Western Conference standings, with teams only being a couple of losses away from the Lakers. Current NBA Western Conference standing:
The Lakers next 11 games and their opponent’s records:
3/21 @ PHX (27–14)
3/23 @ NOP (18–24)
3/25 Vs. PHI (29–13)
3/26 Vs. CLE (15–26)
3/28 Vs. ORL (14–28)
3/31 Vs. MIL (27-14)
4/2 @ SAC (17-25)
4/4 @ LAC (27-16)
4/6 @ TOR (17-25)
4/8 @ MIA (22-21)
4/10 @ BKN (29-14)
The Lakers’ next 11 opponents have a combined 242–208 record and with the Western Conference being competitively close in the standing, the Lakers could drop a few seeds without LeBron James in the lineup for some time.