USA Today via Reuters
Mar 20, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) is helped up by Los Angeles Lakers guard Wesley Matthews (9) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso (4) after injuring his leg in the second quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Mar 20, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) is helped up by Los Angeles Lakers guard Wesley Matthews (9) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso (4) after injuring his leg in the second quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
The Lakers, after their 110-98 win over the Pelicans, are now in the middle of a three-way tie with the Mavericks and the Blazers. Still, since the other teams own the tiebreaker, the LA-based franchise has hit the bottom and is sure to face the Warriors next.
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But none of that is as concerning as their floor general LeBron James again injuring his already sore ankle. Against the Pelicans, an unfortunate sequence hinted towards nightmarish news for the Lakers camp. So what exactly happened?
LeBron James hurt his ankle, yet again
With just six minutes remaining in the game and the Lakers leading by 11 points, something rather terrible happened. LeBron James, coming straight into #6 Nickeil Alexander-Walker, made a spinning move and completed an easy-looking layup. However, that spinning cost him his balance and the commentators insisted he stepped on the right foot after the shot. Now, that is the same ankle that kept him out for 26 games this season. Take a look at the video –
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LeBron leaves the game after rolling his ankle pic.twitter.com/zV1NfdagOx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 17, 2021
By the time LeBron hurt his ankle and visibly limped off the floor, he had scored 25 points off his 27 minutes. He was 50% from the field and showed variety in his shotmaking while also accumulating three steals for his side.
Read also – Steph Curry Speaks on His Rivalry with Lakers’ LeBron James Ahead of Their Play-in Tie
Was it a wrong move on the Lakers part to keep playing Bron?
Now, the Blazers game was running parallelly, and in fact ahead, of the Lakers game. Plus, it was obvious after halftime that the Blazers would defeat the Nuggets to take that #6 seed irrespective of the result of Lakers vs Pelicans. So in an ideal world, LeBron must not have hit the floor at least after the third quarter because the Lakers held a double-figure anyway. But Bron still showed up and now his ankle is again a matter of concern within just two days of his touted return.
Next up, the Lakers are to face a huge challenge in the name of Warriors who trail 1-2 against them but now have a better rhythm. So it is extremely important for Bron to play that game with his 100% fit self or else it will become a Steph Curry show.
So what do you think, did the injury appear serious at the first sight? Help us know your views in the comments.
