Doc Rivers Fears the Worse as Milwaukee Bucks Suffers Neck Injury.
Los Angeles (AP) — Due to a left ankle injury, LeBron James will not play in Friday night’s Los Angeles Lakers game against Milwaukee.
When the Lakers play the Bucks, James, 39, will miss his eighth game of the year. Without the greatest scorer in NBA history, Los Angeles is 4-4.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham stated that James is “just experiencing some severe soreness, and we decided not to have him play tonight.”
James has had ankle pain all season long, which has prevented him from playing in any of the Lakers’ games leading up to the All-Star break. Then, with four minutes remaining in Los Angeles’ 130-120 home loss to Sacramento on Wednesday night, he hobbled off the court in discomfort.
After the game, James downplayed the ailment, calling it “just something I’ve been dealing with.”
The Lakers, who have been on a 10-5 run since the beginning of February, are failing to make up any distance in the Western Conference playoff race, but according to Ham, the injury isn’t a major cause for concern. On Sunday, the Lakers play Minnesota, who leads the West.
“I believe that my 21 years of service is the cause,” Ham stated. We intend to approach it as if it were a daily issue because that is how we see it. Check in on him tomorrow. When it comes to getting ready for fight, Bron does an excellent job. It’s something you need to watch out for and be conscious of all the time. It’s the reality of having a very long career and a lengthy NBA season.
The Lakers have had James on their injury report for the entire season, and they often don’t make the announcement about his availability until right before tipoff. James’ absence from the game against the Bucks more than four hours prior to tipoff suggests that the ailment has worsened.
