LeBron James has never been one to rest on his laurels. Despite four championships, four MVPs, the all-time scoring record and more accolades than we could reasonably list, he’s still gunning for more. It came as no surprise, therefore, when he pegged the next two months as some of the most important regular-season basketball he will ever play. “It’s 23 of the most important games of my career, for the regular season,” James said at All-Star weekend. “That’s the type of mindset that I have and I hope the guys will have coming off the break.”
It’s a somewhat ridiculous statement from a player as accomplished as James. He could’ve retired a decade ago and made the Hall of Fame. Yet here he is, 20 years into arguably the greatest career in NBA history, casually flirting with 30 points per game in the NBA’s biggest market. Nothing has slowed him down so far. Well, except for a string of recent injuries that he was determined to avoid down the stretch. “I’m going to figure out ways to make sure I’m available and on the floor for every single one of these 23 games,” James ended that All-Star quote by saying. He lasted a week.
On Sunday, James suffered a foot injury in his team’s miraculous 27-point comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks. It seemed harmless enough at the time. James finished the game. He even scored 11 fourth-quarter points. The Lakers ruled him out of Tuesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, but as the front-end of a back-to-back, that was to be expected. The bombshell dropped soon after: the Lakers fear an extended absence for James. The 2022-23 don’t have an extended absence’s worth of time to spare.
For now, the injury is listed as foot soreness. Details will surely emerge in the coming days. But each day is precious for a 29-32 Lakers team about to embark upon the most important stretch of their season. They’ll travel to Memphis on Tuesday for a game in which they will be heavy underdogs without James. Next come three straight games against opponents vying for Western Conference play-in spots. The Thunder can clinch a…
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