LeBron James’ eye looks pretty bad.
During a drive to the basket in the first half of NBA Finals Game 1, LeBron James collided with Draymond Green, who was whistled for a foul. It looks like Green left his mark as James has a red spot in the corner of his left eye. Green argued the foul call, but clearly slapped James in the face. The injury did not appear to have a major impact on James’ play as he scored a playoff career high with 50 points in a losing effort.
After the game, James admitted his vision became blurred, and his visibility decreased as the game went on. James ruled out missing any time with the eye injury.
James also injured his leg in the prior series during the Eastern Conference Finals, but did not miss any time. James’ teammate Larry Nance Jr. collided into his lower body.
“I just felt someone fall into my leg and my leg kind of went in,” James explained to Sporting News. “I felt some pain throughout my entire right side of my ankle into my leg. I was just hoping for the best, obviously, because I’ve seen so many different injuries, and watching basketball with that type of injury, someone fall into one’s leg standing straight up. Luckily, I was able to finish the game.”
Some have suggested the red spot is the result of a blood vessel that burst. Here’s a look at the play where James was slapped in the eye by Green.
LeBron James hit in the face by Draymond Green.
The Cavs had an inconsistent regular season, but managed to hit their stride in the post-season. James admitted his mindset changed after the trade deadline.
“I was like, ‘OK, I am not quite sure what we are going to do with this ball club. We are not playing good basketball, but you can’t sell yourself short,'” James told ESPN. “‘You have so many people looking up to you, you have so many kids to inspire, and you, yourself, you have always talked about be as great as you can be every day,’ so I kind of hit that switch before the trade deadline.”
The Warriors headed to half time with a lead, and added another typically strong third quarter. Cleveland was able to sustain the Warriors run, and responded with a run of their own. The game came down to the wire, and George Hill had a chance to give the Cavs the lead with just seconds to go. Hill made one of two free throws to tie the game.
The play that will continue to be talked about is J.R. Smith’s rebound on the second free throw. Instead of attempting a put-back on the rebound, Smith elected to dribble the ball out. Smith must have been under the impression that the Cavs were actually up by a point rather than tied. Smith dribbled out the clock which sent the game into overtime. After the play, James gave Smith a confused look wondering what his rationale was for not putting up a shot. James could be seen calling for the ball in the replay, while Smith dribbles the ball.
Here’s some additional photos of James’ eye.
The result of @Money23Green poking @KingJames’ eye. #NBAFinals
