Getty LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have had an extremely up-and-down season. Heading into the year, they were looking to atone for their poor play last year which led to them missing the playoffs (and the Play-In Tournament). So far, though, they’ve failed to insert themselves into the playoff picture.
LA got off to a hot start in January, winning five games in a row (including a win on December 30), but in their last 10 games, they are just 4-6. And now, heading into their January 30 matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, the Lakers were fed some tough injury news regarding LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
“Lakers‘ Anthony Davis and LeBron James are listed out Monday vs. Nets,” tweeted Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Davis just returned to action on January 25 against the San Antonio Spurs after missing roughly five weeks with a foot issue. After his return, he said that he felt good.
“I feel great. It felt good out on the floor,” Davis told Lakers reported Mike Trudell. “Foot feels fine. Good to be out there with the guys battling. It was good because it was a close game. We really had to battle until the last, maybe, four, five minutes. It was a good test for me going into this road trip. But overall, man, I’m happy to be back on the court with these guys, battling, man. It was a long five-and-a-half weeks, so it feels good to come back and get a win and, ultimately, just be back on the court with these guys, supporting.”
As for James, he just wrapped up a grueling battle against the Boston Celtics on January 28 in which he played 44:13 – his second-highest minutes total of the season.
LeBron James Sounds Off After Missed Call vs. Celtics
The Lakers’ loss to the Celtics wasn’t an ordinary loss, as it came with a ton of controversy down the stretch. Namely, James drove to the hoop at the end of regulation, and Jayson Tatum fouled him, but the referees failed to call the foul.
After the game, James expressed his disappointment with the non-call. He voiced his confusion in regard to why he doesn’t get the same calls that other superstars around the league do.
“You saw my reaction,” James said via Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “Challenging. I don’t get it. I’m attacking the paint just as much as any of these other guys in this league shooting double-digit free throws a night. I don’t get it. I don’t understand.”
Jayson Tatum Gets Sly About Missed Call
Meanwhile, Tatum and the Celtics got away with one against LA, earning the victory in overtime. When asked about the missed call at the end of the court quarter, Tatum cracked a smile and said that the last two minutes were “a blur.”
“The last two minutes and overtime was a blur,” Tatum said via CLNS Media. “I don’t really know what happened. I gotta watch the game, watch the film. Because everything was just happening so fast. But we moved on and got the win. That’s all I got to say about that.”