It looks like LeBron James‘ return to the court will take longer than expected. He was supposed to play against New York Knicks on Tuesday but decided to sit out. He was then expected to suit up against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers star is taking a bit more time off.
LeBron took to Twitter to personally tell Lakers fans that he won’t be playing against the Rockets but he will be in attendance for the unveiling of the championship banner.
Getting close but I won’t be in the lineup tonight but more importantly I will be there to put that CHAMPIONSHIP banner in the rafters at Staples Center in front of our fans!! #No17 💜💛
LeBron hasn’t really addressed his absence much but he clearly wanted to send a message to fans of the team. The Rockets are one of the NBA’s worst teams so there’s no reason to rush the superstar back to play against them. Los Angeles’ next game isn’t until Saturday so that will give him a few more days to get healthy. The Lakers need to play things safe. If LeBron suffers another setback, that could cut the team’s season a lot shorter than they’d hoped.
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Anthony Davis Also Out
The Lakers got another bit of concerning news when Anthony Davis revealed that he messed up his groin against the Knicks. It doesn’t appear to be a serious issue but the team has been careful with the star big man all season. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Davis will be joining LeBron on the bench for the game against the Rockets.
Anthony Davis will also not play tonight against the Rockets after experiencing tightness in his groin last night, sources tell ESPN
Davis has a much more extensive injury history than LeBron so it’s wise to play it safe. He’s been playing much better over the last few games so the Lakers have to be feeling good about their title chances. Davis downplayed the seriousness of the injury after the win over the Knicks but he’s not going to take risks after sitting out for a couple of months while he got healthy.
Are Lakers Playoff Ready?
The biggest concern about LeBron and Davis missing more games is that the Lakers haven’t played many games as a full unit since the first half of the season. When LeBron made his brief return a couple of weeks ago, the team looked completely out of sync and lost both games. There are only three games left in the season, which means there isn’t much time for the Lakers to work out the kinks.
It’s impossible to know exactly how they might perform once they have the full squad back together. When everybody was healthy, they looked like the best team in the NBA and won a lot of games. Unfortunately, the team hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Things haven’t gotten better either. The fact that LeBron and Davis are having setbacks this late in the season is worrisome. There’s no way to know if the team is ready for the playoffs right now. It’s never wise to bet against LeBron but he also hasn’t dealt with many injury issues throughout his career.
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LeBron James Breaks Silence on Latest Setback in Message to Lakers Fans