In what has been an odd twist to the Lakers’ return to play in the NBA’s bubble environment in Orlando, star forward LeBron James has been dealing with a groin injury, which kept him out of the team’s last game, and logged a mysterious complaint about things “off the floor.”
But perhaps things will be returning to normal. James, though officially listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Pacers, will play, according to Yahoo! Sports reporter Chris Haynes.
Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James (groin) and Anthony Davis (ankle) will play today against the Indiana Pacers, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
There was also some question about fellow Lakers star Anthony Davis, who is bothered by an ankle injury. He, too, will play, according to Haynes.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel, speaking ahead of Thursday’s game, downplayed the significance of James’ injury.
“Just dealing with some soreness, playing it safe from the standpoint of the back-to-back,” Vogel told reporters.
Lakers Hall of Famer James Worthy, speaking on the team’s broadcast on Thursday, said there was not much to worry about with James’ injury.
“They’ve already achieved what they want to achieve inside the bubble,” Worthy said. “LeBron of all people, a veteran, doesn’t really need to get better at anything. Rest is OK. And it also gives the other guys a little bit more of a chance to play.”
Lakers Held Below 100 Points in 3 of 4 Games
The Lakers are slated to face Indiana at 6 p.m., coming off lackluster losses to the Rockets and Thunder. L.A. secured the top overall seed in the West with the win over the Jazz on Monday, but in two games since, the offense has cratered, even when James played.
The Lakers scored 86 points against Oklahoma City and 97 points against Houston, marking the first time this year they were held below 100 points in consecutive games. They’ve been under 100 points in three of their five games in Orlando, after having failed to hit triple-digit scoring only six times before the season’s coronavirus hiatus.
As a team, they are shooting 40.8% from the field in Orlando and 23.4% from the 3-point line. Both numbers are worst among the 22 teams playing in the league restart. Before the hiatus, the Lakers were shooting 48.5% from the field and 35.5% from the 3-point line.
LeBron Offers a Mysterious Outlook on Lakers Offense
After the Lakers lost to the Thunder on Wednesday, the first half of the team’s back-to-back, James injected some mystery into L.A.’s recent struggles.
According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, James was asked about the offensive woes and said, “It’s just some things that you can’t control that’s here, that I really don’t want to talk about, that’s off the floor.”
James did not elaborate on that, but he did go on:
This is a totally different situation than any other situation that I’ve been in in my career, so I have zero experience with having the number one seed inside of a bubble during seeding games playing in August. This is all a learning experience for all of us and we’re going to take it day-by-day and continue to work on our habits, either on the floor, during the film session, when we’re able to get on the floor as well. But this is a totally different season, a totally different drastic situation for all of us, including myself.
A win could go a long way toward clearing up the clouds that have gathered around the Lakers. They’ll get their shot against the Pacers, who have won three of their four bubble games.
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LeBron James Injury: Big News on Lakers Star’s Status vs. Pacers