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Los Angeles Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James went off for 38 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists against his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers on March 21. It was an incredible performance from the 37-year-old, but it appears his majestic game was also taxing on his body.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, LeBron won’t play versus the Philadelphia 76ers on March 23. The four-time MVP’s ailing left knee isn’t healthy enough for him to suit up.
LeBron has been dealing with left knee pain pretty much all season. The four-time champion will miss his 19th game of the season against the Sixers, who are 44-27.
Lakers Will Most Likely Lose to Sixers
The Lakers will be without LeBron and Anthony Davis against the Sixers. With that said, they will likely lose since Philadelphia has James Harden and Joel Embiid, two of the best players in the league.
LeBron is averaging 30.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists while shooting 52.3% from the field, 35.4% from beyond the arc and 75.8% from the free-throw line on the season. He’s leading the NBA in scoring, but that might change after the Sixers game since Embiid is only 0.2 points behind him.
Despite having LeBron, Davis and Russell Westbrook — three future Hall of Famers — the Lakers have been a walking disaster this season. They are ninth place in the Western Conference standings and 23rd in net rating. Los Angeles will likely drop to 31-42 after the Philadelphia game barring a miracle win. Without LeBron, the Lakers lost to the Sixers on January 27 by 18 points and are only 6-12 when the King doesn’t play this season.
It looks like the Lakers will be in the play-in tournament as the ninth or 10th seed. It’s unknown if Davis will play again this season since the Chicago native is still recovering from a right foot sprain he suffered on February 16 against the Utah Jazz.
With that said, the purple and gold may go as far as LeBron and Westbrook can take them.
LeBron Is Playing like an MVP; Westbrook Has Struggled
LeBron has played like an MVP this season. However, his stellar numbers haven’t helped the Lakers rack up wins, mostly due to Westbrook’s putrid play. The one-time MVP leads the NBA in turnovers and has a plus-minus of -119.
It would shock just about everyone in the NBA if the Lakers somehow defeat the Sixers sans LeBron. However, it’s worth mentioning that Westbrook has averaged 21.1 points, 8.4 assists and 8.2 rebounds in 18 games without LeBron this season.
It will be interesting to track LeBron’s left knee injury moving forward. The Lakers have nine games left in the regular season following the Sixers game, with two contests coming against the New Orleans Pelicans, the team right behind them in the Western Conference standings.
Los Angeles and New Orleans will play each other on March 27, giving LeBron almost a week off to rest his ailing knee after playing 40 minutes against the Cavaliers. The Lakers will likely get destroyed by the Sixers, but the next game versus the Pelicans is more important standings-wise.
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