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Three reputable NBA reporters have reported that Los Angeles Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James is expected to be out for multiple weeks with a right foot injury.
Shams Charania of The Athletic, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report are each reporting that James could miss several weeks after injuring his right foot against the Dallas Mavericks on February 26.
After James hurt his foot versus the Mavericks, he told his teammates that he heard a “pop.” The four-time MVP and four-time Finals MVP was somehow able to finish the game, but now the Lakers “are bracing for his absence to be multiple weeks,” according to Charania.
James, 38, is averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists this season while shooting 50.1% from the field, 30.8% from beyond the arc and 75.9% from the free-throw line. The Lakers are in 12th place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 29-32.
The Lakers Could Be in Deep Trouble
There are six weeks and 21 games remaining in the regular season for the Lakers. Jovan Buha of The Athletic believes there is “no way to sugarcoat the gravity of James’ absence.”
“Still, Los Angeles is 5-9 (.357) without James this season — a 29-win pace — and 36-62 (.367) without him over the course of his five-year Los Angeles tenure. Neither percentage would be good enough to get the Lakers into the top 10 in the West. They have to win at an unprecedented level without James,” Buha wrote on February 28. “This season, the Lakers have been outscored by 199 points in the 1,268 minutes James has been off the floor — by far the most significant figure on the team (Davis is a distant second at minus-128 in the 1,733 minutes he’s been off the floor). The Lakers have been outscored by 2.4 points per 100 possessions without James — a 10.2-point-per-100-possession swing from when he’s on the floor (plus-7.9 per 100 possessions).”
The Lakers have the fourth-easiest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon. Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Dennis Schroder, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr., and Mo Bamba will all have to take their games to another level for Los Angeles to stay afloat while James is out.
Anthony Davis & D’Angelo Russell Have to Step Up the Most
Davis and Russell are the All-Stars on the roster with James out. Buha thinks both players are under major pressure to perform.
“There will inevitably be considerably more pressure on Davis to shoulder the offensive burden in James’ absence. He’ll be the clear-cut No. 1 option offensively and have a chance to return to his MVP-caliber form from earlier in the season. The Lakers have gone away from him far too often offensively recently. That should change starting in Memphis. However, Los Angeles will have to find the requisite balance to ensure it doesn’t overwork Davis, considering his lengthy injury history,” Buha wrote. “D’Angelo Russell, an All-Star with Brooklyn in 2018-19, averaged 20-plus points per game over various spans in Brooklyn, Golden State and Minnesota. He’s also under pressure as he’s an impending free agent. If he helps carry the offense and plays like a fringe All-Star, he’ll be much better suited to justify the rumored four-year, $100-plus million contract he’s looking for this summer.”
The Lakers are a half-game out of the 10th spot in the West and 2.5 games out of the sixth spot. The top six seeds in the conference automatically qualify for the playoffs, while teams 7-10 make the play-in tournament.
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