LeBron James left the Lakers‘ 127-101 Christmas Day win over the Warriors with an injured left groin in the third quarter and did not return. Cameras caught James telling Lakers trainers that he “felt a pop” in his groin region.
An initial exam on James revealed “all is intact” and that he suffered a “slight groin strain,” per Yahoo Sports’ Chris B. Haynes (Twitter link). James told reporters after the game he will undergo an MRI on Wednesday and did not rule out playing on Thursday against the Kings.
“I don’t know,” James said, per ESPN. “See what the MRI says and see how I feel for the rest of the day today. And I will be all around the clock tomorrow on rehabbing. And we will see how I feel on Thursday when we go to [Sacramento].”
The soon-to-be 34-year-old James exited Tuesday’s win with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in 21 minutes of action. In 34 games this season, James has averaged 27.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 7.1 APG for the Lakers.
If James were forced to miss any prolonged stretch, it would be a critical blow to Los Angeles, which sports a 20-14 record following their win over the defending NBA champions. James has been the model of health and consistency, appearing fewer than 69 or fewer games in just two of his 15 NBA seasons entering the 2018/19 campaign. One of those years was the lockout-shortened 2011/12 season.
“I take a lot of pride in [staying healthy], so that is why it pissed me off not being able to go back into the game,” James said. “It’s more than anything being available to my teammates, to my coaching staff; that is something I take more personal than anything. Hopefully, it is not a long thing and I can get back on the floor as soon as possible.”
In this PC world most of us who utter something regrettable gets chastised. But it’s LeDork so it slides. $$$
You must be the PC one if you think him blasting a 21 savage song is regrettable
Oh look, another LeBron stooge making excuses. No accountability = no credibility.
Accountability for what???? Its a song big deal. You people will try to hold anything against him. Please explain what was so bad about him bumping to a song.
Uh oh, looks like the Lakers are starting to figure things out. And damn, the Zubac kid is turning into a beast.
Agree dude, Zubac was the best player in the game yesterday.
Also seems that all the haters are out in full force, tell you what I do find so difficult to comprehend how people can say they are hoops fans when they absolutely slaughter a guy that is one of the GOAT’s with Bird, Magic & even Jordan could enter this conversation with LBJ… SMH
You lose all credibility when you compare LeBron to MJ. If Jordan was in his prime and still playing, LeBron would have zero championships just like the rest of the great players during the 90s. And Jordan would have 8 championships instead of 6 if he didn’t retire twice.
LOL!!!! You sooo funny!!! HaHaHa!!!
Jordan couldn’t beat the showtime Lakers or the big 3 Celtics.
You are absolutely correct Chun. Jordan’s Bulls wouldn’t have mustered even a whimper of protest against the showtime Lakers or Bird’s Celtics. Furthermore, As great as Jordan was, he’d struggle to defend Lebron if they played during the same era. Lebron is simply bigger and stronger and would bull straight through MJ. .