Lakers star LeBron James has been dealing with a nagging groin injury and he aggravated the ailment during a collision with Patrick Beverley in Wednesday’s contest.
“I felt healthy going into the game,” James said after the game. “I got kneed in the groin taking a charge from Pat Bev, and it kind of set me right back to where I was five days ago.”
James could miss time with the injury and several members of the organization have approached the four-time MVP, urging him to sit out until he is fully recovered, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com reports. James missed his first game of the season earlier this week as he was nursing the groin injury as well as a muscle strain in his rib cage.
James has repeatedly rejected the notion of load management, McMenamin writes. The team has an upcoming back-to-back (at Portland; vs. Dallas), and it sounds like James isn’t going to sit out either game if he can help it.
“To be honest, I haven’t even thought about Portland just yet,” said James, who will turn 35 next week. “I’m always around the clock with my body, getting my treatment. If I’m feeling great, I’ll be in the lineup. If I’m feeling well, I’ll be in the lineup…We’ll see what happens.”
So LeBron decides when he plays, and not the coaching staff?
Yes
Isn’t that true of any max player, assuming they’re willing to downplay the injury? If your best player says he’s fine, and he fakes it for the doctor, then what? You gonna sit him?
Yes because that is literally the job of a coach
smh
And then he decides he’ll just lie to you and the rest of the staff next time he’s injured. Does that make things better or worse?
NBA coaches aren’t dictators. It doesn’t work. This is an example.
So what happens when LeBron insists on playing both games in the upcoming b2b, gets hurt again, and ends up missing 18 games like he did last year?
What’s the meaning of this question?
I’m sure LeBron feels bad if that’s how it goes, but it is what it is.
I’m not so sure this is such a cut and dry situation. Case in point, if several members of the Lakers organization have attempted to convince LeBron to sit until he is fully healthy, it would suggest that this isn’t a minor nagging injury he is playing through, and we know he’s already aggravated it once (granted, it was on a hit to the same general area). Groin injuries can be tricky and this team does not have the depth to weather an injury to LeBron or AD.
To me, this falls outside of normal load management, and thus LeBron should be reasonable enough to at least sit a game or two. For him to not meet the Lakers in the middle with his tough-guy act ultimately puts the team’s long-term success at risk, especially given his advancing age. I’d call that being more selfish than noble.
And like I mentioned in another comment, LeBron is technically an employee of the Lakers who signed a binding contract. So while that doesn’t imply the Lakers should be able to force LeBron to do whatever they want, particularly when their requests would be unreasonable, I see nothing unreasonable about taking it easy with a groin injury.
It’s all very reasonable until you consider the following: LeBron is the guy with the injury, yet he can’t be trusted to determine if the injury is bad or not on his own. LeBron has been incredibly healthy his entire career, and he’s known to take his conditioning and health seriously.
I’d have a hard time with a coach saying “sorry ‘Bron, but I don’t believe you,” and I’m certain LeBron has an opinion on that point too.
LeBron is a pro athlete (emphasis on pro). As a pro, I’m sure he knows what to do.
Yes, and that’s exactly the problem. LeBron has been extremely durable for most of his career, so what would make him qualified to know whether he would be at risk or not? If anything, a guy who has had many injuries in the past would be better able to tell when something ailing them is minor or more significant, as you can’t explicilty know something until you would have experienced it first. To be honest, you sound like someone who doesn’t trust doctors in general, although I do understand there may be specific instances when one should trust what their body is telling them over what a doctor would say, or at least should seek a second opinion (I have been in that situation myself).
Moreover, your position is overly simplistic when it comes to human nature. Who is to say LeBron is completely rationale when it comes to his playing status decisions? What if LeBron wants to play in order to be seen as a tough guy or someone who isn’t going to be load managed like other stars? It is a fact in sports that some players are more cautious when it comes to injury prevention while other players are a bit more reckless for any number of reasons. LeBron staying healthy for the vast majority of his career doesn’t necessarily mean he is a good decision-maker. It could simply have been the result of his body type, a great work ethic and luck. The thing is, LeBron isn’t a spring chicken anymore.
It’s not like the Lakers have been asking LeBron to sit with every bump or bruise, at least not to my knowledge. If they had been, then I could understand siding with LeBron from the onset. But for several members of the organization to plead with him to sit, they obviously feel this type of injury warrants a stronger sort of approach.
More importantly, where do you draw the line with respect to a superstar like LeBron who tends to call all the shots? When do you say “We should override LeBron’s feelings in this particular instance because there is enough concern with respect to his health to justifiy doing so”? Should such a line not exist?
Although you may say otherwise, your implication seems to be that yes, LeBron should have total control over his playing status, irrespective of the advice of more qualified doctors. And that is one ridiculous notion, even if I do understand that teams tend to be overly cautious with their star players (for what it’s worth, I don’t believe this to be the case with LeBron in general).
Yes, it’s the NBA, not high school basketball.
How do you know a player is hurt if he doesn’t tell you?
Follow up: Why would players tell you they’re hurt if you automatically bench them for some arbitrary number of games?
It’s not a problem of benching players “automatically”, but of doing it when the injury has not healed properly (and there are indeed ways to tell whether that’s the case: from apparent inflammation to X-ray, MRI and the like) or there’s a reasonable risk of reaggravating it. Players always want to play, but it is the coaching and medical staff job to decide when they should sit in their best interest. And they should indeed be conservative, especially at this point of the regular season and with the team at the top of the standings.
Are you a doctor? Because I have a hard time believing XRays and MRIs can tell a doctor precisely how hurt a patient is without talking to said patient. Especially when we’re talking about an NBA athlete.
To say nothing of the fact that most of these guys are playing with bruises and soreness every night, especially as they reach LeBron’s age.
Are YOU a doctor? Can you definitively say that X-rays and MRIs CAN’T tell a doctor how hurt a patient might be to a certain extent?
Moreover, a groin injury is NOT just like any other bump or bruise. And the Lakers have most certainly allowed LeBron to play through many bumps and bruises in the past. Can you tell me the last time LeBron was truly load managed by the Lakers?
On a related note, do you happen to be an anti-vaxxer as well? Because it honestly wouldn’t surprise me with such an apparent crusade against medical science.
Lebron is an employee of the Lakers, not the employer. He should not have full say over matters like this, although I understand why the Lakers brass might want to capitulate to him in order for there not to be bad blood.
I think quantifying LeBron’s contract and status with the Lakers as “employee employer” is incredibly simplistic, but I appreciate your acknowledgement that LeBron ought to have a say in whether or not he’s actually too hurt to play or not.
My intention wasn’t to simplify the situation to that sort of basic relationship but to merely point out that LeBron shouldn’t necessarily have most or all of the say as a result.
Here come the excuses. Watched the game and dude looks old as hell on the court. Just looked tired and worn out and kawhi was taking it to him all night. Then has brain fart at the last drive and gets locked up by pat bev.
Lakers have no chance of winning a ring with this currently constructed team. Neither ad or lebron are able to close games out. Very disappointed with how poorly they played.
You’re the guy that crowed all offseason about how amazing they were gonna be. Now you bail on them after losing on Christmas Day.
Pipe down curtis. As a fan you can always hope for the best, I am a life long lakers fan and had high expecations coming into the season. I had never seen ad play as he played in no his whole career but the hype about him gave me a lot to hope for. All the hype surrounding him that he was a transcendent type player, and so far he and lebron have underwhelmed and both arent closers or clutch.
Barring any real changes to the rotations or trades this team has zero chance of winning a ring.
Again i have never been a fan of lebrons game and see him very similar to a russell westbrook type player than mj. He pads stats in blow outs and shrinks against quality opponents then follows it up with excuses to his poor play and someone usually gets delt or vogel will probably be fired. Never lebrons fault, he is a disgrace.
Why would I need to pipe down? Because I stated the truth? You talked smack all offseason…and now you’re bailing on your team.
Am I wrong?
What smack? Lol calling you out on your ignorance is different, your posts are uneducated amongst other things on this forum that should be called for what they are. Still a lakers fan but being real at the same time. Furthmore lebron is a major choke artist in clutch moment dating back to his time with cavs and miami. These are observations as a viewer of the game we can make.
Not sure if you’re a “viewer of the game” if you havn’t seen the Lakers until Christmas. James is moving well, just not aggressively on offense yet. But, more active on D than before. 250 pounds, 35. You have always been irrational about Lebron so no news there, no surprise.
Been a laker fan since mid 90s watch every game. Lebron isnt a closer in 98 percent of the games. The games we win bench plays huge or we have huge games from kuzma, kcp, dwight or caruso to close it out. Lebron hasnt looked good since dawning purple and gold if you think so you need your eyes checked. Turned the ball over several times late in the game and that ultimately cost the lakers the game. Still waiting for bronsexual to post a worthy argument for kings lack of being clutch.
Nobody will please you no matter how often you ask.
Kobe sure did, 5-2 in finals. Outside of 3 years he made post season yearly.
@Curtisrowe kinda hypocritical seeing as your homerism regarding the whole kyrie irving debacle with your celtics.
Fans are entitled to share there feelings about there teams poor play, things you seemingly do on almost every post as if your misguided opinions are superiorly are more factual than someone else.
Again as mindless said please pipe down!
If they played like that and only lost by 4 then that says something. Lebron turns it up in the playoffs and this has been proven multiple times. Regular season doesn’t matter for his teams as long as they finish with a top 4 seed.
I have a lot of respect for this
Until he gets hurt doing so, then everyone will flip out and blame the Lakers for not forcing him to sit.
as a fan with no skin in the game I hope they keep him healthy forbthe playoffs