On March 28, Beijing time, in an NBA regular season game that ended today, the Lakers lost to the Pelicans 108-116 on the road, a game in which the Lakers once led by 23 points, but in the end they were reversed by the Pelicans, swallowed a bitter defeat, and also missed a great opportunity to open a gap with the Pelicans and keep the ninth place in the West. After losing this game, the Lakers are in tenth place in the West with a record of 31 wins and 43 losses, 0.5 wins away from the Pelicans in the ninth place in the West, and only one win away from the Spurs behind them.
If a month ago, the Lakers could still pat their chests and say that they would definitely be able to enter the playoffs, then now, it is really difficult to say who can get 2 play-off tickets for the Lakers and spurs and pelicans. Since the Pelicans have experienced a surge in combat effectiveness since the big deal, and the Spurs have shown the resilience of the old strong team at the end of the season, under the leadership of legendary head coach Popovich, the Spurs have recently won 3 consecutive games, which has become the biggest threat to the Lakers to enter the playoffs.
Seeing such a Spur, I don't know if James will be a little embarrassed in his heart, but he didn't expect that at the end of his career, the biggest trouble for him was still the old wrongdoer Spurs, or still popovich, the old man. There is no doubt that this will be another head-on duel between the 2 legends.
It is worth mentioning that James has exceeded the 37,000-point mark in his regular season career in this game, but unfortunately, although he played 42 minutes in this game, with 39 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block on 14-of-27 shooting, he has tried his best, but he still can't win a victory for the team. And in the game, James also seriously sprained his ankle, which brought a lot of hidden dangers to the Lakers' next game.
After the game, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel was interviewed by reporters. Vogel said that while LeBron James finished the game, he believed James' ankle injury did have an impact. He said the Lakers will do further inspections tomorrow. James himself is a little worried about the ankle injury, but at this stage of the season, unless it is a very serious injury, there should be nothing to stop James from continuing to play.
And on another level, this may be the 2 NBA legends of James and Popovich, after the 2014 Finals, after 8 years, it is really a team life and death showdown, and it may also be the last key showdown of the two careers. Speaking of Spurs and Popovich, it can really be regarded as the nemesis of James' career, especially the two Finals in 2013 and 2014, which has made the two sides have more grudges and hatreds.
After losing to spurs in the 2014 finals, many fans have always said that James is very afraid of Spurs and Popovich, and maybe this time, James can completely make a break with Spurs and Popovich. If the Lakers can successfully prevent the Spurs from rising to the top ten in the West playoffs and keep the Spurs out of the playoffs, then it will be considered that James repaid the Spurs with a shot in the 2014 Finals.
Of course, from the current situation, the Spurs are like a bamboo, the Pelicans are more and more courageous, on the contrary, the Lakers side of James suffered a serious injury, the return date is undecided, in the regular season with only 8 games left, the Lakers are indeed more worrying.