On November 10, Beijing time, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 101-114. Lakers forward LeBron James left the game midway through the fourth quarter due to injury. After being substituted, James slowly and carefully walked out of the court and went straight to the locker room for inspection.
In this game, James played 32 minutes, shooting 12-of-22 for 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
According to ESPN, the Lakers doctor will conduct a full evaluation of James on Thursday local time and will perform medical imaging tests on his groin to determine the severity of his injury.
With 5:45 left in the game, James hit Paul George low and then turned to shoot a foul that left him unwell when he landed. A reporter asked James after the game how his injury was, and James replied: "How do I feel now?" I feel good, except for the injury. I'll have a medical imaging tomorrow and then see how it goes. However, I didn't do anything too unrelated in that round. When I landed, I felt a little cramping or strain in my groin, and immediately after the free throw, I asked to withdraw from the game for the next round. ”
James grabbed his groin and limped off the court. But after James left the court, the injury officially given by the Lakers was that James' left leg was sore.
Since the start of the season, the 37-year-old James has experienced left foot soreness, left ankle sprain and left groin strain, and a series of injuries have greatly affected James' game form. And James suffered a severe left groin strain in the 2018-2019 season, his first season with the Lakers, and tonight's injury was on the same side.
Asked how this resembles the left groin strain he suffered during the 2018 Christmas War, James said: "Not as bad. ”
After the Lakers lost to the Clippers, their current record is only 2-9. As a result, the Lakers, along with the Houston Rockets, the bottom two in the West, are currently the only teams with a winning percentage of less than 20%. The Rockets currently have a 2-10 record. But the Lakers have James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook three bigwigs with an average salary of more than $40 million a year, and the Rockets are a rebuilding team full of rookies, which is not comparable at all. What's more, the Lakers' draft picks are not in their own hands, and the poor record can only be a wedding dress for other teams for them.
James' injury at this time was a leak for the Lakers. One could argue that James' current plus-minus this season is -61, the lowest on the team. After the Lakers lack James, the bottom plus-minus player, wouldn't it get better if the team was led by Will Shaw and Davis? Statistics show that in the last five seasons, the Lakers have only won 36.5% (31-54) in James' absence. Losing James means the Lakers lose the most minutes played, the highest scorers and the most assists on the team, which is undoubtedly a huge challenge for a 2-9 team.
Take this same-city derby with the Clippers, without the James Lakers may have surrendered sooner. In the second quarter of the game, it was with James' excellent shooting touch, coupled with thick eyebrows and several solid defenses from Beverley, that the Lakers played a wave of defensive counterattack and reversed the previous passivity. LeBron had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in the half, and performed well. In the final quarter, the Clippers stretched the score to more than ten points, and when chasing points, they needed three-pointers the most, but the Lakers' outside projection ability was the league's secondest, or James made two three-pointers to prevent the Clippers from immediately opening the scoring gap. After James went off the court, the Lakers did not make a single three-pointer for five minutes, except for Beverley, who made a three-pointer in 5 minutes and 17 seconds.
Lakers coach Darwin Hamm said to James after the game: "Do what you need, you just need to take care of your body." If James is out for a longer period of time, the already struggling Lakers could be more troublesome.
Hamm said of James: "I mean, there's a lot of adversity here. James has been doing his best to play for us and play at a high level. I think he did very, very well tonight. But that's something that's going to happen in the NBA season, man. You have to be prepared for everything. After he's evaluated, we'll see how it turns out and we're ready to move forward. ”
Hamm said he doesn't want anyone on the Lakers to feel the need to be a "hero" if James misses the game, but Davis said he feels compelled to take on more tasks.
"I had to take on more tasks, and for me, my mentality was to be more aggressive when I came on the court and try to find ways to help the team win — whether it's shooting more shots or making my teammates better, that's my job anyway," Davis said. Davis contributed 21 points and nine rebounds against the Clippers.
"It's even stronger when players like LeBron are on the court doing their best." Davis added.
The next game the Lakers will host the Sacramento Kings, and James has confirmed that he will not play this game. Shams followed up with reports that James may miss consecutive games against the Kings and Nets, and due to the schedule, James may take advantage of this to get eight days of rest and recovery time, which is enough to allow him to recover from foot and adductor injuries.