Deep Pickpocket James' Return to the Line of Fire 24 Hours: Who Influenced the Decision?

The Lakers lost 108-118 at home to visiting Chicago Bulls. LeBron James, who has been missing a tendon injury in his right foot, came back this game, and James came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, but it was difficult to stop the team's loss. The Lakers were suppressed by the Bulls all the time, trailing by more than 10 points in the second half, and the Lakers' old Beverley even made a provocative gesture to James at the end of the game - too small, which can be described as murderous! How exactly will James' early comeback help the Lakers? What kind of deeper interpretation of the injury cloud around him?

1. James who came back early

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James sat in front of his locker closet before the game, tying his shoelaces and listening to music with yellow wireless headphones.

"Leave my business alone," James shouted as he quoted the lyrics of the song he was listening to, shaking his head to warm up for his pre-game workouts.

James' message made it clear that if nothing else, he would make an early comeback, confirming his cryptic tweet Thursday: He was ready to return sooner than anyone expected — even sooner than the team and prominent doctors in the medical community expected.

2. James, who made his second career substitute appearance

After missing a full four weeks of 13 games, James shattered all the most optimistic predictions about his recovery from a tendon injury in his right foot to make a comeback in Sunday's 118-108 home loss to the Bulls. It was also the 38-year-old's second career off the bench, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and five turnovers in 30 minutes. He struggled to overcome the effects of early injuries and eventually began to regain his form in the second half.

"It feels okay," James said of his right foot injury after the game. "Of course, rhythm is the most important thing. There were one or two breakouts and I didn't control the ball well. Of course there were one or two shots that didn't feel as good as before, but I was out for four weeks. In addition to that, there is the physical fitness and I have to get them all back at the end of the season."

James made his comeback debut at 6:32 in the first quarter, playing 1958 games in his 20-year NBA career, and making his second appearance as a substitute, the first on December 11, 2007. Before the start of the match, he did his signature pre-match magnesium powder sprinkling in front of the technical booth, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

3. James' comeback debut

He scored two points in the first quarter and eight at halftime, and he didn't have too many options to attack, more to tandem teammate Anthony Davis (15 points and nine rebounds, as the Bulls double-wrapped him and only made eight shots), Austin Reeves (13 points, seven assists), Dennis Schroder (17 points, five assists) and Troy Brown Jr. (18 points) as he minimized the process of adjusting himself.

"You can see he's finding his rhythm and timing, his finishing ability and everything." Lakers head coach Darwin Hamm spoke about James' return. "He'll be fine, and we'll be fine."

The Lakers' (37-38) three-game winning streak was ended, and they fell from eighth to ninth place in the West, still without a breakthrough with a winning percentage of more than 50% (since January 9, 2022). De Angelo Russell did not play this time, and this was the second consecutive match he missed due to pain in his right hip.

The Lakers trailed by 20 points in the second quarter and 21 points in the third, Zach LaVine (13-of-19 shooting, 32 points) penetrated the Lakers' outside defense, and the Bulls were on fire from beyond the three-point line (14-of-31 shooting, 45.2 percent).

4. James's mental journey to an early comeback

In his post-game press conference, James revealed that he had torn a tendon in his right foot, an injury that usually takes longer to recover from than the four weeks James is recuperating. He said initially two doctors told him he should do the surgery that was reimbursed for the season. Then James said he went to see "LeBron James with a foot injury" and that it was he who told him he didn't need surgery. James did not disclose who the doctor was or where the consultation took place.

The Lakers were vague about James' injury and his recovery. At first, he was upgraded to a small probability on Saturday. Then, on Sunday morning, his playing status escalated to doubtful play. In pre-race training, he decided to play today's game after he tested his explosive power in jumping, landing and starting.

"I'm confident in my training this week," James said. "The day after training, when I woke up and walked out of bed, I felt like I might be competing today. After training before today's game, I knew I could play. ”

Asked when he knew he had a chance to return sooner than expected, James said, "When doctors told me I was healing faster than anyone they'd ever met before." As Hamm and Schroeder shared over the past week, James also confirmed on Sunday that he is exercising, rehabilitating and treating three times a day — from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., he clarified — all in an effort to get back as soon as possible. James said he never set a clear comeback date or decided to return based on the number of games remaining; He just wanted to get back to the game as quickly as he could.

"I want to do my best to give myself and my body as much chance as possible to come back before the end of the regular season or before the end of the season, even though we may not make the playoffs."

Even Davis said James would tell him about the entire recovery process, but he wasn't sure when James would return.

"I don't know," Davis said when asked if he knew when James would return. "It should be today, right? Today they said he was going to warm up first to see how he felt. ... He believed in his doctor, he believed in himself even more, and he managed to make a comeback today. Unfortunately we didn't get the win, but he felt good about his comeback. It's definitely good that he's playing in the next seven games so we can finish this tough schedule. ”

Hamm expressed a similar sentiment, saying James "has the right" to decide when he can return.

"We're really not speculating," Hamm said. "We just gave him the choice, he was so responsible for his body and his health, he won that right, with the cooperation of our team doctor." When you're feeling comfortable, let us know. 'Today happens to be this day. ”

5. James' self-perception of the injury situation

James believes his path to recovery is improving "every day," and Monday morning's spike in pain is the most important factor in his continued recovery. He has missed 27 games this season, which tied for the 2018-19 season for the most he missed due to injury.

James said surgery after the season is still possible. "I don't know," James said. "Anyway, for now, I don't need surgery, so we'll see how the condition plays out next." I might do another MRI at the end of the season and then make a decision. But even if I had to have surgery at the end of the season, you wouldn't know. I'm not going to talk to you about this in the off-season, and by the start of next season, I'll be healed and ready to play. ”

James acknowledged how difficult the month was because the Lakers were just beginning to come together before his injury and his teammates were forced to play without him in key moments.

6. James' affirmation of the team's performance

"I'm definitely proud of the team," James said. "It's watching them play a high level of competition, play the right way, play Lakers basketball. The teammates managed to give us a chance to get into the playoffs in the final stages, and it was fun to watch. ”

In James' absence, the Lakers have an 8-5 record, helping the team reach a 50 percent winning percentage for the first time this season, which gives James more incentive to return to the game to the best of his ability.

"Not only do we now have a chance to make the play-offs, we really have a chance to be a top-8 seed team in the playoffs," James said. "It definitely changed my mindset that I wanted to try to come back and be a part of, so I didn't want to say it changed my mindset, but it strengthened what I was trying to do, like my training, my therapy and everything. ... I'm really happy with what they've done, so definitely want to be a part of it. ”

The Lakers' goal in the final seven games, in addition to winning as many games as possible, is to find a way to keep James and Davis fit and reach their respective peaks in mid-April.

7. The Lakers plan to complete their revenge on the Bulls on Wednesday

The Lakers have proven that they can compete with any team on any given night. James and Davis are special enough that they gave the Lakers at least one chance in a playoff series without home-court advantage. For weeks, most teams in the West looked vulnerable. They just need their superstars to play at the right time.

"Both of them are competitive," Hamm said. "Since they came here and became teammates, they reached a consensus. Now that we have a bunch of new signings and old players who are already on the team, it should be a seamless transition. I don't want to take the result too seriously. These games are important, but when you lose a game, you want to leave everything behind. This is inevitable. The Lakers have a chance to take revenge on the Bulls on Wednesday as they head to Chicago to kick off a crucial five-game on the road. With a few days left to get them back and ready, the Lakers are optimistic about James' performance in the game. "I'm pretty sure he'll get back in shape Wednesday," Davis said.