The Los Angeles Lakers managed to survive a late scare in the win against the Memphis Grizzlies, but that wasn’t the only nerve-wracking moment.
At the six-minute mark of the second quarter, Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane landed on LeBron James’ ankle after attempting a layup that was strongly contested by Dwight Howard.
James’ ankle seemed to bend, and he stayed on the floor in pain for some time. He eventually got up and continued to play. After the game, he explained his thoughts when the incident happened because it was reminiscent of his ankle injury last year against the Atlanta Hawks.
“The first thing I was thinking to myself was, ‘Not again,’ because it was kind of similar but not the same kind of play, a guy falling onto my leg, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” James said after the game. “I couldn’t get my leg out of there in time, so just wanted to try to take a moment on the floor, hopefully it wasn’t getting worse.”
James revealed his ankle feels sore, but he’s hoping he feels better in time for the match against the San Antonio Spurs on the road Tuesday.
“I had an opportunity to tie my shoe again and see if I could continue to go, and I was,” James said. “But it’s a little sore right now, and, obviously, I think it’s going to be a little sore tomorrow when I wake up. But I’m an around-the-clock guy when it comes to treatment, so hopefully I’ll be ready to go on Tuesday.”
The Lakers have already dealt with Trevor Ariza undergoing surgery with a sore ankle, so L.A. should be cautious with James.
James’ injury last season kept him out of 27 regular-season games, and he never regained his pre-injury form. There should be updates on his status as Tuesday approaches.
