The Los Angeles Lakers had a potentially major injury scare when LeBron James went down grabbing his ankle Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns.
James went up for a layup when he landed on Jae Crowder’s foot and twisted his ankle. He immediately grabbed it and began smacking the hardwood, which was not a good sign.
However, James got back up and played until the game got out of hand in the fourth quarter. His 34 points led all scorers despite the loss.
After the game, James offered a simple answer for his status Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs.
“I stepped on Jae Crowder’s foot. I’ll be ready for the next game,” James said.
The Lakers are already without Anthony Davis for at least four weeks with an MCL sprain, and that doesn’t count the rotation players out due to the league’s health and safety protocol. The Lakers had four players in the protocol at one point, but that number is starting to decrease.
James’ health is definitely imperative to prioritize, but it doesn’t help that no one else on the squad is capable of shouldering the load so LeBron doesn’t have to do everything on both ends of the floor.
It’ll be interesting to see how the team responds now that the losing streak is up to three.
