Despite only appearing in the first half of the 2024 NBA All-Star Game and having a few days off, LeBron James was ruled out for the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Golden State Warriors.
Without James on the floor, the Lakers were blown out by the Warriors in a disappointing game where the team couldn’t get over the hump. Los Angeles made it interested on several occasions, but Golden State responded to every run to seal the win and send the purple and gold back home with a loss.
James has been bothered by his ankle for a good chunk of the 2023-24 season and has often missed at least one game of a back-to-back set. Los Angeles won’t have much time to mull over the loss to Golden State as they’ll host the San Antonio Spurs, who are also coming off a loss, on Friday in the second night of a back-to-back.
Fortunately for the Lakers, head coach Darvin Ham said that there’s a strong chance that James is able to return to the lineup against the Spurs, via Spectrum SportNet:
“We’ll get an official word tomorrow morning so we’ll see, but in all likelihood, [LeBron] should be back tomorrow,” Ham said.
James’ return is great news for the Lakers, who sorely missed his shot creation and rim pressure against Golden State. The Spurs may be at the bottom of the Western Conference standings and also playing on the second night of a back-to-back, but they’re a frisky team led by a rapidly improving Victor Wembanyama.
San Antonio already owns one win over Los Angeles, though Anthony Davis didn’t play in the loss. The Lakers also have a win over the Spurs, though it came in a close game as they squeaked by 122-119 without James.
With LeBron presumably back and fully healthy, Ham can go back to his normal rotation patterns which allows the rest of the roster to go back to their usual roles. The upcoming schedule is probably the most brutal stretch of the regular season for L.A., so they need to win against San Antonio to keep pace in the playoff race.
LeBron James hoping ankle treatment will enable him to finish 2023-24 season stronger
The Lakers’ coaching and medical staffs have been closely monitoring James’ health all season and has done well to keep him relatively fresh. LeBron received treatment on his ankle during the down time and he hopes that it’ll allow him to finish the season stronger.
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