LeBron James made his return for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon, but unfortunately the team was unable to overcome the hot shooting of the Chicago Bulls in a 10-point loss. Many on the team struggled to get going, but one of the few bright spots was the effort of Troy Brown Jr. who had one of his best all-around games with 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Brown maintained his spot in the starting lineup with the Lakers opting to bring James off the bench, but his return obviously caused some changes within the rotation. The Lakers still haven’t had much time together at full strength since the trade deadline and Brown admitted that the offensive rhythm was a little off with LeBron back in the lineup.
“I mean, I feel like there’s some good to it and there’s some bad to it, honestly,” Brown said. “Just him being so quick, you kind of got to get used to it. Obviously he plays a certain way, moves the ball. We were playing a certain style and then he comes back and it’s like we have to adjust. So it’s good to have these next two days to figure it out and get it together.
“Obviously we’re very happy to have him back, but yeah, there were some things that it was like dang, if we just had a little bit more practice it definitely would have helped us. But we’re definitely happy to have him back.”
The Lakers had to change things up and play a certain style in order to be successful while LeBron was sidelined with that foot injury. Now that he’s back another adjustment period will need to take place to get the chemistry where it needs to be.
“No, it’s just more of a chemistry thing,” Brown added. “Obviously with Bron, he’s a unicorn. So even stuff today, like I cut and I saw the ball flying at me and I was like ‘dang, I didn’t even know you saw me.’ Just stuff like that where it’s like he helps us so much that guys can kind of relax a little bit more and I feel like we were pressing a little bit today just because we were a little out of sorts. That happens when guys come back, it’s not just Bron, but that’s the NBA.”
With just a couple of weeks remaining in the season and their playoff hopes on the line, the Lakers can’t afford to take too long figuring this out. The team must come together on the fly to ensure they find themselves in the postseason.
Lakers’ LeBron James reveals he tore tendon in right foot, may need surgery in offseason
Even though the Lakers came up short, James making his return was a very welcome sight considering the severity of his injury. After the game, LeBron revealed that he tore a tendon in his right foot and some doctors suggested surgery. One doctor, however, said he wouldn’t need surgery right now, though it may still be needed in the offseason.
“I don’t know. Right now, I don’t need it, so we’ll see what happens,” LeBron said. “I’ll probably get another MRI at the end of the season and go from there. But if end up having to get surgery after the season, you guys won’t know. I don’t talk to you guys in the offseason and by the time next season starts I’ll be fine and ready to go.”
One thing that is for sure is that LeBron still isn’t quite 100%, but he has gotten to the point where he can manage this injury enough to be on the court and help the Lakers make a run.
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