LeBron James injured his ankle against the Atlanta Hawks (94:99) and threatens to be out longer. How long will the Lakers have to do without their superstar and how deep could they slide in the Western Conference because of that? Also: How the Lakers might react and what a trade might look like. (Here are the highlights of the game against Atlanta including the injury to James in the video.)
How long will LeBron James be out?
Officially, there is still no information about how long or how many games James will be missing from the reigning champion. The Lakers announced after an MRI that the superstar sustained an ankle injury, or more precisely an ankle injury.
Although James traveled with the team to the next away game in Phoenix, an assignment there is more than unlikely. InStreetClothes.com’s Jerry Stotts, an expert on injuries in the NBA, wrote on Twitter that such an injury would cost a player around ten games on average.
Now James is not your typical NBA player, only in the 2018/19 season the King missed more than ten games due to an injury in the past decade due to a groin injury. According to Stotts, James has injured his ankle eight times – and missed just three games.
However, the Lakers will be careful with their superstar, just as they do with the injured Anthony Davis. Placement in the Western Conference shouldn’t matter, as the full team remains the top favorite for the crown in the west. At the moment Utah (30-11) and Phoenix (27-13) are still ahead of the champion, they would go into a potential duel with the Californians even with home advantage as underdogs.
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