During the All-Star Game, concerns were raised within the Lakers. Some worried that LeBron James’ hand injury, which forced him to leave the game in the first half, was more serious than it turned out to be.
Updates injury status for LeBron James
When James tried to block Pascal Siakam of the Raptors’ shot in the first quarter, he hurt his fingers on the rim. James stayed for the duration of the first half but left at halftime.
Here's the play where LeBron James hurt his wrist as he was trying to block this Pascal Siakam shot 🙏 pic.twitter.com/NyoCIuIWh7
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 20, 2023
The 38-year-old veteran, however, wasted no time calming nerves by assuring everyone that he was fine; he had simply left the game as a precaution.
"I'll be fine. I don't think it's too much to worry about."
LeBron on the hand injury he suffered during the All-Star Game. pic.twitter.com/gAaTN3DL2x
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 20, 2023
James’s team lost 184-175 despite his 13 points, 1 rebound, and 4 assists in 14 minutes of play before he was taken out of the game as captain.
It was no surprise that, given the Lakers’ season, he wasn’t going to risk missing the rest of the regular season for the All-Star Game.
They’re already a game and a half out of the play-in round, so losing their best player now would be disastrous.
James only played in one of Los Angeles’ next four games after he broke Kareem Abdul-NBA Jabbar’s career scoring record because of an ankle injury. Just before the All-Star break, James played against the Pelicans and scored 21 points in 29 minutes.
James has started 45 games for the Lakers this year but has missed 14. The team’s record improves to 22-23 when he plays and drops to 5-9 without him.
When it comes to the Western Conference playoff picture, Los Angeles is currently in 13th place, but they are only two games behind the Thunder for the eighth and final play-in spot.
The Lakers have more than enough talent to make a deep playoff run, even if they make the playoffs as the eighth seed, thanks to the roster overhaul they undertook at the trade deadline.
It may take some time for the new players to settle in and the team to develop chemistry, and you already know that Anthony Davis is likely to miss more time than expected due to injuries.
So, James gets props for putting first things first and not watching the rest of the show so that he can be fully prepared for the season’s crucial home stretch.
