LeBron James exits Lakers-Jazz game with injury scare
Today at 01:57 AM
It seems like the stars are aligning for the Los Angeles Lakers over the past few weeks. Not only have they been playing their hearts out on the floor, they have also managed to swing a trade for Luka Doncic — causing such a massive uproar in the sports world. It did not seem likely at all that Doncic would be able to team up with LeBron James, but now that this is a reality, teams should be very afraid of just how far the Purple and Gold can go moving forward, especially after they earned a 132-113 win over the Utah Jazz in Doncic’s debut for the team.
However, health is arguably the most important thing to manage for teams with contending aspirations. And it looks like the Lakers did not escape their win over the Jazz completely unscathed on that front. As per Jovan Buha of The Athletic, James had to exit early in the fourth quarter while “grimacing and holding his abdominal area”. James then spoke with trainer Mike Mancias for around 30 seconds before heading to the locker room.
With the game already sealed in the Lakers’ favor, there was no reason whatsoever for James to force the issue once he felt any sense of discomfort. But it is definitely a worrying sight to see James be visibly in pain.
Keeping James healthy is the number one priority for the Lakers, and thankfully for them, their next few games will be coming against sub-.500 teams, which means that the 40-year-old star could perhaps take some games off, especially with Doncic ready to slot in as the team’s primary ballhandler.
With the Lakers’ contending hopes for this season rejuvenated by the acquisition of Doncic, the hope is that James’ injury isn’t too serious and that it won’t need to take much more than rest for him to recover from this.
LeBron James and Luka Doncic lead the Lakers to easy win over the Jazz
The Lakers have been a much different team as of late, especially compared to the team everyone saw in early December. They have been so locked in on both ends of the floor, and there is a definite change in their body language, with the whole team fighting for every loose ball and fighting their backsides off on defense.
On Monday night, the Lakers set the tone early in the first quarter and did not look back. LeBron James was the main catalyst for their victory, tallying 24 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, while Luka Doncic put up 14-5-4 in his Purple and Gold debut.
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