After missing 20 games with a high ankle sprain, LeBron James finally returned to action this past week.
It didn’t go well.
James scored 16 points in 32 minutes in a defeat to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night, and then he put up 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in 27 minutes on Sunday in a loss to the Toronto Raptors.
In the last game, James also apparently re-injured himself and had to exit the outing early. He ended up missing the following game, a victory over the Denver Nuggets, and fans have been on pins and needles since then regarding his return.
On Tuesday, an answer emerged regarding his status.
According to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, James will be out the next two games.
“Lakers star LeBron James is expected to miss back-to back games on Thursday (Clippers) and Friday (Blazers) to rest his right ankle, sources tell ESPN. James will proceed cautiously with ankle injury as playoffs approach.”
After the Raptors game, James was asked if he had rushed his return.
“You never know until you get out there because honestly some of the sharp pain that I’m feeling, or the pain that I’m feeling on the floor, I didn’t have during my workouts, during my training,” he said, per ABC 7.
The Bucks owner’s daughter decided to bring 2021 in with a bang by stripping all her clothes off. https://t.co/UgzhEEna4o
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 7, 2021
“So the only way to test is to get out on the floor. For one, there ain’t no damn practice time. It’s not like when you get practice time you get 5-on-5, you get lives, this is not the season for it. We’ve known that since the beginning. “The only opportunity for me to get some live was during the game. I don’t want to say I came back too early, but at the end of the day I had to test it out and see where I was at.”
Unfortunately 2021 has just been that sort of year. James survived a terrifying threat from a crazed fan. He has been involved in some pretty controversial on-the-court plays. And he’s faced some serious backlash over one particular tweet.
Will he be able to get healthy and turn things around in time for the playoffs? Time will tell.
Related: Kyle Kuzma Calls Out Questionable Roster Moves By Lakers
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
