For the last few weeks, LeBron James has been dealing with swelling and pain in his left knee, which has caused him to miss some games, and it doesn’t seem it will get much better any time soon.
After the team’s loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, when he was asked whether he would possibly sit out some games to rest his knee if the Lakers weren’t in a “dire situation,” James seemed to commit to manning up and playing through the pain.
“I would probably be in uniform no matter what,” he said. “No matter if we were nine games under .500 or if we were nine games above .500. It’s all dependent on how it feels. My love for the game and the way I play the game and me suiting up has nothing to do with records and things of that nature. It’s just not me.”
The four-time MVP missed Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, which was also a loss. Several weeks ago, he missed five consecutive games because of that troublesome knee.
Injuries have been perhaps the biggest reason L.A. has a dismal 28-37 record. The team is still without Anthony Davis, who is recovering from a sprained foot.
If the Lakers have any hope of at least maintaining their dignity by reaching the play-in tournament and making the playoffs, James will have to continue to play and play well. He had a poor shooting game against Houston and was unable to win the contest for L.A. at the end of regulation.
[mm-video type=video id=01fxts4z3y2w002drxd9 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fxts4z3y2w002drxd9/01fxts4z3y2w002drxd9-b4260f994b1abda655d6a537d7a9a949.jpg]
[listicle id=80054]