It was exactly a year ago that LeBron James was battling the Golden State Warriors when he said, “I felt a pop” and he headed to the locker room with what would be a groin injury.
James ended up missing 17 games and would ultimately sit out the final six Los Angeles Lakers games of 2019 to allow that injury to heal.
On Christmas Day 2019, Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley kneed him in the groin on a play in which James was attempting to take a charge, and James said it “sent me right back to where I was five days ago,” when that same injury kept him out of a game against the Denver Nuggets.
There’s a possibility LeBron’s groin injury could cause him to miss some time, per @mcten
“There are people within the Lakers organization that are already encouraging LeBron to take this injury very serious” pic.twitter.com/vgFrCOJfmJ
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) December 26, 2019
LeBron said he took a knee to the groin from Pat Bev that “set him back”pic.twitter.com/ACs5QZyDQi
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 26, 2019
Obviously, I’m not a doctor or an NBA front office member. But this seems like a good time to shut down James until that groin injury heals.
UPDATE: From ESPN:
Even though the Lakers are now riding a season-worst, four-game losing streak, several members of the organization already have approached James about the urgency to sit out and rehab his groin injury until he feels fully recovered, sources told ESPN.
The Lakers know who they are at this point. They’re title contenders and possibly the best team in the West (although the Clippers proved once again they might be better), with James having an unreal season, particularly for an MVP candidate who’s about to turn 35. Even if they drop down a little in an extremely tight conference — four games separate five teams — the goal here is to have a healthy James by the postseason.
That’s it. That doesn’t mean the Lakers can coast their way through the next 51 games. But if the team knows how James — still leading the NBA with 10.6 assists per game — fits in with Anthony Davis and their scheme that runs the ball through the four-time MVP, then they can simply let LeBron take his time and get healthy. Ironically, if the Clippers end up with top Western seed and both Kawhi Leonard’s squad and the Lakers play in the conference finals, both teams would play at home (and how cool is that?).
But that’s too far ahead in the future. In the present, the Lakers need to protect James’ health at all costs if they want the best chance at that matchup … and beyond.
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