LeBron James refused to stand down after suffering a season-ending injury against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Los Angeles Lakers are in major turmoil. After showing positive signs of a comeback with a new look lineup, the purple and gold dealt a major blow today. Their star forward, LeBron James, suffered an injury during Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. While the Lakers registered an epic comeback after trailing by 27 points, LeBron hurt his foot after tripping down.
LeBron James, the leading point scorer in the NBA, is the guiding force of the LA Lakers. This season alone, he is averaging 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in 45 games appearances. Hence, his presence on the court is extremely vital for the Lakers, who are in the final stretch of the season, eyeing the playoff spot. However, fate had its own play as James suffered yet another injury on his foot. But only this time, it is graver than previously anticipated.
Skip Bayless Slams Lakers For Mishandling LeBron James’ Foot Injury
LeBron James tripped down during Sunday night’s game against the Mavericks. As soon as James fell to the ground, he held his foot and said, “I heard it pop.” He looked in pain but got up the next moment and played the rest of the game. Moreover, post the game, Lakers coach Darvin Ham said his injury was fine. But a video circulated on social media wherein LeBron limped while exiting the stadium. Now, the Lakers fans’ worst fears have come true, as the latest report stated that James would miss out an extended amount of time due to soreness in his right foot.
Meanwhile, Skip Bayless, a self-proclaimed NBA analyst, blasted the Lakers. He posted a tweet wherein he accused the Lakers of mishandling the situation. Skip asked how can the management let LeBron James continue playing after the fall when he visibly looked in pain. Moreover, he questioned Darvin Ham and asked if he was in good shape, then why is a need to bench him for several weeks. Bayless’ criticism of the Lakers is valid, as they should have handled the situation more cautiously. At this stage, so close to the playoff, the Lakers cannot afford to lose their lead scorer.
Bayless Targets LeBron As He Predicts Lakers Ouster From The Playoff Race
Meanwhile, with LeBron James being out for several weeks, the Lakers’ playoff qualification chances have certainly taken a hit. While the team takes every game head-on and treats it like a knockout game, LeBron’s injury is a huge blow. Furthermore, Skip Bayless was quick to react and came down hard on LeBron. Skip posted a tweet wherein he stated that the Lakers would miss the playoff for the second time in a row.
Bayless further wrote that the only silver lining of the season is that LeBron James became the leading point scorer in the NBA, which he thinks was the whole point of the Lakers this year. The Lakers cared too little about the playoffs and primarily focused on LeBron’s historic feat. Well, Skip can make baseless assumptions all he wants, but the truth is the Lakers have tried harder than any other team in the postseason to make that playoff push. While losing LeBron is definitely a setback, the team still has a lot of talent on the roster to make up for it.
