Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will be ready for the play-in game vs. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday at Staples Center, Frank Vogel confirmed.
In his post-practice Zoom on Tuesday, the Lakers head coach said LeBron experienced predictable soreness in his right ankle after playing back-to-back games this weekend. He said James fully took part in practice and will be available to face Golden State.
“Had some minor soreness, but he's good to go. Was a full participant in practice today, and he's good to go.”
James has missed 26 of the Lakers' past 30 games with the high right ankle sprain he suffered on March 20. He briefly returned to test out his ankle on Apr. 30 for two games against the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors, but was forced to exit the latter contest in the fourth quarter after re-aggravating the injury.
LeBron was sidelined for the next six games, then returned on Saturday for the final two games of the Lakers' season.
James looked more like himself in the most recent return, averaging 24.5 points, 7.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and shooting 50 percent from the field in wins over the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans.
LeBron's back and finishing lobs! đź’Ą@Lakers 18@Pacers 12 pic.twitter.com/vpsHveJVp3
— NBA (@NBA) May 15, 2021
Against Indiana, LeBron instigated ball movement early on, then activated closer mode down the stretch, embarking on a personal 7-0 run in the final two minutes to seal the victory for Los Angeles. James said his ankle “felt pretty good” after the game.
One-possession game in crunch time.
Cue three straight @KingJames buckets đź‘‘đź‘‘đź‘‘
(đź“ş: @SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/dxCCAsnd0q
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 15, 2021
In New Orleans, his ankle looked even better, notably when he displayed a burst of D.K. Metcalf-level straight-line speed.
Formula 1 LeBron pic.twitter.com/LlgR08x9dT
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) May 17, 2021
However, he put a scare into Lakers Nation when he re-tweaked his ankle in the fourth quarter. Afterward, James provided an encouraging report on his ankle and insisted that he wouldn't miss the play-in matchup against his pick for MVP.
“It was a tweak. I stepped on [Nickeil] Alexander-[Walker]'s foot on the way down after that last layup, but I'll be fine,” James said. “…When I say I’m fine, I’m saying I’ll be in the lineup on Wednesday, so I look forward to that challenge.”
Fortunately for the Lakers (and NBA fans), it sounds like James is A-OK for the star-studded showdown.
Follow Us
Subscribe