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LeBron James will miss his fourth straight game on Wednesday when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Portland Trail Blazers. The four-time NBA champ is currently dealing with a lingering knee injury and it sounds like he's set to spend more time on the shelf moving forward.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, LeBron's camp has now revealed how they intend to approach James' current injury. Apparently, they are willing to exhaust all but one option to address the problem (h/t Talkin NBA on Twitter):
“I’m told from a source close to LeBron they are exploring all options when it comes to treatment, except they have ruled out the possibility of PRP,” McMenamin said. “He will not be going with PRP as part of his ramp-up to try to get back onto the court.”
PRP or plasma-rich platelet therapy has become relatively prominent in today's NBA. This approach aims to expedite the recovery of injuries, particularly those that are related to the knee. Several prominent players have already utilized this type of therapy, with the likes of Stephen Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, and even LeBron's own teammate in Dwight Howard previously undergoing PRP treatment.
LeBron isn't interested, though. What we can be sure of here is that the Lakers are going to be extremely cautious with bringing back James:
“He’s not going to play again until that swelling subsides,” McMenamin said. “The Lakers are sticking by that plan. They believe if he plays with the swelling in there, he could be at risk of further injuring himself.”
This only makes sense considering how we all know that LeBron is no spring chicken. The last thing the Lakers want right now would be to force James back too soon and thereby run the risk of aggravating the injury.
The good news for the Lakers is they recently got Anthony Davis back and he should be able to fill in — hopefully — for a struggling LA side as they look to get their season back on track. There's still a long way to go this season and at this point, all hope is NOT lost for the Lakers.
