After winning their first two games since the All-Star break (one where Darvin Ham and Malik Beasley had a moment) — it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers have found themselves in a pickle.
LeBron James injured his foot during a 111-108 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. With James being the Lakers’ best player, they’ll probably hold their breath whenever he goes down. And after apparent further testing, it seems James’ ailment is a little more serious than the Lakers had initially hoped.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, James had played through the injury at first, but he’s now expected to miss “multiple weeks.”
James missing that much time would be a crushing revelation for a team on the fringe of the Western Conference playoff race.
Sources: There's fear Lakers star LeBron James is likely to miss an extended period of time with his right foot injury. James suffered the injury in Sunday's win over Dallas, played through it, and belief is he will be sidelined an indefinite amount.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 28, 2023
Without further organizational confirmation of his status, an NSFW Instagram story from James seemed to verify the news of his injured foot. The superstar shared a photo of his foot with a caption that contains an angry expletive.
(Note: NSFW language in the story below.)
Woof. If James shares that publicly, the reports are probably accurate, and the Lakers are in big trouble.
Maybe Los Angeles stays afloat without its talisman while he heals. But considering the team was already struggling with James (at least before the break), that doesn’t seem very likely. This would be a massive blow to the Lakers’ second-half ambitions.
