LeBron James insists he will ‘go for around-the-clock treatment’ to make it into the Lakers’ lineup to face the Kings after exiting loss to Los Angeles rivals the Clippers with a groin injury
- LeBron James limped off court during the fourth quarter against the Clippers
- The Lakers star exited the 114-101 loss holding his groin area and did not return
- Team doctors will assess the star Thursday to determine the extent of the injury
- The 37-year-old missed 17 games during the 2018-19 season with a groin injury
- Click here for all your latest international Sports news from DailyMail.com
LeBron James insisted he would go for around-the-clock treatment to make it into the LA Lakers’ game against the Kings Friday after appearing to sustain a groin injury Wednesday night.
James left the court with five minutes remaining of the Lakers’ 114-101 loss to city rivals the Clippers Wednesday night with a suspected groin injury.
He gingerly limped off the court holding his groin area part way through the fourth quarter and did not return.
The 37-year-old suffered a tear in his left groin during his first season with LA in 2018-29, which caused him to miss 17 straight games from late December to late January but he is hoping his current injury will not be as disastrous.
Related Post
LeBron James insisted he would go for around-the-clock treatment to be able to play Friday
He left the court holding his groin after appearing to tweak something posting up Paul George
‘I didn’t do anything extraneous on the play,’ James said via ESPN, after he appeared to tweak something while posting up the Clippers’ Paul George.
‘Just when I landed, I felt a little spasm or strain in my groin. So immediately I had to come out after that on the next play down when I went to the free throw line.’
Team doctors will assess the star on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury and evaluate whether James will be able to play in Friday’s game.
The Lakers superstar still held out hope that he would be taking to the court against the Sacramento Kings.
‘I’ll go around [the clock] treatment for 24 hours, and if it’s OK on Friday, I’ll be in the lineup,’ he said.
The injury cut short a strong performance from James, who had 30 points on 12-for-22 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in 32 minutes.
The injury cut short a strong performance from James, who had 30 points Wednesday night
And a potential absence Friday would be a huge blow for the Lakers with James leading the team in minutes, points and assists but coach Darvin Ham said he had urged his player to ‘do what you need to do, just take care of your body.’
‘I mean it’s just a lot of adversity,’ Ham added. ‘[James] has been trying his heart out just to be there for us and play at a high level. I thought he had it going really, really well tonight.
‘But it just is something that it’s the NBA season, man. You got to be ready for a little bit of everything. We’ll see once he gets evaluated, and we’ll be ready to move forward.’
The coach also insisted that he didn’t want any of James’s teammates to feel they had to step up and become a hero.
Darvin Ham said he told James too ‘do what you need to do, just take care of your body’
However, Anthony Davis revealed he felt he needed to take on more if the Lakers were without James against the Kings.
‘For me, the mindset switches to just going out, being aggressive and trying to find ways to help the team win — whether it’s more shots or know it’s my job to make these guys better,’ said Davis, who had 21 points and nine rebounds against the Clippers.
‘It’s my job anyway. But it’s heightened when someone like LeBron is out with everything he can do on the floor.’
The Lakers will look to desperately bounce back against the Kings as they sit 14th in the Western Conference, higher than only the Rockets.
Advertisement
