LA Lakers star LeBron James missed his first game of the season on Sunday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. James missed the Portland game due to soreness in his left foot, which he first experienced in LA loss against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, December 18.
James was suspicious, too, for the Lakers’ Friday game against the Hawks. But James played a season-high 43 minutes in that game with 39 points on 14-for-25 shooting, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. However, LA lost that game in overtime.
James was labeled as doubtful for Sunday’s game due to the injury but was raised to probable in the morning before being lowered back to doubtful following the team walk-through a few hours before tipoff.
“With LeBron out, we’re going to have to move, we’re going to have to cut, we’re going to have to pass. We’re going to have to play in transition. And I think overall for our team, just getting back to really emphasize trying to get a paint touch on every possession. We were doing that earlier in the year and have gotten away from that and need to get back to that.” LA Lakers coach JJ Redick said before Sunday’s game against the Trail Blazers.
In the ongoing season, James is averaging 23 points on 49.5% shooting (35.9% from three), 9.1 assists, and 8.0 rebounds, the best production of any player in NBA history who reached this stage of his career.
LA’s next game is on the upcoming Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the team is not practicing until Wednesday. This five-day break could benefit the veteran to recover from his injury.
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