Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will miss the team’s next two games to rest his right ankle, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Los Angeles plays the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday and has a road matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
Due in large part to James and Anthony Davis missing significant time through injuries, the Lakers are in a dogfight to avoid falling out of the NBA play-in tournament for the playoffs. At 37-28, the reigning champs are in fifth place but are just one game ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers, who are in seventh place.
Despite missing Anthony Davis, Los Angeles were comfortably in the top four until Lebron James sprained his ankle in a 99-94 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on March 20. The four-time NBA MVP was out for 20 games, and the Lakers fell. the Western Conference qualification as a result.
James came back for two games before the ankle became a problem again. General manager Rob Pelinka did a good job seating James and Davis with a strong supporting cast, retaining many of the key players from last year’s team, both of which won the NBA championship. (GG) (Fielding)