Photo of LeBron James in a walking boot is a bad sign for the Lakers
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – FEBRUARY 28: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers appears to be like on throughout the first half towards the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on February 28, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: Person expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or utilizing this {photograph}, Person is consenting to the phrases and situations of the Getty Photos License Settlement. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Photos)
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How long LeBron James will be out with a foot injury is an open question. But seeing him on the Lakers’ sidelines in a walking boot isn’t a good sign.
The Lakers’ season took a massive turn with the news Monday that he had suffered a foot harm in a weekend sport towards the Mavs and he could be out for an indefinite interval. The dearth of clear details about the harm and timeline permits followers to lean into their pure optimism or pessimism, no matter the case could also be.
However seeing LeBron in a full walking boot on the sideline throughout Tuesday night time’s sport towards the Grizzlies would possibly make it a lot more durable to really feel optimistic.
The Lakers ended up dropping the sport to Memphis, 121-109. Troy Brown Jr. who began in place of LeBron completed with 2 factors on 1-of-7 taking pictures, and 0-of-4 from past the arc.
Can the Lakers make the playoffs with out LeBron James?
FiveThirtyEight projects the Lakers to complete with a 41-41 document, ninth-best in the Western Convention, with simply a 47 % likelihood of making the playoffs. However even that might require a vital enchancment from the place they’re proper now. To make the projection into actuality they would want to complete 12-8 over their final 20 video games, leapfrogging the Pelicans, Jazz and Path Blazers in the standings.
That’s a tall order when the Lakers have been outscored by a median of 7.4 factors per 100 possessions with out LeBron on the flooring this season. Even with their new roster additions, that mark hasn’t been significantly better — minus-4.7 factors per 100 possessions in 196 minutes with out LeBron since the commerce deadline. It’s onerous to think about them successful 60 % of their remaining video games at that stage.
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