LeBron James has missed the last five games after aggravating his sprained right ankle that kept him out for more than a month in March and April. The Lakers have been able to tread water at 3-2 without James in this most recent absence, with all three wins being impressive ones over strong playoff teams in the Nuggets, Suns, and Knicks.
Anthony Davis is playing some of his best basketball of the season during this stretch, and the expectation was for James to make his return on Wednesday night for banner night at Staples Center against the Houston Rockets. However, word emerged on Wednesday afternoon that was unlikely to be the case, with LeBron confirming the news on his Twitter account shortly after Chris Haynes of Yahoo reported he wasn’t likely to play.
Getting close but I won’t be in the lineup tonight but more importantly I will be there to put that CHAMPIONSHIP banner in the rafters at Staples Center in front of our fans!! #No17
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 12, 2021
As LeBron notes, he’s going to be front and center to raise that banner, the 17th for the Lakers and first of James’ tenure in L.A. However, it does beg the question of just how severe James’ injury is and how much pain he’s still dealing with as the playoffs and the play-in are rapidly approaching. Anthony Davis had said LeBron looked great in practices and given that the Rockets are one of the league’s worst teams, there’s a good chance that L.A. can win this game without James and without too much stress. Still, given that it’s banner night, you know James wanted to be out there, but the chase for a fifth ring supersedes his desire to put on a show for the fans on their delayed celebration of last year’s title.
All that matters is that LeBron is able to be a full go come playoff time, and if that means he doesn’t return until Saturday against the Pacers (or later), the Lakers will be as cautious as possible to make sure he’s ready to give it 100 percent come the postseason.