The Los Angeles Lakers dropped a frustrating game on Saturday to the rival Boston Celtics, snapping an eight-game winning streak. But the worst part about this wasn't the loss but rather an injury to star forward LeBron James.
James suffered a groin injury and was forced to leave the game early. The entire Lakers bench held its collective breath as their leader headed to the locker room.
Read more:Lakers' LeBron James Provides Big Update on Significant Injury Suffered vs Celtics
After the game, it was reported that James could miss weeks, not days due to this injury. It remains to be seen what the timeline will be but Los Angeles is now preparing to be without their star player.
Co-star Luka Doncic weighed in on the injury to James, offering some words of encouragement during this tough time. Doncic knows it will now take a team effort to keep winning.
“Obviously, to get injured at this time, those (groin) injuries are — I don’t want to say the worst, but they are tough to deal with,” Luka Dončić said. “So, just take his time. And we got to have as a team a next-man-up mentality.”
With James likely out for a while, the responsibility of Doncic increases. The star guard will need to run this team and help make sure that Los Angeles doesn't fall too far in the standings.
The Lakers are currently the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference but this injury to James could hurt playoff seeding. If the Lakers can hold onto a top-four seed, they would get home court for at least the first round of the postseason.
James offered a different perspective, showing a lack of concern for the injury.
“Not much concern… Day-to-day, look at it each day & see if it gets better.”
LeBron on his groin injury:
“Not much concern… Day-to-day, look at it each day & see if it gets better.”
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— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 9, 2025
The Lakers will have to manage without James but they believe they can hold down the fort. They have the talent to do so and will now be tested in ways that they never hoped this season.
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