LeBron James played against the Memphis Grizzlies despite left ankle pain and recorded his 111th career triple-double with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Following the game, the Lakers star underlined the need of balancing health with the demands of the schedule as the team strives for playoff place.
LeBron’s Injury troubles this season
He has missed 10 games this season due to left ankle tendinopathy and intends to prioritize his health over the team’s standings. LeBron said,
“For me, looking out for myself when it comes to injury and knowing my foot and knowing my ankle and how it reacts and how it’s been over the last few years, just always keeping a hefty eye on it. “I gotta be smart with it. If I’m not healthy or anything close to being healthy then it’s not good for our ballclub anyways. It’s not good for me.”
Meanwhile, with nine games remaining in the season, the Los Angeles Lakers sit 2.5 games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the Western Conference’s sixth spot. According to Darvin Ham,
“We go according to how he’s feeling and what’s going on with him and we just take things one day at a time, that’s all you can really do,” “That’s it. There’s no more to it. It’s all predicated on how he feels, how he wakes up each day.”