RealGM

LeBron James injured his left ankle in the first half of the Los Angeles Lakers loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. James stayed in and finished the game, but said after that his ankle feels "horrible".

James said he would not have stayed in the game, had it not been such an important one for the Lakers. James also said that he hopes the injury won't cause him to miss any games moving forward.

The loss dropped the Lakers to 10th in the Western Conference. Los Angeles sits one game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the final spot in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament.

Via Dave McMenamin/ESPN

Without James, LA will miss the PO's IMO.

mplsfonz23 wrote:Without James, LA will miss the PO's IMO.

With James it looks like theyll miss the playoffs.

Lakers have 7 of their remaining 8 games are against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Spurs have 5 of their remaining 8 games against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Pelicans have 4 of their remaining 8 games against teams above them in the standings.

If all these teams win the games theyre supposed to win, then that puts the Lakers on the outside looking in.

mplsfonz23 wrote:Without James, LA will miss the PO's IMO.

Astute observation.

Scalabrine wrote:

mplsfonz23 wrote:Without James, LA will miss the PO's IMO.

With James it looks like theyll miss the playoffs.

Lakers have 7 of their remaining 8 games are against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Spurs have 5 of their remaining 8 games against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Hornets have 4 of their remaining 8 games against teams above them in the standings.

If all these teams win the games theyre supposed to win, then that puts the Lakers on the outside looking in.

I don't understand what the Hornets have to do with anything.

BrianFitz wrote:

mplsfonz23 wrote:Without James, LA will miss the PO's IMO.

Astute observation.

Lmao

As a Blazers fan it’s been a rough season but it’s nice to know that we’ve played multiple games with a starting lineup that together averaged less than 40 points a game and having multiple 10 day and G League fillers on the roster and yet we’re only a few games behind the Lakers who other than AD have been a full roster. If LeBron was the goat he wouldn’t need other superstars to win.

BrianFitz wrote:

Scalabrine wrote:

mplsfonz23 wrote:Without James, LA will miss the PO's IMO.

With James it looks like theyll miss the playoffs.

Lakers have 7 of their remaining 8 games are against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Spurs have 5 of their remaining 8 games against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Hornets have 4 of their remaining 8 games against teams above them in the standings.

If all these teams win the games theyre supposed to win, then that puts the Lakers on the outside looking in.

I don't understand what the Hornets have to do with anything.

HAHAHA yeah I still mix them and the Pelicans up all the time. I'll edit. You got me there though!

BrianFitz wrote:

mplsfonz23 wrote:Without James, LA will miss the PO's IMO.

Astute observation.

Well they seem to play a "little" better without him. But still a loss.

BrianFitz wrote:

Scalabrine wrote:

mplsfonz23 wrote:Without James, LA will miss the PO's IMO.

With James it looks like theyll miss the playoffs.

Lakers have 7 of their remaining 8 games are against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Spurs have 5 of their remaining 8 games against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Hornets have 4 of their remaining 8 games against teams above them in the standings.

If all these teams win the games theyre supposed to win, then that puts the Lakers on the outside looking in.

I don't understand what the Hornets have to do with anything.

He meant the artist formerly known as the Hornets.

And yes, both SAS and NOP own tie breakers with LAL. Both teams also face POR twice, a team tanking so hard that they would shoot it in the wrong basket if the NBA allowed it. POR has lost 13 of their last 15 games, 8 of those losses were by 30pts or more.Thos e games are gimme's.

The bottom line is that the Lakers will be sitting in 11th by next Monday. I think Lebron would rather blame his ankle now and miss the play-in, rather than getting embarrassed in the play-in and blaming his ankle after the fact. I don't think he wants in.

yeah well, the lakers SUCK so i'll bet lebron's ankle feels horrible-er than if they were contending

RipCityKJ wrote:As a Blazers fan it’s been a rough season but it’s nice to know that we’ve played multiple games with a starting lineup that together averaged less than 40 points a game and having multiple 10 day and G League fillers on the roster and yet we’re only a few games behind the Lakers who other than AD have been a full roster. If LeBron was the goat he wouldn’t need other superstars to win.

LeBron has missed a ton of games so there is that oh its his 19th season he has clearly done more with less than any other super star player before him so if that's your criteria then I gurss LBJ is the GOAT.. Seriously why so not smart?

Pickled Prunes wrote:

BrianFitz wrote:

Scalabrine wrote:
With James it looks like theyll miss the playoffs.

Lakers have 7 of their remaining 8 games are against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Spurs have 5 of their remaining 8 games against teams ahead of them in the standings.

Hornets have 4 of their remaining 8 games against teams above them in the standings.

If all these teams win the games theyre supposed to win, then that puts the Lakers on the outside looking in.

I don't understand what the Hornets have to do with anything.

He meant the artist formerly known as the Hornets.

And yes, both SAS and NOP own tie breakers with LAL. Both teams also face POR twice, a team tanking so hard that they would shoot it in the wrong basket if the NBA allowed it. POR has lost 13 of their last 15 games, 8 of those losses were by 30pts or more.Thos e games are gimme's.

The bottom line is that the Lakers will be sitting in 11th by next Monday. I think Lebron would rather blame his ankle now and miss the play-in, rather than getting embarrassed in the play-in and blaming his ankle after the fact. I don't think he wants in.

I gave it a week but it only took 36 hours. The Lakers are currently in 11th place. A lottery team without a pick.