LeBron to miss final 2 games Michigan’s Power signs with Sabres
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will miss the final two games of the Los Angeles Lakers’ season with a sprained left ankle, almost certainly preventing him from winning his second NBA scoring title.
The Lakers made the announcement yesterday before they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles’ disappointing season ends Sunday at Denver.
The 37-year-old James averaged 30.3 points this season while playing in only 56 games, two shy of the minimum to qualify for the scoring title with his full pointsper-game average. The second-leading scorer in NBA history has played in only one game since spraining his ankle March 27, scoring 38 points in a crushing home loss to New Orleans on April 1.
James is slightly behind Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, who is averaging 30.4 points per game in one of the closest scoring title races in NBA history. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is third at 29.9 points per game.
James is a four-time league MVP with four championship rings, but he won his only scoring title back in 2008 with Cleveland. The 18-time AllStar was attempting to become the oldest scoring champion in NBA history by surpassing Michael Jordan, who was 35 when he won his final title.
James passed Karl Malone for second place on the NBA’s career scoring list on March 19. With 37,062 points, he trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his 38,387 points for the top spot in league history.
James also averaged 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in his 19th season. He will make nearly $44.5 million next season in the final year of his contract with the Lakers.
Owen Power is trading in Michigan maize and blue for the blue and gold of the Buffalo Sabres, and he is far from the only Wolverine making the leap to the NHL.
The Michigan exodus is underway less than 24 hours after the loaded Wolverines were knocked out of the Frozen Four short of a national title.
Before Power inked his deal with Buffalo on Friday, teammates Kent Johnson and Nick Blankenburg signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Matty Beniers and Brendan Brisson might not be too far behind in the aftermath of Michigan’s overtime loss to Denver in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said Power is expected to join Buffalo in Florida today and is tentatively scheduled to make his debut Tuesday at Toronto.
The 6-foot-6, 214-pound defenseman was more than a point-a-game player for Michigan, had a hat trick at the world junior championship before it was called off and played almost 22 minutes a game for Canada at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Power will get some valuable experience by suiting up with the Sabres.
“When you add it all up, it was a great development year for him,” Adams said. “Regardless of how talented he is, he’s still a young player and we want to keep helping him get better and better and set him up for success. Really am proud of how he handled himself during this season on and off the ice and just excited to get him in a Sabres uniform.”
Johnson signed a threeyear, entry-level contract like Power while Blankenburg got a one-year deal. They are expected to join their new team Monday and could also get plugged into the Blue Jackets lineup right away.