James sits out against Bucks with ankle issue
LOS ANGELES » Lakers star LeBron James missed Friday night's home game against the Milwaukee Bucks because of left ankle peroneal tendinopathy.
James went to the locker room and was absent for the final 3:56 of Wednesday's 130-120 home loss to the Sacramento Kings.
He entered Friday listed as questionable because of the same injury designation he's had for the last couple of months.
“Just experiencing some severe soreness,” coach Darvin Ham said before the game, “and we just decided for him not to play (Friday).”
James said after Wednesday's game that his left ankle, which he got treatment for during the All-Star break, was bothering him late against the Kings before adding that he'll be “all right.”
“It's just what I've been dealing with before the break, after the break,” James said. “I'm just managing it the best way I can. I played the whole third, sat a little bit to start the fourth and when I got back in, it kind of just — whatever. It's just something I've been dealing with.
“Some games are better than others. I didn't feel it at all against (the Oklahoma
City Thunder on Monday). And I didn't feel it at all until the fourth quarter (Wednesday). So, each game, each day is different.”
Friday was the ninth game James has missed this season. The Lakers were 4-4 in games without James this season entering Friday.
“It's caused by 21 years of service,” Ham responded when asked if James' injury is caused by his minutes workload this season. “It's a day-by-day thing, and we're gonna treat it as such. And see how he feels (today).”
Ham pushed back on whether James will deal with be able to play through the ankle injury to the extent that he has so far.
“I don't know if it's gonna be how it is,” Ham said. “Bron does a great job of preparing himself to go to battle. It's something that definitely you gotta be aware of and constantly monitor. But he's been great about being able to address certain things and able to bounce back strong, even at this stage of his career.”
Ham added: “I don't think anybody's injury at this point in the season or anything they're managing will get better. It's the reality of a long NBA season and an extremely long NBA career.
“And so you just have to be mindful of it, be efficient with what you do with him and what you expose him to. And, you know, we trust our staff. They're gonna do their due diligence to make sure he's put in the best possible position to help us.”
Timeout philosophy
One of the biggest external criticisms of Ham has been his usage of calling timeouts, often not calling them as early as some coaches would during moments when his team is struggling. Ham explained his philosophy. “I try to trust my players to the highest level,” Ham said. “And it's sometimes predicated on how a team is making a run against us. If we're committing careless turnovers or just something self-inflicted, then yeah, obviously, you want to try to let your team figure that out. If it's something that they're just scorching and the other team is just going crazy from the 3-point line or just getting downhill constantly, then yeah, we're trying to regroup.
“Just like the OKC game. They jumped out on us early and we stood by our guys and we were able to work it out. So sometimes (there's) no one correct answer. You have certain coaches that a team scores two baskets in a row and they're immediately on it. But me, I just feel like you gotta trust your guys and give them a chance. And again, according to circumstances.