James sits out against Bucks with bothersome ankle injury
MILWAUKEE >> Lakers star forward LeBron James was downgraded from doubtful to out before Tuesday night's road trip-starting game against the Milwaukee Bucks because of the left ankle peroneal tendinopathy that he's dealt with for the past few months.
Tuesday was the 10th game he's missed this season.
“It's almost a go-as-tolerated, day-to-day thing,” coach Darvin Ham said pregame. “And obviously, he's experiencing some discomfort. So just decided to shut him down and we'll go from there. We'll see how he feels (this morning).”
The Lakers are now 6-4 in games without the fourtime league MVP this season, including a 123-122 home win against the Bucks on March 8 and another on Tuesday.
James, 39, played 38 minutes in Sunday's home win against the Indiana Pacers, finishing with 26 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.
Ham said James experienced “significant discomfort” after Sunday's game.
“It's a day-to-day process,” James said of his ankle after Friday's home win against the Philadelphia
76ers. “Every day I'm working on it, working at it, continue to make that priority No. 1 going down the stretch of the season.”
Tuesday was the first game of a back-to-back set, with the Lakers playing the Grizzlies at FedExForum in Memphis tonight.
“It could be, 21 years in, just stepping one foot out of the bed is a factor,” Ham responded when asked whether back-to-back sets factor into James' availability. “So he's done a great job managing himself, our medical staff, all of that, all of us being on the same page understanding ... he wants to compete.
“He relishes these opportunities, these moments. We understand what's at stake and he wants to be out there with his teammates. But physically, if he's not able to, then we have to use some intelligence. And so we're gonna manage it, treat it and again day by day see how he feels.”
After tonight, the Lakers play the Pacers again Friday in Indianapolis and the Brooklyn Nets in New York on Sunday before another back-to-back set against the Toronto Raptors (Tuesday) and Washington Wizards (Wednesday) to close the trip.
They'll have five games left in the regular season after this trip, including hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers (April 6) and Minnesota Timberwolves (April 7) on back-to-back days in Los Angeles.
D'Angelo Russell, who didn't play against the Pacers because of a non-COVID illness, was available and back in the starting lineup against the Bucks.
Injury updates
Guard Gabe Vincent, who has played just five games this season because of left knee ailments and had surgery on the knee on Dec. 27, didn't travel with the team to Milwaukee but could join the team during the trip if he continues to progress with his rehab.
Forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who has been sidelined since early February because of a sprained right midfoot, traveled for the start of the trip. He's yet to progress to on-court contact work.
“He's getting up and down a little bit in terms of slowly getting his running habits back,” Ham said. “But that's about it. Everything is progressing along the plan. But there's [no] contact. No one-on-one stuff.”