James to miss at least 3 more weeks
Lebron James is expected to miss most of March with an injured tendon in his right foot, the Los Angeles Lakers said Thursday.
If that timetable holds, the Lakers will have to find a way to stay in the playoff race without the league’s all-time scoring leader.
The Lakers didn’t disclose the full extent of the injury, saying it was a tendon issue and that he’ll be “re-evaluated in approximately three weeks.” If James misses three more weeks, starting with Thursday, that would keep him out for at least 10 of the Lakers’ final 19 games.
James was hurt in the Lakers’ win at Dallas on Sunday. He already has missed two games with the injury, with the Lakers splitting those contests.
“In the short term, we’ll all have to pull in the same direction,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said after his team — without James and Anthony Davis — beat Oklahoma City 123-117 on Wednesday.
At 30-33, the Lakers are 11th in the Western Conference standings, one game from the No. 10 spot — and the last spot in the play-in round. They’re also just 2½ games back of sixth place, and the final guaranteed playoff spot.
That’s good news, and so is what’s left for the Lakers on the schedule.
Only seven of their final 19 games are against teams with records over .500. The Lakers start a five-game homestand Friday against Minnesota.
James leads the Lakers in scoring at 29.5 points per game. He said at the All-star break last month that the team’s closing stretch this season would be some of the most important games he has played — noting he didn’t want to miss the postseason for a second consecutive year.
The Lakers are 6-10 without him this season and 24-23 in games in which he has appeared.
If the timetable doesn’t significantly change, this would be only the third time in James’ 20-year career that he misses at least 10 consecutive games.
He missed a 20-game stretch late in the 2020-21 season with an ankle sprain, and a 17-game stretch in the 2018-19 season with a groin injury. Those stints both came since he joined the Lakers; he never had that long of an extended absence during his times
with Cleveland or Miami.
James has logged nearly 65,000 minutes in regular-season and playoff games since entering the league — almost 20,000 more than any other player in that span.
Durant shines in Suns debut
New team, same Kevin Durant.
The Durant era in Phoenix got off to solid start Wednesday night with the 13-time NBA All-star scoring 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, adding an explosive offensive element to an
already dangerous offense in his Suns debut.
Durant added six rebounds and two blocks as Phoenix beat the host Charlotte Hornets 105-91.
“I’ve played in almost a thousand basketball games, but today I was nervous,” said Durant, who was acquired from the Nets in a blockbuster deal. “It’s a new team, new group, and I want to play hard for them and be coachable. So I was thinking about all that today.”
Devin Booker seemed to feed off Durant, scoring 37 points in the win.
Coming off a knee injury that has kept him out of action since Jan. 8, Durant was limited to 27 minutes while on a playing-time restriction.
OKC’S Williams out for season
The Oklahoma City Thunder said they expect forward Kenrich Williams to miss the rest of the season with an injury to his left wrist.
The team said Thursday that the fifth-year player will need surgery after being hurt in Thursday’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
Williams, who signed a multiyear extension last summer, averaged 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 51.7 percent from the field this season. His 26 charges drawn lead the NBA.
Williams went undrafted out of TCU, but he has appeared in 200 NBA games, including 60 starts, in his career with New Orleans and Oklahoma City. He has career averages of 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists.