For ailing Lakers, it’s ‘next man up’
The right ankle injury LeBron James suffered in the first half Saturday at Staples Center left the Lakers without three starters against the resurgent Hawks, putting the rest of the Lakers’ group in a dire circumstance.
They lost James with 10 minutes 4 seconds left in the second quarter when he raised his hand and asked to come out of the game. He had been injured less than a minute earlier when Hawks forward Solomon Hill tumbled onto his right leg, rolling James’ ankle.
James played for a few seconds, even making a three-pointer from the corner. But it was obvious the pain was too much for even him, so he left the game, forcing his teammates to carry on without their leader, All-Star forward Anthony Davis (strained right calf ) and center Marc Gasol (health and safety protocols).
It was a load too heavy for the rest of the Lakers to carry. The 99-94 loss to the Hawks, who have won eight in a row, had the Lakers repeating what seems like their motto for months:
“That’s what it is,” point guard Dennis Schroder said on a videoconference after finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. “That’s what it is. Exactly.
“I mean, we just got to stay together as a team. That’s about it. Next-man-up mentality, and that’s it. I mean, we’re going to talk to him and see what’s going on, but at the end of the day, it’s nextman-up mentality. So, whoever comes in, be ready to play and we still got to get some wins.”
The Lakers, who had a four-game winning streak end with the loss to the Hawks, announced that James was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain and will be out indefinitely.
The Lakers had three tough games scheduled this week when their nextman-up mantra will be tested. They played Sunday night against the Suns in Phoenix and will travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Tuesday before hosting the East-leading 76ers on Thursday. The Lakers were percentage points behind the Suns for second place in the Western Conference ahead of Sunday night’s game, both teams 2 ½ games behind league-leading Jazz.
Backup center Montrezl Harrell did his part Saturday, when he led the Lakers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Veteran forward Markieff Morris contributed 12 points and six rebounds.
“It’s next man up,” Morris echoed. “We been dealing with injuries and the COVID all year, so we got to figure out how to get wins and figure out how we’re going to play, players in different positions, be team players and be aggressive.”