Just hours before he was due to suit up for Shaq’s OGs in the All-Star game alongside Steph Curry, LeBron James dropped the bombshell that he won’t be playing.
“You won’t see anything from me tonight, unfortunately,” LeBron announced at the pre-game press conference. “I will not be in uniform tonight. Still dealing with ankle and foot discomfort so I will not be playing tonight unfortunately.”
After explaining he wasn’t playing, LeBron was then pressed by the media and was asked if it was maintenance or a wear and tear situation with his ankle.
“I mean, it was a little bit of both,” LeBron said. “I was hoping it would feel a lot better this morning, but its not where I wanted it to be and you know, what? 30 games left and us trying to make a playoff push in the wild wild west. I felt like it was very important for me to take care of myself and understand whats coming on. So, I wont say its maintenance – it is maintenance, but at the same time its like I have to look out for myself with this injury – I’ve been dealing with for years. So I hope to be available on Wednesday, have to have a make up game so I am headed back to LA tonight. There will be no vacation for me. So I head back to LA tonight, back to rehab tomorrow and get ready for practice on Tuesday and hopefully I can play against Charlotte on Wednesday and hopefully play against Portland on Thursday. So its a big stretch for us.”
Without James, Shaq’s team will be made up of Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Damian Lillard.
The team will face off against the winners of the Rising Stars Tournament – Team Candace. Made up of Dalton Knecht, Keyonte George, Stephon Castle, Jaylen Wells, Trayce-Jackson Davis, Amen Thompson, Ryan Dunn and Zach Edey.
It would seem it’s too late to bring in a replacement for Bron.
Luka Doncic Gets Honest About ‘Rusty’ Game Against The Jazz
Luka’s first game against the Jazz in the Lakers’ win was impressive, but his second outing against Utah not as much.
In Luka’s debut the Lakers won comfortably against the Jazz, however in their next meeting a few days later, Utah got them back with a 131-119 win in Salt Lake City.
Doncic finished the night with 16 points, four assists, four rebounds, one steal and a block in 23 minutes, but also committed five turnovers, shot 6-of-13 from the field and missed four free throws.
He was honest when assessing his performance.
“Today I felt a little bit rusty,” Doncic said. “Two games since after my injury — turnovers, missed free throws. I got to do way better. I think we, approaching this [All-Star] break, have to rest. For me, I think it’s more of mental rest than anything else. But I still got to work. So, I’m excited about this break and I can’t wait to go back to play.”
For the first time six seasons, Doncic won’t be part of All-Star weekend, so he is excited for a proper break.
“Like I said, just mental break for me,” Doncic explained. “Work out and just trying to have some fun with the family.”
The Slovenian star further elaborated on his first two games with the purple and gold and isn’t worried about fitness.
“It’s good,” Doncic said. “Still getting back into rhythm. You can’t really practice that five-on-five stuff. It’s way different in the game but I’m just happy to be back out there and trying to win and trying to play games.”
He has high hopes for his LeBron James-led team.
“I think we can we can go very far,” Luka said. “The first game against them showed the way we can play, the way we move the ball. Everybody was connected on both sides of the floor. Today wasn’t our best game, so we got to work on that.”