NBA 2023: On Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers lost 118-108 against the Chicago Bulls, despite the comeback of LeBron James from a right foot ailment. James played for 29 minutes and ended with 19 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists.
Less than an hour before tipoff, the Lakers announced that James, who had missed the previous 13 games, would be available. In pregame warmups, his foot was evaluated. He was declared healthy enough to play on Sunday afternoon.
James, though, did not begin the game for the Lakers. Instead, James came off the bench for the first time since 2007. It is just the second time in his entire NBA career (1,680 games including playoffs).
The incident happened during a game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 26. James battled despite an injury to lead the Lakers to a comeback victory after falling down by as many as 27 points. He scored 26 points, grabbed eight boards, and dished out three assists in that game, but hasn’t played since.
NBA 2023: Lebron James returned back from his injury
The Lakers improved upon their previous level of performance without him. Without James, the Lakers went 8-5. After spending much of the season ranked 13th in the Western Conference, they are now ranked 8th following a victory on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their loss against the Bulls has put them to 37-38 overall and ninth in the NBA’s wild postseason race.
Indeed, it’s a big deal to even make the playoffs. Getting the upper hand is still another option. Without James’s full fitness, the team would not have had a chance to make a deep postseason run. With James’ departure, the squad has relied heavily on Anthony Davis.
With James out of the lineup, Austin Reaves has stepped up as a crucial starter and ball handler. But the club still needs James and another superstar to make the playoffs. James is one of them, and the roster surrounding him appears substantially better since the Lakers moved Russell Westbrook for D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt before the deadline.
The Lakers have seven games remaining after this coming Sunday. There is still time for LeBron to swiftly build up for a playoff run. In 2021, James lost the first round of the playoffs against the Phoenix Suns after returning from an injury with two games remaining in the regular season. The Lakers have never looked like more of a playoff danger than they do right now, thanks to the extra time they have to prepare.
Twitter Reacts:
🚨🚨 OFFICIEL !!
🟢 LEBRON JAMES IS BACK 🟢
— LeBron James Fan 🇨🇵 (@LBJxGoat) March 26, 2023
Lakers fans said the league was over when lebron is back what happened😂😭😭 pic.twitter.com/KzQRbc9GEO
— Chef Curry (@baby_face_goat) March 26, 2023
LeBron is BACK meaning…
THE BEST DUO IN BASKETBALL IS BACK!!! pic.twitter.com/waJJVaFlAK
— 𝒦𝒶𝓃𝑒 💜💛🇳🇿 (@LALPrime) March 26, 2023
LeBron James & Anthony Davis will be back by next week. 🤫 your nightmare is here#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/aswyiVnj54
— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) March 26, 2023
I guess the solution to the unsolvable problem of “How do you even bring LeBron back with Austin Reaves playing so well?!?” that some of my colleagues were asking is him coming off the bench!
🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
— nick wright (@getnickwright) March 26, 2023
Welcome back champ🤩 https://t.co/KKlRGFdzBg
— henryarhin (@henryarhin2) March 26, 2023
Stop the hype they gonna loose anyway https://t.co/haW0EMpFGt
— SkheboMothanka (@MothankaSkhebo) March 26, 2023
Too easy https://t.co/6VEVFp9zUo
— Tank 🦁 (@TankIsImmortal) March 26, 2023
