In his first game against the Golden State Warriors as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in 21 minutes. Unfortunately, James suffered a groin injury after slipping in third quarter.
As the 33-year-old tried to stretch out his groin area during a timeout, he walked gingerly to the locker room and was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Following the 127-101 Christmas Day win, James shared a Warriors arena worker was not particularly sympathetic about his injury or the path he should take to the locker room, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports:
“Yeah, [an arena worker] told me to go that way. They made me take the long route,” James told Yahoo Sports while laughing. “I know what they were doing.”
After playing the Warriors in four consecutive NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers, it is not surprising there is animosity or gamesmanship. While the Warriors won three out of the four matchups, the title James claimed was in dramatic fashion as the Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 series deficit at Oracle Arena.
With there being a chance the Lakers and Warriors could play against each other in the playoffs, the immediate focus is on James’ recovery. Although an MRI confirmed a groin strain and not a tear, he is reportedly expected to miss ‘several’ games, which could impact the Lakers’ chances in the competitive Western Conference.
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