LeBron James was not in attendance to watch the Los Angeles Lakers lose the last game of their six-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon, 129-121.
Instead, he flew back to Los Angeles the day before to receive treatment on a swollen knee that has been bothering him since the Philadelphia 76ers game on Thursday. The last matchup James played was on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets.
Frank Vogel says LeBron James has returned to L.A. to begin treatment on his left knee. “As long as the swelling is there, he is going to be out,” Vogel said.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 30, 2022
An MRI revealed that The King was dealing with “general swelling” that did not come from a specific play on the road trip. Lakers Coach Frank Vogel stated that James could be ready to go by Wednesday when the Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
With a season average of over 36 minutes per game which ranks him fourth in the NBA, the Chosen One has taken on a heavy workload as the Lakers’ leading scorer and is second on the team in assists behind Russell Westbrook. James is second in the NBA in scoring, averaging 29.1 points per game, 7.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists but the Lakers and Coach Frank Vogel are looking to make life easier for James.
“I think about it every day,” Vogel said about James. “We’re always mindful of the load that he’s carrying, in constant communication with him and the medical team. And in terms of what we do going forward with the knee and where he’s at, it’s really a heavy lean on the medical staff and [trainer] Mike Mancias and what they feel is best. It’s really not a head-coach thing as much as it is relying on the medical team.”
