LeBron James put his body on the line in Saturday's win over the Denver Nuggets, and he paid the consequences.
The Los Angeles Lakers star posted a photo on Instagram of a floor burn from when he dove for the ball in the overtime victory.
James' diving recovery of the loose ball came at a crucial moment. The Lakers trailed by one point with just under a minute to go, and had Denver come up with the ball, it could've started to put the game away.
Instead, Los Angeles' ended up sending the game into overtime, where it won on a Luka Dončić game-winner.
Physical sacrifices aren't the only ones James is making these days. He said last week that he's willing to give up posting big numbers if it leads to wins.
"I mean, if it benefits others, it benefits the team. The team is most important," James told reporters. "Everybody's successful when we win. So yeah, it is a sacrifice. I know what I'm capable of still doing as an individual, but what's important for this team, I'm able to adapt to. ... And that's the only thing that matters. And the win is the only thing that matters."
Those comments came after James missed a three-game stretch, during which the Lakers went undefeated. While Los Angeles would certainly prefer to have James on the court, it has shown it can manage even without him.
James isn't the No. 1 option he has been for almost his entire career, but he's still posting 21.3 points, 7.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. If the Lakers have hopes of making a deep run, James will be an integral part of the lineup.
The Lakers have certainly looked like a team capable of competing for a title as of late, winning eight of their last nine games. Whether they can keep that momentum going into the final stretch of the regular season remains to be seen.
Comments
Post a Comment