Lakers’ LeBron James suffered an MCL injury during the NBA playoffs. Austin Reeves also dealt with a secret injury.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a disappointing end to the season, crashing in five games against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The losses in the first round produced many stories, but everything has an explanation.
LeBron James has received a lot of criticism in the aftermath of his defeat, and Paul Pierce even argued that the team needs to move on from his James days.
The Austin Raves’ struggle was noticed by Robert Holly, and he was not the only one. Everyone watching the game was wondering what happened to Reaves, who grew to the third star in LA.
Their performance deserves to be questioned, but there is a reason why both James and Reaves struggled, like Luka Doncic and director JJ Redick.
Wang had a terrible four quarters during the series, especially in the Lakers’ Game 4 loss in Minnesota. James also struggled in Game 5, scoring just 22 points while shooting 43% off the field.
The four-time champion appears to have suffered a rather serious mid-injured injury, as confirmed by Danwoyk of the LA Times.
“The source confirmed that LeBron James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in Game 5. An injury occurred when Donte Divinsenzo knocked on the knee with James,” Wick wrote.
From the outset, even the Lakers won Game 5 would have been unimportant from an outcome standpoint. The upcoming Austin Reaves news also confirms that.
Unlike LeBron’s instantaneous disappearance, Reaves had a terrible series. James Worthy accused him of falling apart and insisted that players cannot do that when they represent the Lakers.
The Reaves averaged 16.2 points per game in the playoffs, four points less than their regular season average. Without a report of Reaves’ own injuries, Worthy’s criticism might be correct.
“You can see that Austin Reeves was dealing with a big left foot sprain during the playoffs,” reported Trevor Lane.
“It was considered a two- to four week injury, but he hinders it. I’m told the Reaves aren’t walking on it to try and get through the playoffs.”
Players are constantly dealing with persistent injuries during the playoffs, but these poorly-timed knocks seem to cost the Lakers a lot.