There are certain compromises involved with LeBron James’ ambition to be more decisive for the Lakers.
triple-double by registering 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. After the game, the Lakers star emphasized the importance of balancing health with the demands of the schedule as the Lakers aim for playoff positioning.
LeBron’s sacrifices
He has missed 10 games due to left ankle tendinopathy this season and plans to prioritize his body’s needs over the team’s standings.
“Understanding and seeing how my ankle and my foot is feeling, just being very smart about it, obviously,” said LeBron.
“We are where we are, but our health has always been most important for our ballclub, not just one individual.
“For me, looking out for myself when it comes to injury and knowing my foot and knowing my ankle and how it reacts and how it’s been over the last few years, just always keeping a hefty eye on it.
“I gotta be smart with it. If I’m not healthy or anything close to being healthy then it’s not good for our ballclub anyways. It’s not good for me.”
Meanwhile, the Lakers are currently 2.5 games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference with nine games remaining in the season.”We go according to how he’s feeling and what’s going on with him and we just take things one day at a time, that’s all you can really do,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
“That’s it. There’s no more to it. It’s all predicated on how he feels, how he wakes up each day.”
