Just a few hours before, the Los Angeles Lakers were the ninth-seeded team in the West. And now, with the 116-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, they move to the eighth position. In the past few games, the Purple & Gold has been in the mood for some serious business. Tonight was the team’s 4th straight win, and they have won 9 out of the last 10 games. It seems LeBron James and Co. might just be looking to avoid a play-in situation if they can help it.
But of course, Skip Bayless has another lens while looking into the same situation. The millionaire analyst has long been the biggest critic of the 4x champion. This time, Bayless’ critique was, “LeBron runs up the tunnel to the locker room about 20 seconds before the end of a blowout win. Always sending the message he’s above and apart from teammates.”
“He also played 36 more minutes today – top 5 in NBA minutes per game, planting the “ran out of gas” playoff excuse.” Interestingly, LeBron James leaving games early is not a new phenomenon.
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LeBron runs up the tunnel to the locker room about 20 seconds before the end of a blowout win. Always sending the message he's above and apart from teammates. He also played 36 more minutes today – top 5 in NBA minutes per game, planting the "ran out of gas" playoff excuse.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 6, 2024
A quick Google search will give you more than enough situations where he’s done that. However, as per Skip with a different viewpoint, since he played 36 minutes today, he can always give the “ran out of gas” excuse. But we all know the King’s flair for a little extra. The most recent exit was during the Lakers’ loss to the Kings on March 6th.
Of course, it was because of the persistent ankle issues that have been bothering him since the All-Star break. It would seem like that could be the case here as well. Not the ankle injury, but a scary collision.
The Lakers held their breath as LeBron James crashed mid-game
It was the third quarter of the Lakers vs Cavaliers. The clock was counting down from 10:45 as Darius Garland of the Cavs was driving down the court for a bucket. He was flanked on one side by D’Angelo Russell and right behind him, was none other than LeBron James. The 20x All-Star got hot with a nasty chase-down block and ended up crashing into an elderly cameraman. It looks like he fell on maybe a camera, but whatever it was, it hurt.
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LeBron’s face showed pain as he held his back and remained on the ground for some time. Russell helped him up as James, in turn, held out his hand to the cameraman. Even after getting up, James was in obvious pain.
But he continued the game and when it looked like there wasn’t going to be any chance his former team was likely to make a comeback, Bron left the arena. Although nothing has been said about the collision, fans on X are adamant that James exited early to get his back checked out.
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If that is indeed the case, hopefully, it doesn’t affect LeBron James so close to the postseason. The Lakers cannot afford to lose their best player right now.