Since the competitive balance of the NBA Playoffs has been compromised by a number of major injuries and the health of the players affects almost every second round series. The Los Angeles Lakers star, Lebron James, said he saw this situation coming.
Before he offered his best wishes to Kawhi leonard(It was announced Wednesday that the LA Clippers forward will be out with a right knee injury), LeBron posted a series of tweets reflecting the objections he voiced when the League accelerated the start of the 2020-21 season by starting only 71 days after the Lakers were crowned champions in October.
They all didn’t want to listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE
– LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
They all didn’t want to listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE
– LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
They all didn’t want to listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE
– LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
Leonard, who has been ruled out for Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinal series between the Clippers and the Utah Jazz, will be the eighth All-Star player to miss a Playoff game this year, which turns out to be the most. in the history of the League, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Chris paul of the Phoenix Suns, who could miss the start of the Western Conference Finals while on the League’s health and safety protocols, could become the ninth, joining James’ teammate, Anthony Davis; James harden Y Kyrie irving of the Brooklyn Nets; Donovan Mitchell Y Mike conley of Jazz; Jaylen brown of the Boston Celtics; Joel embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, and the aforementioned Leonard.
While James played all six elimination games in the Lakers’ first round against Phoenix, he did so with a right ankle that had not yet fully healed from a mid-March sprain that caused him to miss 26 of the last 30 Lakers games in the regular season.
The Lakers were eliminated by the Suns almost two weeks ago, but in recent days, James shared an Instagram video showing him receiving treatment on his ankle.
From the start of training camp in December, James let it be known how puzzled he was by how quickly the League went from the bubble in Orlando, Florida to a condensed 72-game regular-season schedule as the COVID-pandemic persisted. 19.
“I was like, ‘Wow.’ And I said, ‘Oh sh …'” James said on December 7 when asked about his reaction to the rapid change. “To be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting that because the first conversations were taking place and I was hearing that there would be a start in mid-January and that training camp would start after Christmas.”
The Playoffs are a continuation of an unfortunate trend for the NBA during the regular season when the All-Stars missed 370 of 1,944 possible games (19%), the highest percentage in a season in NBA history, according to a Elias Sports Bureau investigation.
The point guard of the Denver Nuggets, Jamal murray, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee in April after leading the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals on the bubble, acknowledged the stark reality that will likely determine how the rest of the postseason unfolds.