LeBron James Injuries to Keep an Eye On as Playoffs Approach

Key Questions on James health in regards to Playoff Seeding and Performance Concerns as Regular Season Winds Down:

With the NBA playoffs approaching and most teams only having a handful of games left in the regular season, some teams and players have questions surrounding them, regarding health, potential playoff performance, seeding, etc. One of those players is none other than LeBron James.

The Lakers' playoff success often hinges upon the health of their legendary superstar, and as the years have stacked up for the Akron native, so have the nagging injuries, namely to his foot, groin, and now shooting thumb.

In February, James sat out the NBA All-Star break from left foot soreness, and that is an injury that's made an appearance on the team's injury list a few times this season, though it hasn't been the cause of too many missed games. “It’s gonna be something that we gotta manage for the rest of the season and going into the postseason..." James said at the time. It's been one of the more nagging injuries he's dealt with the last couple of seasons.

Of all the injuries LeBron has dealt with this season, none was more significant than the groin injury sustained in a loss to the Celtics on March 8th. It didn't look as severe as his most previous groin pull in 2018 where he described 'hearing a pop' and missed 17 consecutive games. The groin pull he sustained this season did cost him 7 straight games while the Lakers were fighting to maintain playoff positioning and they went 3-4 during the stretch. The groin injury has made an appearance on the Lakers injury report a couple of times since he returned, but as of April 4th, he has yet to miss a game since returning.

LeBron's latest injury didn't make the injury report for the next game, but it is one worthy of keeping an eye on. While attempting to block a layup from Jose Alvarado of New Orleans, LeBron's right thumb caught the rim and hyperextended, causing him to make a quick exit and get it taped. He returned to the game without showing any effects from the injury shortly after being taped and finished with 27pts, notably 7-8 from the free throw line.

Whether or not these injuries will have a negative impact on the Lakers success this postseason remains to be seen. At 40 years of age, these injuries become more than nagging, and this years Lakers expectations are far higher than they've been in the last few years so expect LeBron to push through some of these injuries, but they are worth keeping an eye on.

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