One of the scariest moments of the Christmas Day battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics came at the 4:02 mark of the second quarter when stars LeBron James and Jaylen Brown collided, leaving both with possible injuries.
Both players were subbed out of the game immediately, but both eventually made returns to the floor and were able to finish out the game.
However, Lakers fans have unfortunately grown accustomed to seeing James miss time due to freak injuries from on-court collisions. In fact, Lakers fans may have seen more time missed due to injury from James than his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat combined. So this moment from the second quarter of Christmas Day’s primetime matchup certainly put some fear into fans’ hearts.
After the game, James was asked if he’s still feeling the knee injury from the second quarter or if the pain from the collision simply came and went.
“Nah, I mean, it’s still here. My knee is a little sore right now,” James said. “Best thing, finally, the schedule is kind of in our favor with two days before we have to play again. So but just a freak play right here between me and Jaylen Brown. I’m happy I was able to walk off with my own power, but definitely a little sore right now.”
As James said, the Lakers schedule is finally lightening up in terms of travel and time between games. Ten of the Lakers’ next 13 games are at home and they have only one back-to-back between now and Jan. 29, 2024. They have the next two days off and also have another two days on Jan. 1 and 2.
James should have time to rest and take all the necessary precautions to keep this knee injury from becoming anything more than some lingering soreness. His status for Thursday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets is unclear as there have been no injury reports for this game made public.
LeBron James: Lakers not guaranteed wins or losses
James was asked if he was disappointed about the Lakers being unable to secure a win against the Celtics. But he chose to focus on what the Lakers can control rather than being upset about an individual loss.
“I don’t look at it as a bummer, you win some games, and you lose some games. You’re not gonna guarantee wins and losses. But definitely, I’m excited and happy that we was able to go out here and play on our marquee day in our league. It’s a big day for our league, happy to be a part of it.”
