FORBES: Maybe LeBron James Is Hurting Worse Than They're Telling Us
Maybe LeBron James Is Hurting Worse Than They're Telling Us
Just thinking out loud . . .
Is LeBron done?
Not done done.
Instead, is LeBron done as the King James that spent his previous 15 seasons in the NBA leaping tall opponents in a single bound, masquerading as the Cape Crusader with a compression sleeve on his shooting arm, spreading webs over dastardly foes via his wing span of seven feet, aging slowly through the decades to slam away shots by opponents with thick hands instead of long claws and functioning in general as the Black Panther of hoops?
LeBron is 34, which is just shy of ancient in professional sports, and he is aching with a strained left groin. Unlike the past for one of the greatest players of all-time, the pain won't go away.
It happens, and Ken Griffey Jr., comes to mind. During the first decade of his 22 seasons in the Major Leagues, he never left the lineup for the Seattle Mariners despite crashing into walls along the way to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Then he went to the Cincinnati Reds after turning 30, and he spent the rest of his career nearly watching as much as playing due to injuries.
You see what I'm thinking? LeBron was indestructible forever while grabbing four NBA Most Valuable Player awards after stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice) and Miami Heat, but during the start of his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, not so much.
Actually, not at all, and this happened in a flash.
With more than 10 million folks watching LeBron's new team sprint toward victory over the Warriors at Golden State on December 25 during the most-watched NBA game on Christmas Day in seven years, he flashed a look of panic on the court. He strained that left groin. Word was, he'd miss the Lakers' next game two days later at Sacramento, but he'd return soon afterward.
We're still waiting for LeBron to play again. In fact, the Lakers announced Thursday he'll miss "at least another week" before adding "the healing of James' groin injury is progressing."
Whatever that means.
This isn't the best situation for the Lakers who made a $153 million investment into LeBron before this season as a free agent to become their 6-foot-8 and 250-pound version of Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Jerry West. After the LeBron signing, the average NBA ticket at Staples Center rose 427 percent over last season, and The Laker Game became even more of a must-see affair around the league. LeBron also is a television ratings monster. No question, when his Cavaliers had the first of their four consecutive NBA Finals matchups against the Golden State Warriors in 2015, the Splash Brothers (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) had much to do with the TV audience reaching 20 million and staying around that mark over the next three years of showdowns. That said, the bulk of the nation's eyes were on the guy worth $450 million due to his ability to dominate and to amaze on the court without the hint of physical vulnerability.
Uh-oh. Through December 24 (you know, before LeBron lost his superhero powers with that injury), USA Today determined that he had dribbled in 94% of the possible games during his career and that he hadn't played in fewer than 84% of games in a given season. Even last season, he was the only person in the NBA not to miss any of his team's 82 games, and he led the league in average minutes played per game for the second straight year.
So maybe this groin thing for LeBron is a fluke. Maybe he'll return sooner rather than later to pull on his imaginary cape of purple and gold for the Lakers and terrorize foes as before.
Or maybe he's Ken Griffey Jr.
Maybe LeBron James Is Hurting Worse Than They're Telling Us
Just thinking out loud . . .
Is LeBron done?
Not done done.
Instead, is LeBron done as the King James that spent his previous 15 seasons in the NBA leaping tall opponents in a single bound, masquerading as the Cape Crusader with a compression sleeve on his shooting arm, spreading webs over dastardly foes via his wing span of seven feet, aging slowly through the decades to slam away shots by opponents with thick hands instead of long claws and functioning in general as the Black Panther of hoops?
LeBron is 34, which is just shy of ancient in professional sports, and he is aching with a strained left groin. Unlike the past for one of the greatest players of all-time, the pain won't go away.
It happens, and Ken Griffey Jr., comes to mind. During the first decade of his 22 seasons in the Major Leagues, he never left the lineup for the Seattle Mariners despite crashing into walls along the way to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Then he went to the Cincinnati Reds after turning 30, and he spent the rest of his career nearly watching as much as playing due to injuries.
You see what I'm thinking? LeBron was indestructible forever while grabbing four NBA Most Valuable Player awards after stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice) and Miami Heat, but during the start of his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, not so much.
Actually, not at all, and this happened in a flash.
With more than 10 million folks watching LeBron's new team sprint toward victory over the Warriors at Golden State on December 25 during the most-watched NBA game on Christmas Day in seven years, he flashed a look of panic on the court. He strained that left groin. Word was, he'd miss the Lakers' next game two days later at Sacramento, but he'd return soon afterward.
We're still waiting for LeBron to play again. In fact, the Lakers announced Thursday he'll miss "at least another week" before adding "the healing of James' groin injury is progressing."
Whatever that means.
This isn't the best situation for the Lakers who made a $153 million investment into LeBron before this season as a free agent to become their 6-foot-8 and 250-pound version of Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Jerry West. After the LeBron signing, the average NBA ticket at Staples Center rose 427 percent over last season, and The Laker Game became even more of a must-see affair around the league. LeBron also is a television ratings monster. No question, when his Cavaliers had the first of their four consecutive NBA Finals matchups against the Golden State Warriors in 2015, the Splash Brothers (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson) had much to do with the TV audience reaching 20 million and staying around that mark over the next three years of showdowns. That said, the bulk of the nation's eyes were on the guy worth $450 million due to his ability to dominate and to amaze on the court without the hint of physical vulnerability.
Uh-oh. Through December 24 (you know, before LeBron lost his superhero powers with that injury), USA Today determined that he had dribbled in 94% of the possible games during his career and that he hadn't played in fewer than 84% of games in a given season. Even last season, he was the only person in the NBA not to miss any of his team's 82 games, and he led the league in average minutes played per game for the second straight year.
So maybe this groin thing for LeBron is a fluke. Maybe he'll return sooner rather than later to pull on his imaginary cape of purple and gold for the Lakers and terrorize foes as before.
Or maybe he's Ken Griffey Jr.
Why are all of your post's garbage?
I don't believe the goalposts you climbing here are the ones we was originally shooting at 
