During the peak of his powers, LeBron James was an absolute cyborg when it came to his health and availability. The odd cramp aside, James was virtually unshakeable. Sometimes LeBron would take one of the most awkward falls or collisions you would ever see, and get right back up without a care in the world.
At 41 years old, that is no longer the case. James is not exactly an injury-prone player. However, the feeling of him being indestructible is long gone. That is why anytime LeBron hits the deck in pain, fans will immediately start to hold their breaths. That was the case on Thursday night when the Los Angeles Lakers played the Denver Nuggets.
In the midst of a furious comeback attempt for the Lakers, James tumbled to the floor after a layup, grabbing his elbow immediately after. LeBron stayed on the ground in pain for a while before exiting the game, reentering, and exiting again. When asked to provide an update after the tough 120-113 loss, the Lakers star did not have much to offer.
"It's pretty sore right now," James told reporters. "What was I feeling? I feel like [it was] one of them funny bone situations, but even super more intense."
LeBron James' elbow injury is the last thing the Lakers need
Following the All-Star break, the Lakers stars were extremely excited to have the team trending toward being healthy. It was something that eluded them severely in the first half of the season, making it hard to build chemistry as a group. Los Angeles may be forced to navigate that once more.
James, tight-lipped on the short-term outlook of his elbow injury, did not give much in his postgame comments that would suggest anything definitive about the status of his latest ailment. With the Lakers' quick turnaround for a back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers, everyone will want to pay close attention to the injury report.
LeBron was not the lone player to deal with injury troubles in the contest. Deandre Ayton also exited early with what was reported by the team as a knee injury.
Snide remarks about the Lakers being better without Ayton aside, that could be two of their regular rotation players being forced to miss some time here. That is not an exciting thought for a team that was described as a 'work in progress' by JJ Redick not too long ago.