LeBron James injury: Lakers coach Luke Walton provides worrying update after Bucks loss
LEBRON JAMES was still getting treatment on his injury as the Los Angeles Lakers took to the court against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lakers coach Luke Walton revealed further details of the extent of the groin injury which ruled James out of their 115-101 loss at the Fiserv Forum on Tuesday.
Walton said James’ absence from the bench was because the player was receiving treatment.
"I know up until the point we left to come out to the court he was on the table the entire time getting treatment,” Walton said, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group.
Defeat for the Lakers extended their recent poor run of form as they have now gone four consecutive games without a win.
I know up until the point we left to come out to the court he was on the table the entire time getting treatment
Earlier in the season they had hoped to reach the playoffs but after losing nine of their last 10 games this now seems a very unlikely possibility.
The Bucks were also without their star player as leading scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo was out with an ankle injury.
But that didn’t stop Milwaukee winning their 53rd game of the season, a feat they last achieved in the 1985-86 season.
The defeat to the Bucks was the end of a five-game road trip for the Lakers and Walton admitted injures have been an issue.
“It’s been a long road trip, we have a lot of bodies down,” Walton said.
“Offensive rebounds and second chance points really hurt us, but that is a good team.
“They have the best record for a reason.”
The Lakers are now 11th in the Western Conference and 10 games behind rivals the LA Clippers who hold the last playoff spot.
However, it appears that James is already looking forward to the off-season and what changes can be made to the roster.
“There’s a lot of great free agents this summer,” James said before the Bucks game.
Luke Walton on LeBron's absence from the bench tonight: "I know up until the point we left to come out to the court he was on the table the entire time getting treatment." Didn't know LeBron's schedule otherwise. We did see LeBron leaving after the game in the arena tunnel.
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) March 20, 2019
“Not going to name any names, because every time I say something, or our organisation says something about a specific person, we get in trouble.
“But we have an opportunity to get better.”
There are only 11 games remaining in the regular season and James now looks set to miss out on the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.
Next up for the Lakers are the Brooklyn Nets who they host on Friday.