The Phoenix Suns completely blew the Los Angeles Lakers out last night. They led by as many as 36 points and limited their rivals to just 36 points in the first half, never taking their feet off the gas.
The game was pretty much settled with 12 minutes to play. LeBron James headed back to the locker room with over 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, prompting some criticism around social media.
LeBron heading back to the locker room early, perhaps to get treatment on his sore ankle.
(via @NBAonTNT) pic.twitter.com/N9IFEcrADL
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 2, 2021
While some fans – and LeBron’s critics – stated that he was just bailing out on his teammates, most people thought that he was just going to get a jumpstart into his post-game treatment:
“LeBron had to start his treatment,” Vogel said, as quoted by Ryan Ward of Lakers Nation.
Frank Vogel on LeBron heading to the locker room during the 4th qtr: "LeBron had to start his treatment."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) June 2, 2021
There’s little chance that his teammates took offense at him leaving the game earlier. I mean, it was garbage time so it’s not like he was going to watch the Suns’ sets and break down their plays for Game 6.
LeBron James is already 36 years old and it’s not a secret that he’s been banged up lately, so it’s only normal for him and the team to prioritize his health and rehab over anything else, especially facing a must-win game 48 hours later.
The Los Angeles Lakers have their backs against the wall without Anthony Davis and they’re going to need LeBron to be at 110% if they want to stand a chance against the second-seeded Phoenix Suns.
