LeBron James is expected to be sidelined for at least the next two weeks after exiting the Los Angeles Lakers' comeback win against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday with a right foot injury. CBS Sports' Bill Reiter also confirms that James could be out longer depending on where the Lakers are in the West standings after the two-week checkpoint.
It was reported shortly after the Lakers win against Dallas that there was some fear within the Lakers organization that James would miss an extended period of time due to the injury.
James appeared to hurt his foot in the third quarter against the Mavericks but stayed in the game to help complete the comeback. He scored 26 points and added eight rebounds and three assists in the victory. It was the Lakers biggest comeback in 21 years, overcoming a 27-point deficit to stun the Mavericks in Dallas, but that victory has come at the expense of losing L.A.'s most important player for a couple weeks.
The Lakers simply cannot afford to lose LeBron for an extended period of time, especially at this point of the season. At 29-32, they currently occupy the No. 12 seed in the Western Conference. Their next three games after Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies all come against play-in contenders. They face the Thunder on Wednesday, Timberwolves Friday, and Warriors on Sunday.
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The Lakers have a 5-9 record without James this season. They survived an early stretch without him due to the incredible play of Davis, but he is only now rounding back into form after missing almost two months himself. The Lakers defeated the Warriors without James in their first game after trading away Russell Westbrook, but Golden State was missing Stephen Curry.
Now the Lakers will have to rely on Davis and D'Angelo Russell, their new point guard, to keep the team afloat while James recovers. If LeBron's recovery extends past two weeks, the Lakers are at risk of surrendering too much ground in the standings to survive his absence.