Lakers star forward LeBron James is listed as questionable for Friday’s road game vs. the Hawks with left ankle soreness, as relayed by Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
James, who turns 38 years old on Friday, has already missed several games because of the ongoing foot issue. He is averaging 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists, shooting .297 percent on 3-pointers, his lowest 3-point percentage since his rookie season of 2003-04.
Still, the Lakers (14-21) are already without Anthony Davis, and losing James for another game would serve as a double-whammy in a season that’s been full of them.
James addressed the need for help as he partakes in the back nine of his career.
“I’m a winner, and I want to win,” James told reporters after Wednesday’s road loss to the Heat, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And I want to win and give myself a chance to win and still compete for championships. That has always been my passion. That has always been my goal since I entered the league as an 18-year-old kid out of Akron, Ohio.
“And I know it takes steps to get there, but once you get there and know how to get there, playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA. It’s not in my DNA anymore. So, we’ll see what happens and see how fresh my mind stays over the next couple years.”
Coach Darvin Ham added that James’ comments were all part of his competitive nature.
“He’s a fierce, fierce competitor,” Ham told reporters. “The team, we’re having our ups and downs right now. We’re on the wrong side of the win-loss column. So he’s not going to allow himself to be taken out of the mix.
“He does as great of a job as I’ve seen ever of making himself available and being able to produce physically at an extremely high level.”
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