LeBron James misses 2nd straight game for 1st time since season’s start
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James missed his second consecutive game of the season on Sunday afternoon after being downgraded as a gametime decision to out against the New York Knicks, still nursing his left elbow contusion that the 41-year-old suffered in Denver on Thursday.
Missing Sunday marks the first time since James missed the first 14 games of the season with sciatica that the Lakers listed him as unavailable for back to back games.
But that didn’t stop Knicks coach Mike Brown, from speaking about the otherworldly career that James has put together. Brown first coached James in 2005, remaining the Cleveland Cavaliers coach until the end of the 2010 season – which also marked James’ departure in free agency to the Miami Heat, where he’d go on to win his first NBA championship in 2012.
“You know, the crazy part for me is when you see players that you coached and then their kids are playing in the NBA, that’s a little, it’s a little freaky for me, because it tells me I’m old. But then when I go to the bathroom, I shave all my gray hairs also, so it helps me believe that I’m not that old, but his son, playing in the NBA is just mind blowing, and that that impacts me more than him retiring.”
When asked before the game Sunday if he’d thought about the Lakers early-afternoon contest against the Knicks potentially being the last time he’d coach against four-time MVP, Brown said that the reality of the Lakers star’s potential retirement at the season’s end hadn’t hit him yet.
“He’s such a phenomenal athlete, I feel like I don’t know – and I don’t know everybody out there – but I don’t know anybody that takes care of their body better than he does, and he just seems like he can play forever,” said Brown, who coached James and the Cavaliers to an NBA Finals defeat against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2006-07 playoffs.
“I think he can play forever,” Brown said. “That’s just my personal opinion. I know he won’t but the shape that he is in and how he takes care of his body is just amazing.”
The Lakers playing the Knicks on Sunday highlights the continuation of a five-game homestand which began with the Lakers victory over the Pacers on Friday night. Coach JJ Redick, however, turned to the first half of the Thursday-Friday back-to-back set, the loss to the Denver Nuggets, as a reason his team could be set up well against three of four opponents ahead with winning records.
The 120-113 defeat to the Nuggets, was proof that the Lakers didn’t crumble under a deficit, even bringing the score within one with just over two minutes to go in the game. Guard Marcus Smart said after the game on Thursday that a month previous that the Lakers could have lost the game by 30 points and not have had a “chance at the end.”
“I do think that the game last night was important because that was a game that we’ve broken throughout the year – in games like that,” Redick said. “And they made a number of runs that went to double digits and we just kept playing and had a chance. A one-possession game with a minute to go.”