LeBron James back injury: Overreaction or legitimate concern?
LeBron James apparently sustained a back and/or neck injury in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game Monday night, but was it an overreaction or a legitimate concern?
It’s safe to say things haven’t been going great for the Cleveland Cavaliers lately.
Not only did they trail the San Antonio Spurs by 30 midway through the fourth quarter Monday night, in a game that will drop them to No. 2 in the Eastern Conference standings with a loss, but LeBron James may have suffered a concerning back/neck injury.
As you can see below, LeBron went for a rebound late in the third quarter when the ball bopped him on the head and ended up in David Lee’s hands. With King James still hanging around, Lee sent him a dirty elbow to clear space and wound up connecting with LeBron’s upper back, right in between the shoulders.
A few seconds later, the King was down and stayed down for a couple of minutes in pain.
At first glance, this seems like a pretty drastic overreaction. Lee’s elbow was uncalled for, but it didn’t look like he hit him that hard. LeBron staying down for so long and rolling over after falling to his knees seemed like a dramatic touch to incur the league’s wrath later on down the road.
It’s hard to buy into that being a serious injury when we know LeBron James is pretty much a superhuman cyborg.
Then again, if anyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, it’s an indestructible human like LeBron. Don’t forget that when he took two weeks of rest during the 2014-15 NBA season, it was due to an ailing back.
According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, team trainer Steve Spiro was also checking on the King’s neck when he exited the game:
Steve Spiro is checking LeBron's neck on the bench
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) March 28, 2017
With the Spurs holding a 23-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, it’s not surprising LeBron didn’t re-enter the game, whether the injury was serious or not.
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His health is far more important to the Cavs than a fruitless comeback attempt on the road, which is why this latest injury could either be a laughable overreaction in a few day’s time…or a legitimate concern for the defending champs, whose defense has been the second-worst in the association since the All-Star break.