LeBron James has been placed in the League health and safety protocol as Vogel expresses his disappointment.
LeBron James has been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols, the Los Angeles Lakers announced as he was absent in Tuesday night’s 117-92 victory over the Kings.
James is expected to miss several games for the Los Angeles Lakers according to sources who told reporters.
Lakers coach Franck Vogel expresses his disappointment as the star man will be missing but stated that they want the best for him.
“Obviously, it’s a huge loss,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said in his pregame remarks Tuesday. “It’s disappointing. We just want the best for him right now. That’s where our thoughts are. And we have a next man up mindset.”
Talen Horton-Tucker replaced James in the starting lineup and scored two points in 16 minutes.
Vogel stated that the team found out James was entering the health and safety protocols on Tuesday morning and arranged for transportation for James to return to L.A. from Sacramento.
“Hopefully, this is something that’s short term,” Vogel said. “We’ll see.”
Vogel failed to answer a reporter’s question about what signs James is experiencing, but Anthony Davis was more forthcoming in his postgame remarks.
“He said he’s good,” Davis said after leading L.A. with 25 points in James’ absence. “I think he’s asymptomatic, which is a good sign, but we want to make sure that he gets back. Health is most important. This is bigger than basketball. He has a family. We want to make sure that he’s good no matter what.”
Russell Westbrook, who had 23 points and six assists in the win, said he planned to call James after the game.
“I know he wants to play, he wants to compete,” Westbrook said. “Just check his mental and making sure that he’s in a good space because it could be difficult, you know what I mean? Especially coming in and out of the lineup.”
James has already missed 12 of the Lakers’ 23 games due to his injuries and a suspension. L.A. is 7-4 with James this season and 5-7 without him.
“We know he wants to be in there every night,” Vogel said. “More than anybody in the league, probably.”
“It’s an 82-game season,” Vogel said. “You’re going to have to deal with guys going in and out of the lineup.
“We’ve been without him some already this season. I feel like we’re further along with our cohesiveness now than we were the first time he went out with his ab strain. And we got to come in and compete and get a W tonight.”
