The Lakers lost to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday afternoon, but the particulars of this game aren’t really important. A 99-94 loss obviously affects the standings and moves the Lakers to 28-14 overall, but for Los Angeles, there is no takeaway from this game that is all that important until we know how long LeBron James will be out, and how severe the ankle injury he sustained early in the second quarter is.
James was on the ground in obvious pain, and after trying to play through the injury and even hitting a three, he quickly left the game, knocking over a chair in anger as he walked off the floor with his trainer, Mike Mancias.