LeBron James is not happy with the producers of the NBA’s play-in tournament.
“Whoever comes up with that S-T is fired,” James said Sunday. ESPN, Loss to rappers after Lakers 121–114. His reaction came after last season’s COVID-delayed NBA Finals reminiscent of the 71-day offshining of the reigning champion Lakers in the Orlando bubble.
At 36-28, the Lakers are in a three-way tie with the Mavericks and Blazers for the No. 5 seed. As the leaders of the Southwest Division, the Mavericks have the No. 5 seed and the Lakers sit at No. 6 with a tiebreaker over the Blazers. The top six teams in each conference automatically go to the playoffs, while 7-10 play-ins are in the tournament.
James Mavericks joined a growing number of players, including star Luca Donsick, who has complained about the play-in format, which was produced in the NBA bubble season.
Teams with the seventh-largest and eighth-highest winning percentage in each conference will have two opportunities to win a game that will earn a playoff spot.
Seventh and eighth seeds will be encountered, as well as nose 9 and 10. The winner of the 7-8 game will advance to the first round, and the loser will play the winner of the 9–10 game.
James, who returned to the lineup on April 30 after missing with a sprain in a high right ankle – aggravated the injury in a Raptors loss. He left the game with 6:42 left and did not return.
“His ankle is battling some malfunction,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said in a post-game press conference. “We decided not to bring him back.”
The Lakers will need any healthy James to repeat as NBA champion.
“I think our team is dedicated to health,” James said – after losing – the team finished third straight and seventh in their last nine matches. He said, “This is the number one thing for our ball club. We need to be healthy and we need to live with full force. “
Making a comeback after the Kings’ defeat, James said he felt it would be “impossible” to get “100 percent” healthy in his career.
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