LeBron James out vs. Nuggets with left ankle soreness

LeBron James will miss his ninth game of the season on Monday against the Nuggets in Denver due to left ankle soreness. James had originally been listed as probable with left ankle soreness, then was downgraded to questionable on Monday morning before being ruled out entirely before tip-off.

The left ankle soreness has plagued him throughout recent weeks and cost him a number of games. James has played in 21 of the last 25 games but three of those absences has been credited to left ankle soreness.

So, while in one sense it’s not great that this injury has lingered over the last month-and-a-half, it also isn’t one that has particularly slowed LeBron down. He’s averaging 31.1 points per game in that span and earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors on Monday as well.

Without James this season, the Lakers are 4-5, though three of those wins came with a healthy Anthony Davis. That being said, they did win the most recent contest without both players against the Heat last week.

Joining LeBron on the sideline will also be Troy Brown Jr. as he was downgraded to out on Monday morning as well with a left quad strain. He had initially been listed as questionable before being downgraded. Brown has missed each of the last two games with the quad strain.

Russell Westbrook is still considered probable while AD, Austin Reaves, and Lonnie Walker all will also be out. After Monday’s game, the Lakers will be off until Thursday when they host the Mavericks before a Sunday-Monday back-to-back next weekend.

By missing Monday’s game, LeBron will have four days off between games as he looks to remain healthy in the long run and avoid any late-season injuries that has plagued him and the Lakers in recent seasons.

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