The Los Angeles Lakers don’t look the same without LeBron James on the hardwood.
The franchise boasts a 4-3 record through seven games, largely thanks to Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic’s heroic contributions.
However, James, who’s been glued to the Lakers’ bench with sciatica, will give the franchise the offensive boost they’ve been missing to start the year when he finally makes his season debut.
However, a popular analyst believes that James’ sciatica isn’t the reason he’s been sidelined in Los Angeles, as he recently made a straightforward three-word take on what he thinks is actually wrong with the 40-year-old forward.
“He’s just old,” Charles Barkley said on the Dan Patrick Show on Friday. “Everybody gets old. He states it's sciatica. That signifies something specific, Dan. Yeah, I know his back hurts. All old people's backs hurt, Dan. You can dress it up like sciatica."
Two things can be true at once. Sciatica is no joke, as the unfortunate injury results in tingling and/or numbness in the lower back and leg. Considering NBA regular seasons are lengthy and James has no logical reason to lie about his condition, everything appears to check out perfectly.
At the same time, James is old, by basketball standards, and likely would agree that he isn’t the same player he used to be.
Simply put, the 21-time All-Star is old and injured, which isn’t an ideal combination in the big leagues.
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