SHAQ and The TNT crew discuss LeBron James Injury
>> IF THE LAKERS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS I’LL WEAR THAT ON THE LAST SHOW. >> THAT WILL BE ON “INSIDE THE NBA.” >> WHEN’S THE LAST SHOW? >> THURSDAY, APRIL 4th. >> THIS IS NBA ON TNT TUESDAY. JAMAL CRAWFORD, CANDACE PARKER LOOKING FLAWLESS AND DR. SHAQUILLE O’NEAL. WE’RE INTERESTING, BUT NOT AS INTERESTING AS LeBRON JAMES. LeBRON JAMES SAID IT’S 23 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT GAMES OF MY CAREER FOR THE REGULAR SEASON. THEN ON SUNDAY HE HEARD A POP. NOW WE’RE WONDERING HOW LONG WILL LeBRON JAMES BE OUT, WHAT’S THE EXTENT OF HIS INJURY. WE’LL GO LIVE
TO MEMPHIS WHERE THE LAKERS ARE TAKING ON THE GRIZZLIES AND JARED GREENBERG IS THERE. WHAT ARE YOU HEARING ABOUT LeBRON AND THIS INJURY? >> THE NEXT 24 TO 48 HOURS WILL BE THE MOST CRUCIAL TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT LeBRON WILL BE ABLE TO RETURN FOR THE REST OF SEASON. HE’LL SEE A SPECIALIST TOMORROW FOR THAT LEFT FOOT INJURY AND HE MAY SEE MORE THAN ONE SPECIALIST FOR THAT FOOT WHICH HE HURT ON SUNDAY. LeBRON IS EXPECTED TO BE IN THE BUILDING HERE TONIGHT, BUT HE WON’T TRAVEL WITH THE TEAM AFTER THE GAME TO OKLAHOMA
CITY AS THEY PLAY IN THE SECOND HALF OF A BACK-TO-BACK. WE HEARD SO MANY REPORTS THROUGHOUT THE DAY OF LeBRON COULD BE BACK OR REASSESSED IN THE NEXT TWO
IF YOU REMEMBER BACK TO THE NIGHT THAT LeBRON BROKE THE ALL-TIME SCORING RECORD HE HAD TO COME OUT OF THE GAME WITH LESS THAN A MINUTE TO GO DUE TO A RIGHT FOOT INJURY. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE AS THIS NEWS DEVELOPS TO SEE IF THERE’S ANY CORRELATION BETWEEN A RIGHT FOOT INJURY THAT CLEARLY HAS BEEN BOTHERING HIM FOR A COUPLE WEEKS, AT LEAST BACK TO FEBRUARY 7th, IF NOT LONGER. IT’S BEEN CONFIRMED TO ME THAT LeBRON WILL NOT RETURN TO THE LINEUP UNTIL HE’S COMPLETELY HEALTHY AND CLEARED BY THE MEDICAL STAFF. THAT IS
REGARDLESS OF WHERE THE LAKERS ARE IN THE STANDINGS. 21 GAMES REMAINING FOR THE LAKERS STARTING TONIGHT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS SCHEDULE, YEAH, IT’S FAVORABLE BECAUSE THEY HAVE ONE OF THE MORE EASIER SCHEDULES DOWN THE STRETCH WITH 21 TO GO. THERE’S A LOG JAM IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE. TEN TEAMS SEPARATED BY THREE GAMES IN THE LOSS COLUMN. TEN TEAMS VYING FOR SEVEN SPOTS. THE LAKERS VERY MUCH IN THE MIX RIGHT NOW. THERE’S CONCERN WITH LeBRON BEING OUT. WE DON’T KNOW WHEN HE’S GOING TO RETURN. AS IT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME BY MEMBERS OF THE COACHING
STAFF, THE MISSION STAYS THE SAME AS IT WAS WHEN WE HAD LeBRON. WE’RE EXPECTED TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. AS SOMEONE SAID INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM, WE NEED ANTHONY DAVIS TO BE SUPERMAN, SIMILAR TO HOW HE WAS PLAYING THE FIRST COUPLE MONTHS OF THE SEASON. THE ONE THING I CAN CONFIRM TO YOU TONIGHT, WHILE A.D. HAS SAT OUT BACK-TO-BACK THROUGHOUT THE SEASON HE’S EXPECTED TO PLAY TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT IN OKLAHOMA CITY. >> JARED, A LOT OF INFORMATION THERE. ENJOY THE GAME. A.D. IS GOING TO GO TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. THE FIRST TIME SINCE NOVEMBER 6th AND
7th THAT A.D. PLAYS THE FIRST AND SECOND HALF OF A BACK-TO-BACK. LET’S PROCESS WHAT THIS MEANS. CARMAX ONE-ON-ONE. HERE’S THEM WITH LeBRON AND WITHOUT LeBRON, 5-9 WITHOUT LeBRON. A.D.’S NUMBERS EXPLODE WITHOUT LeBRON. HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO BE THE A.D. SHOW. >> HE’LL HAVE TO TAP INTO THAT PLAYOFF WELL. USUALLY PLAYERS LIKE THAT, WE PACE OURSELVES. WITH PLAYOFFS YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL. HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL. I DON’T WANT TO SAY THIS DISRESPECTFULLY, BUT HE’S FELL OFF. THREE YEARS AGO WE WERE HERALDING HIM AS THE NEXT
GREATEST PLAYER IN THE NBA. WHEN YOU’RE A CHAMPION AND YOU’RE A LAKER, THEY EXPECT YOU TO SAY AT A CERTAIN LEVEL. THREE YEARS AGO WE SAID HE’LL BE THE BEST PLAYER IN THE GAME. HE’S FELL OFF. HE CAN GET BACK TO THAT. THE LAKERS NEED TO GO 16-5. TAP INTO THE PLAYOFF MODE. WHAT THEY DID THE OTHER DAY VERSUS DALLAS WAS IMPRESSIVE. I LIKE THE NEW TEAM. I OWE RUI HACHIMURA AN APOLOGY. HE’S A GREAT PLAYER, BUT A.D. HAS TO BE THE GUY. HE’S GOT TO TOUCH THE BALL EVERY TIME. 28 IS GOOD, BUT YOU
HAVE TO TAKE IT TO 33, 34. THEY CAN DO IT. IF THEY DON’T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS, IT WILL BE A TRAVESTY FOR LeBRON JAMES. THEY CAN DO IT. THEY’RE TWO AND A HALF GAMES OUT OF SIX SPOT. THEY HAVE TO TAP INTO THAT PLAYOFF RUN NOW AND IT ALL STARTS TO A.D. >> SO MUCH CREDIT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO PALINKA FOR THE MOVES THEY’VE MADE. THAT LOG JAM IN THE WEST, THEY PLAY A LOT OF THOSE TEAMS, CANDACE. HOW MANY OF THOSE DO YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT? HOUSTON LOOKS GREAT, BUT OTHER THAN THAT — >>
THEY CAN’T LOOK AT ANY GAME AND THINK IT’S GOING TO BE A WALK. IN OUR GROUP TEXT WE WERE SAYING HOW THE GAME AND THE LEVEL OF PLAY IS BEING RAISED. MARCH IS GOING TO GO THAT MUCH HIGHER. OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE SOME GAMES YOU LOOK AT AND SAY THAT A.D. HAS TO DOMINATE. HE HAS TO PLAY BACK-TO-BACK. LISTEN, ROB, WE DON’T GIVE HIM ENOUGH CREDIT FOR THESE TRADES THEY’VE MADE. THEY’RE 4-1 SINCE THEY MADE THE TRADE. ANTHONY DAVIS IS MORE CONFIDENT KNOWING HE’S NUMBER ONE. OBVIOUSLY THEY’RE TRYING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. IF THEY CAN GET
INTO THE PLAYOFFS, HIM PLAYING THIS WAY WITH LeBRON POTENTIALLY RETURNING HEALTHY, THEY’RE NOT A TEAM YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE FIRST ROUND. >> NOT AT ALL, BUT TO SHAQ’S POINT, THE ANTHONY DAVIS WE LOOKED AT THREE YEARS AGO, HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO BE THERE NOW. THE TEAM IS BUILT FOR HIM TO BE THE NUMBER ONE GUY. >> WE SAW HIM ON THAT ROAD TRIP BE THE NUMBER ONE GUY. >> HE WAS, BUT CAN HE DO IT CONSISTENTLY. HE HAS TO BRING IT EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. HE HAS THE TALENT TO DO, BUT THE DURABILITY
TO DO IT EVERY NIGHT, THAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN. >> CANDACE, WHEN DOES YOUR SEASON START? >> APRIL 30th. >> I CAN TELL YOU’VE BEEN WORKING ON YOUR SHOULDERS. LOOKING GOOD, CANDACE. LAS VEGAS HERE WE GO. BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONSHIPS HERE WE GO. >> LeBRON REPORTEDLY IN A BOOT. HE’S WEARING THE RED BOOT. >> I LIKE WHEN THE SHOULDERS ARE LOW, CANDACE. >> JA MORANT READY TO GO CRAZY TONIGHT. HOPE YOU GUYS GO CRAZY WITH DOOR DASH. WE’RE 22 MINUTES AWAY FROM TIP. ORDER YOUR GAME-TIME FAVORITES FROM DOOR DASH FOR TONIGHT’S DOUBLE HEADER. JA MORANT SAYS HE’S
FINE IN THE WEST. WE’LL FIND OUT
