Following an emotional overtime loss to the Boston Celtics Saturday night, in which a no-call foul at the end of regulation left the Lakers furious with the officials, the team announced that LeBron James and Anthony Davis would sit out of Monday's game against the Brooklyn Nets. The Lakers said Davis will be out with a right foot stress injury, while James will sit with 'significant' left ankle soreness, per Darvin Ham. The Nets matchup is the first game of a back-to-back for the Lakers, which concludes with a primetime matchup against the New York Knicks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
This shouldn't be viewed as anything other than a rest day for both stars after a hard-fought matchup against the Celtics over the weekend. James logged 44 minutes Saturday night, dropping 41 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Davis, who came off the bench while still working his way back from a 20-game absence, played 33 minutes against Boston.
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Aside from the disappointing fact that James and Davis will be out against the Nets from just an entertainment standpoint, LeBron sitting out could also push the goal line a little bit further in his chase of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record. James is just 117 points away from becoming the league's all-time leading scorer, and right now he's on track to pass that mark during Feb. 9th's home matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, at least according to my CBS Sports colleague Sam Quinn's prediction.
It would be a fitting scenario for James to pass Abdul-Jabbar's record against the team that drafted Kareem back in 1969. For it to come against one of the league's top teams, during a nationally televised contest would just be icing on the cake.
