Lakers' LeBron James Reveals Hand Injury Ahead of NBA Playoffs, 'It's Not Fine, But I'm Good'

As the Los Angeles Lakers try to navigate life without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves due to injuries, LeBron James revealed he's also playing through a hand injury.

James told Spectrum SportsNet's Allie Clifton (h/t Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation) that he originally injured the hand against the Detroit Pistons on March 23 and said he feels it whenever it gets hit.

After the Lakers' win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, James tried to downplay the hand as a serious issue.

"It'll be fine," he said. "I mean it's not fine, but I'm good."

Lakers-Warriors Highlights

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It's unclear exactly when James injured the hand against the Pistons. He finished that game with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 39 minutes.

In seven games since then, James is averaging 20.1 points on 53.1 percent shooting, 9.0 assists and 7.6 rebounds per contest. The Lakers are 5-2 in those games, but they lost three straight prior to Thursday night.

James didn't play on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was his first time sitting out since he missed three straight games from March 6-10 due to an elbow contusion and left foot soreness.

The Lakers are limping into the postseason with Dončić and Reaves currently out of action. Their status for the first round of the playoffs is currently unknown.

Any hope the Lakers have of getting through the first round depends heavily on James being able to shoulder the burden of being the No. 1 option at this point in his career.

James' stat line being as strong as it is since he said the injury occurred is a good sign. The Lakers are currently tied in the standings with the Houston Rockets for the No. 4 seed and own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

There's also a chance the Lakers could move up to the No. 3 seed, currently owned by the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers are one game behind Denver and also have the head-to-head tiebreaker if the two teams finish tied in the standings.

The Lakers close the regular season with home games against the Phoenix Suns on Friday and Utah Jazz on Sunday.