According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Ham missed the practice to attend to a personal matter while the team labeled James’s absence as “excused” without revealing any reason.The 39-year-old James, fresh off his record 20th All-Star appearance, plans to meet the Lakers in San Francisco.
Before James played limited minutes in the midseason classic, he told reporters that he is dealing with an ankle injury.
“I did seek treatment the last few days, trying to get my ankle as strong and as back to where I feel confident that I can finish off this last third of the season,” James told reporters.James sat out the Lakers’ final game — a 138-122 rout of the Utah Jazz — before the All-Star break.
“I’m seeking some more treatment tomorrow going into this week, because we have quite a few days this week as well,” James added. “We don’t play until the end of the week. See how that goes. But the most important thing for me is definitely my health, where I’m at right now, where our team is leaning. We’re trending in the right direction. Obviously, with our Laker team, it’s been about health all year. Trying to do what’s best for me for the betterment of the team.