Lakers' LeBron James Predicts Difficulty for Rockets Without Fred VanVleet

The timing was impossible to predict. Then again, no injury is predictable, even outside of sports.

But especially in the sports sector. A team could appear to be on the cusp of making a title run and it can all come crashing down with one fateful tweet (or "X" post) from ESPN's Shams Charania.

Case in point, Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet, who tore his ACL at a team minicamp in the Bahamas, of all places.

The timing was impossible to predict. Then again, no injury is predictable, even outside of sports.

VanVleet has been the heart and soul of the Rockets, albeit for a short period of time. Rockets coach Ime Udoka has called him an extension of himself on the court.

Rockets star center Alperen Sengun has discussed multiple times how much of an impact he's had on him, by constantly challenging him and being his go-to veteran. VanVleet even went to Turkey this past offseason to train with Sengun.

And in the Rockets' postseason series against the Golden State Warriors, VanVleet went toe-to-toe with Stephen Curry from 3-point range, as the Rockets guard made 43.5 percent of his treys, while Curry made 39.2 percent from deep.

VanVleet was the Rockets' steady hand in light of Jalen Green's scoring inconsistency throughout the series, averaging 24.5 points, 4.8 assists, 63.6 percent from the field, and 55.8 percent from long-range in Games four through seven.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James shared his thoughts on VanVleet's injury and how it may affect the Rockets. on the Mind the Game podcast.

"Oh man. My good guy Fred, man. That sucks. That sucks. Speedy recovery, brother. Get back, man.

Get healthy. Get back. That's gonna be a tough blow for Houston this year."

The all-time scoring leader continued.

"He's like the engine. Great teammate. Great player. He's the engine to any team that he's on."

James mentioned VanVleet's role during the Toronto Raptors' 2019 championship run.

"Obviously, we saw what he was able to do. We talk about Kawhi [Leonard], you talk about Pascal [Siakam] and all those guys that they had.

Kyle [Lowry].

But Fred was such a big piece of that. Stepped up and made big shots. He's even-keel. His demeanor is always the same and you need that throughout the course of the season.

Speedy recovery, brother. Get back."

VanVleet's injury will likely lead to a much more significant role for Reed Sheppard than originally anticipated, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The Rockets drafted him third overall for a reason. His shooting will help replace VanVleet's long-range proficiency. Amen Thompson will help replace VanVleet's ballhandling (although he will need to tighten his handle, especially based on his preseason showing thus far).

Sengun and Kevin Durant will help replace VanVleet's playmaking. The Rockets will still be a force to be reckoned with, and will still pose a problem for James and the Lakers.