Lakers Insider: LeBron James 'Ahead of Schedule' in Rehab from Foot Injury

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is making good progress in his recovery from a foot injury that has kept him out for the past nine games.

Appearing on the HoopsHype podcast, The Athletic's Jovan Buha said James is "ahead of schedule" at this point in his rehab:

"It's sounding like if he does, it's probably going to be the last week or so of the regular season. You hear conflicting things. This has been one of the tougher things to dig on. The Lakers have played this very close to the vest. There hasn't been much out there on it. A couple of notable developments this week were he returned to the team without the walking boot over the weekend. In between quarters, he was dribbling the ball and shooting layups. It was stationary but didn't look like a guy who was in a walking boot, limping, and arrived in one of those scooters. He's already ahead of schedule from that perspective. At shootaround in New Orleans, he was shooting free throws and moving around. The plan is to re-evaluate him next week, which will be about 3.5 weeks since the injury."

James suffered a right foot tendon injury during his team's 111-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 26. He finished the game but has not played since.

The Lakers announced on March 2 that James would be reevaluated in three weeks.

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic then offered this update on March 14:

James is averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists in his 20th NBA season, and the 34-36 Lakers are largely in contention for the playoffs due to his efforts. They are currently 10th in the Western Conference, 0.5 games ahead of the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

L.A. has been forced to roll without him in the meantime, but the team has done well enough to stay in the playoff race.

The Lakers underwent a massive makeover before the trade deadline, and the new group of players has guided the team to a 5-4 record to this point. They had won four of five games before a 114-110 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

D'Angelo Russell has also stepped up as the team's backcourt playmaker and facilitator. Troy Brown Jr. has entered the starting lineup, and players such as Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura have seen more playing time.

Anthony Davis, who is in his fourth season in L.A., has had to take up a greater burden in James' absence. He's answered the call and then some to put the team in position for a playoff run.

This team is much better with James, though, and the hope is he returns back healthy ASAP in pursuit of his fifth NBA title.