Report: LeBron James Out 1-2 Weeks with Groin Injury After Lakers' Loss vs. Celtics

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is reportedly expected to miss at least one-to-two weeks with the groin strain he suffered during Saturday's loss to the Boston Celtics.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Sunday that the expectation is the 40-year-old will miss at least that much time, although he "will wait for the groin injury to calm down over the next 24 hours and receive another evaluation."

Charania noted the Lakers plan on being cautious with the future Hall of Famer even though he didn't hear a pop:

James' health was the biggest storyline to come from the Lakers' loss. He exited in the fourth quarter and did not return down the stretch.

"Until he undergoes medical imaging, it is too early to project an accurate timetable for how long James could be out," ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported in the aftermath. "However, one source said the initial thought is that the injury will sideline James for weeks, not days."

The timing was less than ideal for the Lakers considering they are battling with the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets for positioning behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference standings.

It also takes away from time when James could have further adjusted his game to playing alongside Luka Dončić.

The presence of Dončić means the Lakers still have one of the league's biggest stars to operate the offense even in the King's absence. Still, fully replicating James' impact is an impossible task, even at this stage of his illustrious career.

He is averaging 25.0 points, 8.5 assists and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from deep this season.

Look for the Lakers to rely even more on the combination of Dorian Finney-Smith, Dalton Knecht and Gabe Vincent until James is ready to return.