LeBron James, Luka Return Timelines Revealed in Injury Update From Lakers' JJ Redick

The Los Angeles Lakers are treading water without their two biggest stars in LeBron James and Luka Dončić in the early going this season, and head coach JJ Redick provided something of a timeline for both Wednesday.

Redick revealed the team sees the second or third week of November as an approximate range for James even though there is no set date, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. 

As for Dončić, the hope is he comes back in the "next couple of games" since the swelling on his sprained finger has decreased.

James is yet to play this season because of sciatica, and Redick's update parallels a report from ESPN's Shams Charania earlier this month that said the King was targeting a mid-November return:

Charania added the future Hall of Famer will be "taking a patient approach with this rehab."

James' absence made Dončić the surefire go-to option at the start of the season, and he fully embraced that role in the first two games while averaging 46.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists in those contests.

However, he missed the next two games against the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers and will not be in the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Losing James and Dončić would be difficult enough for the Lakers considering they are two of the best players in the league, but their depth has also been tested with a number of other injuries. Marcus Smart, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber are also sidelined, which has put much of the offensive onus on Austin Reaves.

And Reaves responded with two brilliant individual performances with 51 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists against the Kings and 41 points against the Trail Blazers.

Fortunately for Los Angeles, it doesn't seem like James and Dončić will be sidelined for too much longer even though there is not an exact return date set in place for either of the playmakers.