Lakers News: LeBron James 'Increasing' On-Court Work, Return Update on Jan. 16
The Los Angeles Lakers provided an update Thursday on injured superstar LeBron James, noting that he was "evaluated by team medical staff and physicians" and that the "healing of James' groin injury is progressing and James has been cleared to increase on-court functional basketball movements."
The Lakers added that the next update on James' status would come on Jan. 16.
James, 34, has been out of action since late December with a groin injury, missing the team's last eight games. The Lakers have gone 3-5 without him in action, though they have won two straight.
Given that James will be evaluated again in just under a week, it means he'll miss at least the team's next three games against the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, but could be in line to potentially return on Jan. 17 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The superstar forward is having another typically excellent year, averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 34.6 minutes per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from three. His presence alone has transformed the Lakers from a lottery team to a playoff contender, and while he's been out, some of the team's underlying weaknesses have again been exposed.
That, of course, is to be expected with a young core that includes Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart. Questions abound about whether Ball will develop into a great sidekick for James, or whether Ingram's style of play will ever make sense next to the four-time MVP.
Many of those questions will likely be addressed this offseason, as the Lakers seek to be major players in free agency and could even move some of their young talent in trades to add another superstar to the mix. In the short term, however, the Lakers will be happy to get James back as quickly as possible as they continue to jockey for playoff positioning in the loaded Western Conference.
