The Los Angeles Lakers will be without LeBron James for the next 1-2 weeks after the veteran forward exited his team’s contest vs. Boston with a groin injury.
James was forced out of the contest with just under 7 minutes remaining after tweaking his groin on a spin move, and would not return. The 22-year veteran previously missed 17 games during the 2018-19 season after suffering a torn groin in a Christmas Day showdown.
“Not much concern,” James told reporters. “Obviously, I’m day-to-day. I’ll look at it each day and see if it gets better, and take the proper measures to see what I need to do moving forward.”
“I’ve been there before, and I know what type of injury you’re dealing with,” James said Saturday. Initially the 40 year old downplayed the severity of the injury, telling members of the press he would take it day by day. However, the Lakers are clearly prioritizing a full return to health, and will take a cautious approach to his return.
James is averaging 25 points, 8.5 assists and 8.2 rebounds through 58 games this season. Luka Dončić scored 34 points and added eight rebounds in his first game in Boston since losing Game 5 of the NBA Finals as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers are 8-2 in their last 10 games, and will likely lean on Doncic to help shoulder the offensive load while James is sidelined. LA had climbed to as high as the 2nd seed in the Western Conference, but have now dropped to 3rd following a Nuggets win.
The club is next in action on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.