The Los Angeles Lakers were rolling before they hit a snag, largely in part due to injuries to LeBron James and Rui Hachimura.
James is currently dealing with a groin strain while Hachimura is nursing a knee injury, leaving the Lakers thin at the forward positions. While Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have done their part to keep Los Angeles afloat, the team sorely misses James and Hachimura on the floor.
James and Hachimura were sent home early from the team’s road trip to focus on recovering, and both of their returns seem imminent as head coach JJ Redick announced they are considered day-to-day.
However, Redick said that due to the schedule, the two likely won’t have a full practice or stay-ready scrimmage before playing again.
“Very unlikely that there’s stay-ready games for Rui and LeBron,” Redick said before Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. “I’d have to look at the next three weeks, but very unlikely they practice. I think there’s a practice in April. That’s just the reality of playing every other day. Even if we do do something on the court, there’s not gonna be any live contact in between game days.
“So they’re just gonna have to ease their way back in. Some of us have had to do that, I’ve had to do it a few times. It’s ideal to have a practice, but I just don’t think that’s realistic right now… Like we’ve done all year, we’ll work with Leroy (Sims) and our medical team, obviously with LeBron and Mike (Mancias) who knows his body better than anybody and make sure these guys are covered and safe.”
Redick added that Hachimura has begun doing some 3-on-3 work, so he is still able to do some stuff despite not having a fill contact practice.
Los Angeles, like many other teams around the league, won’t hold a full contact practice in between game days and the current schedule has the team playing every other day. Typically teams like to have players returning from injury get at least one practice in, but James and Hachimura will have to make do with walkthroughs and non-contact situations.
Still, it shouldn’t be too much of a detriment for James and Hachimura considering they’ve been available for most of the regular season and haven’t missed too much time. It remains to be seen when they’ll suit back up, but it sounds like things are progressing well.
LeBron James celebrates son Bryce & Sierra Canyon winning state title
While LeBron James may not be cleared to pay yet, he’s still found his way back in the gym. James was recently in attendance to watch his son Bryce and Sierra Canyon capture the state title over the weekend.
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