The Los Angeles Lakers have managed to hold down the fort without LeBron James, setting up the superstar to ease back into action once he’s cleared.
James has been sidelined with a sciatic nerve issue that sprang up during an offseason workout, but his rehab has remained on schedule. The initial prognosis was that he’d miss four to six weeks and that a mid-November return was likely, and so far there’s reason to believe that the timeline will hold up.
It was reported recently that James would need to register live five-on-five action before being cleared to return, but the Lakers are currently on a five-game road trip. James did not travel with the team, so the earliest he could return would be next week.
In order to meet his return-to-play criteria, James is set to practice with the South Bay Lakers at some point this week, via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group:
Lakers star LeBron James is expected to practice with the organization’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, as he progresses to make his season debut.
Coach JJ Redick misspoke when he said ahead of Monday’s road game against the Charlotte Hornets that James, who’s been sidelined to start the season because of sciatica, was going to practice with South Bay on Monday.
A source clarified to the Southern California News Group that the current plan is for James to practice with South Bay sometime this week, while the parent team is away from Southern California as part of an ongoing five-game trip that started with Saturday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Logging a practice with South Bay would satisfy the live action requirement, so it seems like James could return on Nov. 18 at home against the Utah Jazz if everything goes well. However, if the Lakers feel like LeBron needs more time to ramp up then a return a few days later on Nov. 23 against the Jazz could make sense.
There’s no reason to rush James back given how well Los Angeles has looked without him, though there’s zero doubt that he would be a huge addition to the team on both ends of the floor. Offensively, this could finally be the season where LeBron can act as more of a finisher than an initiator with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves around to handle the basketball. Defensively, James is a bigger body that should help with defensive rebounding and rotations.
Los Angeles should feel proud that they were able to manage without James, but they’re going to be far better off with him back in the lineup. It’s hard to qualify exactly how much James means to the Lakers’ success, so it’s going to be exciting to see him playing again once he’s cleared.
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