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Lakers Nation > Blog > Lakers News > Lakers News: Luke Walton ‘Would Assume,’ Is ‘Hopeful’ LeBron James Returns Prior To All-Star Game
Lakers News

Lakers News: Luke Walton ‘Would Assume,’ Is ‘Hopeful’ LeBron James Returns Prior To All-Star Game

Matthew Moreno
Published: 01/25/2019
2 Min Read
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
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Momentum the Los Angeles Lakers had generated and were building on came to a grinding halt on Christmas as LeBron James suffered a strained groin in the third quarter of a blowout win over the Golden State Warriors.

There was early optimism James would not miss much time, but he’s now been sidelined the past 15 games, with the Lakers going 5-10 during that stretch. His absence overlapped with that of Rajon Rondo, who returned Thursday but was unable to lead the Lakers to a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

James has joined the Lakers in portions of practices during the week, however a return date remains unclear. “I’ll see again [Friday] how he’s feeling and we’ll kind of take it from there. I’m not going to throw out weeks or days,” Lakers head coach Luke Walton said.

“He knows what he’s doing, he’s taking care of his body, and when he’s ready to go he’ll go.”

While James has advanced to running up and down the court, the latest from Walton was that he still had not taken part in contact drills.

It recently came to light that James and his representatives anticipated the ‘best-case scenario’ for his recovery being three weeks. Tuesday will mark five weeks since James suffered the groin injury.

“I would assume he’s back, I’m hopeful that he’s back (by the All-Star Game),” Walton said. “That’s a long way away. If he’s not ready by then, he’s still not ready. It’s just one of those things that we’ll see as it comes.”

While James’ immediate future remains unclear, he was voted to a 15th consecutive All-Star Game and repeated as a team captain.

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TAGGED:LeBron JamesLos Angeles LakersLuke Walton
ByMatthew Moreno
Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers games, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com
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