Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has yet to play this season. In the weeks prior to the regular season beginning, James was ruled out with a sciatica on his right side and was expected to miss the first few weeks.
The Lakers are 2-2 so far without James, but that includes two games in which Luka Doncic and multiple other rotation players did not play either.
The rumored expectation was that LeBron would return to the Lakers lineup in mid-November. And while there hasn’t been any more specificity than that, the Lakers have done relatively well to hold down the fort without him so far.
And all signs are pointing to the mid-November date still being within reach, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports that everything is on the right track with James:
“I’m told that we’re still in the range of about three more weeks before he would be targeting a return sometime in mid-November. I have been told by multiple sources over the last several days that his rehab and all of the process to get back to that return date is moving in the right direction. So there is good vibes around it.”
There are no firm dates on LeBron’s return, but looking ahead at the schedule can lead to some decent guesses about potential returns. The Lakers play back-to-back games on Nov. 14 and 15 against the New Orleans Pelicans (Emirates NBA Cup) and Milwaukee Bucks. They then have two full days off before hosting the Utah Jazz on Nov. 18.
Playing at home in a non-national game against the Jazz after two days seems like potentially the perfect time to re-introduce James to the lineup. If that was the case, that would mean LeBron misses the first 14 games of the regular season, giving him a max of 68 games and making him still potentially eligible for awards.
Whenever James does make his debut, he’ll become the first player in NBA history to play in 23 seasons.
Deandre Ayton discusses difficulty of Lakers being so shorthanded
The Lakers were without five major rotation pieces on the second night of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers. While they fought as hard as they could, the Lakers ultimately couldn’t keep up with the Blazers, falling 122-108.
Austin Reaves had another outstanding night with 41 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals while Deandre Ayton added 16 points and eight rebounds against his former team who surprisingly released him this offseason. And Ayton feels the Lakers missing so many rotation players simply caught up to them.
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