The Los Angeles Lakers have been on the struggle bus of late, losers of four straight games ahead of Sunday afternoon’s home tilt vs the Phoenix Suns. A large reason why this has occurred is the recent groin injury of LeBron James, who has been out of the lineup for over a week now.
Recently, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania gave an optimistic update about where James is in his recovery process.
“I’m told LeBron James is actually having his first workout since that groin strain last weekend, he’s having his first on court workout in Los Angeles here today,” said Charania on NBA Countdown. “He is expected though to miss at least another week. His exact return will be based on how his body responds to increased activity over the coming days and the coming week.”
Charania also had some positive news about some of the Lakers’ other rotational players who have been out of the lineup recently.
“Jaxson Hayes, their starting center, I’m told he will make his return to the lineup today after missing a few games with a knee contusion. And Rui Hachimura, who has been out eight consecutive games with a knee injury, I’m told there’s optimism he’s going to be back within the week.”
A week ago, things were going swimmingly for the Purple and Gold, as the team was looking like a true juggernaut with James and Luka Doncic in the lineup. However, James sustained a groin injury late in the game vs the Boston Celtics last week, and the team has gone steadily downhill since.
On Friday, the Lakers put up an admirable effort on the road against the Denver Nuggets without James, Doncic, and a host of other players in the lineup, but it wasn’t quite enough to stop them from dropping their fourth straight game, sending them further down the Western Conference standings in the process.
Their upcoming home stand, beginning with Sunday afternoon’s game vs the Suns, should present a good opportunity for the Lakers to get back on track.
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