LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Lakers will have to make do without their superstar for at least one more week.
LeBron James will definitely miss the next four games as he continues to recover from a strained groin, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported Friday. He will not be traveling with the team on an upcoming back-to-back two-game road trip which begins Sunday.
James will be reevaluated in one week, Haynes said.
The Lakers host the New York Knicks Friday. They then go on the road to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. They return to Staples to host the Detroit Pistons Wednesday.
The earliest that James could conceivably return would be for Friday’s road tilt with the Utah Jazz.
James has already missed four games, during which span the Lakers have gone only 1-3 and slipped to 8th place in the competitive Western Conference.
He was injured during the third quarter of the Lakers’ Christmas day win over the Golden State Warriors. An MRI the following day revealed that he had only suffered a strain, and avoided a dreaded tear.
Along with LeBron, the Lakers have also been missing two other key players to injuries. Point guard Rajon Rondo is out another month after undergoing surgery to repair a broken hand, while Kyle Kuzma is day-to-day with a lower back contusion.
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News