Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers need to have all hands on deck at this point in the season. With the playoffs just a few weeks away, they need to win every game possible because the Western Conference playoff race is extremely tight-knit.
On Sunday night, they took care of business against the Orlando Magic. Austin Reaves played extremely well, leading the Lakers to victory. After the game, head coach Darvin Ham spoke about how he plans to adjust rotations when LeBron James gets back on the court after returning from injury.
“I mean, we’ll navigate that when he gets here,” Ham said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “When he gets back into the flow of things, LeBron, that is. But until then, I think guys are fitting well together. It’s just, some nice guys make shots, [but] some nights, they don’t. And we have to be able to – I don’t want to say suffer through – but maintain, in spite of the ball may not be going in for everyone like it should. But at the end of the day, as long as we move the ball, trust one another. At halftime, we had 15 assists on 20 made field goals. So, guys like Austin , Dennis [Schroder], [and] even Troy [Brown Jr.] tonight, knocking in four threes. Everybody’s doing their part [and] playing their role to the best of their capabilities. If we’re able to sustain that on both sides of the ball, it’ll buy us time to really get everybody back in and fit into a position when we’re all back whole.”
James hasn’t appeared in a game since February 26. He injured his foot and has been in a boot since, and the timeline for his return is relatively unknown.
LeBron James Might Miss Regular Season
However, while there have been some positive updates, Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report recently noted that it seems unlikely James will return by the end of the regular season.
“With that being said, I don’t know how realistic it is that he returns with some games left in the regular season. That is definitely the goal. LeBron James is shooting for that, I just don’t know how realistic it is right now,” Haynes said on the “this league #UNCUT” podcast. “Can LeBron come back the final two games of the regular season? … I think definitely that’s a possibility, but I think it’s still premature as of right now. The way it was explained to me is that might be a push right there.”
Darvin Ham Sounds Off on LeBron James Injury
However, while the Lakers obviously would love to get James back on the court as soon as possible, Ham recently spoke about the positives of him being out.
“We anticipate him coming back at some point,” Ham said via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I think Bron, him being out has revealed that we have a lot of different weapons that are very capable players on both sides of the ball that can help us achieve the goal that we’re trying to achieve. And when he comes back, he’s just going to add to it.”