The latest LeBron James injury update suggests the Los Angeles Lakers could be without the 41-year-old for longer than the team initially expected.
Speaking before the Lakers’ Tuesday night game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, head coach JJ Redick told reporters that James would need ‘a couple more days‘ as he recovers from both a hip and foot injury.
While Los Angeles went on to win the game, as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves each had 31 points, questions about James’ fit on the team, and the success without him continue.
JJ Redick Offers LeBron James Injury Update
James has missed the Lakers’ last three games due to various injuries. First, it was an elbow injury, which was then compounded by a foot injury. While he appears to have recovered from the elbow contusion suffered against the Denver Nuggets last week, James is now listed on the team’s injury report with both a hip and foot injury.
However, while Redick did say that the star would still be out a few more days, he didn’t express any concerns that James’ current health concerns would turn into a long-term absence.
“We obviously want him in the lineup. When we were kind of approaching this stretch, and you see the six days in eight nights and two back-to-backs last week, you never know how his body is going to respond to a game and how his foot is going to respond,” Redick said in his postgame press conference. “So it’s not to say I expected him to miss a game, it just wouldn’t have surprised me if he needed a day or two to get his body right.”
As the oldest player in the NBA, ‘Father Time’ is officially catching up with James, who recently broke the league’s all-time field goals made record.
Still, Redick described James as ‘day-to-day’ and while that might not mean he’ll come back in the Lakers’ next game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, the team isn’t worried that he’ll miss a big stretch.
“He did his on-court shooting before our film and walkthrough and probably just needs a couple more days,” Redick said before the game. “So he’s still day-to-day, sometimes day-to-day means two days, and sometimes it can mean five or six days. He’s day-to-day.”
Concerning LeBron James News Emerges
At the same time, however, concerns are growing, and questions are being raised about whether the Lakers are a better team without James. The stats and records back it up, as the duo of Doncic and Reaves is outperforming any combination that either includes James with those two or James with one of the two younger backcourt stars.
When Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves play without LeBron James, the Lakers are 9–2 this season.
And the lineup data points in a similar direction.
Among all the combinations involving Luka, LeBron and Reaves,
Doncic and Reaves have a combined +16.9 net rating, along with a 125.7 offensive rating and 108.8 defensive rating.
When James is added into the mix, the Lakers are 11-6 with just a +1.5 net rating, 115.3 offensive rating, and 113.9 defensive rating. Still solid, but a big difference compared to when he’s out.
Additionally, when it’s just James and Reaves, Los Angeles has gone 3-3 while having a -4.7 net rating and a 120.7 defensive rating. With Doncic and James, it’s a similar -3.5 net rating while the Lakers have been 14-8 in those games.
Redick addressed those stats and the continuous reports that the Lakers might be better off without James.
“I think when all three of those guys are on the court specifically, again, it goes back to the human element. It’s what they’re comfortable doing as basketball players,” he said. “But there’s a clear pecking order when Luka and AR are on the floor together with guys that are low usage players. That’s just the nature of it. And that’s the nature of nearly every Big 3 that’s ever existed. We’re gonna get there.”
Well, good news for the Lakers is that this problem likely won’t be one that they’ll have to deal with after this season, as reports indicate James is moving on from the team this summer, predicted to sign somewhere else as a free agent this offseason.
But for the time being, Los Angeles’ focus is getting James back healthy and finding a rhythm on the court with Doncic and Reaves. But until they get a new injury update on the aging star, he remains out as the Lakers continue to battle for a top-four seed in the Western Conference standings to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs.
LeBron James Injury Update: JJ Redick Drops Concerning Lakers Return Timeline