LeBron James suffered a groin strain in the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Boston Celtics and had to leave the game. There now seems to be a timeline of how long James could be sidelined with the injury, according to ESPN Shams Charania.
“Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is expected to miss at least 1-to-2 weeks with a groin strain, sources tell ESPN. James will wait for the groin injury to calm down over the next 24 hours and receive another evaluation,” Charania wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
There were thoughts that James would miss weeks instead of days, and now the Lakers will have to compete without one of their best players for some time.
James has had a groin injury before which was during his first season with the Lakers, and he missed 17 games. Unlike that year, he didn't hear a pop against the Celtics, according to Charania.
Related Los Angeles Lakers NewsArticle continues below
“LeBron James said his mind immediately went to his groin injury Christmas Day 2018 when he felt a pop in his groin and missed significant time. James said he does not believe this injury is as bad as that one, and then knocked on the wooden locker behind him to not jinx it,” ESPN's Dave McMenamin wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Lakers have been one of the hottest teams in the league over the past few weeks, and they've climbed up to the third spot in the Western Conference. With James going to be sidelined, everyone now looks at Luka Doncic, who has the capability to lead the team with his play. Other players will have to step up as well, but Doncic has shown throughout his career that he can lead a team to wins by himself.
Hopefully, James doesn't miss any more time than he's expected to, but him having this much time off could be beneficial in the long run if the Lakers want to make a deep playoff run.