The Los Angeles Lakers had their eight-game winning streak snapped with Saturday’s (March 8) loss to the Boston Celtics.
But even worse news came when it was announced that LeBron James is reportedly expected to miss at least one-to-two weeks with the groin strain he suffered during the game, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
First reported on Sunday (March 9), James exited the game with 6:44 remaining in the fourth quarter and did not return.
While James will receive further evaluations and treatment, the Lakers are prepared for the superstar forward to miss some action as they cling to the number two seed in the Western Conference standings.
Following the game, James said that was “not much concern” and pledged to “go day to day” to treat it.
“Not much concern,” James said to reporters. “Obviously, we’ll go day-to-day and look at it each day and see if it gets better and then take the proper measures and see what we need to do moving forward.”
During the 2018-19 season, James missed 17 games after tearing his groin on Christmas Day.
“I’ve been there before, and I know what type of injury you’re dealing with,” James added.
Luka Doncic, who was acquired in February in a blockbuster trade, said that the Lakers have to hold down the fort until James returns.
“Yeah, I mean, hopefully it’s nothing,” Doncic said about James’ injury. “Obviously, he’s gotta take his time. Those injuries … I won’t say [they’re] the worst, but they’re tough to deal with. So just take time. And as a team, we gotta have the next-man up mentality.”
At 40 years old, James has been playing excellent basketball. This season, he’s played in 58 of the Lakers’ 62 games and is averaging 25 points on 51.7% shooting (38.4% from 3), 8.5 assists and 8.2 rebounds.
James is expected to remain with the Lakers through the remaining three games of their road trip, which resumes on Monday versus the Brooklyn Nets.
