LeBron James is one-quarter of the way through his 19th NBA season, and he's less than one month from turning 37 years old. However, for a host of reasons — including a lingering abdominal strain — James has only appeared in 12 of the Lakers' 24 games.
On Monday, LeBron James was asked about how his body is feeling at the current moment following the Lakers' practice.
“I feel decent physically,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “I’m still getting back to where I was before I think the second time we played Houston, when the injury occurred late into the fourth quarter. And then the suspension and then the false positive all kind of just knocked me in and out of rhythm as the season has started so far. As far as my wind: only way to get back on there is to put in the time in, the work on the floor, as we did today. Practice, got up and down. That was good for my heart rate. And also in the games, as well.”
James missed two games early in the season with ankle soreness, then strained his ab on Nov. 2, causing him to miss the next eight contests. He's remained on the Lakers injury report — usually as “questionable” — with the rectus abdominis strain since returning. LeBron has not played in four consecutive games this season.
As he alluded to, James was suspended for the Lakers matchup with the New York Knicks and was forced to be away from the team for their game against the Sacramento Kings last week after a false positive COVID-19 test.
Overall, James is posting relatively modest numbers in a higher-than-expected average of 36.9 minutes per game. He's putting up 25.6 points, 5.7 rebounds (the lowest mark since his rookie season), and 6.8 assists per game (which would be his lowest figure since 2015-16). He's shooting 47.5% from the field and taking more long jumpers than ever, and his defensive effort and effectiveness have wavered.
In other Lakers injury news, Frank Vogel said Trevor Ariza (ankle surgery) scrimmaged with the team for the first time since the beginning of training camp. He won't play in games until his conditioning has ramped up, but that's promising progress. Vogel also said not to expect Kendrick Nunn (knee bone bruise) to make his Lakers debut until the New Year.
The Lakers will host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, then travel for a back-to-back at the Memphis Grizzlies (Thursday) and Oklahoma City Thunder (Friday).
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