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Los Angeles Lakers point guard Dennis Schröder is sitting on valuable information.
On Monday, after leading L.A. to a 114-103 victory over the Orlando Magic, the point guard claimed to know precisely when LeBron James will make his long-awaited return to the Lakers' starting lineup.
Being a good company man, though, he refused to spill any more tea.
“I know,” Schröder said in his postgame Zoom, regarding James' return date. “But it's probably the Lakers organization who'll tell you guys. I mean, he's close. I can tell you that much.”
Earlier on Monday, James fueled speculation about his status by posting a black-and-white hype(?) video showing him lightly jogging(?) at Freedom High School in the Orlando area.
“Coming soon to a city near you,” The King captioned.
“Coming soon to a city near you”
LeBron coming back REAL SOON 🤫
(via @KingJames) pic.twitter.com/BZPtPNSUdv— Overtime (@overtime) April 26, 2021
Ahead of Monday's game, Frank Vogel reiterated the organization's purposefully vague timeline for LeBron. The head coach said James remains “out indefinitely,” adding that he receives daily updates on the superstar's rehab.
The organization has been consistent in its message since James suffered a high right ankle sprain against the Atlanta Hawks on March 20. The last update on LeBron with any detail came on April 19, before a loss vs. the Utah Jazz.
“It’s still light work on the court, but he’s doing court work and progressing each day. He’s trying to do a little bit more with his activity each day,” Vogel revealed at the time.
On Saturday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported James is expected back “early next week.”
Los Angeles will finish a road trip on Wednesday vs. the Washington Wizards, then host three straight games at Staples Center: vs. the Sacramento Kings (Friday), the Toronto Raptors (Sunday), and the Denver Nuggets (next Monday). Nothing is set in stone, but I'd wager that James will make his long-awaited return in one of those games.
In Orlando, the Lakers snapped a three-game losing skid and won their first game since Anthony Davis rejoined the squad last Thursday vs. the Dallas Mavericks.
Overall, the Lakers have won eight of 19 games with James sidelined — just enough to remain comfortably outside of the play-in tournament zone.
As well as Schröder has played in recent weeks — improving as a “floor general,” delivering in the clutch, and increasing his scoring and assists while limiting turnovers — he's antsy to w0rk with the best player in the world again. Once James is back in the mix, the Lakers will have less than three weeks — including four back-to-backs in May — to hone their chemistry before the playoffs.
“It’s 11 games out; there’s no excuses no more,” Schroder said. “‘Bron is about to come back soon, hopefully, and then it’s on.”
