Getting warmer. The Los Angeles Lakers haven't set a target date for LeBron James to return to the lineup, and the organization has provided few details on his recovery.
Officially, the message was more of the same from Frank Vogel on Monday. In his pregame Zoom with reporters, the coach was asked to give an update on the status of the best player in the world. Vogel was characteristically coy and reiterated that James is “out indefinitely,” which he's consistently done over the past month.
The Lakers coach added that he receives daily updates on James' rehab, but declined to share more details.
However, the world can feel it: the return of the King is nearing. For weeks, various speculation has generally circled the end of April—about four weeks after the injury—as a feasible date to expect the four-time MVP back. On Saturday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that James could return by “early next week.”
The last substantial update from the team came via Vogel, before the team's April 19 matchup with 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 said at the time.
James generated some Monday hype by posting a black-and-white video on Instagram showing him running at the Freedom High School gym in Orlando with the caption “coming soon to a city near you.”
“I heard Bron is close,” Dennis Schroder said on Saturday night.
James has been out since Atlanta Hawks big man Solomon Hill rolled onto his leg on March 20, causing a high right ankle sprain. The Lakers have gone 7-11 in the 18 games since James went down while fielding a top-ranked defense but bottom-five offense.
The Lakers are being overly cautious with the 36-year old, though they also want time before the playoffs to re-acclimate him into the rotation and develop chemistry with newly-signed center Andre Drummond.
James, Davis and Schröder have played fewer than 25 games together.
“I think when Bron comes back we’re going to have a conversation as a team,” Schroder said Saturday. “Because our chemistry, like AD said, off the court is great, but on the court we’ve just got to turn it up some more.”
Fortunately, that time seems to be fast approaching—whether the Lakers say it or not.
In other Lakers availability news, Vogel said Davis had no issues following his first two games since Feb. 14 (calf strain/Achilles tendonosis). L.A. lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday and Saturday as they focused on re-incorporating a rusty Davis.
Encouragingly, after keeping AD on minutes restrictions in Dallas, Vogel said the Lakers are “just going to be responsible” with his workload going forward, with no “hard” minutes cap.
The Lakers will face the Orlando Magic on Monday, in their first return to the Disneyworld-area since winning the franchise's 17th NBA championship last October in the bubble nearby.
Schroder, who despises missing games, was listed as questionable for the Magic game with left calf soreness.
Also, Vogel noted that Montrezl Harrell will get the backup center duties at Amway Center as he continues to juggle opportunities between him and Marc Gasol.
LA will next visit the Washington Wizards on Wednesday to close out the road trip—a “must-win,” per AD—then return to Staples Center for three games against the Sacramento Kings (Friday), Toronto Raptors (Sunday) and the Denver Nuggets (next Monday).
Lakers fans can reasonably expect LeBron James to return to action somewhere during that home stint, though nothing is guaranteed.
The Lakers currently lead Dallas by 1.5 games for the no. 5 seed in the West.
The Purple and Gold ll have four back-to-backs in the month of May, and Vogel said he expects Davis to play in every game, and James could, as well.
With almost zero practice time and a tough first-round opponent looming (whoever it may be), the Lakers will need to rely on in-game reps and film study to get James and Davis in shape and up to speed.