The Los Angeles Lakers believe the groin strain their star forward LeBron James suffered on Tuesday in a win over the Golden State Warriors could cost him to miss a few games, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Head coach Luke Walton warned the organization would be utmost careful dealing with this early-season injury, one his teammates viewed as unprecedented, given the immaculate bill of health he's displayed well into his thirties.

“Obviously, we want him back soon as possible,” said Walton, “but we also will be very cautious when we bring him back.”

James didn't think much of the injury, but his teammates expressed concern, since he's not known for missing the remainder of a game for a run-of-the-mill discomfort. The Lakers are slated to face the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, giving James merely a day to fully recover, if he hopes not to miss time.

“I don’t know [if I’m going to miss a game],” James said. “We’re going to see what the MRI says, see how I feel the rest of the day today. I’m going to be around-the-clock tomorrow rehabbing and we’ll see how I feel on Thursday when we go to Sac.”

LeBron left in the middle of the third quarter of a 127-101 rout of the Warriors, as his team cruised to a win after surviving a comeback scare for the rest of the quarter, eventually pulling away with ease.

James said he felt “a pop” before exiting the court to receive medical attention, walking under his own power and returning to the bench after being examined by team doctors.

It's unknown how many games the Lakers expect him to miss without a proper MRI to reveal the damage caused by the injury. Bill Oram of The Athletic suggests that James missing as many as 10 games could be enough to derail the Lakers' playoff chances in a tightly-contested Western Conference.