LeBron’s optimistic response when asked if he’d be returning for Lakers on Friday vs. Celtics

After losing to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers are 8-8 and in need of a pick-me-up from LeBron James.

He’s hoping to return to the active lineup for L.A.’s next game against its ancient rivals, the Boston Celtics, but when asked if he would do so, he wasn’t sure.

James has been out for the past two weeks with an ab injury. Not surprisingly, his teammates have struggled without him.

Just prior to the injury, the Lakers were starting to show signs of coming together and figuring things out.

James is so good at so many facets of the game that when he can’t play, his team has many holes to plug, which causes major problems and disruptions.

Without him, Russell Westbrook’s play has been up and down, although he did perform well against the Bucks with 15 assists against just three turnovers.

A piece of good news on the injury front for L.A. has been the return of third-year wing Talen Horton-Tucker. He has played very well and has apparently improved his 3-point stroke and defense.

On Wednesday he had 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting and 3-of-6 from 3-point range to go along with a dozen rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The game against the Bucks was the first game of a five-game road trip for L.A. In addition to the Celtics, another tough test will come next week when the Lakers travel to Madison Square Garden to face off against the upstart New York Knicks.