The countdown is on for Los Angeles Lakers fans.
According to a report, veteran superstar LeBron James is hoping to make his return at some point over the Lakers’ final three regular season games.
“A league source familiar with LeBron James’ thinking told me that he believes LeBron will push for sometime over the final three games the Lakers play in Los Angeles — April 5 against the [Los Angeles] Clippers, April 7 against the [Phoenix] Suns, April 9 against the [Utah] Jazz — to target that range so long as there’s no setbacks in his rehab to make his comeback,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported on Thursday. “Get back onto the court, get a little bit of a dress rehearsal before either the play-in tournament or a playoff berth for the Lakers.”
After news of McMenamin’s report made the rounds, the Lakers released an official update on James.
Update on LeBron:
While there is no timeline for a return to game action, LeBron has started to progress with gradual basketball movement, and with on-court activity.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 23, 2023
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski then reported that there’s “increasing optimism” that James could come back to play a few games in the final week of the regular season.
There’s an increasing optimism that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James could return to play “a few” games in the final week of the regular season, sources tell ESPN. James has been out since suffering a right foot tendon injury on February 26. https://t.co/3lYNX6MA2Z
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 23, 2023
It’s big news for the Lakers, who can continue to go about their business knowing that they have some major help on the way.
Ideally, James’ return will come at a time when the Lakers already have a play-in or playoff bid secured. That would give him a chance to gradually increase his intensity over those final regular season games.
However, there’s a real chance that the Lakers will still be fighting for a play-in or playoff bid when James comes back, which would likely require him to play some high-pressure minutes for the squad in his first games back on the floor.
Regardless of how it all works out, the big takeaway from McMenamin’s report is that the dream is still alive for the Lakers. There’s a very real chance that the team will find itself in the postseason (whether it be the play-in tourney or a playoff series) with a healthy roster and shot to do some damage.
James has averaged 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game this season while shooting 50.1 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. He has appeared in 47 games so far, and McMenamin’s report makes it sound like he’ll end the regular season with no more than 50 appearances when all is said and done.
The Lakers currently own the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference with a 36-37 record. They still haven’t been .500 or better at any point this season, but they’ll have a chance to change that when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
While Los Angeles would make the play-in field if the regular season ended today, the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans are both within striking distance of the No. 10 spot. The Lakers still have very little margin for error the rest of the way.
