Report: LeBron James planning to make return for Lakers in Friday’s game vs. Spurs

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James reportedly intends to return to the team’s lineup on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs.

James has missed the Lakers’ last five games with the groin injury, but he should return following Thanksgiving. The Lakers play back-to-back games with the Spurs on Friday and Saturday.

Even with James out of the lineup for the last five games, the Lakers have actually started to turn things around this season. Los Angeles is 3-2 over that stretch, although the team did lose to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

Getting James back in the lineup should be a huge boost for the Lakers, especially with Anthony Davis playing at a high level right now. Davis has scored 30 or more points in four straight games, and he’s grabbed at least 16 rebounds in each game during that stretch as well.

After a brutal 2-10 start to the season, the Lakers are hoping to turn things around and put themselves back in the playoff conversation in the Western Conference.

James had appeared in 10 of the Lakers first 11 games this season before going down with the injury. The four-time NBA champion is averaging 24.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field.

The Lakers beat the Spurs by 31 points without James on Sunday night, and they are hoping to pick up two more wins against them on Friday and Saturday.

San Antonio is in a rebuilding phase after trading away All-Star guard Dejounte Murray in the offseason. The Spurs are currently just 6-12 on the season and have lost nine of their last 10 games.

James has dealt with different injuries over the last few seasons for the Lakers. Last season, he appeared in just 56 games due to injury, and the Lakers ended up missing the playoffs.

Luckily, it appears that the 18-time All-Star avoided a serious injury to his groin since he will be able to return so quickly.

The Lakers and Spurs are scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. PST on Friday in San Antonio. Saturday’s game between the two teams will also be in San Antonio. It will be interesting to see if James plays both of those games or decides to take it slow and sit out the second matchup.