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[Saba Sports News] The Los Angeles Lakers remain winless since LeBron James went down with a groin injury, and they may have to navigate at least another six games without their star forward.
ESPN’s Shams Charania provided an update on *The Pat McAfee Show* on Friday, revealing that James is not expected to return when the Lakers host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Charania further noted that James will likely miss an additional week beyond that.
“They can’t rush it,” Charania said. “He is not expected to play Sunday on ABC against the Phoenix Suns. I would expect him to still miss another week, so that would put him at around two weeks [on the sidelines].”
James initially suffered the groin strain during last Saturday’s loss to the Boston Celtics, with the Lakers projecting a one-to-two-week absence. However, speculation about an early return grew after head coach JJ Redick recently upgraded James to “day-to-day.”
At 40 years old with 22 NBA seasons of wear and tear, James’ recovery is a delicate situation—especially considering his history of groin injuries, which can linger if not properly managed.
Since James’ injury, the Lakers have lost to the Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, and Milwaukee Bucks, dropping from No. 2 to No. 4 in the Western Conference standings. With upcoming games against Denver (twice), Phoenix, San Antonio, Milwaukee (again), and Chicago before James reaches the two-week mark, he could end up missing all of those matchups.
With less than a month left in the regular season, the Lakers now face a tough balancing act between maintaining playoff seeding and ensuring James is fully healthy for a postseason run.