LeBron James expected to miss 1-2 weeks with groin strain, will be reevaluated after 24 hours rest

LeBron James is expected to be sidelined for one to two weeks with a groin strain suffered in Saturday night’s marquee matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. He will be reevaluated after the injury relaxes for 24 hours, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

James sustained the groin injury midway through the fourth quarter during Saturday’s game. He left after apparently overextending while pivoting in the lane for a shot over Jaylen Brown and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

He finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the Lakers’ 111-101 defeat. Following the game, James said that he felt “not much concern” about the injury, comparing it to a more serious groin strain he suffered in 2018 during his first season with the Lakers. That injury caused him to miss 17 games and he later said it continued to linger throughout that season.

“Not much concern,” James said to reporters. “Obviously, we’ll go day-to-day and look at it each day and see if it gets better and then take the proper measures and see what we need to do moving forward.”

James acknowledged that he needed to consult with trainer Mike Mancias and imaging was probably necessary to evaluate the injury. But he said he expected to remain with the Lakers through the remaining three games of their road trip, which resumes on Monday versus the Brooklyn Nets.

“I’ve been there before and know what type of injury we’re dealing with,” he explained.

In 58 games this season, James is averaging 25 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists while shooting 52% from the floor (and 38% on 3-pointers). He’s scored 25 or more points in eight of his past 10 games while the Lakers had won eight consecutive contets before Saturday’s defeat.

With the injury, James could miss two matchups each against the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets during the Lakers’ next six games. The clashes with the Nuggets are particularly important as the two teams are battling for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoff standings.

At 40-22, the Lakers are a half-game behind Denver (41-22) going into Sunday’s schedule. The Memphis Grizzlies (39-24) and Houston Rockets (39-25) are both within two games of the Lakers, as well.