Report: LeBron James targeting return Tuesday vs. Knicks
According to Sham Charania of The Athletic, Los Angeles Lakers swingman LeBron James is targeting a return to the floor on Tuesday against the New York Knicks.
James suffered a right, high-ankle sprain against the Atlanta Hawks on March 20, forcing him to miss 20 games.
James returned from the injury six weeks later on April 30. James played in two games against the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors, both losses for the Lakers.
He complained about sharp pain in his sore right ankle after the Raptors game and shut it down for the last four games to allow for more time to let his ankle heal.
In all, James has missed 25 games this season. The Lakers are 10-15 in those contests. Los Angeles is 28-15 in games that James started this season.
Lakers forward Anthony Davis seemed to indicate that James is close to returning after his team’s 123-110 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
“What I’ve seen from LeBron today, he’ll be fine,” Davis said, when asked if James will be ready for the playoffs. “Trust me, he’ll be fine. He’s been in this game long enough – obviously he’s missed a ton of games – but he’s been in this league long enough to come back and lock in and do what he’s got to do to help the team.”
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel echoed those sentiments.
“He looks good in his workouts,” Vogel said. “Obviously, there’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment period with him, in terms of him getting his rhythm and timing back. Hopefully, we have enough time for that to pick up very quickly. I tend to learn to have confidence in LeBron James in situations like that.”
