Lakers News: Darvin Ham Provides Update on LeBron James Injury and Return Timeline
LeBron James has sat out the last three games for the Lakers, and the team has missed him. The Lakers have gone 1-2 in those games, and currently sit 2.5 games back of the Play-In Tournament as the No. 13 seed in the Western Conference.
The new-look Lakers have looked better (I think), but it's hard to know exactly how the team will fare until LeBron returns. Luckily, head coach Darvin Ham provided an update on his recovery timeline before Monday's game, and gave Laker fans some (kind of) good news. Ham said that he's "hopeful" LeBron will be able to play in Wednesday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The game against the Pelicans is the Lakers' final game before the All-Star Break, so in a normal year, it would make more sense for James to sit that one out and get additional rest on his left ankle. However, the Pelicans are currently one of the teams ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference standings, and LA cannot afford to drop another game and lose another tiebreaker.
So, if LeBron is able to go, the Lakers are going to want him out there, as they try to climb their way back into playoff position. Then, the team can head into the All-Star break, and spend it trying to build some much-needed chemistry with all the new players.
James is, of course, captaining one of the All-Star teams this year, so he'll for sure be at the festivities in Utah. It's unclear if he'll play in the game, but knowing him, he's not going to miss it.
