LeBron James day-to-day with left adductor strain, out vs. Kings

LeBron James and the Lakers appear to have avoided something of a worst-case scenario with his injury on Wednesday. After limping off the floor and many having flashbacks to his groin injury in the 2018-19 season, LeBron will be listed as day-to-day moving forward,

Darvin Ham revealed after practice on Thursday, while also being considered doubtful for Friday against the Kings. The team later downgraded him to out.

If there is a silver lining here, as noted above, the Lakers have a bit of an odd schedule in the next week-plus. On Friday, they will meet the Kings before playing the Nets two days later with both of those games being at home. The team will then have an entire week off without a game again until Friday, Nov. 18 when they host Detroit.

It’s a very beneficial schedule for the Lakers given their current situation. After the Lakers play the Pistons, they will play San Antonio on Sunday before starting a three-game road trip. Ultimately, LeBron could only miss a few games despite being sidelined for over a week.

In recent seasons, LeBron has had various muscle injuries. Last year, an ab strain sidelined him for a number of games on top of the 2018-19 season that was effectively ruined by a groin strain. The problem in each of those seasons was the Lakers not only adjusting to games without James, but also reintegrating him once he returned.

Because of that and a myriad of other obvious reasons, the Lakers really need LeBron back as soon as possible in the coming days and weeks.

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