The Los Angeles Lakers are continuing to struggle during the absence of LeBron James. Their superstar player injured his groin back on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors. Since then, he's been out of action and it's been showing as the losses have accumulated. However, there seems to be recent good news from Lakers' head coach Luke Walton regarding LeBron's progress.
Walton provides LeBron injury update
King James was re-evaluated just last week as expected. That proved a positive LeBron James update as he was allowed to "increase on-court functional basketball movements." He's still not back to being allowed to participate in full practices, let alone an NBA game.
In a recent report from Lakers nation, Luke Walton was asked about LeBron's recovery and return to the court. The head coach said that LeBron got "treatment and shots" on Sunday (Jan. 13), as well as on Monday (Jan. 14). Walton added that he "didn't know if he ran today," with regards to LeBron's progress.
On a positive note, when asked if LeBron James was running recently, Walton gave good news. He said "Yeah" and added, "he tells me he feels good."
Lakers' woes continued Sunday
While James has been sidelined, there's been little to cheer for in terms of the Los Angeles Lakers getting wins. LeBron could only watch as his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, came to the Staples Center and left with a victory.
Had LeBron been in the lineup, that may have been a different story.
Kyle Kuzma tried his best to get the team another win. He finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. However, the Cavaliers received double-double performances from starters, Alec Burks and Tristan Thompson. Burks finished with 17 points and 13 boards while Thompson recorded 15 points and 14 rebounds.
All of Cleveland's starters finished in double-digits for scoring with Cedi Osman leading the way with 20.
King James is a huge part of the success of any team he's on. Recently, former Lakers star Kobe Bryant commented on why the LeBron injury has hindered the team so much.
It's already known that LeBron James won't play in Tuesday night's game against the Chicago Bulls.
If Wednesday's update is positive for James and the team, he could be playing by Thursday or Saturday. After that, the team is scheduled to take on the team LeBron suffered the injury against. The Lakers face the Golden State Warriors on Monday (Jan. 21).
The good news is that Walton's report at least lets fans know that LeBron is getting closer to participating. Now it will be a matter of waiting to find out the next update on his injury status on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Lakers will then try to regain their footing within the Western Conference with the help of their star player.