The Los Angeles Lakers will be without the services of LeBron James for at least one week according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The star forward aggravated an abdominal injury in Tuesday’s win against the Houston Rockets. While he was able to finish that game after briefly walking to the tunnel in the fourth quarter, it appears the Lakers are choosing a cautious approach to his recovery.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin echoed the same statement about the Lakers remaining careful with the newest injury for James.
James has already missed two of the Lakers’ first eight games of the season with an ankle injury.
A week-long timetable could see LeBron miss four games against the Thunder, Blazers, Hornets, and Heat. The Lakers host the Timberwolves next Friday and that game could potentially also be at risk.
The Lakers are still battling injuries across the roster with Talen Horton-Tucker, Trevor Ariza, Kendrick Nunn and Wayne Ellington yet to make their season debuts. Ellington is probable to play in Thursday’s game against OKC and Dwight Howard is also expected to return after missing two straight games.
LeBron’s injury gives the Lakers another opportunity to continue developing the chemistry between Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis as they continue to adjust to the former’s addition to the roster. Westbrook has been on a good run of form after initially struggling to start the season.
Malik Monk has previously started when LeBron was out with injury. In recent games Austin Reaves seems to have become a more trusted option for Frank Vogel and could be the designated starter.
