LeBron James has been sidelined with a groin strain for the Los Angeles Lakers since March 8, but head coach JJ Redick indicated the star's return is around the corner.
Before the Lakers played the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, Redick said he's "hopeful" that James would play in the team's next game, according to Mark Medina. That would make James's return for Saturday against the Chicago Bulls after a six-game absence.
A Saturday return marks two weeks since James exited a Lakers loss to the Boston Celtics. The initial injury timeline mentioned he would miss a matter of weeks, opposed to days. After the Celtics loss, the Lakers lost their next two games without James. They have since won three games in a row, led by Luka Doncic.
Redick also mentioned he was hopeful that Rui Hachimura would make his return from injury on Saturday too. Hachimura has missed the past nine games with a left knee tendinopathy.
The shortened injury list will be much welcomed for the Lakers, who will also be without Doncic and Austin Reaves against the Bucks on Thursday. Los Angeles (43-25) enters the final stretch of the regular season tied for the Western Conference's No. 3 seed with the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers are one game behind the Houston Rockets for the two-seed as they aim to make a playoff run during the first year of the James-Doncic era.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as JJ Redick Gives Promising LeBron James Injury Update Following Six-Game Absence.
