Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James has already missed two games this season due to an ankle injury. The four-time NBA Finals MVP will now miss at least one week of action due to an abdominal strain, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Based on the timeline mentioned, this should sideline King James for the next four games. That includes outings against the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat to open next week.
The 36-year-old LeBron James has seen injuries catch up to him a bit at this advanced stage in his career. He missed 27 games to injury last season and sat out the same amount of action in his first season with Los Angeles back in 2018-19.
As for what this means for the Lakers, they are 5-3 on the season and have won three consecutive games. However, two of those victories came against the lowly Houston Rockets. That included an ugly 119-117 victory on Tuesday.
When on the court, James continues to play at a high level. He’s averaging 24.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists on 47% shooting in six games this season.
With James sidelined, Los Angeles will have to rely on the likes of Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook to pick up the slack.
After some initial struggles in his first season with the Lakers, Westbrook has been darn good recently — averaging 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists on 49% shooting over the past five games.