LeBron James is back where he was a handful of days ago, in terms of a nagging groin injury, because of a collision with Clippers guard Patrick Beverley in Wednesday’s game.
James returned to the court on Christmas Day after missing a game for the first time this season Sunday. Following the Lakers’ 111-106 loss on the 25th, James said, “I felt healthy going into the game. I got kneed in the groin taking a charge from Pat Bev, and it kind of set me right back to where I was five days ago.”
The almost-35-year-old, James, is already listed as day-to-day by the team. He has been dealing with both a thoracic muscle strain (pulling around his rib cage) and a groin injury.
While James suffered a torn left groin last season which seriously impacted his and the Lakers’ season, this year it is his right groin giving him trouble. ESPN reports that this injury is not as severe as what James dealt with last time around.
LBJ played 39 minutes, despite re-aggravating the injury just a few plays after tipoff. He finished a rebound shy of a triple-double (23 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds) but missed 15 shots from the floor including 10 missed three-pointers, which is the most 3’s missed in a game in James’ 17-season NBA career.