To the shock of many — this blogger included — the Los Angeles Lakers have been rolling without LeBron James lately, winning their last three games behind some superlative performances from Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and more of Darvin Ham’s rotating cast of role players.
But even if the team is playing well, they have done so against a soft schedule, and with James ruled out for a fifth straight game on Tuesday, it is natural to wonder just how close he is to returning. As you would expect, Ham didn’t exactly give a ton of details on that in Phoenix ahead of the team’s matchup with the Suns, but he did tell reporters that he is making sure James knows the team isn’t rushing him back (via Spectrum SportsNet):
Reporter: Is there any sign that he’s close?