Report: LeBron James, Rui Hachimura could return to Lakers lineup ‘by the end of the week’

According to NBA insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura could return to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup “by the end of the week.”

LeBron is recovering from a groin injury, while Hachimura is healing from a knee ailment. 

“Once James and Hachimura return, which could be by the end of the week, the Lakers will be well-positioned to finally reach their offensive ceiling,” Buha wrote. 

LeBron is averaging 25.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists this season for the Lakers while shooting 51.7% from the field, 38.4% from beyond the arc and 77.0% from the free-throw line. He’s the oldest player in the NBA (40 years old).

The leading scorer of all time, LeBron must return from his groin injury by April 3 to extend his All-NBA streak to 21 straight seasons.

Hachimura, who was traded by the Washington Wizards to the Lakers in 2022-23, is averaging 13.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists this season while shooting 50.6% overall, 41.0% from 3 and 76.5% from the foul line. 

Under first-year head coach JJ Redick, the Lakers are 19th in the NBA in points per game, ninth in points per game allowed, 12th in offensive rating, 13th in defensive rating and 13th in net rating. 

Los Angeles is in fourth place in the Western Conference standings with a strong record of 42-25.

Luka Doncic has appeared in 15 games with the Lakers. He’s averaging 26.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 8.1 assists. 

“He creates such havoc for teams’ defenses that 90 percent of the time people are blitzing him, as you can probably see, and he makes the right play out of the blitz,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said about Doncic. “He doesn’t try to force it too much in those situations and he makes the right play. So therefore you’re playing four-on-three and it just comes down to playing the game the right way and passing it to the open person because three people can’t guard four.”