LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is available to play Saturday against the Chicago Bulls, the team announced, following a two-week absence because of a strained left groin.
James suffered the injury midway through the fourth quarter of L.A.’s 111-101 road loss to the Boston Celtics on March 8. The Lakers went 3-4 in their next seven games without him.
The 22-year veteran is averaging 25 points on 51.7% shooting (38.4% from 3), 8.5 assists and 8.2 rebounds in 58 games this season.
James’ return coincides with the Lakers’ roster being as healthy as it’s been all season, with only Maxi Kleber (broken right foot) and two-way player Trey Jemison III on the inactive list for the Bulls game.
“We just haven’t had a lot of time with our full team available,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. “We’ve had to manage this all season long no matter which iteration of this team it’s been. So I’m excited for these last 13 games to build some continuity, build some chemistry, and hopefully the way we were playing prior to the Boston game, we can kind of get back to that.”
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura is also available Saturday after missing the last 12 games with tendinopathy in his left knee. Redick said that Hachimura would be on a minutes restriction in the 20-24 range for the next several games as he reintegrates himself into the lineup.
Source: espn.com