2 min read • February 06, 2022
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After missing 5 games with left knee soreness, Lakers superstar LeBron James returned in earnest on Saturday night, putting up a 29-point triple-double in an OT win over the Knicks.
James' contributions were much-needed for a team that had gone 1-4 in those 5 games and are now 6-11 without him this season.
The most telling and important time for James' swollen left knee – that new evidence suggests is harboring a golf-ball sized Baker's cyst – will be today and tomorrow as he recovers from the 40 minutes of excess pressure he put on it.
We likely won't know what the status of that knee is until Tuesday, when the Lakers face the Bucks on TNT, but it's fair to say that with 2 days of rest, unless there is a setback or an evolution in the swelling, he will be good to go for that contest.
The next night, Feb. 9 in Portland, would be an ideal time for a night off for the 37-year-old.
Our team of ProBasketballDocs opined when news initially came through of the swelling that he would load manage for the final 1/3 of the season, and the latter end of a back-to-back against a struggling and short-handed Trail Blazers team is the time for that rest.
Los Angeles catches a scheduling break in its final 2 games, with 2 days off before the 26-28 Lakers head to Golden State on Feb. 12 and another 3 before their final first-half contest against the Jazz. That extra time should give James the rest-and-recovery window to play in each game, especially as they represent potential playoff matchups.
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