On March 13, Beijing time, according to Shams, sources revealed to ESPN that according to medical advice, Lakers star LeBron James has temporarily left the team and returned to Los Angeles, his groin strain is recovering well, and the team will play away against the Bucks on Friday and the Nuggets away on Saturday. Medical expert Jeffries said it was a wise decision to return to Los Angeles early for treatment.

This also means that James will definitely miss these two road games, and the Lakers have also officially released an injury report against the Bucks tomorrow. Doncic is doubtful for a sprained ankle (50% probable), Hayes (knee injury), Hachimura (patellar tendonitis), Kleber (right foot surgery), James (groin strain) are out and Finney-Smith is not on the injury report, confirming a return for the Bucks.

On the Bucks side, Portis is suspended, Lillard (groin) and Brother Alphabet (calf) are all likely to play, Livingston is doubtful, and Smith is likely not to play.

Lakers reporter Woike mentioned that after Redick talked to James before the game against the Heat in early December and asked him to improve his performance, James played at a very high level.

"They've been doing well since then," Woike said. I think the biggest thread that runs through it is that LeBron has been playing at the best level of basketball since that moment. He's become an offensive and defensive player, he's been the heart of the team's defense, including his defensive acucumen, his hard work on the perimeter, his excellent individual defense, and his level of effort and energy over the last 40 games has been amazing. ”

'I'm not saying that the attrition of that kind of game caused him to have a groin injury, it seems like he's not very worried about the injury, he's going to be out for a week or two, maybe a little longer, but no one is worried that we won't see him again for the rest of the regular season and he'll be back for sure. But his performance was too good. In my opinion, he played his best regular season performance since their 2019-20 championship season. ”

The Lakers are currently third in the West at 40-23, and the Bucks are fourth in the East with 36-28.