LeBron James returns just in time to help his team in the final sprint. Two weeks from the end of the regular season in the NBA, and while the Los Angeles Lakers are eighth in the Western Conference, just two games from fourth place, the 38-year-old winger will return to competition on Sunday .
A final test to check that his right foot is in good condition has proven conclusive and he will be on the floor for the Chicago reception (9:30 p.m.). James will nevertheless start the game on the bench, to allow his staff to better manage his minutes.
James has missed his team’s last thirteen matches
It will only be the second time in twenty seasons that the “King” will be a substitute at the start of an NBA game. The first was with the Cleveland Cavaliers, in a victory against the Indiana Pacers, December 11, 2007 (118-105). Already at the time, he had just returned from injury.
Affected in the Achilles tendon of the right foot since February 26, James will have missed the last thirteen matches of the Lakers. But the Angelinos have managed to stay in the race for the play-offs, thanks in particular to the recruits who arrived around the trade deadline, in mid-February (D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley).
Darvin Ham’s men have won eight of these thirteen games played without the quadruple MVP, to end up with a balanced record (37-37). And a real chance of getting a direct ticket to the play-offs, without having to go through the play-in.
