Lakers Injury Report: Luke Walton Hopeful Kyle Kuzma And Josh Hart Play Vs. 76ers; LeBron James Scrimmages

Dan Duangdao
2 Min Read
Darrell Ann-LakersNation.com

Amid Anthony Davis requesting a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans, triggering plenty of speculation, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers returned to practice fresh off snapping a three-game losing streak.

As James recently participated in full-contact defensive drills for the first time since his groin strain, he took another positive step in the rehab process.

Lakers head coach Luke Walton shared James participated in contact portions of practice that included three-minute full-court scrimmages. While Walton was optimistic about James’ recovery so far, the Lakers aren’t yet setting a return date.

“He’s not driving the lane and tomahawk dunking on people right now, but he’s moving well,” Walton said after practice. “He’s getting to the paint and shooting jumpers and all those type of things.”

With James potentially returning against the Clippers to begin a six-game road trip, Walton assumes there will be a minutes restriction.

“We haven’t gotten that far yet. My guess is there’d be minutes restriction, but that’s the medical staff and doctors that will determine all that,” Walton said.

As the Lakers take James’ injury day by day, Kyle Kuzma (hip strain) and Josh Hart (knee tendinitis) did not practice. Walton is hopeful both will be able to play against the 76ers, but will have more details closer to game-time.

Hart asked to come out during the second half of Sunday’s win against the Phoenix Suns because of the knee trouble.

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Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.
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