Shams: James initially felt back discomfort while training with Max LaVine, then had a test

October 23 Today, the famous reporter Shams Charania was a guest on the podcast "ThePatMcAfeeShow".

Talking about the injury of Lakers forward James, Shams said: "After watching the Lakers' game yesterday, I think they need LeBron James. When Luka (Doncic) is not holding the ball, he will hold the ball; or when Reeves is not on the court and playing without the ball, he can also hold the ball. They need LeBron to be LoB. Long, that's what I saw last night. He was a top-15 player in the league last season and was selected to the All-NBA Team.

"The sciatica injury he experienced on the right side of his body, you know, I was told that his lower back problem first appeared in a court training in late July and August. I'm told he was working out with Maxi and LaVine when he felt some discomfort in his back and ended up going in for some tests. So the injury was described to me as -- I think Draymond Green said last night, too, that the pain comes and goes and you feel the effects of it. There is no set timetable for recovery, no treatment that you follow and it will heal. It depends on the break and how you feel personally. I think there's an idea that he should be feeling better by now, but he obviously needs time because he didn't have a normal offseason and he lost a lot of time.

"We are all used to watching LeBron post 6 a.m. training videos from August to September, and we only saw him post such videos for a week or two this summer. Therefore, he did not experience the LeBron James-style offseason that he is used to. Therefore, I think the main goal of this training camp is to get him back to basketball-level physical condition and be able to compete on the court so that he can play with the physical level that we are used to seeing. Because he will not be the kind of player who squats in the corner after coming on the court. I don't think so. Think that's what we're going to see from LeBron James this season. Of course, it’s not guaranteed. Maybe it will be like that next season if he continues to play, or if he can’t regain his physical condition, maybe it will be like that in the second half of the season.

"But I'm told he's completing more and more court work, but sources tell me he's going to be very patient with this injury, and I'm told the Lakers and LeBron are targeting around mid-November as a target date for his season debut. Therefore, there is still some time before he returns to the game. He still needs to meet some pre-return metrics. "