LOS ANGELES — LeBron James was back in the Lakers’ lineup for Sunday’s home game against the Memphis Grizzlies after a two-game absence.
James missed Friday’s road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dec. 8 home win over the Portland Trail Blazers, with the team listing him as out because of left foot soreness.
James didn’t travel with the team to Minneapolis after the team gave him an excused absence.
Coach JJ Redick said on Wednesday that James had been away from the team the previous few days because of personal reasons, adding that James was “taking some time.”
By not playing on Dec. 8 or Friday, James got eight days between games after last playing in the Dec. 6 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
“When I talked to him earlier this week, I think I said something along those lines, just hoping that he was getting a good mind and body reset,” Redick said of James pregame. “He said he felt like he was.”
Redick said pregame that he and James spoke ahead of the win over the Blazers before James’ absence from the team. James entered Dec. 8 as questionable, was upgraded to probable the morning of the matchup against the Blazers before being downgraded to doubtful two hours before the game and eventually ruled out within an hour before tipoff.
James also entered the matchup against the Hawks as questionable because of the left foot ailment before playing in the road game, finishing with 39 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals in a season-high 43 minutes.
His absence against the Blazers was his first of the season, ending his goal of playing in all 82 regular-season games after playing in the first 23.
“Every player should want to play in every game,” Redick said. “That should be the goal. Within an NBA season, for guys that play heavy minutes, there are times when you need a break. It’s just a reality.
“It’s not like these conversations haven’t been happening already. We did, LeBron and I spoke Sunday right after our meeting and walkthrough at the arena. And again, he was already going to take an excused absence. So we had a conversation about Portland specifically. And I think it was the right for him to try to take that game off, given the foot thing from the previous week and the travel and all that. So it’s just something that we’ll continue to do throughout the season.”
James, who turns 40 in two weeks, entered Saturday averaging 23 points (49.5% shooting overall, 35.9% from 3-point range), 9.1 assists and 8 rebounds in 35 minutes per game.