LeBron James is back.
After missing eight games with an abdominal strain, LeBron James will make his return Friday night against the Boston Celtics, the team announced.
He's back. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/lQQIuSA7Ej
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 20, 2021
The Lakers went 3-5 while LeBron recovered, and a couple of overtime wins made the record look better than the reality — the Lakers have a -12.7 net rating over their last seven games (29th in the league over that stretch). Without LeBron as a secondary playmaker, the Lakers’ halfcourt offense has been a disaster. This season when LeBron is off the court, the Lakers have an 88.5 offensive rating in halfcourt settings, which would be bottom 10 in the league (stats via Cleaning the Glass).
On the season, the Lakers have outscored opponents by 3.4 points per 100 possessions when LeBron is on the court and been outscored by 5.3 per 100 when he is out.
Put simply: The Lakers needed him back.
Los Angeles is 8-8 but has played the second softest schedule in the league so far, and that is about to change in the coming weeks.