"I won't put a timetable on it" - Rich Paul gets real on LeBron James' injury during Lakers' brutal schedule stretch

After LeBron James suffered a groin injury in the LA Lakers' loss to the Boston Celtics this weekend, James' agent, Rich Paul, appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday.

While James missed the end of Saturday's game against the Celtics and Monday's game against the Nets, he told members of the press over the weekend that there wasn't much concern on his part.

Several years ago, James notably missed considerable time due to a groin injury. However, this time, he didn't feel a pop like he did during the 2018-19 season. Because of that, there's been some optimism that the injury won't sideline him for long.

Despite that, and the fact that ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania said James would miss 1-2 weeks, Rich Paul declined to give a timeline for the LA star's return.

Instead, Rich Paul stressed that James knows his body better than anybody and knows how to manage the injury properly to get himself back to 100% in time for the postseason.

"Obviously, you see the reports that's out there in terms of his post-game interview. He knows his body better than anybody, so we kind of have to follow him there. ... He's played a lot of basketball. All these guys, we forget the Olympics ... there's been a lot of basketball played for the older guys.

"When you have this type of injury, you have to manage it properly ... You have to manage it with grace. Obviously, the Lakers have a tough schedule coming up. I think they got six games in eight nights or something like that, and they play some pretty top-heavy teams. ... I won't put a timetable on it. I let LeBron decide what's to be done there. "

"You're always able to adjust" - Rich Paul opens up on LeBron James-Luka Doncic duo and their ability to play alongside one another

When Luka Doncic was traded to the LA Lakers, some fans echoed a saying that we've heard numerous times in recent years. They suggested that with two ball-dominant players in James and Doncic, the Lakers might have a hard time finding their flow offensively, given that there's only one ball.

Instead, the two stars proved that despite traditionally being at their best with the ball in their hands, their play styles can complement one another, something that wasn't surprising to Rich Paul.

The clearest evidence of James and Doncic's ability to complement one another was when the two passed the ball back and forth five times on one offensive possession against the Mavericks.

James repeatedly entered the ball to Doncic in the post, and Doncic repeatedly passed it back to James, who was standing at the 3-point line. After several passes back and forth, Doncic drew the double from the defense and immediately kicked it out to James, who knocked down an open shot.

The play was just one of several highlighting how the two ball-dominant players can thrive in a half-court offense together.

During his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Rich Paul spoke about how great players can adjust and find success:

"Well, I think whether it's LeBron and Luka or anybody else, I think when you have high IQ, you're able to adjust and, in terms of being able to take somebody off the ball that's used to being on the ball.

"If they have an understanding of when to cut, when to seal, when to set a screen, how to come out of those screens, have the ability to catch and shoot. And now you turn a guy like LeBron into your secondary playmaker, that's pretty tough for anybody."

With the team sitting 4.5 games ahead of seventh place, the hope is that once LeBron James returns to action, the Lakers will quickly return to form ahead of the playoffs.