"It's not as severe, it's not as bad" - NBA insider drops hints on LeBron James' return timeline amid Lakers' 3-game losing streak

This week, the LA Lakers sent LeBron James back home to LA to get his groin injury treated. While the injury couldn't have come at a worse time for the Lakers given their upcoming schedule in the coming weeks, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania provided a pretty optimistic update on the future Hall of Famer's status.

Charania appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday, where he said he's expecting James to miss another week before returning to action. Although he pointed out that the team needs him to be healthy, considering the nature of the injury, the team also knows it can't rush LeBron back to action.

"I reported last weekend on Sunday that he's going to miss one to two weeks at least," he said. "So this this Saturday, Sunday makes it one week. He's not expected to play Sunday on ABC against the Phoenix Suns. From what I'm told, I would expect him to still miss another week. So that would put him at about two weeks.

He had a torn groin muscle in 2018 ... So I think LeBron James knows exactly how to handle this. This is not as severe, this is not as bad."

As Charania also pointed out, James needs to play seven more games to qualify for a spot on an All-NBA team. Considering how well he's been playing on both ends of the floor, if he hits the 65-game requirement, James will almost certainly be on an All-NBA team.

The bigger focus for the four-time NBA champ and the Lakers is getting James healthy on time to fend off a play-in appearance.

Looking at the LA Lakers' schedule for the week ahead, and what another week's absence may mean for LeBron James and the team

Shams Charania reported he believes that LeBron James will need an additional week to return to 100%.

Between now and next weekend, LA will play six games:

• @Denver: Friday, Mar. 14
• Phoenix: Sunday, Mar. 16
• San Antonio: Monday, Mar. 17
• Denver: Wednesday, Mar. 19
• Milwaukee: Thursday, Mar. 20
• Chicago: Saturday, Mar. 22

If James is healthy after that stretch, the soonest we will see him back in action is Monday, Mar. 24, when LA plays the Orlando Magic on the road.

While James would miss a crucial stretch, with four of their six upcoming games being against Western Conference teams, the Lakers would have 12 more games left before the end of the regular season.

During that stretch, the team will have notable games against Western Conference teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets (twice), Golden State Warriors and OKC Thunder (twice).

Assuming the team winds up holding onto a guaranteed playoff spot, the franchise would have some additional time to rest players like James, Hachimura and Hayes before the playoffs' first round starts on Apr. 19.