Latest on LeBron James

LeBron James is inching closer to a return, though the Lakers still don’t have an exact date circled.

Head coach JJ Redick told reporters before Wednesday’s game that the plan is for James to be back sometime in the second or third week of November, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. That lines up with Shams Charania’s earlier report pegging mid-November as the likely window.

James continues to recover from sciatica, which began bothering him over the summer and lingered into training camp. He’ll be reevaluated later this week to see how much progress he’s made.

Even without a concrete timetable, the Lakers believe LeBron’s trending in the right direction. The team has been cautious about pushing him back too quickly, knowing the goal is having him healthy for the long haul.

Redick also gave a brief update on Luka Doncic, who’s missed three straight games with a finger sprain and leg contusion.

Redick said the Lakers hope to have him back “in the next couple of games,” noting that Doncic’s swollen left hand has improved from “twice its normal size” to about “one and a half times” normal.

Doncic remains day-to-day and isn’t traveling with the team on its current road trip, which wraps up Friday in Memphis.