LeBron James Not Too Concerned About Groin Strain; Will Take Things Day-By-Day

LeBron James has eased fears regarding his health after he exited the Los Angeles Lakers' 111-101 loss to the Boston Celtics due to a groin strain. James was asked about his level of concern over the injury postgame and stated it wasn't too serious.

"Not much concern," James said. "Obviously, we're gonna [take it] day-to-day. Look at it each day and see if gets better, and then take the proper measures and see what we need to do going forward."

James also revealed that he injured himself on his last basket before exiting the game. The 40-year-old had scored with a spin move on Jaylen Brown but realized something was wrong when he landed.

James called for a timeout and admitted his mind went back to his first season with the Lakers. The 21-time All-Star suffered a groin injury in the Christmas Day game against the Golden State Warriors in the 2018-19 season and ended up missing 17 straight games.

"The first thing that popped in my mind was Christmas Day my first year with the Lakers," James said. "... I've been here before, and I know what type of injury you're dealing with."

James revealed he also thought about his former teammate Anthony Davis going down with an adductor strain back in February when he was sitting on the bench. He then headed to the locker room, where he tried to see if he could get back in the game but realized he couldn't.

James did make it clear, though, that he doesn't think this injury is as serious as the one he suffered against the Warriors in 2018. That's great news for the Lakers.

There were initially fears that James could miss weeks due to this groin strain. With only about a month left in this regular season, it looked like he was going to miss almost all of their remaining games, but that might not be the case. He is also going to be with the team for the rest of this road trip, which is more good news.

James was in the midst of another impressive outing when he was forced to exit. He had put up 22 points (11-23 FG), 14 rebounds, and nine assists against the Celtics, and it looked like he might end up orchestrating a stunning 22-point comeback win.

The Lakers battled hard even after his departure but were unsurprisingly unable to pull off the comeback, losing by double digits. The loss snapped the Lakers' eight-game winning streak and dropped them to 40-22 this season.

The Lakers were looking like the favorites to finish second in the West coming into this game, but that's in doubt now. They have to find a way to stay afloat in James' absence and will need Luka Doncic to step up for that. Doncic is fully capable of that too, of course.

We'll see him and the Lakers in action next against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Monday at 7:30 PM ET.