LeBron James making progress as Los Angeles Lakers eye top 6 seed in West

LeBron James is out of a walking boot and making progress as the Los Angeles Lakers eye a move for a top 6 seed in the Western Conference.

LeBron James is likely still a couple of weeks (at the very least) from returning to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup but it seems as if he’s making progress. Lakes coach Darvin Ham told reporters that LeBron is out of his waling book at that “everything (was) going according to plan” when it came to his rehab timeline.

The good news for the Lakers overall is that the team has been extremley competitive even with LeBron out of the lineup. They’re 4-3 since his injury and are just two games out of the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Considering they are only a handful of games remaining, that should be the goal for the Lakers over the next couple of weeks. At the very least, Los Angeles needs to get to a point where they’re within striking distance of a top 6 seed.

When could we see LeBron James make his return?

The hope is that LeBron will be able to return in a couple of weeks – it was reported that LeBron would be reevaluated in three weeks; that was 11 days ago. If LeBron can return in two weeks, that means he could return for the team’s March 29 game against the Chicago Bulls.

If that does end up being the case, that means LeBron could be available for the team’s final seven games. With how well the Lakers are playing, I don’t believe it’s out of the realm of possibility that they could slide into the sixth seed. But that truly hinges on whether LeBron can return.

But there’s still plenty that can happen between now and the end of the season. Specifically in the West standings, there is still plenty that needs to be played out. There are seven teams that are fighting for five spots, and those seven teams are just seperated by two games in the standings.

And the Lakers happen to be one of them. Right now, they’re sitting in 11th and on the outside looking in of the playoff picture. However, a lot can change from day-to-day.

For instance, if the Lakers would’ve won last night agianst the New York Knicks (a game they lost by four points), they would be tied for 7th in the West standings right now. But, they didn’t. And now they’re 11th.

If the Lakers can hold the fort relatively down between now and LeBron’s return, they should be in the playoffs. We shall see.