Lebron James won’t need foot surgery as the Lakers keep fighting without its star to reach playoffs

LeBron James will reportedly not need surgery on his foot and “probably could” play right now “if he necessarily had to,” a big boost to the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff hopes in mid-April.

The 38-year-old, who will be away for ‘several weeks’, by Shams Charania of the athletiche is dealing with pain in his right foot.

James was seen limping as he left American Airlines Center following the Lakers’ win over the Mavericks on Sunday, though the team plans to “reevaluate” its star forward in three weeks, according to ESPN. Adrian ‘Woj’ Wojnarowski On twitter.

“So what I can say about LeBron is that I’ve been informed by sources that he won’t require surgery,” Bleacher Reporter’s Chris Haynes said in #staliga Without cutting podcast Thursday.

‘That’s good news. […] Could Lebron come out and play right now? It would be a risk, but I think he probably could do it if he had to. But it’s too risky. It’s too much pain right now. The plan right now is to give him as much time as possible to recover from this rehab process, but the Lakers have to win.

‘They have to keep winning. ‘ added the NBA insider, just a day after the Purple and Gold beat the Oklahoma City Thunder without James and his other two All-Stars, star forward Anthony Davis and guard D’Angelo Russell. They have to buy time.

RISKY BUSINESS: LeBron James could play through an injury right now, but “it would be a risk,” according to Chris Haynes, an NBA pundit for Bleacher Report

The Lakers beat the Thunder on Wednesday without James, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell

Wednesday’s win moved the Lakers to 11th place in the Western Conference, though the team still trails the final play-in tournament seed New Orleans Pelicans by a single game.

Both sides will meet at the Smoothie King Center in just under two weeks, in what will be a crucial game in determining which teams make the postseason.

Between the two franchises, the Pelicans are the ones struggling right now, having won just two of their last seven games, including a win against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

According ESPN, star center Zion Williamson ‘continues to make progress’ in his recovery from a strained right hamstring that has kept him out for nearly two months. It is unknown if he will be fit in time to face the Lakers on March 14.

Without James, the Lakers are 6-10 this season in a statistical boost for New Orleans. The Purple and Gold will have to improve on that record in their final 19 regular season games if they are to stay afloat in the playoff race.

Davis, who sat out Wednesday’s win, and Russell, who is sidelined with an ankle injury, will need to carry the scoring torch for LA until James returns.

In the absence of ‘The King’, the Lakers will have the opportunity to turn Crypto.com Arena into a fortress. The Purple and Gold begin a five-game home run on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, another team struggling to make the playoffs.

The T-Wolves are the eighth seed in the West, as it stands, and are 1.5 games ahead of the Lakers. James is averaging 29.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game this season, on 50.1 percent shooting overall and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc.

LA faces the 10th-ranked Pelicans on March 14 in a tense matchup for the playoff run. Zion Williamson, who has been out for almost two months, could miss the contest