LeBron James suffered a strained left groin against the Warriors on Christmas Day, and it looks like he won't be ready to face the champs on Monday.
The Lakers announced that LeBron was evaluated by the team's medical staff on Wednesday and they cleared him to start practicing next week, though the team didn't specify when exactly James would practice.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Lakers play in Oklahoma City on Thursday night and in Houston on Saturday night. LeBron will not travel with the team to either game.
LeBron suffered his injury in the third quarter of the Lakers' win on Christmas Day in Oakland. In the 11 games without LeBron, the Lakers are 4-7 and have fallen from fourth to eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
After playing the Clippers in Los Angeles on Friday, the Warriors are expected to stay in LA until Monday's game.
Knowing their history of coming out flat after spending a night in LA, the Warriors need every advantage they can get against the Lakers.