Despite seeing all three of their top players deal with various injuries, the Los Angeles Lakers are off to a 7-2 start that has them second in the Western Conference and looking like a legitimate title contender . The most notable of those absences has been LeBron James not playing yet due to a sciatica issue.

The Lakers issued a positive update Thursday on James' status, noting he is cleared for basketball activities and will begin ramping up to 5-on-5 work. The Lakers will re-evaluate James in 1-2 weeks to see how his body is responding to getting back on the court.

On top of James sitting out all nine games, Luka Dončić missed four games with a lower leg injury and Austin Reaves sat out their last two games with groin soreness. However, when those two have played, they've

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