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LeBron James could miss time after re-aggravating groin injury during Christmas game vs. Clippers

For the second straight season, the Christmas Day game has resulted in an injury for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. The 34-year-old James re-aggravated his groin injury during Wednesday’s contest against the Los Angeles Clippers and could miss time recovering from the issue, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

James re-injured himself after colliding with Patrick Beverley in the first quarter of the Clippers’ 111-106 win. Beverley kneed James in the groin during the collision, and that caused the injury to flare up.

The issue may have caused James to have a poor shooting night. James scored 23 points in the loss, but went just 9 of 24 from the field. He only had four free-throw attempts because he couldn’t drive the line.

James’ injury is nowhere near as severe as the one that James suffered last season. James played in just 55 games after tearing his groin during a Christmas game against the Golden State Warriors in 2018.

The injury James aggravated during Wednesday’s game is on the other side of his groin. The Lakers have reportedly approached James about being proactive and resting the injury, according to McMenamin. The issue could get worse with overuse.

The Lakers may be coming off a four-game losing streak, but the team is still in fantastic shape. At 24-7, the Lakers still lead the Western Conference. Losing James for a few games would hurt, but Anthony Davis is more than capable of filling in the gaps.

Given how important James is to the team’s success, resting him for a few games now might be the best course of action. The last thing the team wants is for James to miss significant time for the second straight year.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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