Lakers' LeBron James: Struggles to find form in return

James (groin) tallied 17 points (7-16 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 2-5 FT), six rebounds, four assists and three steals across 31 minutes in Saturday's 146-115 loss to the Bulls.

For one of the few occasions since acquiring Luka Doncic on Feb. 2, the Lakers had all of their core rotation players available with James and Rui Hachimura (knee) returning from seven- and 12-game absences, respectively. Hachimura (18 minutes) handled a limited role while coming off the bench, but James didn't seem to face any playing-time restrictions in his return. However, James clearly wasn't at his best in his first appearance since straining his left groin in a March 8 loss to the Celtics, as he struggled from the free-throw line and finished with more turnovers (five) than assists (four). Despite getting quality performances from Luka Doncic (34 points) and Austin Reaves (25 points), the Lakers couldn't keep pace with a Bulls squad that shot 58.3 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from three-point range, resulting in Los Angeles head coach JJ Redick conceding defeat early and pulling James and the team's other starters with 6:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. James could see his playing time creep back up to around the 35-minute range if the Lakers are more competitive in Monday's game versus the Magic.