LeBron: Foot soreness 'not behind me'

LeBron James returned from a week-long break Sunday against the Memphis Grizziles but cautioned that the soreness in his left foot remains an issue.

"It's not behind me," James said after playing 34 minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers' 116-100 victory, courtesy of The Athletic's Jovan Buha. "It's an everyday thing. ... But I was able to do some great things (on my break)."

James missed just two games during a light stretch thanks to the NBA Cup, which alleviated schedules for teams that failed to get out of the group stage. He scored 18 points against the Grizzlies to go with eight assists, eight rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, while shooting 3-of-6 from deep (7-of-17 overall). However, his plus-minus of zero was the lowest registered by any of the Lakers' starters, and he was just 1-of-4 on free throws despite shooting 76.2% from the line this season entering Sunday.

The soon-to-be 40-year-old started all 23 games to begin the season before sitting out Los Angeles' Dec. 8 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. James, who said early in the campaign that he was aiming to play in all 82 regular-season contests, revealed Sunday that he had to be swayed by his inner circle to take the extended time off.

"If it was up to just me, I probably would've played," he said, courtesy of ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "It would've been hard to keep me away from it.

"I have a team and I got to listen to them as well. They look out for my best interest."

The Lakers don't play again until Thursday, when they face the Sacramento Kings on the road. Their schedule is also free of back-to-backs until the new year, when they host the Trail Blazers and Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 2 and 3, respectively.