The Lakers have now gone 10 games since they last had LeBron on the floor and their form has slipped since then.
Having been fourth in the Western Conference when LeBron got hurt, LA have since gone 3-10 and have dropped down to ninth with the Utah Jazz half a game ahead.
The Lakers can pull level with the Jazz tonight at Staples Center when they face the 10-33 Bulls and will desperately hope to do so after their most recent game.
They lost by six at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers – who own the worst record in the NBA – on an embarrassing night for Luke Walton and co. with LeBron watching on from courtside.
The Bulls are on a seven-game losing streak but with the Cavs and the New York Knicks having both snapped miserable runs of form against the Lakers, they must be careful.
But they will once again be without centre-piece LeBron, who will miss an 11th straight game with his ongoing muscle injury.
This is the longest spell he has been off the floor in his entire 16-season career in the league.
The four-time MVP is back on court at the Lakers’ practice facility and participated in a three-point competition after shoot around, although he was limited to simply shooting and passing.
LeBron will be evaluated on Wednesday to determine whether he can feature on the Lakers’ coming two-game road trip which begins in Oklahoma City later this week.
The Lakers started slowly in both halves against the Cavs, trailing by 15 in the first and 12 in the third. Against the Lakers, they were also 17 down in the first 12 minutes..
And on what the team must do to sort their issues, Brandon Ingram declared the team are not in the right mindset.
He said: “We just have to have a hit-first mentality, be ready for every team’s best when they come to Staples Center and just continue to be even more connected.
“I think when you play the Lakers, you’re going to have that energy and that mental focus to be locked in and ready to go.
“I think we’ve been taking everybody’s first hit coming in. [Opponents are] ready to play and putting up all types of shots.”
It is vitally important the Lakers bounce back against Chicago with the Thunder, the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors coming up in their next three games of their schedule.
A loss to the struggling Bulls would spark more debate over head coach Walton’s future with the 38-year-old having attracted heavy criticism of late.