LeBron James will not play for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

James played his first game on Thursday since suffering a groin strain on December 25 against the Warriors.

But with an eye on his work load, the Lakers will rest James on Saturday.

While he scored 24 points with 14 rebounds and nine assists in an overtime win against the Los Angeles Clippers, he said afterwards he was not close to 100 per cent after missing 17 games.

"The first quarter was just kind of a feel-out quarter to see how my groin would react," James said. "I didn't really run as hard as I'm accustomed to on breaks. I had a couple of drives, just trying to mentally get into it.

"I'm not there all the way, as far as physically. My timing … is 80 per cent right now, but it felt good to be 80 and be back on the floor and put on a Lakers uniform again."

The Lakers next play Tuesday at the Indiana Pacers, their third of six straight road games. None of the remaining games after that, against the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks, are back-to-back contests, which would be good if the Lakers are trying to ease James back in over the next week or so.

But Los Angeles (27-25) clearly need their superstar on the floor. While James sat out, the team went 6-11 and are now ninth in the Western Conference.