Insider: LeBron James 'smells weakness' in Western Conference

In an appearance on the show "Get Up," Windhorst claimed that James  rushed back for the same reason Kevin Durant is returning Wednesday and Steph Curry hurried back from his own injury: Opportunity.

"Durant, LeBron, Curry and the rest of those Warriors, they smell something," Windhorst said. "They smell weakness in the Western Conference...LeBron's coming back on a bad foot because they smell weakness."

Perhaps that is why despite "unbearable" and "dire" foot pain, James has returned to the court for the Lakers' final seven games. As matters currently stand, the Lakers are headed for the play-in tournament, with their best-case outcome being a first-round matchup with the top-seeded Denver Nuggets.

But Windhorst explained that none of the top three Western teams -- the Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings -- "instill fear" in the likes of wounded superstars James, Durant and Curry.

The Lakers, Suns and Warriors have each beat Denver in the playoffs over the last three seasons. This version of the Grizzlies has one series win and has been bogged down by multiple injuries and off-the-court turmoil. And the Sacramento Kings have not even been in the playoffs since 2006. Domantas Sabonis is 4-16 in his career playoff games, with a 1-1 record in play-in games.

Perhaps those top West teams need to visit "the LeBron James of playoff intimidation." Unfortunately for them, that's just Regular LeBron James, busy defying podiatrists and Father Time.