Will LA have The Chosen One at its disposal tonight?
Your revised and revitalized Los Angeles Lakers will need to show off their scoring versatility tonight on the road against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, as LA will be missing a critical piece.
Marc Stein reports that the Lakers will be without their best player, All-Star power forward LeBron James, for a third straight game (and a 14th for the year), meaning that the league’s all-time regular season scoring record will remain at 38,390 points for the time being.
Among a reconfigured LA’s major rotation pieces, reserve 3-and-D center Mo “Discount Myles Turner” Bamba will miss the final contest of his four-game league suspension tonight. Anthony Davis is probable as he continues to recover from his right foot stress injury. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider are with LA’s South Bay Lakers G League affiliate.
Portland will have a variety of absences: starting power forward Jerami Grant (concussion protocols) and center Jusuf Nurkic (left calf strain), plus bench pieces Justise Winslow (left ankle sprain) and Ibou Badji (left knee soreness), are all unavailable for the bout.
The newest Trail Blazer, Kevin Knox II, has been upgraded to available now that the four-team deal bringing him to town has been green-lit by the Golden State Warriors. Keon Johnson (right ankle sprain) is probable for Portland.
At 26-31, LA needs all the “easy” wins it can get. A 27-29 Portland team missing its starting front line, and having gotten demonstrably worse in shipping out Josh Hart and bringing in a project like Knox, should be a beatable mark. Then again, Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons can get hot from deep at any moment.
Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation so you can talk about the latest Lakers news and rumors!
