Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers believed that LeBron James and Co. finally found their rhythm once they snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, Darvin Ham’s boys suffered a Christmas Day loss to the Boston Celtics, resulting in their sixth loss in the last eight games. Going up against an injured Charlotte Hornets side in their upcoming fixture, the Purple & Gold are expected to emerge victoriously. That said, with the Lakers hoping to stay healthy, James’ availability for tonight’s clash will be on every fan’s mind.
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For the past few years, the Los Angeles Lakers have had to deal with injuries. The narrative hasn’t changed this season either. Ahead of the fixture against the Charlotte Hornets, the LA side released their injury report and added several players to the list. LeBron James was just one of the five names.
While Gabe Vincent is set to sit out for yet another game, Jarred Vanderbilt is a “probable” for tonight. Joining Cam Reddish and Anthony Davis, LeBron James is listed as “questionable” with a left knee contusion.
LeBron is on the #Lakers injury report with a left knee contusion after his collision with Jaylen Brown: pic.twitter.com/T7iw7vETgZ
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) December 28, 2023
Even at the age of 38, James gets back from injuries faster than most of the league does. That said, the Lakers are coming up against a Charlotte Hornets side without LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward, among other players. So, while James is probably healthy enough to play tonight, the Lakers may look to rest the King for this fixture. And given the Hornets’ abysmal 7-21 record, it likely won’t cost the franchise either.
Father Time seems to be bothering LeBron James
Playing in Year 21, Father Time seems to finally be bothering LeBron James. Earlier in the season, Bron played through several games with a calf contusion. Unfortunately, James later collided with Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics and sustained a knee contusion.
LeBron James and Jaylen Brown were shaken up after colliding into each other.
James subbed out of the game but later returned. Brown went back to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/O7DS9qW1IG
— ESPN (@espn) December 25, 2023
Despite all of his ailments, the 6ft 9” forward has only missed out on three games this year. In the 28 games that he has suited up for so far, the King has been putting up some jaw-dropping numbers – 25.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists.
As mentioned prior, this might be the best time to rest LeBron James. The Charlotte Hornets, sitting 13th in the East, aren’t exactly a threat to the Lakers. Additionally, the team has also added quite a few big names to the injury report – LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, and Frank Ntilikina are out, whereas, Mark Williams and Brandon Miller are “doubtful” and “questionable”, respectively.
The Lakers have a tough stretch of games – the Timberwolves, the Pelicans, and the Heat – following the clash against the Hornets, before the calendar year ends. It’ll certainly be beneficial for LeBron James to approach these fixtures once he can recover from the knee injury.
