The Los Angeles Lakers will need LeBron James active and making a difference in each of their last 23 games to qualify for the play-ins.
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LeBron James and his Lakers have been floundering as a unit all season long. It promised to start off well after some roster retooling by GM Rob Pelinka. However, an 0-4 start led to Russell Westbrook being benched.
Soon after, LeBron injured himself and missed 8 games. And just as James and AD were beginning to let the league know about their potency, the latter went down for 6 weeks.
As a result of these injuries and some refereeing bad luck, the Lakers find themselves 13th in the West. They are 2 games behind the 10th-seeded OKC Thunder at the moment.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis WILL find a way to get the Lakers to the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/fphsr7fmyk
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) February 22, 2023
Is LeBron James playing tonight vs Golden State Warriors?
LeBron sustained a hand injury during the All-Star Game after attempting a chase-down block. The King sat out during the second half of the exhibition game as his team lost.
This injury has placed James on the injury list for the Lakers for their game tonight. However, he is expected to return to action for this crucial encounter.
#Lakers injury report for tomorrow against the Warriors: pic.twitter.com/ENYUfImL6S
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) February 23, 2023
A win for the Lakers wouldn’t do much for their standing as they’re still 1.5 games behind the Blazers. However, the Warriors will find themselves out of the 9th spot if the Thunder beat the Jazz.
As Anthony Davis has already quoted to the press, the Lakers need to view each of their remaining 23 games as must-win encounters. Luckily for this cause, their roster has been bolstered by some additions. D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt will all find rotation minutes.
LeBron’s stats this season
James recently overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time points tally in a game against the OKC Thunder. He’s now the all-time highest scorer in both the playoffs and the regular season.
James is averaging 30 points, 8.4 rebounds, 7 assists per game on 50.8% shooting. His 3-point percentage, languishing in the late 20s for most of the season, is now at 31%.