The Los Angeles Lakers‘ start to this season has not been ideal, to put it lightly. They lost the season opener to defending champions Denver Nuggets. What followed was a rollercoaster of wins and losses that left many wondering where the Purple and Gold of old had vanished. After three consecutive losses, fans were desperate for a win, and it finally happened against the Phoenix Suns, but the win came with a heavy cost.

LeBron James suffered an injury during the 122-119 victory. And so, he did not suit up for the next match against the Portland Trail Blazer which also ended in a win. Now, the question that still looms large: Will LeBron return to the court tonight?

Is LeBron James going to make his return tonight?

As per the updates shared by ESPN, King James’ presence is questionable for tonight’s match up against the Memphis Grizzlies. The forward sustained the injury when he awkwardly collided mid-air with Suns forward Kevin Durant in the first quarter. Bron briefly left the game before returning to play for a 36 minute spell. He went on to put up 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Later that night, however, he was seen limping his way out of the building

With the taste of long awaited success, the Lakers continued on to post another win against the Trail Blazers. This time, however, the star of the show was Anthony Davis. The eight-time All-Star scored 30 points with 13 rebounds and six assists. After the victory, Lakers coach Darvin Ham shared, “As we get more comfortable and familiar with one another, as we continue to plant the seeds and water them, I think you’ll see the growth here pretty soon”. He added that the core belief of the way the team will play in order to win games starts on the defensive end.

A look at Grizzlies-Lakers history

The two teams have played 102 regular season games with the Lakers having the obvious advantage of 63 wins against Memphis’ 39. Last season, LA led 2-1 including the play-offs which gave rise to the infamous ‘poke-a-bear’ incident, courtesy of former Grizzlies forward, Dillon Brooks. While LeBron was able to overcome it to post the win, his chance to do it this season is doubtful. Regardless, rest assured that his teammates will finish the job for him, hopefully.

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The Lakers also have to focus on reducing the burden from their veteran’s shoulders. James will be turning 39 in December, but he is still LA’s top scorer. If they want a healthy LeBron to pull his weight in the play-offs, young players like Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura need to share the score load. We’ve seen flashes of it in the previous games. But a sustained effort is yet to materialise.

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