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Lakers Injury Update: Will LeBron James Play Tonight Against the Trailblazers?

Published 11/12/2023, 7:50 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

After a splendid run against the Phoenix Suns, LeBron James and co. face the Portland Trail Blazers tonight. The Lakers did get an injury scare when the King James limped off the court on a non-contact injury. However, he came right back and took the lead. The post-game saw him talk about the soreness of his shin. When the Lakers face the Blazers tonight, they will already be down three men.

Jarred Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Gabe Vincent are still out for the game. Seeing as how the Purple and Gold are suffering in terms of team cohesiveness, what might James’ injury mean for them?

Will we see LeBron James tonight?

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Talking to reporters after the game, Bron said how he had to keep his head up and just play through the pain. But after their win and all the adrenaline coming down, LeBron mentioned how sore he felt. According to ESPN’s injury list updates, James is listed as questionable for tonight’s game due to left calf contusion.

USA Today via Reuters

Truly a King in every sense of the word, the 4x NBA champion landed 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 dimes in yesterday’s match. As of now, Bron is listed as day-to-day. So, if he does have to sit out this game, the Lakers will have to come out of their shells. If we look at the Akron Hammer’s injury stats this year alone, he had terrible luck in sustaining injuries to his leg.

The last James got injured was on May 19th with a foot injury. It was Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. He was in hot pursuit of a rebound when he rolled his left ankle. However, LeBron did not stop to think about it and continued the game. By the 25th, it was reported that he might have to undergo surgery.

 

Enduring injuries one after another since the beginning of the year, the L Train endured the most number of injuries in April and January. Just goes to show how dedicated he is to the sport.

What will the Lakers do if James fails to make it against Portland?

The most obvious choice to take the lead in Bron’s absence is his brother-in-arms, Anthony Davis. He’s been listed as probable for tonight’s game on account of his left adductor/hip spasm. Knowing how susceptible AD is to injuries, it is a maybe-maybe-not scenario for now.

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Read More: “Just When We Was Finally Getting Some Wins”: Lakers Fans in Disbelief as Injuries Pile On for LeBron James’ Team

He will also have center Jaxson Hayes to help him out in this terrible scenario. Hayes had to sit out the Rockets game due to a left ankle sprain. He played for just five minutes yesterday, so Jaxson might probably be playing with a minute restriction. Yesterday’s scores were promising though – two points and one rebound. Imagine what he would do if he were to, say, play for at the very least 10-15 minutes.

Hopefully, he can still put in effort without straining himself too much. Provided Reaves and D’Lo get into the swing of what they can produce. The Lakers also have Cam Reddish and Rui Hachimura who will most probably see more game time. If LeBron James does end up not playing, tonight will be a preview of what the Lakers will look like without ‘The Chosen One’ to pull their weight.

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Can the Los Angeles Lakers overcome this tiny glitch today (if it happens) and show the NBA world that when it comes down to the wire, the purple and gold can stand together to weather the storm?

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Written by:

Geisha Pulimoottil Don

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Geisha is an NBA content writer at EssentiallySports. Having years of experience as a content writer, she focuses on providing in-depth coverage of the basketball entities. The increased use of technology in studying the game and its intricacies intrigues her.
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Edited by:

Vishav