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Will LeBron James and Anthony Davis Play Tonight? Los Angeles Lakers vs Indiana Pacers: Preview, Injury Updates, and Prediction

Published 03/12/2021, 2:30 PM EST

The NBA regular season is back after the All-Star break, and the Los Angeles Lakers will play the Indiana Pacers on Friday. This will also be the first meeting between these two teams in the 2020-21 season.

Venue: Staples Center

Time: 10:30 PM ET (March 12, 2021)

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The Lakers are currently the third seed in the West while the Pacers are the 10th in the East. Indiana is yet to reach a winning record in the regular season, but they have a chance to upset the defending champions.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Indiana Pacers: Injury Updates and Lineups

Lakers

The Lakers entered the All-Star break on the back of a poor run of form. The purple and gold are 3-7 in their last ten games and the extended absence of Anthony Davis is hurting them dearly.

Furthermore, the defending champions are also troubled by numerous injuries ahead of the Pacers game. Besides Davis, Marc Gasol, and Kostas Antetokounmpo, who are confirmed to be out, Kyle Kuzma, Damian Jones, LeBron James, and Jared Dudley are all placed on the day-to-day list.

Possible Lineup

Dennis Schroder (G)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (G)

LeBron James (F)

Talen Horton-Tucker (F)

Montrezl Harrell (C)

Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are not in the best form as a unit. The All-Star break came at a much-needed point, as the Pacers were suffering a poor run of form. The team is 4-6 in their last team games and has been allowing opponents to score almost 115 points against them.

As for injuries, the Indiana Pacers have a healthy roster for the Laker game. Only two long-term absentees (Caris LeVert and T. J. Warren) will be missing in action on Friday.

Possible Lineup

Malcolm Brogdon (G)

Justin Holiday (G)

Doug McDermott (F)

Domantas Sabonis (F)

Myles Turner (C)

Prediction

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This is the first game after the All-Star break for both teams. The second half of the regular-season poses a major challenge for both the Pacers and the Lakers and they need to step up to uphold the expectations.

The Los Angeles Lakers would look to get back on track with the regular-season by posting a win against the Pacers. However, coach Frank Vogel should be able to utilize LeBron James in order to do that.

The Lakers lost their previous game in which LeBron sat out, so he holds the key when the defending championships take on Indiana in the cross-conference matchup. We’re predicting the Lakers to win this fixture!

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Written by:

Arjun Athreya is a senior writer at Essentially Sports and has been contributing since early 2020. Having developed an avid interest in sports at an early age, he pursued a Journalism degree and graduated from Madras Christian College. Arjun manages the Golf division and its content, and primarily covers news pertaining to the NBA as well.

Will LeBron James and Anthony Davis Play Tonight? Los Angeles Lakers vs Indiana Pacers: Preview, Injury Updates, and Prediction

Los Angeles Lakers vs Indiana Pacers: Injury Updates and Lineups

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