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Will LeBron James Play Tonight? Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic: Game Prediction, Injury Updates and Lineup

Published 04/25/2021, 11:00 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

It’s time to start worrying about the Los Angeles Lakers, who have started to head in the other direction once again. They were swept in their two-game series by the Dallas Mavericks, which is now their third straight loss. However, they will be looking to fix some of the damage done by playing against one of the worst teams of the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic.

The Orlando Magic are at the bottom of the East with a miserable 18-41 record. They are at a point of no return and have lost four games in a row. Will the Lakers be able to put an end to their misery with this matchup?

Los Angeles Lakers injury report and game prediction

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After being one of the top teams in the league, the defending champions hit one of the worst barriers. Losing both their superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, had them slide down right to the fifth position in the Western Conference.

Even though he returned for this mini-series for restricted minutes, Bron’s return is yet to come. In their last bout against the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers blew the 17-point lead they had in the first half, eventually being beaten 108-93.

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Davis played longer than the first game and added 17 points to the scoreboard. However, Ben McLemore was the lead scorer with 20 points, who was put in the lineup in place of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was out due to a sprained ankle. There is no update on whether he will appear for this game.

USA Today via Reuters

Thus, the predicted lineup would be Kyle Kuzma, Andre Drummond, Ben McLemore, Anthony Davis, and Dennis Schroder.

Orlando Magic injury report and game prediction

The Orlando Magic are a lost cause and had their fourth consecutive loss against the New Orleans Pelicans. The game was over by the time it was halftime, and by the time the Pelicans had a 40+ point lead in the third quarter, the game was sealed.

The lead scorer for them was Mohamed Bamba who finished the night with 17 points. And the secondary scorer was Cole Anthony who had 14 points. Gary Harris and R.J. Hampton had slow nights, adding only 11 and 10 points, respectively.

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USA Today via Reuters

However, Orlando has the Indiana Pacers to face before they meet up with the Lakers. With Otto Porter Jr. out along with Wendell Carter Jr., Terrence Ross, and James Ennis III, questionable for Pacers, they might be absent against the Lakers as well.

So, the predicted lineup would be Chuma Okeke, Dwayne Bacon, Mohamed Bamba, Gary Harris, and Cole Anthony.

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Game prediction

This should be an easy win for the Lakers to pull themselves out of this slump. First, the Orlando Magic might be under-manned. If not, even without Davis and Bron, the Lakers are a far better team in every way.

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Written by:

Yashima Bhatia

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Yashima Bhatia is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports who specialises in providing nuanced predictions and updates for matches. She has a Bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication. Yashima's love for playing the game came up at a young age, when the excitement of the games coupled with the intensity of the Playoffs had her hooked.
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