The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Golden State Warriors in a game on Thursday, April 9, that will feature NBA superstar LeBron James.
James missed the Lakers’ last game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to left foot injury management, but was not listed on the team’s injury report against the Warriors.
While the matchup was expected to be yet another chapter in James’ career playing against longtime rival Stephen Curry, the Golden State star has been ruled out due to knee injury management, as he has played just two games after a two-month-long absence.
Los Angeles announced its starting lineup and final injury report for the Thursday night contest against the Warriors.
Lakers Starting Lineup vs Warriors
In the lead-up to the Lakers vs Warriors game, the team from Southern California took to social media to announce their group of starters.
Luke Kennard, Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Deandre Ayton all got the nod from head coach JJ Redick.
With the injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, Kennard and LaRavia have been starting over the past few games. But while the Lakers are dealing with a few other players on the injury report, Hachimura was also named a starter.
James and Kennard will be taking a majority of the ball-handing and playing roles against Golden State.
Lakers Injury Report
GettyLuka Dončić sits on the bench alongside teammates as the Los Angeles Lakers deal with injuries to key players ahead of the playoffs.
As mentioned, despite sitting on Tuesday, James was not on the Lakers’ injury report for Thursday.
However, Doncic, Reaves, Marcus Smart, and Jaxson Hayes all headlined that group.
Doncic and Reaves are set to be out for an extended period with hamstring and oblique injuries, respectively. Redick is confident that if Los Angeles can win at least one playoff series (likely against the Houston Rockets), they have the potential to get both back.
“JJ Redick says he spoke to Luka Doncic yesterday while he was in Spain and said Doncic is in “relatively good spirits” and is attacking his rehab. He said that it has also been good for Austin Reaves to be around the team while he goes through his initial phase of rehab, too,” Dave McMenamin recently reported on the two.
As for Smart, it’s been an ankle injury now sidelining him for the past nine games. He was originally questionable, and Redick had been hopeful for a return soon, but he remains out for the time being, not set to play against the Warriors.
Hayes was also ruled out the day before the game, dealing with foot soreness.
Health remains a key priority for Los Angeles right now, and as Redick had said, playoff seeding isn’t what’s important, so the Lakers are focusing on keeping players off the injury report in the lead-up to the postseason.
Lakers Playoff Scenarios
The Lakers are 50-29 heading into the game against Golden State, currently the fourth seed in the West, dropping from third since the Doncic and Reaves injuries.
At this point in the season, a first-round date against the Rockets appears most likely, as the two teams have the same record. The Lakers could theoretically jump back up to third, over the Denver Nuggets, but that remains a tall task with just three games to go in the year.
What is left to be decided is who will have home-court advantage between the Lakers and Rockets. Both scenarios are still in play, but if both teams finish with the same record, Los Angeles has the tie-breaking advantage.
Lakers vs Warriors tips off at 7 pm PST on Amazon Prime Video.
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