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Los Angeles Lakers F LeBron James, PF Anthony Davis and PG Russell Westbrook have all been ruled out for Thursday night’s game vs. the Golden State Warriors. All three are “dealing with injuries” of various types to end the season. The Lakers aren’t playing for anything after being eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns. With nothing to play for, it isn’t surprising to see the trio sit, though Russ had played in the majority of games this season.
The Warriors were favored by 13 points before the news all three would sit. Golden State has enough to play for entering this game. The Dubs are only 0.5 games up on the Dallas Mavericks for the 3-seed in the conference. Either way it seems the Warriors will either face the Utah Jazz or Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. Hosting the Jazz rather than MVP favorite Nikola Jokic seems favorable. The Dubs went 1-3 against Denver and 3-1 against Utah this season.
As for the Lakers, it’s only a matter of time before head coach Frank Vogel is fired. LeBron and AD are under contract still. Russ has a player option, which he could pick up before being shipped out this offseason. Chances are Westbrook will be traded with how poorly this season worked out. That isn’t entirely his fault but he also didn’t mesh well with the roster, which is old anyway. A lot of changes are on the horizon for the Lakers.