The last few days have been incessantly brutal for the Los Angeles Lakers. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will both miss the remainder of the regular season and likely at least a portion of the impending NBA Playoffs. Now, LeBron James will miss Tuesday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James has been ruled out for tonight due to injury management for his right foot, per the NBA’s official injury report. He joins Doncic, Reaves, and Marcus Smart on that listing as each are out for this contest.
The 41-year-old has appeared in 57 games for the Lakers this season. He averages 20.8 points, 7.1 assists and 6.1 rebounds per contest and was sure to handle a heavy workload in the absence of his co-stars, but it seems he won’t get that opportunity tonight. Notably, he was coming off a 30-point game against the Dallas Mavericks in his last appearance on Sunday.
The injury bug certainly struck at the worst possible time for Los Angeles. The Lakers have a 15-4 record since March 1 and had gotten back into the upper half of the Western Conference playoff bracket, but Doncic and Reaves’ absence will surely stymie whatever hopes of a title the franchise may have previously held.
Los Angeles is listed as an 18.5-point home underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook tonight against the Thunder.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
