Lakers Injury Report: Status of LeBron James, Anthony Davis Revealed for Showdown with Warriors
In this story:
Ahead of a crucial matchup for playoff seeding with the Golden State Warriors, both LeBron James and Anthony Davis have popped up on L.A.'s injury report.
James (ankle) and Davis (Achilles) have been regulars on the report, dealing with the same ailments for the past few weeks.
While James is listed as questionable, and Davis is listed as probable, expect them both to play based on what we've seen from them over the past few weeks, where they've gutted it out despite their nagging injuries.
Beyond L.A.'s two superstars, Gabe Vincent (knee), Jarred Vanderbilt (foot), Cam Reddish (ankle), and Christian Wood (knee) have all been ruled out. These are all fairly major blows in different ways, specifically about how they impact L.A.'s perimeter defense against a Warriors team with two guards that can be tough to contain in the halfcourt: Stephen Curry and Chris Paul.
This also poses challenges for L.A. when it comes to playing bigger, as Golden State is a small team that can struggle on the glass and inside the arc against bigger defenses. The absence of Vanderbilt and Reddish inhibits LA from running these bigger lineups successfully, forcing a lot more three-guard lineups, much to the chagrin of fans.
L.A. also heavily utilizes Jarred Vanderbilt as an answer to Stephen Curry, meaning without him, Austin Reaves will presumably be asked to take the assignment – likely unsuccessfully.
