Tonight, your 13-17 Los Angeles Lakers will do their darnedest to defeat the Sacramento Kings, who at 16-13 currently occupy the fifth seed in the Western Conference.
LA will of course continue to be without Anthony Davis as the All-NBA center continues to get tests on his meddlesome and mysterious right foot injury. That kinda hurts their chances of nabbing a road win tonight, seeing as how he’s their best player and all.
But even beyond that, the NBA’s latest injury report paints a dour picture with regard to the rest of the team’s health.
In terms of Lakers that will definitely be absent, little-used reserve forward Juan Toscano-Anderson remains out as he continues to recover from his sprained right ankle. Two-way players Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider are also sidelined. Most importantly among the confirmed absences, Marc Stein reports that Russell Westbrook is out as he continues to deal with the left foot soreness that made him a late scratch in LA’s miserable 130-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.
Where things get a bit dicier is the availability of some bigger contributors. Austin Reaves has been listed as doubtful with the right ankle sprain he struggled to play through on Sunday in an eventual 119-117 win over the Washington Wizards. All-Star power forward LeBron James continues to deal with a sore left ankle, but has been listed as likely to suit up tonight.
On the other side, starting power forward Harrison Barnes is questionable with a sore right quad. All-Star center Domantas Sabonis is also questionable with a sore left hand. Young players Keon Ellis and Chima Moneke are both with the Kings’ NBA G League affiliate club, the Stockton Kings.
The action tips off at 7 pm CT at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, and will be broadcast locally on Spectrum SportsNet.
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