Lakers Injury Report: LA All-Star Downgraded Ahead Of Do-Or-Die Game 4 Vs Denver

Uh oh.

Apr 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) moves to the / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Haven fallen to a perhaps-insurmountable 0-3 series deficit against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers can ill afford to lose more bodies ahead of a do-or-die Game 4 on Saturday.

Especially if one of the players the club could be without is probaly its best two-way piece.

Unfortunately, that exact nightmare scenario is in play, as LA's postseason continues to unravel.

Khobi Price of The Orange County Register reports that nine-time All-Star center Anthony Davis has seen his status downgraded to questionable due to a sprained left wrist, suffered late in the 112-105 Game 3 home loss. Davis' fellow All-Star, forward LeBron James, is probable to play through the left ankle peroneal tendinopathy he's been managing for much of the season's second half.

Missing Davis would kill the Lakers' interior defense. Though Los Angeles has alternated between using Davis, Rui Hachimura and James defensively against MVP Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Davis ultimately is the last line of post defense against a variety of Denver drivers.

Per Price, LA was also treated to some happier news on the injury front. Floor-stretching power forward/center Christian Wood could make his first return to the hardwood after undergoing a left knee surgery in March. Wood could help give the Lakers frontcourt an added dimension off the bench against a massive Denver front line.

In other injury news, usual injury suspects Jalen Hood-Schifino (lumbar disc surgery), Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain) and Jarred Vanderbilt (right midfoot sprain) have all been ruled out already. Though project rookie Hood-Schifino was rarely a part of head coach Darvin Ham's rotation, the continued absences of Reddish and Vanderbilt have gravely impacted LA's perimeter defense. Would their presence swing a series? Perhaps not, but Vanderbilt's at least could maybe have helped curb Denver's various comebacks from double-digit Lakers advantages in any of the three prior bouts.

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