Lakers Injury Report: LeBron James Downgraded Ahead Of Warriors Clash
After skipping out on today’s workout in your Los Angeles Lakers’ home practice facility due to an excused absence, it now appears that All-NBA Los Angeles combo forward LeBron James will not be suiting up when he travels to San Francisco for tomorrow’s TNT-broadcast bout with the Golden State Warriors.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the 6’9” superstar will miss the contest with a left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, which already forced him to sit out the glorified scrimmage that they call the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
James, 39, has been relatively healthy this season, and one or two missed games here and there down the home stretch of the 2023-24 season is completely reasonable.
Through 48 games for the 30-26 Lakers, the 20-time All-Star has been averaging 24.8 points on .520/.395/.741 shooting splits, 7.8 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks a night.
Golden State, right behind the ninth-seeded Lakers with a 27-26 record, could soon become the favorite to win on Thursday, as most of the club is expected to be healthy -- with the notable rotation exceptions of Gary Payton II and Chris Paul, two of the team's top defensive guards off the bench. Per the NBA's latest injury report, Paul is out with his left wrist fracture, while Payton is merely questionable with a general illness.
