The Los Angeles Lakers need every win they can get to make up the ground they lost while LeBron James was injured. Doing so over the final third of the regular season, however, will be even more difficult if the team's key contributors remain absent.
Fortunately, both Josh Hart and Mike Muscala are probable for Los Angeles' game against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, the first of its post All-Star run toward the playoffs.
Josh Hart (knee) and Mike Muscala (ankle) are PROBABLE for tomorrow’s game. #Lakers
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) February 20, 2019
Lonzo Ball, meanwhile, is still out with an ankle injury. It's unclear when the sophomore guard will return to action.
Josh Hart missed three of the Lakers' last four games before the All-Star break with patella tendinitis in his left knee.
He first sat out of Los Angeles' humiliating loss to the Indiana Pacers on February 5th. Hart played just eight minutes in his team's thrilling victory over Boston two days later, but then missed the Lakers' ensuing losses to the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks.
The sophomore guard has struggled to live up to heightened expectations after an MVP performance at Las Vegas Summer League in July. He's averaging 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game, shooting only 33.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Mike Muscala, meanwhile, came to the Lakers in a trade-deadline deal that sent Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley to the LA Clippers.
The 27-year-old had been dealt to the Clippers just a day earlier in the trade that netted the Philadelphia 76ers Tobias Harris. As the only LA big man with legitimate 3-point range, Muscala figures to play a major role for the Purple and Gold as the season progresses.
The Lakers are currently in 10th place in the Western Conference, three games behind the eighth-seeded Clippers.
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