The Los Angeles Lakers, still in search of securing a spot in the NBA Play-In tournament, visit the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. As has been the case for a while now, though, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both on the injury report, so the question is this: Are LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing tonight vs. the Raptors?
When LeBron and AD play, the Lakers are a tough team to beat for anyone, but both are suffering from nagging lower-body injuries that are not being helped with the intensity of these late-season games with postseason implications.
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LeBron James, Anthony Davis injury status vs. Raptors
Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were initially listed as questionable to play against the Raptors. LeBron James is on the injury report for peroneal tendinopathy in his left ankle, while Davis is suffering from a hyperextension of his left knee. Davis is typically the more likely of the two to play; AD has only missed five games all season and has played the last two games despite being on the injury report with the knee injury both times.
Fortunately, the two have been given the greenlight to play just half an hour before tip-off, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
James has been present on the Lakers' injury report for almost the entire season. Earlier in the year, James played through a calf injury, but since December, James has consistently been listed with an ankle issue. Despite this, the 39-year-old James has played 65 of the Lakers' 75 games this season.
James notably missed the Lakers' nationally televised clash against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 26, a game in which L.A. won in double overtime thanks to a 34-point, 23-rebound, 4-block performance by Davis, in addition to 58 combined points by Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell.
Before the game against Milwaukee, James told TNT's Chris Haynes that he had to be “strategic” about managing his ankle injury, and with the Play-In just weeks away, it is likely wise for James, the oldest player in the NBA, to try to pace himself as best as he can.
Will the Lakers make the Play-In?
The Lakers cannot afford to lose many of their seven remaining games. At 42-33, the Lakers sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, 1.5 games from the Sacramento Kings for the eighth seed and 1.5 games ahead of the Golden State Warriors in 10th, the final Play-In spot.
Which seed the Lakers ultimately earn could be vital to their postseason success or if they even have any. A seventh seed, which seems unlikely considering the Phoenix Suns' two-game edge on the Lakers, would guarantee the Lakers would not have to play a road game. An eighth-seed, a much more realistic scenario considering the Kings' uncertainty with Malik Monk's recent injury, would give the Lakers two shots at qualifying for the playoffs.
If things hold as they are now, the Lakers and Warriors will again play in the Play-In. The teams played each other in 2021, a game in which the Lakers won. They also met each other in the playoff last season; L.A. won the second-round series 4-2.
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