The Los Angeles Lakers posted a lengthy injury report for Friday night's matchup with the Atlanta Hawks at Crypto.com Arena, which included LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis (duh), Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr., Damian Jones, and, in a surprise, Austin Reaves.
LeBron (left ankle soreness) and Westbrook (left foot soreness) are probable. LeBron missed the team's win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday due to a non-COVID illness, though he had been initially listed on the injury report with ankle soreness. Westbrook exited Monday's win over the Charlotte Hornets early with what the team labeled “foot soreness”, though he bounced back to put up 21/9/8 against Miami.
Brown Jr., who left Wednesday's game in the second half, is questionable with a left quad strain. Backup center Damian Jones is also questionable with a toe injury.
Lonnie Walker IV, the Lakers' third-leading scorer (14.7 PPG), will miss his fourth straight game. The first two absences were due to a tailbone contusion, but he's since been ruled out with left knee issues (first soreness, now tendonitis). After the Heat game, Darvin Ham said the Lakers are going to bring Walker IV along “slow”, implying that the two-guard may not be back on the court immediately.
In a legitimate surprise, Austin Reaves has been ruled out for Friday due to a left hamstring strain. The Lakers didn't practice on Thursday and Reaves made no mention of the injury postgame on Wednesday, so it's not yet clear when he suffered the strain.
Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder, the hero of the Heat win who rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter, was notably off the injury report.
Of course, Anthony Davis remains out with a stress injury in his foot.
The Lakers, winners of three in a row, are 17-21 — one game out of the final play-in spot. They'll head north to face the Sacramento Kings on Saturday in the second leg of a back-to-back.
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