The Los Angeles Lakers have fallen to 10th in the Western Conference standings following the Golden State Warriors' win on Thursday night. Now, there's still a chance that the Lakers escape the dreaded 9/10 side of the play-in tournament bracket, but they have to win out to have a strong chance at doing so. Thus, this makes their Friday night battle against the Memphis Grizzlies an ever important one; the question now is, are LeBron James and Anthony Davis going to play in this crucial contest?
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LeBron James' injury status vs. Grizzlies
LeBron James is the kind of player who always turns up for his team when it matters. Nonetheless, there remains a chance that he could be out for the Lakers' Friday night matchup against the Grizzlies, as important as this game is. At present, the Lakers have James listed on the injury report as “questionable” to play due to a left ankle peroneal tendinopathy.
At age 39, James has a ton of mileage on his body; after all, he is the all-time leader in minutes played, regular season and playoffs combined. The Lakers star even admitted earlier in the season that the ankle problems he's been dealing with have come as a result of the wear and tear he has accumulated throughout his illustrious career.
Still, LeBron James was healthy enough to play the Lakers' most recent game, a 134-120 loss against the Warriors. That was a huge loss for the Lakers; the Warriors' win gave the season series in favor of them, making it extra difficult for the Purple and Gold to move up from 10.
In the event of a three-way tie between the Lakers, Warriors, and Sacramento Kings, it will be Los Angeles that loses out since they went a combined 1-7 against those two teams.
LeBron James has never lost a game in the play-in tournament, and there might not be a more terrifying player to face in a single-elimination game than him. But the Lakers will certainly prefer to finish 8th. A win against the Grizzlies could go a long way towards that goal and James' availability will help immensely to that end.
But with a tougher matchup in Game 82 (New Orleans Pelicans), there could be a chance that James misses this game against the 27-win Grizzlies, especially when he and Anthony Davis alternated absences recently.
Anthony Davis injury status vs. Grizzlies
Anthony Davis missed the Lakers' loss against the Warriors on the ninth; but he appears to be on track to return to the hardwood following a one-game absence, as he is listed as “probable” on the injury report despite a left eye contusion.
Davis, who was the solo All-Star for the Lakers during their April 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, played only 12 minutes in his most recent outing. He had to exit early after getting hit in the eye by Kyle Anderson. At the very least, Davis doesn't appear to be suffering from any lingering effects from that hit.
As mentioned earlier, Anthony Davis could be in for a heavy workload in the event that LeBron James misses the contest. Davis has had plenty of solid outings against the Grizzlies in the past; in his most recent outing versus Memphis, he put up 31 points on 13-22 shooting, although that came in a 127-113 loss for the Lakers.
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