Tuesday night marks the Los Angeles Lakers’ return to the NBA In-Season Tournament as they travel to face the Utah Jazz. With a chance to win the NBA Cup, Los Angeles is currently leading its group in the tournament and should advance to the knockout round.
The majority of critics dismissed the In-Season Tournament as meaningless and unimportant to players. For the Lakers, however, who have been very vocal about how much they want the $500,000 grand prize, that has not been the case.
Does LeBron James play the Jazz tonight?
Due to a calf injury, LeBron James is considered questionable for the game on Tuesday night. LeBron has been battling a persistent calf injury; last week, he was unable to play due to it.
After the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets on Sunday, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer acknowledged that he was a little hurt, which should worry Lakers supporters. LeBron and the Lakers have no justification for pressing this early in the campaign.
All of that being said, it would be shocking if LeBron missed this game due to injury. With a calf injury, he was listed as questionable the last time he played, and it would take a last-minute setback to remove him from the match.
Complete Lakers injury report versus Jazz:
The hip/groin injury that has been bothering Anthony Davis for a few games is also listed on the report. Davis has played through the injury even though it is mentioned in the report, having missed just one game. It is expected that AD will suit up tonight, as he is listed as probable.
Both Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) and Gabe Vincent (knee) are still sidelined, but it looks like Vando could be getting close to making a comeback soon for the purple and gold.
Due to a knee injury, rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino is listed as questionable for Tuesday night’s game. On Sunday, JHS was moved up to questionable for the first time, but they did not play. He has not yet made his purple and gold NBA debut.
Complete Jazz vs. Lakers injury report:
The only player on the Jazz injury report is Walker Kessler, a promising big man. Kessler’s elbow injury has kept him out of the game for more than two weeks. He’s expected to resume his basketball activities on Monday of next week.