“It’s everything. It’s the rhythm. I just feel off rhythm the last few, three or four games”. It was only a few days ago when LeBron James gave a reason for a deficiency in his scoring rate. The Los Angeles Lakers had a good start to the season, but have now is in the midst of a slump of 12-10. Even James is reportedly going through one of the worst shooting slumps of his career. Despite this, the franchise still needs their lead scorer by their side. Especially when they are in such a precarious position. Unfortunately, there is a good chance that the Lakers may have to end up facing the Atlanta Hawks without their 39-year-old star.
According to the Los Angeles Lakers Injury Report, the team has listed LeBron James under a ‘Day-To-Day’ status for the upcoming game. Furthermore, they have placed him as ‘Questionable’ instead of in the ‘probable’ category.
This update comes after reports revealed that the NBA All-Time Scorer sustained a left foot soreness. No indications of the same were seen during the Lakers’ recent game against the Miami Heat. After all, LeBron dropped 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 29 minutes, without indication of any injury concerns. If LeBron James gets sidelined for the next game, then it will be the first matchup, this season, that he will miss. Furthermore, it will also create a dent in the 82-game goal that the player had reportedly set for himself.
To worsen the Lakers’ situation, LeBron James isn’t the only player on the Injury Report. After sustaining a left pelvic contusion, the team will hold Austin Reaves out of his fourth straight game. After playing only one game in November, before returning to take on the Utah Jaaz earlier this month, Jalen Hood-Schifino is again ‘OUT’. He will now miss his 3rd consecutive game after getting diagnosed with a left hamstring strain.
Father might accompany his son, as Bronny James, who had spent some time in the G-League, won’t be present to take on Trae Young and co because of his heel injury. LeBron’s son will be joining Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes, and Christian Wood in the ‘OUT’ category. Amidst all this despair, the only good news is that Anthony Davis continues to remain ‘Probable’. His foot ailment is not in too bad of a condition to stop him from playing against the Atlanta Hawks.
Speaking of the Atlanta Hawks, their Injury Report hasn’t seen a single change since the previous game. Nor in the ones that came before it. Trae Young continues holding a ‘Day-To-Day’ status. Cody Zeller will continue being ‘OUT’ due to ‘personal reasons’ again. Seth Lundy hasn’t recovered from his sprained left ankle yet, causing his season debut to be delayed again. The last game that Trae Young missed because of his right Achilles tendinitis was the one against the Boston Celtics. A different assessment later concluded that the player could have played. Therefore, the league fined the Atlanta Hawks $100,000 because of violation of the player participation policy.
In light of these injury updates, the Lakers will certainly have to make adjustments to its starting lineup.
What will the starting lineup and depth chart for the Lakers-Hawks clash look like?
The possibility of LeBron James being ‘OUT’ for the upcoming game seems more prominent than ever. Therefore, if he does remain absent, then Cam Reddish and Armel Traore can see an increase in their playing time. Meanwhile, Austin Reaves’ absence will continue putting D’Angelo Russell at the forefront, and potentially have him lead the scoring effort along with Anthony Davis. With these updates, we expect the starting lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers to look something like this:
| POSITION | STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | 5TH |
| PG | Austin Reaves (OUT) | D’Angelo Russell | Gabe Vincent | Bronny James (OUT) | Jalen Hood-Schifino (OUT) |
| SG | Dalton Knecht | Gabe Vincent | Austin Reaves (OUT) | Cam Reddish | Max Christie |
| SF | Rui Hachimura | Max Christie | Cam Reddish | Dalton Knecht | LeBron James (Day-To-Day) |
| PF | LeBron James (Day-To-Day) | Cam Reddish | Rui Hachimura | Armel Traore | Maxwell Lewis |
| C | Anthony Davis (Day-To-Day) | Jaxson Hayes (OUT) | Christian Koloko | Armel Traore | LeBron James (Day-To-Day) |
In case Trae Young misses the game, Kobe Bufkin and Vit Krejci can see an increase in their on-court time. Other than that, no new changes will take place. Therefore, the Atlanta Hawks’ starting lineup for the upcoming game might look like this:
| POSITION | STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | 5TH |
| PG | Trae Young (Day-To-Day) | Kobe Bufkin | Keaton Wallace | Dyson Daniels | Vit Krejci |
| SG | Dyson Daniels | Bogdan Bogdanovic | Vit Krejci | Garrison Matthews | Kobe Bufkin |
| SF | Zaccharie Risacher | Bogdan Bogdanovic | De’Andre Hunter | Garrison Matthews | Vit Krejci |
| PF | Jalen Johnson | De’Andre Hunter | Larry Nance Jr | David Roddy | Zaccharie Risacher |
| C | Clint Capela | Onyeka Okongwu | Larry Nance Jr | Dominick Barlow | Mouhamed Gueye |
LeBron James’ squad or the Atlanta Hawks? Who will you be rooting for during the upcoming matchup? Let us know in the comments down below.
The post Will LeBron James Play Tonight vs Hawks? Lakers Injury Report, Depth Chart & More Before All Important Clash appeared first on EssentiallySports.
