The Los Angeles Lakers released their injury report for Thursday night’s game against the New York Knicks. Austin Reaves (right calf strain), Luka Doncic (right knee contusion), and LeBron James (left foot injury management) are probable, while Jordan Goodwin (right ankle sprain) is questionable.
Additionally, Markieff Morris (illness), Rui Hachimura (left patella tendinopathy), and Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery recovery) remain out.
The Lakers have been shorthanded in their last few games, but it hasn’t mattered as they keep winning. They head into Thursday’s game against the Knicks with seven straight victories, taking over the second seed in the Western Conference. They are now +1300 to win this season’s NBA Championship. This recent stretch of stellar play essentially started against the Knicks in New York a month ago on the night they traded for Doncic.
End of the Home Stand
The Knicks still present a tough challenge for the Lakers to close out their homestand, although JJ Redick’s team is focused on themselves regardless. They hope to get healthy for the final stretch of the regular season.
Reaves has missed the last two games after suffering a calf injury against the L.A. Clippers last Friday. While it wasn’t a serious injury, the Lakers were cautious to ensure he was 100% healthy whenever he returned and that the injury didn’t linger. It will be on Thursday, which is a massive boost for the Lakers.
Goodwin, who sprained his ankle in the same game Reaves went out, appears to have a chance of playing as well, which means he is at least making progress after being ruled out of the last two games.
Others have stepped up in their absence, and the Lakers will need that to continue being the case if Goodwin is out against the Knicks in addition to Rui Hachimura. Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and Shake Milton have all picked up the slack during this win streak for L.A., which has been great to see around the team’s star duo of Doncic and James.
Lakers star LeBron James named Western Conference Player of the Month
The one constant for the Lakers during their recent stretch of wins has been the play of LeBron James, who remains one of the best players in the league at 40.
James was so great in February that he won the Western Conference Player of the Month award, an NBA-record 41st monthly award.
Los Angeles Lakers(96) - Minnesota Timberwolves(103)
