The Los Angeles Lakers have listed Anthony Davis (bilateral Achilles tendiopathy) as probable and LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) as questionable for Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain) is off the injury report and set to return, as expected.
Gabe Vincent, Christian Wood, Colin Castleton and Jarred Vanderbilt all remain out with their respective injuries with no set timetable for a return. Wood recently underwent surgery on his knee so could be done for the season, while both Vincent and Vanderbilt seem to be making progress despite not yet being able to return.
Lakers rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino is also out after the team announced he underwent back surgery.
It is good news to see that Reddish will be back in the lineup for L.A. though. After suffering an ankle sprain on Jan. 23, Reddish has only been able to play in four of the Lakers’ last 23 games.
With some tough upcoming matchups coming up on the schedule, starting with Friday night against Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers, getting a quality perimeter defender like Reddish back in the lineup is a big boost for the Lakers.
With every game holding extreme importance, it’s reasonable to think that both James and Davis will be able to play through their respective ailments. The Lakers have not played since Monday and only twice in the last week, giving guys an opportunity to get some much-needed rest in order to feel fresh and healthy for the final stretch of the regular season.
The good news for the Lakers is that they will be facing a shorthanded 76ers team on Friday as Joel Embiid continues to work his way back from knee surgery. Philadelphia has not been the same team in his absence, so the Lakers have an prime opportunity to avenge their previous loss to the 76ers on the road.
Austin Reaves: Lakers have ‘must-win’ mindset
After dropping some key games to teams above them in the standings, the Lakers cannot really afford to lose too many more if they want to move up in the Play-In Tournament. With that being the case, Austin Reaves spoke on the team taking a must-win approach.
“Last week, we had an opportunity when we played Sac twice and Golden State and we didn’t capitalize on those,” Reaves said after practice on Wednesday. “You see kind of how things can change so quick that I think everybody, especially from that Atlanta game the other night, you can tell everybody was locked in on one goal and that was winning. The way we do that is playing the game the right way, so I think the intensity is ratcheting up and we’re kind of in that mindset of must-win.”
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