The Los Angeles Lakers host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night in their final home game of the regular season. While most of the attention will be on the 2020 championship banner ceremony, the game itself is also very important for the Lakers as they look to extend their win streak to three games and keep pace with the teams ahead of them in the standings with hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament.
As has been the case all season long, the Lakers’ injury report coming into this one is rather extensive. While Dennis Schroder remains out, Alex Caruso (sore right foot) is listed as questionable.
Additionally, LeBron James has also been ruled out despite reports indicating that he would return to action. It appears he just wants to get a couple of extra days to rest that ankle before testing it out in a game.
It appears Davis is also expected to miss the game due to an adductor issue, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
Anthony Davis will also not play tonight against the Rockets after experiencing tightness in his groin last night, sources tell ESPN
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 12, 2021
Davis was in visible pain during the game although he grinded it out. He said after the game that he hopes to play against the Rockets, although it’s not surprising to see him sit out the second game of the back-to-back in order to ensure the adductor injury doesn’t become a bigger issue moving forward.
Meanwhile, Caruso left Tuesday night’s win over the New York Knicks early due to the foot issue that has been hampering him for the last few games.
On the Rockets’ side of things, Kevin Porter Jr., Avery Bradley and Sterling Brown have all been ruled out while Christian Wood is among the players they have that are questionable.
Houston has been among the worst teams in the league this season and have nothing to play for, so if the Lakers come out strong then they should be able to put this one away early. Porter and Wood have been the Rockets’ best two players and both could be sitting out.
If James is able to play then this is the perfect landing spot for him to test his sore ankle. Not only is it against an inferior opponent, but the Lakers also have two days off following the game before their final two games of the regular season.
Lakers (39-30) vs. Rockets (16-53)
7:30 p.m. PT, May 11, 2021
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Alex Caruso
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SF: Wesley Matthews
PF: Kyle Kuzma
C: Andre Drummond
Key Reserves: Markieff Morris, Talen Horton-Tucker, Marc Gasol, Montrezl Harrell
Projected Rockets Starting Lineup:
PG: DJ Augustine
SG: Kenyan Martin Jr.
SF: Danuel House
PF: Jae’Sean Tate
C: Kelly Olynyk
Key Reserves: Armoni Brooks, Khyri Thomas, Cameron Oliver, Daquan Jeffries
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