LeBron James questionable to play Wednesday, Luka Doncic to see minutes increase

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LeBron James, left, is questionable to play in the Lakers’ game Wednesday while new teammate Luka Doncic will see his minutes increase after recovering from a calf injury. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

The biggest news Tuesday with the Lakers was about the health of LeBron James and the increased minutes for Luka Doncic.

James, who didn’t play in Sunday’s All-Star Game in San Francisco because of lingering ankle and foot discomfort, has been listed as questionable for the Lakers game against Charlotte on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“It’s something that we managed all year and it was sore over the weekend,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after practice Tuesday. “He was able to do most of practice today. But, like it’s been all year, like it’s a day-to-day thing. It’s just something that we’ve had to manage and we’ll continue to manage throughout the rest of the year.”

James, 40 and a 22-year veteran, is averaging 24.3 points per game, 9.0 assists and 7.7 rebounds over 34.5 minutes per game. He is shooting 51.6% from the field and 39.5% from three-point range. He has played in 48 of the Lakers’ 52 games before the All-Star break.

In the two games Doncic has played in with the Lakers since being acquired in a blockbuster deal from the Dallas Mavericks that was headlined by Anthony Davis, he has averaged 23.5 minutes per game.

Both games were against the Utah Jazz and both were blowouts as the teams split.

But with six days off over the All-Star break, Redick said Doncic will be fine for an increased load.

“His minutes will be up tomorrow,” Redick said. “I don’t think there is going to be any sort of restrictions going forward.”

Challenging schedule

The Lakers open play after the All-Star break against Charlotte on Wednesday night in a makeup game from a Jan. 9 postponement because of the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Then the Lakers play on Thursday night in Portland and at Denver on Saturday.

The Lakers will have two days off after the Nuggets game and then play eight games over 14 days, and just two of the opponents are below .500. They have another set of back-to-back…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lebron-james-questionable-play-wednesday-030448337.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2025-02-19 03:04:00

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