The Los Angeles Lakers will meet the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in the play-in tournament, and the winner will receive the seventh seed in the Western Conference and a first-round playoff date with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The good news for L.A. is that all of its players will be available to see action.
Everyone will be available to play for the Lakers tonight, per @MarkG_Medina.
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) April 12, 2023
For the last couple of years, the Lakers have been riddled with one key injury after another. But they have gotten healthy at virtually the best time of year.
LeBron James recently returned after being out for a month with a right foot injury, and although he may not be 100 percent, he has played well of late by scoring at least 33 points on over 50 percent in three of the team’s last four games.
He is the engine of the Lakers, and they will need him to play at his usual elite level if they are to make a deep playoff run of any type.
His co-superstar Anthony Davis was forced to sit out more than a month at midseason after a right foot stress injury, but he seems to be fairly healthy, and he has posted some dominant games lately, including a 38-point, 17-rebound effort versus Minnesota in the Lakers’ last meeting with it on March 31.
In addition, guard Dennis Schroder will be back after missing a couple of games with soreness in his neck and Achilles, and his defense will be needed against a solid Timberwolves backcourt.
They will be depleted against L.A., as they will be without starting center Rudy Gobert, who has been suspended after getting into a fight with Kyle Anderson, and starting forward Jaden McDaniels, who has a broken hand.
