Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is listed as questionable with a calf injury on the team’s injury report ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings.
James, who missed Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, played on Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies. He scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 22:39 of playing time. He also added nine rebounds and six assists.
He isn’t the only player listed on the injury report for the Lakers. Star Anthony Davis is probable with a hip injury.
The Lakers have also listed rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino (right patella contusion), guard Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion) and forward Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel bursitis) as out for Wednesday’s game.
It would be surprising to see James miss Wednesday’s game since he was able to rest against the Grizzlies, with the Lakers winning in a blowout on Tuesday.
James played the fewest minutes in a single game all season on Tuesday night. The Lakers would certainly love to have him in the lineup against a Kings team that got star guard De’Aaron Fox back earlier this week.
Fox returned from an ankle injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. He finished that game with 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting, two rebounds and six assists. Fox did not seem to be on a minutes restriction in the game.
The Lakers (6-5 this season) lost their first meeting of the 2023-24 season against the Kings. The game went into overtime, and James ended up playing 39:05 – his second highest minutes total of the season.
Through the 10 games that he’s appeared in this season, James is averaging 24.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 56.7 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc.
The four-time champion has played at a high level, but the Lakers have already shown (resting James against Portland) that they don’t want to jeopardize his health by overworking him early in the season.
With Davis probable, the Lakers will likely have at least one star in the lineup on Wednesday night. The team should update James’ status as the start of the matchup approaches.
The two teams are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. PST from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
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