The NBA season is already past the midway point as teams around the league gear up for the All-Star break.
It’s been tough to get a beat on anybody this year, with both conferences featuring extremely flawed teams whose weaknesses could be exposed in a playoff series.
The Los Angeles Lakers are surprisingly one of these teams. They had a hot start to the season, going 15-4 despite LeBron James missing the first 14 games, but it’s been downhill ever since.
They are 17-17 in their last 34 games, but luckily they have a chance to regroup before the All-Star break.
The Lakers’ entire starting lineup missed Tuesday night’s contest against the San Antonio Spurs, so they are hoping to get some of them back tonight.
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They take on the Dallas Mavericks at home, so it would be a big boost to get Luka Doncic back, who undoubtedly still has a chip on his shoulder from when they sent him to Los Angeles for Anthony Davis.
The latter is no longer in Dallas, as the trade blew up in their face and they are now ready to build around sensational rookie Cooper Flagg.
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The No. 1 pick in the draft suffered a foot injury during the Mavericks’ last game, so his status for tonight is also in question. Let’s take a look at who will be healthy enough to suit up for this final game before the All-Star break.
Lakers Injury Report: LeBron James, Luka Doncic Availability
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Tuesday’s contest against the Spurs was a costly one for James, as it was his 18th missed game, knocking him out of contention for end-of-season awards.
He had been largely healthy as of late, but his 14 missed games to start the season ultimately did him in.
Although Doncic remains out with a hamstring injury he suffered last week against the Philadelphia 76ers, James will be back in the lineup to try and get Los Angeles some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.
The other important news from this injury report is that most of the other starters — Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart — will return to the court as well.
The Lakers probably don’t need all of them to take down this lowly Mavericks team, but the roster needs to build some chemistry as the gear up for a playoff push.
Mavericks Injury Report: Cooper Flagg Availability
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After struggling mightily to begin the season, Flagg is showing just why he was considered a generational prospect.
He is averaging 22.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game since the start of December and is the main reason why Davis was unloaded to the Washington Wizards.
Unfortunately, Flagg won’t be able to continue his dominant stretch in Los Angeles because his foot injury is severe enough to keep him out of tonight’s game.
While the sprain doesn’t appear to be debilitating, Dallas is erring on the side of caution with their franchise centerpiece.
The Mavericks don’t have any big expectations for this season, so Flagg missing this game doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.
But it is certainly disappointing that he’ll have to miss one of the only chances the world will get to see him match up against James.