The Los Angeles Lakers are facing the Orlando Magic tonight at the Crypto.com Arena tonight. The Lakers are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Maxi Kleber broke millions of hearts when his game-winning 3-pointer that night. The Lakers will be aiming to turn the ship around at least at this point of the season, as they hope to make it to the play-in spots.
The Magic are still in playoff contention, to fans’ surprise. They have a record of 29-42 right now and are below the Washington Wizards in the Western Conference. The Magic will go into tonight’s game believing that it’s a must-win. That mainly depends on the appearances of certain key Lakers stars, who might be sidelined with injuries.
LeBron James is out for the Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic game tonight
LeBron James‘ 22-23 NBA season has been quite injury-plagued. The 4x NBA champ suffered an adductor injury at the start of the season. And then an ankle injury after breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Right now, King James is dealing with a foot injury. The last time LeBron played was on February 26, and he won’t be playing tonight as well.
Lakers’ injury report for tomorrow vs. Orlando: pic.twitter.com/ifMKq4S7Or
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 18, 2023
Reports mention that there is still a couple of weeks before James returns for the Lakers. Apart from LeBron, Anthony Davis and Mo Bamba are also on the Lakers injury report. AD is probable with a right foot stress injury but Mo Bamba is out for the game against the Magic tonight.
Los Angeles Lakers injury report
- LeBron James (out)
- Anthony Davis (probable)
- Mo Bamba (out)
Los Angeles Lakers expected roster
- Anthony Davis (probable)
- Troy Brown Jr.
- D’Angelo Russell
- Jarred Vanderbilt
- Malik Beasley
Orlando Magic injury report
- Jalen Suggs (day-to-day)
- Jonathan Isaac (out)
Orlando Magic expected roster
- Paolo Banchero
- Franz Wagner
- Wendell Carter, Jr.
- Gary Harris
- Markelle Fultz
The Lakers are favored over the Magic despite LeBron James’ absence
The Lakers have been looking different tactically after the trade deadline. D’Angelo Russell’s arrival in LA has been quite beneficial for the team. Even in LeBron James’ absence, the franchise has done decently well to win a few games. However, they haven’t had King James’ presence in the paint or his brilliance on the court for that matter.
The Lakers took a 129-110 win when they faced the Magic in December 2022. LeBron and Thomas Bryant were the standout performers on the night but the latter is now a Denver Nuggets player. However, D-Lo and Rui Hachimura might just help the Lakers beat the Magic again and take the pressure off an injured Anthony Davis.
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