Ahead of their meeting tonight, several players on two Western Conference play-in tournament hopefuls could be stuck on the shelf. Tonight at Crypto.com Arena, for an ABC broadcast that tips off at 5:30 p.m. PT, the 36-31 Los Angeles Lakers will host the 34-31 Golden State Warriors. The Lakers currently occupy the ninth seed in the West, while the Warriors are right behind them in tenth.
The 7-10 seeds in each NBA conference will have to duke it out for two playoff seeds apiece. Neither Los Angeles nor Golden State is necessarily out of the running to avoid a play-in tournament appearance, either. The sixth-seeded Sacramento Kings are just three games ahead of LA and four ahead of Golden State, and feel quite catchable. The Kings own their season tiebreaker over the Lakers, however, so in their case the Lakers would need to sport a better overall record when the season wraps up.
The Lakers and Warriors have split their two prior encounters this year. Golden State has lost three of its past four bouts. Los Angeles boasts a solid 24-11 home record, but the Warriors have a winning road record, too (17-14). Betting aggregator The Action Network is guardedly optimistic that LA will win at home. Accordingly, the Lakers are listed as -3 favorites to do just that.
But which Lakers will actually be available to suit up? And against which Warriors? That is the eternal question.
All-NBA Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, 36, has been sidelined with an ankle injury for the past week. He participated in a practice with Golden State’s G League affiliate squad, the Santa Cruz Warriors, earlier this week while recuperating. When healthy, he’s looked more or less the same as ever, minus perhaps a touch of his old explosiveness. He’s averaging 26.9 points on a .449/.407/.920 slash line, 4.9 dimes, 4.4 boards, and 0.8 swipes across 59 heatlhy contests. According to the league’s latest injury report, the 6’3″ Davidson alum is officially considered questionable tonight. Curry’s fellow future Warriors Hall of Famer and four-time champion, power forward Draymond Green, is also listed as questionable to play due to a sore low back.
Six Lakers players will miss this evening’s matchup. Reserve point guard Gabe Vincent, who’s missed all but five games during his first season with LA due to a left knee effusion that eventually required surgery, remains on the shelf. Forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who’s grappled with multiple injuries this season while playing a scant 29 contests thus far this year, is still on the shelf with a right mid-foot sprain. Small forward Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain) and power forward/center Christian Wood (left knee effusion) are both unavailable. Two-way player Colin Castleton is still unavailable due to his fracture right wrist.
First round draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino is still on assignment with LA’s NBAGL affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. Hood-Schifino, the No. 17 pick out of Indiana University, has looked wholly revitalized in South Bay. The 6’5″ swingman had trouble carving out rotation minutes on a veteran-heavy Lakers roster competing for the playoffs in a chippy Western Conference. Through 15 games this year with South Bay, he’s averaging 22 points on .473/.432/.800 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks a night.
Tonight, All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both definitive maybes. James is questionable to play with a left ankle peroneal tendinopathy. Davis is considered probable due to a bilateral Achilles tendinopathy. One would imagine their current odds as favorites would disappear should one or both of these immortals sit out.
