The Los Angeles Lakers were seriously short-handed on Tuesday night when they took on the Memphis Grizzlies. They were without LeBron James, who will be out indefinitely with a right foot injury, and D’Angelo Russell, who has a sprained ankle.
Not surprisingly, they lost, 121-109. Ja Morant had 39 points, and Los Angeles simply had no shot creators who could go back at him on the offensive end.
Tonight, the Lakers will play the Oklahoma City Thunder, and they will be even more short-handed: Anthony Davis will not play. The Thunder will also be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is by far their best player.
LAL will be shorthanded on this B2B at OKC tonight, with AD, LeBron and Russell all out. They'll require a rally-around-the-flag effort.
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in health and safety protocols for OKC (and missed the prior 3 games with injuries).
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 1, 2023
Head coach Darvin Ham called Davis’ absence precautionary, but he also said the superstar big man will have to pass some tests to return to game action.
Ham explained that this was planned from a medical perspective, to keep both the short- and long-term health of the player – Davis in this case – as the top priority. https://t.co/U1OxKBWxUW
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 1, 2023
The Lakers are in 12th place in the Western Conference and are one game behind the 10th-place New Orleans Pelicans. Oklahoma City is half a game behind L.A.
