LeBron James will miss his third game of the season on Thursday night when his Los Angeles Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The Lakers are saying that James is dealing with a sore left groin, the same ailment that had James sit out the Lakers Jan. 11 road win at Oklahoma City.
The Lakers have been here before, even in more dire circumstances, and won. They didn’t have Anthony Davis either in that Jan. 11 win and the Thunder, a lock to make the playoffs this season, were a pretty quality opponent. Davis should be in the lineup for the Lakers tonight, which will likely also push Rajon Rondo into the Lakers starting lineup to have him run the show.
In the Jan. 11 win, Rondo played one of his best games of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists while Kyle Kuzma led the way with 36 points.
The Lakers played a relatively close game against the Warriors in February, the first game Andrew Wiggins played in a Warriors uniform. With Draymond Green back in the lineup as well, the Lakers will have a little bit of a tougher task in front of them, especially without LeBron. Although the Warriors hold the league’s worst record, tonight is a big opportunity for them to score a win over the best team in the West in a nationally televised game.
