The Lakers (29-38) are set to face the Toronto Raptors (37-30) at 7:30 p.m. Pacific on Spectrum SportsNet. The Lakers are coming off a Sunday night loss at Phoenix, while the Raptors won consecutive road games at Phoenix and Denver over the weekend.
Below are three things to know about the matchup:
LEBRON’S AVAILABILITY?
Since LeBron James started experiencing soreness in his knee after the Lakers beat the Nets on Jan. 25, the Lakers have had only one back-to-back set of games, on Feb. 8 and 9, when they lost to Milwaukee at home, and Portland on the road. LeBron was able to play in both of those games, but he recently missed a March 7 game at San Antonio after his knee soreness didn’t go away following a March 5 game, and subsequent flight to Texas.
After playing 30 minutes at Phoenix on March 13, the Lakers flew back to Los Angeles, a shorter flight, no doubt, but with the second of back-to-back contests coming on Monday at home against Toronto. LeBron will be listed as questionable for that game, as he and the training staff will simply need to wait and see how he feels.
LeBron did manage to accrue yet another impressive career accomplishment during the game against Phoenix, becoming the first player in NBA history with at least 10,000 rebounds and assists, all while being about to reach No. 2 all time in scoring.
The Lakers are just 6-12 this season without LeBron, and Anthony Davis played in several of the wins. Davis, of course, has yet to return from his mid-foot sprain, though he did provide an update before the game at Phoenix:
ANTHONY DAVIS UPDATE
For the first time since he injured his foot on Feb. 16, AD addressed reporters, providing an update as to how he’s feeling:
“I feel good,” he revealed. “The swelling has definitely decreased, the function of my foot has increased. That was the main thing, trying to get that swelling down on the strain of the muscle. You guys could see when I first did it, it was bad. But we’re moving in the right direction, every day. I was able to get out of the boot, put a shoe on, and then got cleared today to do some shooting [on Monday].”
And so, he’ll get on the court for some light work, but he’s still about one week away from being re-evaluated by doctors. The Lakers are starting to run out of regular season games, with just 15 remaining. Davis, however, is thinking positively about a potential return.
“I’m very optimistic about it,” he said. “Especially with the situation that we’re in with the Play-In and actually the fight to stay within the Play-In game. I’m trying to get back on course as soon as possible. As far as a number, I would love to say 100 [percent] but with only a certain number of games left, I’m not too sure.”
For the full transcription of AD’s comments, click here.
TORONTO = TOUGH MATCHUP
In their last two games, the Toronto Raptors won in two difficult arenas, Phoenix and Denver, on back-to-back evenings despite missing key pieces like starting point guard and All-Star Fred VanVleet (missed at Denver) and O.G. Anunoby (missed both).
With their combination of length and athleticism, using lineups often composed mainly of players between 6’7’’ and 6’10’’, the Raptors are a difficult matchup for the smaller, less athletic Lakers, who play a number of guards surrounding LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Stanley Johnson as the three primary frontcourt players. In fact, Toronto throws out a lineup that closed the game in Denver in which 6’7’’ Dalano Banton and 6’7’’ Scottie Barnes were the “guards,” or at least initiators on offense, allowing them to switch everything defensively.
VanVleet is questionable to play against the Lakers, having missed seven of their last 11 games with knee soreness, while Anunoby is definitely out with a fractured finger. Barnes, a Rookie of the Year candidate, has been terrific with those two out, averaging 19.5 points (55.1 percent shooting) with 9.4 boards, 4.0 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.0 blocks and 2.1 turnovers in the last two weeks.