After a miserable loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers finally got some good news ahead of their latest matchup. Hours before tip-off, ESPN's Dave McMenamin revealed the team's full injury report, which includes a clean bill of health for most of their roster.
"Luka Doncic (R ankle), Dorian Finney-Smith (L ankle), Rui Hachimura (L patellar tendinopathy), Austin Reaves (R ankle), Jarred Vanderbilt (R groin), and Gabe Vincent (L knee) have been upgraded to available tonight," wrote McMenamin on X.
LeBron James has been out since March 8 with a groin injury but he's been working his way back to form. At first, LeBron was listed as questionable pending a game-time decision but Shams Charania later revealed that he will also make his return.
"After sustaining a groin strain two weeks ago, Lakers star LeBron James will return tonight against the Chicago Bulls," wrote Shams.
The Lakers have been decimated by injuries over the last few weeks. Starting with LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, LA's wings have been compromised for a while now and it's limited their effectiveness on the floor.
Against the Bucks on Thursday, the Lakers were without six rotation players, including four starters. They lost the game by 23 points, going down to 43-26 on the season.
Fortunately, the Lakers will be whole once again and we'll finally get the chance to see them in action with no limitations. Since the Luka Doncic trade, the Lakers have been one of the best teams in the West and now they can build up momentum before the upcoming playoff run.
Currently, the West is a blood bath and there's only a three-game separation between the second seed and fifth seed in the Conference. If the Lakers want to finish in the top three, they'll need to play almost perfectly from here on out and that means they'll have to stay healthy.
At 40 years old, the task will not be easy for LeBron James but the Lakers will continue to take a cautious approach with his workload. Against the Bulls tonight, look for JJ Redick to ease LeBron into the action to not put any unnecessary stress on his body.
At full strength once again, the Los Angeles Lakers will be one of the season's biggest storylines and the whole world will be watching to see what they can accomplish with their new-look roster. The second seed is up for grabs and they can easily move up in the standings if they play well enough over the last few weeks. Having their core players back and healthy will certainly help.
