LeBron James upgraded to 'questionable' as Los Angeles Lakers visit Indiana Pacers
Coverage of the NBA continues Saturday as the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Indiana Pacers live from 6pm on Sky Sports Arena. Then on Sunday night it's Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors in the fight for eighth place in the West, live from 8:30pm on Arena and free to watch on YouTube
Sunday 16 May 2021 06:39, UK
LeBron James could return for the Los Angeles Lakers as they seek their fourth consecutive victory, visiting an Indiana Pacers team on Saturday evening that is battling for Play-In Tournament position.
The Lakers (40-30) ripped off three straight home wins, a run capped on Wednesday when a shorthanded line-up edged the Houston Rockets 124-122 in the second half of a back-to-back.
James participated in the team's Friday practice and coach Frank Vogel said he will be listed as questionable for Saturday's game. That's an upgrade from the day-to-day status Wednesday when James missed his sixth consecutive game since a brief, two-game return from a lengthy ankle injury.
Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso both missed the victory over Houston due to groin and foot injuries respectively, with both considered day-to-day. Davis helped ignite the winning streak with a 42-point effort in a 123-110 victory over Phoenix on May 9.
Also, Dennis Schroder, who has been out since early May while in COVID-19 protocols, posted on his Instagram on Thursday, "I'm back," and might play Saturday.
Facing a rash of injuries throughout the campaign has required various Lakers to step up. In the victory over the Rockets, Talen Horton-Tucker emerged with 23 points and 10 assists. Kyle Kuzma flirted with a triple-double off the bench: 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists. Vogel also credited Wesley Matthews for key contributions amid the winning streak.
"We don't win the last two games without his final, big plays: the offensive rebound (May 11 in an overtime win over New York) and obviously, the steal on (Kelly) Olynyk to save the game (Wednesday)," Vogel said.
"He's really rounded into form. He's had a little bit of an up-and-down season, but these last couple weeks, he's performed at a really, super-high level."
With the uncertainty around James and Davis, who have missed 27 and 36 games this season respectively, the remainder of the Lakers roster has kept the reigning NBA champions in the postseason hunt.
With two games remaining, they can still pass Portland, Dallas or both to ascend as high as No 5 in the Western Conference, but head into the weekend at No 7 and in the Play-In Tournament.
Indiana (33-37) can't climb out of the Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference, but the Pacers move into their final two games with an opportunity to move into the No 7 or 8 spots. The seventh and eighth seeds only need to win one Play-In Tournament game to advance to the playoffs.
After defeating Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia on Tuesday, Indiana dropped a 142-133 shootout at home to Milwaukee on Thursday.
Eight Pacers scored in double-figures, led by Justin Holiday's 26 points, while 20.8-point per game scorer Caris LeVert was sidelined with a bone bruise in his right knee. Indiana have also been without 21.4-point per game scorer Malcolm Brogdon since May 1 due to a hamstring injury.
Amid the rash of absences, which also includes Myles Turner (toe), Edmond Sumner (knee) and Jeremy Lamb (knee), TJ McConnell stepped into the starting line-up Thursday and scored 23 points - before spraining his left thumb.
"We're missing guys, we have different guys playing. I think we did a pretty good job with the guys we had in there," Holiday said. "We're a team that likes to play together, move the ball, and it just puts somebody else in that position. I think we could have been better defensively."
