Monday night, the Los Angeles Lakers make their lone trip to Charlotte for the season, as they’ll take on the Hornets in Spectrum Center. For the Lakers, this will be their final game of a six-game road trip, and they come in having won two straight. They’re 26-25 on the season, currently sitting in 9th place in the West.
The Hornets fell again last night to the Pacers, and they’re now mired in a seven-game losing streak, and 10-38 on the season, 13th place in the East. Both teams have a jam-packed injury report and have been dealing with absences for most of the season.
Many fans are likely wondering if LeBron James and Anthony Davis will play in their only trip to Charlotte this season. They’ve been largely healthy this season, but both missed a game Thursday night in Boston with various injuries before returning to the lineup Saturday night in Madison Square Garden.
Lakers Injury Report
For the Lakers, the notable players of course are James and Davis, who both enter the game listed as ‘Questionable’. They’ve been on the injury report frequently this season, but have almost always ended up playing.
It wouldn’t be much of a concern, but for the fact that they each sat out a game less than a week ago. It’s worth mentioning again that it’s the last game of a long road trip, and the Hornets haven’t exactly been the stiffest competition lately.
There’s a chance the Lakers view this as a game they can win without their star players, and opt to give them an extra night of rest before returning home to host the Nuggets on Thursday night. It’s safe to say both players will be game-time decisions for tonight’s game.
Three other players have been ruled out tonight for LA, Gabe Vincent, who has been out almost the entire season with a knee injury, Cam Reddish, who has been out for weeks with an ankle injury, and Jarred Vanderbilt, who hurt his foot in the Celtics game and will be out for an extended period.
Hornets Injury Report
There aren’t a lot of changes to the Hornets' injury report for Monday night. The same four players remain ‘Out’; LaMelo Ball (ankle), Mark Williams (back), Gordon Hayward (calf), and Kyle Lowry (not with team).
It’s not surprising that there aren’t changes since the team was in action last night, but every passing game that Ball and Williams remain out raises the level of concern around each player’s injury.
Cody Martin and Frank Ntilikina are also questionable for tonight. Both players were absent for last night’s game, as Martin missed with a knee issue, and Ntilikina was out with a hip injury.
It seems like the Hornets will be shorthanded yet again tonight, and it’ll be an uphill battle as they enter as 12.5-point home underdogs. But Hornets fans can take solace in the fact that they’ll get another night of watching a heavy dose of Brandon Miller.