Will LeBron James Face off Against the Bucks? Get the Latest on His Injury Status!

With limited time remaining this season, the Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble. Not only is this team 34-30 entering Friday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, but there is a lot of concern surrounding LeBron James due to ongoing ankle problems. James left the Lakers;’ previous game against the Sacramento Kings in the fourth quarter and was seen hobbling to the locker room. Now, LeBron is once again on the team’s injury report as a result of his ongoing injury. This has led many to ask the question: Is LeBron James playing vs. the Bucks on Friday night?

LeBron James’ injury status vs. Bucks

When James limped off the court on Wednesday night to the Lakers’ locker room, all of Crypto.com Arena fell silent. This is due to the fact that everything the Lakers could possibly achieve come postseason time depends on James’ health and availability.

Currently the 10-seed in the Western Conference, there is very little room for error in Los Angeles. A win against the Bucks on Friday would be a huge momentum booster for this franchise. However, James’ status for this game is up in the air as a result of being listed as questionable to play on the team’s injury report. The Lakers are again classifying his injury as “left ankle peroneal tendinopathy.”

Although he has appeared on the injury report in recent games and played, this scenario is different for James. It is possible that the Lakers’ star misses this game, especially since he was forced to leave the court early against the Kings the other night.

Should LeBron be ruled out and unable to play on Friday against the Bucks, it will be a steady dose of Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves on offense for the Lakers. Veteran forward Taurean Prince would be the obvious name to move into the starting lineup, as Spencer Dinwiddie would see his minutes increase off the bench as well.

In a total of 56 games this season, the 39-year-old has continued to dominate the league, averaging 25.3 points, 8.0 assists, and 7.1 rebounds per game. James is shooting 52.8 percent from the floor and 40.5 percent from three-point range.

Milwaukee has stepped things up on defense, and they have been playing with more intensity in recent games. Without LeBron on the floor, the Lakers will struggle to score. In order to compete at the highest level possible, the Lakers will need James healthy and on the court during the stretch run of the season.

So, when it comes to the question of whether LeBron James is playing tonight vs. the Bucks, the answer will be determined later on in the evening.