Is LeBron James playing tonight against Phoenix Suns? Latest injury update from the Los Angeles Lakers (19th October)
LeBron James has played in two of the five Los Angeles Lakers preseason games so far and is a certainty to play their final warmup game before the regular season. The Purple and Gold play the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, October 19, at the Acrisure Stadium in Pennsylvania where both teams, in fact, close out their preseason.
The practice games have been a mixed bag for the Lakers this season as they have won two of their five games, and they will hope to cap it off with a win against the Suns, who are most likely to field a full-strength squad as well.
James has totaled around 35 minutes so far in both his games, with the think-tank ensuring he would stay fresh for the grueling 82-game season.
In all probability, head coach Darvin Ham will use James with a minutes limitation where he would perhaps play around 20 minutes stretched across four quarters and will hope that LA can end their preseason on a winning note.
LeBron James is "extra engaged" in Lakers camp this season
LeBron James may have declared Anthony Davis as the face of the Los Angeles Lakers, but on his part, has remained equally active and according to reports, has been extra engaged with the franchise this season.
According to Dan Woike of the LA Times, the four-time NBA champion was "extra engaged, particularly from a leadership perspective," and added that this was something that should have every "opposing player, team and organization taking notice."
This comes after the Lakers made the Western Conference finals before the Denver Nuggets swept them 4-0. After enduring a torrid 0-5 start to the season that worsened to 2-10, the outfit was in danger of falling out of the playoffs race before making some smart moves to the roster and regaining their mojo.
At 38, James still played over 30 minutes per game last season and averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists while dealing with an ankle injury throughout the run. It was later revealed to be a torn tendon, but the former MVP has since worked on rehabbing and has jumped back into action. This season will hinge on him and Davis to shoulder much of the load and help the Lakers go the distance.
An extra-engaged LeBron James is always bad news for the rest of the 29 teams in the league, but for the Lakers, it's what they need if they intend to win another title.