The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Boston Celtics on Friday without three key players, headlined by LeBron James, who was ruled out because of sciatica and arthritis in his left foot, the team announced.
James, who turns 41 later this month, missed the season’s first 14 contests with the same sciatica issue. He logged a season-high 36 minutes in Thursday’s victory over the Toronto Raptors, delivering the buzzer-beating assist to Rui Hachimura but finishing with just eight points, snapping his NBA-record run of 1,297 consecutive games with at least 10 points.
The 23-year veteran also sat out both halves of Los Angeles’ back-to-back set last week. Head coach JJ Redick said the organization intends to gradually increase James’ workload so he can participate in back-to-backs later in the season.
Los Angeles will also be without Luka Dončić (personal reasons) and Marcus Smart (back) against Boston.
The matchup at TD Garden is the second game of a road back-to-back for the Lakers.
Source: ESPN
