The Los Angeles Lakers will be without LeBron James on Tuesday when they visit the San Antonio Spurs, the team confirmed. The 41-year-old forward is sidelined with left foot arthritis, marking his 18th missed contest of the season and eliminating any chance of reaching the NBA’s 65-game minimum for year-end award consideration.
The injury report is extensive for the second night of the Lakers’ back-to-back. Guards Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain), Austin Reaves (left calf injury management) and Marcus Smart (right ankle soreness) are also out, while starting center Deandre Ayton is listed as questionable with right knee soreness.
James is averaging 21.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 50.2 percent from the field this season. Although those numbers earned him another All-Star appearance, his absence on Tuesday ends a streak of 21 consecutive seasons with All-NBA recognition, a run that now stops because he will not meet the league’s availability requirement.
Los Angeles enters the matchup looking to rebound from Monday’s 119-110 home loss to an Oklahoma City Thunder squad playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After that defeat, James told reporters the result highlighted the gap between the Lakers and title-contending teams. “That’s a championship team right there; we’re not,” he said. “We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That’s why they won a championship.”
The Lakers and Spurs tip off Tuesday night at Frost Bank Center.
Source: Hoops Rumors
