The Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated the Detroit Pistons 125-111 on Tuesday, will resume their game tonight. However, not every participant in that brawl will be wearing purple and gold when they take on the Utah Jazz.
LeBron James, an All-Star power forward, will not play in this game, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. This is likely due to his preparation for All-Star Weekend events.
For at least the next week, Los Angeles’ backup point guard Gabe Vincent (recovering from a left knee effusion), power forward Jarred Vanderbilt, reserve small forward Cam Reddish, and backup shooting guard Max Christie will not be available.
Last night, the 20-time All-Star outperformed an 8-45 Detroit team with a strong run. In a mere 30:42, James recorded a career-high 25 points for the Lakers on 9 of 15 field goal attempts (3 of 6 from beyond the arc) and 7 of 7 foul shot attempts, in addition to eight assists and a steal.
Davis finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks, six assists, and four turnovers. For the first time in the past two months, Los Angeles is three games over.500 with a 29-26 record. With three games remaining, Los Angeles is now only three points behind the New Orleans Pelicans.