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Milwaukee Bucks-Los Angeles Lakers Final Injury Report: LeBron's status changes

The final word on who's in and who's out for Friday night's face-off.
Feb 8, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) moves the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Feb 8, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) moves the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers announced that forward LeBron James will play in Friday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks after being originally listed as questionable and then probable with foot joint arthritis and sciatica.

Additionally, Lakers forward Rui Hachimura will sit out with a calf strain.

Here's the rest of the injury report and game preview:


INJURY REPORT

BUCKS

Taurean Prince: Out - Neck

LAKERS

LeBron James: Available - Foot/Sciatica

Rui Hachimura: Out - Calf

Austin Reaves: Out - Calf

Adou Thiero: Out - Knee


Game date, time and location: Friday, Jan. 9, 9:30 p.m. CST, Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), NBA TV

Radio: AM 620/103.3 FM (Milwaukee), 710 AM, 1330 AM (Los Angeles)

VITALS: The Milwaukee Bucks (16-21) and Los Angeles Lakers (23-12) meet for the second of two regular season matchups, with the Lakers winning the first in November. The Bucks swept the season series 2-0 in 2024-2025 and the Lakers swept the season series in 2023-2024. The Bucks are 62-87 all-time versus the Lakers during the regular season, including 42-32 in home games and 20-55 in road games.

PROJECTED STARTERS

BUCKS

G Ryan Rollins

G Kevin Porter Jr.

C Myles Turner

F AJ Green

F Giannis Antetokounmpo

LAKERS

G Luka Doncic

G Marcus Smart

C Deandre Ayton

F Jake LaRavia

F LeBron James

Betting Lines (via FanDuel Sportsbook)

Spread: Bucks +3 (-110), Lakers -3 (-110)

Moneyline: Bucks +134, Lakers -158

Total points scored: 227.5 (over -108, under -112)

QUOTABLE

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on officiating: "I understand, they're human. Sometimes the same way I fall into the momentum of the game and I might approach the referee and raise my voice because the game, I'm playing, it's loud and all that and I might raise my voice. Sometimes they do the same and they're human, I understand."

"You just got to be able to live with it and try not to complain, but that's not the reason we lost. That's not the reason we lost. golden State played better than us. We did not trust one another, we didn't have good shot selection, we didn't rebound the ball, there was a time our effort and energy was good, and at times it was flat, and they did the complete opposite, so they were able to win the game."


MORE MILWAUKEE BUCKS STORIES

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If Giannis stays, Bucks will aim for realistic trade targets

Curry outduels Giannis as tough loss puts more pressure on Bucks


Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Milwaukee Bucks On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Miami Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket