Clippers vs. Lakers Injury Report: LeBron James Dealing With Knee Soreness

The Los Angeles Clippers are one win over the Lakers away from getting back to .500 for the first time since November 3.

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The All-Star break wasn't enough to slow down the Los Angeles Clippers. The new-look Clippers after the departures of James Harden and Ivica Zubac, continued their surge with an impressive nail-biter win over the Nuggets on Thursday. In the second night of a back-to-back, the Clippers now have a chance to get back to .500 for the first time in three and a half months.

The Clippers need every win they can get, especially until Darius Garland gets back. Their new addition has yet to make his Clippers debut and will reportedly not be back until March. The Clippers need to make sure they don't fall behind in the playoff race without Garland. LA is only 1.5 games behind the No. 8 seed Warriors and 4.5 games behind the seventh-seeded Suns, which should give them all the edge they need going up against their intercity rivals.

However, they will be facing a fresh Lakers team that hasn't played in eight days. The additional rest and having lost the previous two games against the Clippers this season will give LeBron James & Luka Doncic additional motivation in Crypto.com Arena.

LeBron James Questionable, Darius Garland Out in Lakers vs. Clippers

Despite the rest, James is still dealing with knee soreness and is listed as questionable. His status will be a game-time decision. James was healthy before the break and played in the All-Star game over the weekend, so Lakers fans should feel good about his chances of suiting up. The good news for the Lakers is that LeBron is the only player on the injury report.

The Clippers are also at near full health besides Garland and Bradley Beal, who has already been ruled out for the season.

Ty Lue has a decision to make with all of his players from Thursday night's win, healthy and available. He can either start with the same lineup of Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Kawhi Leonard, John Collins, and Brook Lopez or insert Bennedict Mathurin into the starting unit. Mathurin played the most minutes of anyone on the Clippers against Denver, putting up 38 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Whether Lue will reward Mathurin or keep the rotation the same remains to be seen.

Even if Mathurin comes off the bench, he will surely have a large role once again, especially considering that the Clippers have to keep up with the Lakers' elite offensive firepower.