Dennis Schröder Cleared to Play, LeBron James Questionable
The gang is all back together again.
The Los Angeles Lakers received some good news on the injury front on Friday.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said point guard Dennis Schröder has been cleared from the NBA’s health and safety protocols and is available to play on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers.
Vogel said the Lakers will decide on Schröder’s availability Saturday.
Schröder missed the last seven games after landing on the league’s list for COVID-related health issues for a second time this season. Schröder missed four games before he was cleared from the league’s health and safety protocols earlier this year.
The Lakers are 4-7 without Schröder in the lineup.
Also, LeBron James practiced again on Friday and is questionable for Saturday’s game.
“We want to see how he feels in response today’s work, like always,” Vogel said about the possibility of James playing against Indiana. “But there’s a chance that he plays if things go well.”
Anthony Davis did not practice but is probable after missing Wednesday’s game with left abductor tightness. Davis did some one-on-one work in practice.
“I feel fine,” Davis said. “I feel great. I went through some things during practice, but not everything. And I got some work in on the side. So, I felt great today.”
With two games left in the regular season and just a game back from reaching the No. 6 seed and avoiding the play-in game, the Lakers still have something to play for heading into this weekend’s games.
The Lakers will fly to Indianapolis on Friday and face the New Orleans Pelicans in the second of back-to-back games on the road to finish the regular season.
At 40-30, the Lakers appear to finally be getting healthy after an injury-plagued regular season.
“Any time you have guys that have been out for extended absences and they returning to play, it’s always going to be a little imperfect,” Vogel said. “So, the more minutes we can get those guys, the better off it’s going to be for us because of the adjustment period. If we’re able to do that, that would be great. But I don’t know if that’s going to be a possibility.”
