2 min read • April 03, 2022
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Lakers star LeBron James will miss Sunday's pivotal clash against the Denver Nuggets with a left ankle sprain he suffered in last Sunday's loss to the Pelicans.
The 37-year-old heartbeat of the Lakers will miss his 22nd game of the season, with a majority of those missed games due to the left knee ailment he's still nursing.
His absence is obviously a concerning sign for the Lakers, who need pretty much every win at this point to keep pace for the final play-in spot.
The Spurs face the Trailblazers Sunday and currently sit one game ahead of the Lakers for the 10th and final play-in spot in the West. A Spurs win and Lakers loss to the 46-32 Nuggets would put the Lakers two games back with four left to play.
Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony will suit up for the contest. Los Angeles seemed to take an all-hands-on-deck approach to Friday's game against the Pelicans, but lost 114-111.
Davis performed well in his first game back from the mid-February foot sprain, but he's clearly still not 100% on the defensive end. Expect a big game from MVP-candidate Nikola Jokic.
Malik Monk and Stanley Johnson will likely see additional minutes with James out. Monk is averaging 15.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in games without LeBron this season.
The Lakers are 5.5-point underdogs at home against Denver and the over/under is 230, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
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