Will LeBron James and Anthony Davis Play Tonight? Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks: Game Prediction, Injury Updates and Lineup

The Los Angeles Lakers were all anybody could talk about after their big win against the Brooklyn Nets. Despite missing LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, and Marc Gasol, they defeated a team that was speculated to be their biggest title contender. And now, it looks like they are going to try to take down the other New York-based team, the Knicks.

The New York Knicks are 27-27, standing eighth in the Eastern Conference, and they are hoping to seal a spot in the playoffs for themselves. The Lakers, on the other hand, are still fifth in the Western Conference. As they grab more wins, they will be hoping to get their position as one of the top teams back. Will the Knicks be a part of the collateral damage that the Lakers might leave in their wake?

Los Angeles Lakers injury update and lineup prediction

After defeating the Brooklyn Nets, the Lakers must have gained a lot of their confidence back. Having lost two of their superstars to injuries hasn’t been easy on them. They have struggled to get victories, but it seems like the tables might be turning once again.

Despite facing a team with a duo like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Lakers gave them a run for their money. This is the same mentality with which they would want to enter their matchup against the Knicks. Their recent additions, Andre Drummond and Ben McLemore, were the players who led the way for the team.

Drummond finally hushed the critics as he put up 20 points for them. However, he will be up against Nerlens Noel while playing the Knicks. This means his offense needs to step up to out-smart his defense. While Anthony Davis and LeBron James are still out, Kyle Kuzma, Wesley Matthews, and Marc Gasol are questionable for this game.

With that, the predicted lineup would be Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Talen Horton-Tucker, Andre Drummond, and Markieff Morris.

New York Knicks: Injury update and lineup prediction

The New York Knicks were in a bit of a rut until they fixed it with two wins. Their most recent bout saw them defeat the Toronto Raptors 102-96 for the first time since 2017. And now, they are just a single win behind the three teams ahead of them.

This goes to show how much importance their victory against the Lakers will hold. However, most of the Knicks’ fate rests on Julius Randle’s shoulders, which is a lot of burden for any player. While playing against the Raptors, he ended the night with 26 points but shot just 7 of 19 from the field.

Other than him, they can also bank on R.J. Barrett’s scoring and Immanuel Quickley, who showed up big while playing the Memphis Grizzlies. The healthy Knicks team will only have John Henson missing from the lineup.

So the predicted lineup would be Reggie Bullock, R.J. Barrett, Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel, and Elfrid Payton.

Game prediction

Both the Lakers and the Knicks have one of the top defenses in the league this season, but their offense has gone down drastically. This game is most likely to come down to the clutch moments; still, the Lakers are the favorites to come out victorious.