A vintage performance from LeBron James (39 points, seven rebounds, six assists) wasn’t enough to propel the injury-riddled Lakers past Memphis on Wednesday night.
The Lakers were missing Anthony Davis (ankle), Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) and Rui Hachimura (illness), while Dalton Knecht left mid-game with to a jaw injury.
Davis, Hachimura, and Knecht are all listed as day-to-day for Friday night’s home game against the Philadelphia 76ers, who will be without Joel Embiid (knee/suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (hamstring).
Rebounding and paint defense were problem areas in the Lakers’ most recent Davis-less game against Memphis, as they were outrebounded by 13 and outscored in the paint by 16.
For the season, Los Angeles ranks just 20th in the NBA total rebounding percentage and 28th in opponent points in the paint despite having Davis for most of its games thus far.
Luckily for Los Angeles, the Sixers are even more undersized and undermanned in the frontcourt without Embiid, so this is undoubtedly an advantageous matchup.
Ultimately, Davis’ availability is the most critical aspect of this game.
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If he plays, backing the Lakers is a no-brainer, as Paul George is still trying to develop chemistry and cohesion with his new team, and Philly doesn’t have Maxey to help run the offense.
Assuming Davis gives it a go — and coach J.J. Redick said he’s hopeful he will — this is a terrific bounce-back spot to back the Lakers after an emotional road loss to Memphis.
THE PLAY: Lakers -7 (-114, FanDuel).
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Andrew Norton handicaps the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he achieved a standout 14.1% ROI, cashing 60% of his NBA spread picks and leading Tallysight in its SportsIQ metric.
