The Lakers look set to be back at full strength on Christmas Day against the Rockets. On Wednesday, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Luka would be going through a workout later in the day with the intention
of making his return against Houston.
Luka exited Saturday’s game against the Clippers at halftime after taking a knee to the calf and missed Monday’s game against the Suns. Throughout that time, head coach JJ Redick reiterated that Luka was considered day-to-day.
With LeBron James healthy and Austin Reaves returning to the court on Monday, the Lakers’ Big Three will play their first game together in two weeks. While Luka and Austin have each missed games in that span, LeBron has seemingly found his rhythm, which could be encouraging for the team moving forward.
As Charania also notes, assuming he returns, Luka will debut his new shoe on Christmas. On Wednesday, new ads began popping up on Twitter for Luka’s shoe, including one that featured former ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
Christmas Day is a real showcase day for the NBA. That results in great match-ups on the day and players showing off their new shoes with Luka being no exception.
It’s all set up for a great day for the Lakers with Luka likely to be on the court with Austin and LeBron. Hopefully, that all parlays into a win and another reason for celebration.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
