The Lakers’ odds of ending their road trip on a high note have just increased.
It appears the Lakers will have their superstar Luka Dončić back for their upcoming game against the Sixers.
Luka has missed
the past two games for personal reasons. Luka shared on his Instagram that his wife, Anamaria Goltes, gave birth to his second child, which is very likely why he has been gone.
Obviously, family matters, and it’s good that he was able to attend this life event and take care of things outside of basketball.
Still, the Lakers really missed his production, especially in their loss against the Celtics.
Luka is playing some of the best basketball of his career. He’s averaging 35.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game.
So, his return for the final game in this road trip is more than welcome.
A Los Angeles victory over the Sixers would give them a winning record during this three-game stint. It would also ensure that they would prevent their first losing streak of the season. LA has yet to lose two consecutive games.
We’ll see if LeBron James will be joining his Slovenian teammate on the court in Philadelphia. LeBron has been upgraded to questionable after missing the contest against the Celtics. LeBron being out against Boston made sense since it was the second night of a back-to-back, and he’s still, to some degree, dealing with his sciatica issue and left foot joint arthritis.
The sole player who is clearly out for this game is Marcus Smart. While Smart has been a good defender for the Lakers, he can’t seem to stay healthy. This will be the sixth consecutive game he’ll miss and his eighth absence overall.
The Lakers have said this isn’t a long-term concern, and they expect that he’ll be back soon. Depending on how you define long-term and what you consider soon, I guess this can still be true.
With Luka and Austin Reaves back together, though, the Lakers at least have the NBA’s best scoring duo back. That, along with the potential return of LeBron, should put Los Angeles in a good position to come out of Philadelphia with a win.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
