The Lakers faced a tough stretch of games in March. And they played a lot of those games without the presence of the King. Yes, ever since March 8, LeBron James hasn’t played for the Lakers because of a groin strain. The initial injury timeline mentioned that he would miss a matter of weeks, as opposed to days. But fast forward two weeks, we have finally received a positive update on LeBron’s situation.
Similarly, Rui Hachimura has been out since Feb 27 after suffering patellar tendinopathy in his left knee. Both of them are now in a better position as the Lakers take on the Bulls tomorrow. So let’s find out what the injury report says for the upcoming Lakers game. Is LeBron James finally coming back?
The Los Angeles Lakers are 3-4 since LeBron’s injury. This is a pretty good record when you consider the fact that Luka Doncic also missed two of those games owing to injuries. And after enduring this run, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha has some good news for Lakers fans.
LeBron James’ status is now listed as QUESTIONABLE on the injury report. This is an upgrade, since he’s been OUT for the last six games. The same goes for Rui Hachimura. This is great news for the Purple and Gold! However, there’s another update that’ll bring down the mood slightly. Gabe Vincent has been downgraded to QUESTIONABLE to manage his injured left knee.
Lakers’ injury report vs. Chicago tomorrow:
— LeBron James and Rui Hachimura are upgraded to questionable.
— Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jarred Vanderbilt are probable.
— Gabe Vincent downgraded to questionable. pic.twitter.com/WjFo6ulobE
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) March 22, 2025
The quartet of Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith, Austin Reaves, and Jarred Vanderbilt are all PROBABLE for the Bulls game. Doncic has a right ankle sprain that he’s been dealing with while Reaves has the same issue in his left ankle. On the other hand, Doe-Doe may be rested to manage his left ankle injury whereas Vando has a strained right groin.
That said, we expect that these 4 will feature in some capacity against the Bulls. Well, that’s unless they aggravate their injuries between now and game time. Let’s hope not! Nevertheless, the only player out for the Lakers is Maxi Kleber who’s yet to make his Lakers debut. Expect to see him sometime in April after he recovers from his foot surgery a few months ago.
Now that we know what the injury report says for the Lakers, let’s have a look at the lineup they may field come game time.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Chicago Bulls – predicted starting lineup and depth chart
With all of their players available in some capacity, the Lakers fanbase can finally breathe a sigh of relief. But they’re not out of the woods yet. We expect LeBron and Rui to be on a minutes restriction as they recover from their respective injuries – which is why they probably won’t start the game tomorrow. Here’s who we think JJ Redick will field against the Bulls tomorrow:
POSITION
STARTER
2nd UNIT
3rd UNIT
PG
Luka Doncic (DD)
Austin Reaves
Gabe Vincent (DD)
SG
Austin Reaves (DD)
Dalton Knecht
Jordan Goodwin
SF
Dalton Knecht
Jordan Goodwin
LeBron James (DD)
PF
Jarred Vanderbilt (DD)
LeBron James(DD)
Dorian Finney-Smith (DD)
C
Jaxson Hayes
Dorian Finney-Smith (DD)
Trey Jemison III
The Lakers face an uphill battle against the Bulls tomorrow with so many players struggling with injuries. Even so, the way they’re playing of late, we still think they’re the favorites heading into the matchup. And LeBron’s return may reinvigorate this Lakers side as they try to wrap up the regular season on a high note!
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