LA Lakers Injury Report: Nervous LeBron James Worry and Massive Marcus Smart Decision vs Celtics (Dec. 5)

The LA Lakers will be aiming to make it back-to-back road wins as they take on a familiar foe in the Boston Celtics on Thursday, but JJ Redick could be without a number of key players.

A big blow for LA ahead of this matchup was superstar guard Luka Doncic being away from the team due to personal reasons. It’s now being reported that Doncic and his fiancee, Anamaria Goltes, welcomed their second daughter.

Having been crucial to the Lakers’ offense, averaging 35.3 points per game, the absence of the five-time All-Star is a damaging one. Rumors have also surfaced suggesting that Doncic could be out of action for LA's next road trip to Philadelphia on Dec. 8 as well.

Two more players will need to be assessed before tipoff to determine whether they’re in shape to play in this game. One of these players is LeBron James, who hasn’t played in a back-to-back this season. But considering he just logged 36 minutes on Thursday at age 40, his status for Friday’s matchup with Boston is up in the air.

While James hasn’t quite hit the heights of last season so far this campaign, the four-time NBA champion remains integral to Reddick’s side, averaging 15.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 32.2 minutes per game.

LeBron’s run of 1,297 straight games with 10+ points came to a crushing end in Toronto with 8 points, his first single-digit outing in 18 years, but he was clutch in the final moments with the winning pass to Rui Hachimura, proving he can still deliver even when he’s not at his best.

Meanwhile, offseason recruit Marcus Smart has become an injury concern for the Lakers. He was absent in the team’s last three games with back spasms and was listed out for Thursday’s game. He has been doing individual work and wasn’t a participant in the Lakers’ practice in Toronto, though he remains day-to-day.

While the game against the Celtics is a big one, both for sentimental reasons and bragging rights, suiting up is a bigger question that will come down to the moments before tipoff.

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How to watch LA Lakers vs. Boston Celtics?

The Lakers vs. Celtics matchup will take place at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. ET. This will be the first of two regular-season games this season. The nonconference game will not air on traditional broadcast television. Instead, fans can stream the game live on Amazon Prime Video and SportsNet LA. International fans can watch it on NBA League Pass.

It’s the second night of a back-to-back for both teams. The Lakers beat the Raptors 123-120 at Scotiabank Arena while the Celtics earned a 146-101 home win over the Wizards, but the two teams’ overall campaigns have been vastly different.