The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the floor Friday night as they begin the second half of their regular season schedule against the Indiana Pacers. The Lakers come into Friday night with a 24-13 record, good for third place in the Western Conference, two games behind the currently second-seeded Phoenix Suns.
L.A.’s opponent on Friday started the season strong but due to injuries and the difficulty of the NBA, the Pacers currently find themselves on the playoff bubble. A perennial playoff team under Nate McMillian that finished in the top half of the conference, the Pacers are finding tough sledding after losing TJ Warren and then Caris LeVert, who was the prize of their Victor Oladipo trade earlier this season. However, there is hope that LeVert’s return, after an MRI scan found a tumor in his body, will be soon.
Without both of those players, the Pacers have been competitive but haven’t been winning games consistently. Their new coach Nate Bjorkgren is creative with throwing different types of defenses against opponents to keep them on their toes, but the Pacers have too often run up against teams that simply have more fire power. Tonight, that feels like the case again. Hopefully, for their postseason hopes, the Pacers get LeVert back rather quickly.
Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:
- Date: Mar. 12
- Time: 10 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: NBA TV
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
- Spread via BetMGM: Lakers -5
Injury Report
Anthony Davis remains out. Marc Gasol is also out for the Lakers due to the health and safety protocols. The Pacers did not submit their injury report at the time of posting.
Indiana Pacers (16-19)
- Doug McDermott
- Domantas Sabonis
- Myles Turner
- Malcolm Brogdon
- Justin Holiday
Los Angeles Lakers (24-13)
- LeBron James
- Markieff Morris
- Damian Jones
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- Dennis Schröder
This post originally appeared on LeBron Wire! Follow us on Facebook!