Lakers Thunder Preview

The Lakers host the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight in the first night of a back to back and will be looking to get a huge win over the defending champions. LA is coming off a win over the Warriors on Saturday night and will be looking to build some momentum as they head into the all star break.

Luka’s injury

Luka Doncic sustained a hamstring injury in the Lakers win over the 76ers last week. He is out tonight but all indications are that the injury is a mild strain and that he is considered day to day.  The absence of Doncic is extremely frustrating as Austin Reaves had just returned for LA and they finally got their big 3 back. Luckily for LA  the injury only seems to be a small one and they should see Doncic back on the court soon, the all star break coming up will also provide more time for Luka and the rest of the Lakers to recover.

Maxi Kleber

With Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes missing one out of the last two games each, Maxi Kleber has been called upon in the Lakers frontcourt rotation and he has made a really positive impact. Kleber has provided extremely valuable hustle plays at both ends of the floor and been the ultimate professional for LA despite being out of the rotation for large parts of the season.