Luka Doncic and LeBron James status & injury report for Spurs/Lakers rematch

The time has come for the Spurs and Lakers to play the makeup game that had to be rescheduled due to the tragic fires that devastated Los Angeles at the beginning of the year. The rosters are different now than they were then, but the goal for the players will be the same. However, predicting how it might go is anyone's guess, with both rosters in flux from rampant injuries.

Nobody has had their team decimated by the injury bug like Dallas, but these are two organizations who have dealt with their own health issues all season. LeBron James pulled his groin on March 8 against the Boston Celtics and is still recovering, so he'll miss the game tonight.

Those aren't the LA's only injuries, though. Fans will be watching two compromised teams in the final matchup of the season between these two ball clubs, but one of them has Luka Doncic.

Spurs and Lakers injury report

San Antonio Spurs

Victor Wembanyama - Out for the season
De'Aaron Fox - Out for the season
Charles Bassey - Day-to-day
Malaki Branham - G League assignment
Jordan McLaughlin - Questionable

Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James - Out
Maxi Kleber - Out
Trey Jemison - Day-to-day
Rui Hachimura - Day-to-day

Spurs will have their hands full with Luka Doncic

San Antonio has struggled to beat Luka Doncic ever since he entered the league. They had success against him when he was a rookie, but that barely counts. He's pretty much dominated the Silver and Black since then. The only thing better than the Dallas Mavericks trading him out of Texas would have been to send him to the Eastern Conference, but we weren't that fortunate.

Luka Magic missed a chunk of the season, so it took a while for him to get going, but he's in his bag now. Jaxson Hayes is expected to be in the lineup, and that's his lob threat. Shooters and big men he can throw alley-oops to are the type of players that help Doncic be special. His ability to play at his own pace and manipulate the game offensively is an all-time great trait.

Austin Reaves has been playing well lately too, and he can create off the dribble for himself and his teammates. That balance makes it infinitely more difficult to bottle up Luka since he can kick it to another guy who can also hurt you in several ways. Still, there's no LeBron James, so the Spurs will have a chance.

This is another one of those situations that leaves me conflicted. I detest the Lakers, honoring the rivalry of the past, so I'd love to see the Spurs win this game. But the race to the bottom of the standings has only 16 games remaining, and it would be smarter for SA to lose the game to improve their draft odds.

Fortunately, we aren't in a position to make any decisions that impact the outcome of games. That allows fans to operate with a unique win-win perspective. One where a positive can be found no matter who wins tonight.