The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Mar. 31 that Luka Doncic will return to the lineup and LeBron James is available for Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Marcus Smart remains sidelined with a right ankle contusion.
James was initially listed as questionable due to left foot injury management but will play against his former team. Doncic comes back after serving a one-game suspension and must avoid two more technical fouls in the remaining seven regular season games to prevent another suspension.
Smart will miss his fifth consecutive game because of his ankle injury. Head coach JJ Redick said Monday that Smart is considered day-to-day, emphasizing that the team wants him fully healthy before returning. Redick said this approach is important given how close it is to playoff time and the risk of setbacks.
Redick also discussed Doncic’s performance and MVP candidacy as the regular season nears its end. “I would just say that if we continue to finish the season the way we’re playing right now, and he continues to play that way — to me, he is the MVP,” Redick said. “But sometimes there’s recency bias and sometimes there’s the bias of a certain stretch of the season. When we started 15-4, you could’ve made an argument that he was the MVP then. He’s been the MVP for two of the three segments of the season.
“But I’ve said this all year, our losses are just so loud… It hasn’t been as bad as people have made it out to be, particularly when you factor in all of the injuries that we’ve had, like a number of teams. I think we all feel really comfortable with where our top nine is when we’re healthy and he’s the engine that’s driving all of our winning… Certainly, we have a ton of guys starring in their roles. But he’s the driver,” Redick added.
As both teams look ahead toward postseason positioning, player health remains crucial for Los Angeles’ prospects.