21-time All-Star Los Angeles Lakers power forward LeBron James and Houston Rockets All-Star center Alperen Sengun have both landed on their teams’ respective injury reports ahead of a critical meeting.
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Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, only James and long-hurt power forward/Maxi Kleber hit the Lakers’ pregame injury report.
James, 40, is dealing with a lingering left groin strain, while Kleber continues to recover from a right foot surgery he underwent while still with the Dallas Mavericks in Jan.
A recent NBA injury report revealed that Sengun was questionable to suit up due to personal reasons, power forward Jabari Smith Jr. was questionable with a sore left groin, one-time All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet was questionable with a sore right ankle, and swingman Jae’Sean Tate had already been ruledo out with a sore right ankle of his own.
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Now, unfortunately, the Rockets have made a major injury update regarding all those players, per Adam Wexler of Sports Talk 790 Houston.
#Rockets injury/status report vs Lakers tonight:
OUT: Dillon Brooks (rest)
Tari Eason (left leg injury management)
Alperen Sengun (personal reasons)
Jabari Smith Jr. (groin)
Jae’Sean Tate (ankle)
Amen Thompson (rest)
Fred VanVleet (ankle)— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) April 11, 2025
Sengun, Smith, and VanVleet have all joined Tate on the sidelines. Wing Dillon Brooks (rest), forwards Tari Eason (left leg injury management) and Amen Thompson (rest)
The Rockets are 52-28 on the season and have already wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, behind only the 66-14 Oklahoma City Thunder.
No West team behind Houston can catch Houston, and now head coach Ime Udoka is clearly prioritizing his players’ long-term health over winning either of these final two, meaningless final regular season games.
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This will work out splendedly for Los Angeles, currently right behind the Rockets with a 49-31 record on the year. L.A. now has a very good chance of securing its 50th win of the season Friday night. Should the Lakers win this matchup, they will lock up the West’s third seed.
Sengun, 22, is in the midst of a charmed run, during his first All-Star season. The 6-foot-11 big man is logging averages of 19.2 points, 10.4 boards, 4.9 dimes, 1.1 swipes and 0.8 rejections across his 75 available contests. Given these numbers and his club’s record, it seems likely that Sengun will be a contender to make an All-NBA team this spring.
James’ status for the matchup has also been revealed.
LeBron James (groin) available to play Friday.
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) April 12, 2025
The 6-foot-9 superstar will suit up for his 70th game of the 2024-25 season.
James, too, is in the running for All-NBA conclusion for a record-extending 21st straight season. The four-time MVP is averaging 24.6 points on a .514/.378/.782 slash line, 8.2 assists, and 7.9 rebounds through 69 healthy games.
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