Lakers injury updates: Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Lakers enter Friday night with an impressive 13-4 record, good for a tie of second place in the Western Conference standings. Tonight, in their final game of NBA Cup Group Play, they'll square off against the Dallas Mavericks as both Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis are set to square off against their former teams.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCurrently, the Lakers are 3-0 in Group Play and are likely to advance to the next phase of the tournament regardless of tonight's outcome. A win would clinch Group B, while only a blowout loss and a huge Grizzlies/Clippers win would force them out of the picture.
Despite getting an MRI done on his knee earlier in the week, Deandre Ayton has been upgraded to probable ahead of the matchup. Former Defensive Player of the Year award winner Marcus Smart has been listed as questionable for the game due to back spasms. Apart from that, the Lakers are fully healthy.
On the other side of things, former Laker Anthony Davis has been upgraded to active. Davis has played only five games this season and has not seen the floor for the Mavericks since October. Dallas is also without Dereck Lively II, Dante Exum and Kyrie Irving who has yet to debut this season due to an ACL tear.
After tonight's matchup against the Mavericks, the Lakers continue with their four game homestand with games against the Pelicans and the Suns before leaving for a six-game road trip.
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