LeBron James listed as probable vs. Mavericks, Patrick Beverley questionable with hip soreness

After a brief one-game hiatus, LeBron James is set to rejoin the Lakers on Thursday back home against the Mavericks. James is listed as probable with left ankle soreness and is joined by Troy Brown Jr. as players primed to return.

LeBron has missed two of the last four games, one with a non-COVID illness and Monday’s with his ankle injury. It’s been the only thing that has stopped him over the last month-plus of action for James as he’s averaging 31.1 points over the last 21 games played.

Brown Jr.’s return is noteworthy for a number of reasons as well. For one, it gives the Lakers back one of the only wings they have on the roster. While he’s been up and down at times this year, he had found a groove and was averaging 11.5 points per game in the four contests before suffering his injury.

If he does return, it would also mean the Lakers could no longer sign a player with a hardship exception. The team became eligible after Brown, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker all missed three straight games. If any one of them returns, they would no longer be eligible.

Patrick Beverley is listed as questionable for the contest with a hip injury. He exited Monday’s game with the injury and had his status up in the air — and while he wasn’t at the Lakers practice on Wednesday, head coach Darvin Ham credited that to a non-COVID illness.

Interestingly, there’s no mention of the illness on the injury report and it’s the hip that has him questionable. It raises more questions, obviously, but if he’s available on Thursday, it’s another boost to the Lakers after being down so many players on Monday.

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