Los Angeles Lakers and visits Charlotte Hornets will return from the All-Star break earlier than previously planned when the team meets for a makeup game Wednesday.
Originally scheduled for January 9, the game is shot in the middle of the ongoing fire fires in the Los Angeles area.
While the horns were originally set to meet the Lakers with Anthony Davis, the re -planned game makes them with another challenge in Luka Doncic, which was acquired by Los Angeles on February 2.
Doncic has played two matches with his new team, both against Utah Jazz. He got 14 points in a home victory over jazz on 10 and 16 points in a road loss last Wednesday. Both games came after he missed one and a half months with a calf injury.
Despite the loss last week, Los Angeles has won 10 of the last 12 matches, with star LeBron James so focused on the two months left during the season, he decided to sit out Sunday’s all-star festivities with tenderness in the left foot and ankle.
He is expected to play against Hornets as he continues to build on judicial chemistry with Doncic.
“… to add a caliber player like it, a generation talent like the one to our franchise, is something that has given me energy,” James said during All-Star Weekend. “I look forward to seeing what we can do. We only had two matches so far, and I think he has been on a few minutes of limitation since he came back from the calf.
“When he continues to get in shape, I think we can be really good to go down the route. But we’ll see what happens.”
The horns limped during the break on a three-game lost line, while he released nine of the last 10 races and 11 out of 13 which went back to January 22. Included in these defeat was a 112-107 home loss for Lakers in January. 27.
In the previous meeting against Los Angeles, Charlotte’s Lamelo Ball went after nine minutes with a left ankle injury. Ball has played in just two matches ago, including a February 10 against Brooklyn Nets when he left early with a right ankle injury.
Not chosen as an all-Star this season, despite the averages of 27.3 points, 7.2 assists and 5.1 returns in 33 matches, the ball has instead received much needed recovery time.
Hornets have dropped 17 of the 18 games when the ball has been out, making the presence of the Los Angeles area decisive for Hornet’s chances.
Hornets and Lakers had agreed on an agreement before the trade deadline, but Charlotte Big Man Mark Williams failed with his physical in Los Angeles and mixed the prey that would have sent Cam Reddish and Rookie Dalton Knecht to Charlotte.
If Williams takes the court on Wednesday, it will be his first game played since the deal was canceled.
“We have always had great respect for Mark’s talent, work ethics and character,” Hornets said in a statement. “We are pleased to see him again join our guard list as a dynamic presence in the starting center. His return strengthens our team and we look forward to the impact he will make on and outside the court.”
Williams scored 11 points with eight returns in last month’s loss to Lakers and struggled to protect Davis, who had 42 points and 23 returns. Davis was sent to Dallas Mavericks in the Doncic business.
-Field level media
