Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest injury update for Lakers vs. Bucks

With 11 games to go and a 2.5-game deficit in the Western Conference for the eighth seed, the Los Angeles Lakers are running out of time to climb out of the 9-10 matchup in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

The Lakers have a 62.2 percent chance of being either the ninth or tenth seed in the West, according to Basketball Reference’s Playoff Probabilities Report, which probably explains why superstar LeBron James is popping up on the injury report at this stage in the season ahead of a contest against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Will Los Angeles have King James at their disposal on Tuesday when the Lakers travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks at Fiserv Forum?

Is LeBron James playing tonight? Injury update for Lakers vs. Bucks

James was listed as doubtful ahead of the Tuesday night meeting versus the Bucks due to the left ankle peroneal tendinopathy issue he has been monitoring and playing through for much of the season, according to the NBA's official injury report. However, it was later confirmed that he will be out for this game and the Lakers will have their hands full against Milwaukee sans their most important player.

Los Angeles needs every win they can get at the moment, so James missing a game of this magnitude this late in the year means he must be hurting. Or, he understands the circumstances and is doing what he can to preserve himself for the highly anticipated play-in showdown against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors that everyone expects to happen.

In his age-39 campaign, James is still playing at an All-NBA level, averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 assists, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting a career-high 40.6 percent from three, so his absence will recognized on both ends of the floor. 

Sitting at 39-32 and ninth place in the conference standings, the Lakers can’t afford to start losing games now, especially with the red-hot Houston Rockets (winners of nine straight games) lurking in the shadows.