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

After sitting out Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with flu-like symptoms, the status of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James remains in question due to illness ahead of a meeting versus the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night with monumental postseason implications for both teams.

James appears to be still feeling under the weather, as evidenced by his questionable tag for the Tuesday night showdown at Crypto.com Arena, per the official injury report of the NBA. 

Will the Lakers have James for the highly anticipated grudge match with the Warriors? Senior lead NBA insider of The Athletic, Shams Charania, provided more clarity on the matter in an update on Tuesday:

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

Charania says that there is "obvious optimism and hope" that both James and fellow All-Star teammate Anthony Davis (left eye soreness) will take the floor in what he calls a "massive game for the Lakers."

Nonetheless, it would be shocking to see King James held out of a second consecutive game because of illness, especially considering the magnitude of the moment as the Lakers and Warriors jostle for play-in seeding.

Sitting at 45-34 and ninth place in the Western Conference, the Lakers hold a 1.5-game lead over the Warriors in the standings and trail the Sacramento Kings by only half a game for eighth place, putting themselves in position to potentially be in the win-and-in portion of the NBA Play-In Tournament format and secure the seventh seed as a result.

After being given ample time to rest and get his body right, James should be out there for Los Angeles in what has become a must-win game for the Lakers if they want any chance of climbing ahead of the Kings for the No. 8 spot in the West.

James is averaging 25.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting a career-high 41.3 percent from beyond the arc on 5.2 nightly attempts in 68 games played this season. So, his looming return to the lineup will be a welcomed return for the Lakers, barring any setbacks.