Getty Lance Stephenson #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Lakers guard Lance Stephenson is “available” tonight as Los Angeles hosts the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night (10:30 p.m. EST, ESPN) per Mike Truedell.
It’s the one positive health news of the night, as guard Brandon Ingram was announced as questionable, confirms Lakers social media.
Southern California News Group’s Kyle Goon had reported that Ingram and Lance Stephenson’s statuses were still up in the air tonight, while Kyle Kuzma and Tyson Chandler are out. Ingram missed Monday against the Clippers (a 113-105 Lakers loss).
Stephenson went out with a toe sprain suffered last week. He also sat for the Clippers loss. As 247 Sports explains, the slow play on his return has been more than about simply the toe.
Stephenson is a more complicated case. While he has played poorly lately, the variance he brings to the court actually has some utility in the middle of a losing streak. Stephenson can shoot the Lakers out of games, but it’s not as if anyone else is playing all that well at the moment. A good stretch from him could have ignited a run as it has on several occasions earlier this season. Without him, the Lakers are left to the same guards they’ve been running into the ground lately.
He has averaged 7.2 points per game, and has drained nearly 39 percent of his triple attempts.
With Los Angeles sporting a 30-34 mark and sitting outside the Western Conference playoff picture, the Lakers need all hands on deck to fight for the No. 8 seed. They currently have a 99 percent chance at missing the postseason, including just under 1 percent at the final spot (per Playoff Status).
Here’s the roster outlook and lineup with Ingram possibly absent tonight.
Lakers Roster and Lineup vs. Nuggets
Head coach Luke Walton chose to start Reggie Bullock, a 6-foot-7 guard they received from Detroit last month. Against the Clippers, he mustered just 7 points on 3-for-10 shooting, including 0-for-7 from behind the arc. Over the last 3 games, the career 39 percent 3-point gunner has made just 2-of-13 attempts from deep.
Without Ingram or Kuzma, there’s really nowhere else for the Lakers to turn for a perimeter scorer with size. Bullock theoretically fills that role, as he’s averaged 11.7 points this season with both Detroit and Los Angeles.
Stephenson provides the same 3-point range, but has produced a nearly identical amount of points (or lack thereof).
How are Lakers fans feeling missing the bulk of Lebron James’ supporting cast Silver Screen and Roll demonstrated a severe lack of confidence.
Earlier this season, we saw how the Lakers looked without James, their leading scorer, and it wasn’t pretty. However, we’ve yet to see what James looks like without his second and third options on offense.
If the Lakers are getting blown out by bad teams like the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies with Ingram and Kuzma each averaging nearly 20 points per game, how are they going to look with them sidelined?
There’s a decent chance we’ll find out on Wednesday when Los Angeles takes on Denver, who are the No. 2 team in the Western Conference. As Samuel L. Jackson once said, hold onto your butts.
Lakers Outlook Tonight vs. Rockets
Team Rankings gives Los Angeles a 43.7 percent chance of topping the Nuggets, the No. 2 team in the West. At some point, Los Angeles will have to win these 50-50 games if they want to even sniff the NBA Playoffs.
Playoff Status calculates that the playoff chances would move up a percentage point with an upset tonight. The teams have split the season series, with the Lakers winning the first game 121-114 all the way back in October.
The Nuggets routed Los Angeles 117-85 in Colorado during Thanksgiving weekend.