Overview
- James was downgraded from questionable to out for Sunday’s home game, the front end of a back-to-back, and his status for Monday vs. the Suns remains uncertain.
- The Lakers later beat New Orleans 133-121 without him behind Luka Dončić’s 34 points and Austin Reaves’ 33, extending their win streak to seven and moving to 15-4.
- Marcus Smart missed his second straight game with back spasms, and Bronny James was assigned to the South Bay Lakers.
- James returned from right-side sciatica on Nov. 18 and has logged four games at 16.5 points, 8.3 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game.
- Redick emphasized day-to-day management for long-term durability, and agent Rich Paul has expressed a preference for James to skip back-to-backs at this stage.