Lakers return from ASW to face the Hornets

Tonight, your Los Angeles Lakers will face the Charlotte Hornets in a make-up game that was rescheduled due to the LA fires. Since the fires, Los Angeles has had fresh excitement and energy thanks to the Luka Doncic trade.

Doncic has only played in two games thus far for the Lakers while also being on a minute restriction. The anticipation for the whole product is still very much alive. Yesterday, coach JJ Redick gave Lakers Nation some good news.

Lakers coach JJ Redick on Luka Doncic: “He’ll be fine. That extra five-six days of All-Star break was good for him. His minutes will be up tomorrow. And I don’t think that there’s going to be any sort of restrictions going forward.”

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 19, 2025

With Luka now off of a minutes restriction, we’ll get a better look at what this team really is. For tonight, let’s focus on what to look for in the team’s first action in roughly a week.

Free the Don

Tonight will be Lakers fans’ first opportunity to see Luka Doncic at close to, if not full, power. We are collectively in for a treat.

Luka is expected to play tonight, with no minutes restriction

His last game where he played more than 30 minutes:

12/15 vs Golden State

45 points
11 rebounds
13 assists
3 steals
2 blocks

His last masterpiece in a Mavs jersey pic.twitter.com/cDZ2NnOUYZ

— Mavs Film Room 🐴🎥 (@MavsFilmRoom) February 19, 2025

The last time Luka played over 30 minutes in a game, he did standard Luka things. Nothing crazy, really. All he did was record a 45-point triple-double against the Warriors on Dec 15th. If the Lakers are able to get even a portion of that tonight, Charlotte will be in deep trouble.

Lakers welcome Mark Williams back to LA

In what will go down as one of the strangest moments of the NBA season, the Lakers trade saga with Mark Williams finally ended over the weekend. Through a trade, that trade being rescinded, and then the Hornets fighting the decision with the league, we’re all glad it’s over.

After the whirlwind week for the Hornets big, he finally headed back to Charlotte, just to be put back on a plane with the team headed to Los Angeles.

The results of the medical record the Hornets sent and the results of the Lakers physical are irrelevant now, but Mark Williams is likely going to play tonight.

Listed as probable on the injury report, we’ll see if Williams looks to enact revenge not just for the trade drama but for the whooping Anthony Davis gave him the last time these two teams played.

LeBron availability

LeBron stole the spotlight this weekend by announcing an hour before the game that he would not play in the All-Star tournament. At first glance, one might think that this is a sign of trouble and that LeBron will need to monitor his foot for the remainder of the season. Many see it differently.

While it may be true that he will have to monitor his foot throughout the season, many believe that this was a calculated decision based on his confidence in the team’s ability to make a real run.

James will be available on Wednesday, which is a boost for LA.

James and Luka will need as much time together as possible to become as lethal as possible come the post-season.