“We won. We’ve been playing the right way,” said LeBron James a week ago, when discussing the win streak that the Los Angeles Lakers had recently embarked upon. Any initial doubts about JJ Redick being head coach have been put down to rest for now, as the franchise has gone on to win 7 of their last 10 games! This places them in a much better position than the previous season. However, a couple more losses are all it will take to bring the Lakers back into scrutiny. Therefore, the team will need to give their best against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Unfortunately, the squad will have to make up for some lost players.

Anthony Davis and Dalton Knecht are listed as ‘Probable’ for the upcoming game. Amidst their injury woes, this was the best news that the Lakers could have received. After all, both players are an essential part of the Lakers’ offensive effort.

Meanwhile, Bronny James continues to remain ‘out’ for the upcoming matchup. Jaxson Hayes’ status remains at ‘day-to-day’, with his availability status placed as ‘doubtful.’ LeBron’s son will be joining Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood in the ‘out’ category.

However, both Vanderbilt and Wood have yet to play a game this season. On the plus side, however, Jovan Buha of ‘The Athletic’ has now confirmed that Jalen Hood-Schifino is available to take on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. in the next few hours!

Jalen Hood-Schifino had earlier been benched after sustaining a left hamstring strain. The same had caused the non-starter point guard to miss out on 9 consecutive games. In fact, the last game that he played, against the 76ers, was his only regular season game of this tournament. During that game, the player was present only for about 1 minute! In light of this, the Lakers transferred Hood-Schifino to the South Bay Lakers a few days ago. Now, his absence from the IR suggests a well-awaited return is on the cards.

Bronny James is battling a left heel contusion. A couple of weeks ago, the injury occurred after he made his second appearance with the South Bay Lakers upon transferring to the G-League. Since then, he has remained ‘out’, and may continue being so, for now.

Fortunately, his absence won’t deeply matter with AD (left plantar fasciitis) and Dalton Knecht (right quad contusion) being healthy enough to take on OKC. The only thing that remains to be seen is whether their minutes will be limited in this upcoming Black Friday game.

Speaking of the Oklahoma City Thunder, they are in a more precarious position than the Lakers. After all, they have not one, but SEVEN players listed on the report. Six of them remain in the ‘OUT’ category. The eye injury that Jalen Williams sustained just yesterday had earlier placed him on the ‘Day-To-Day’ status. Now, the team cleared him to take on the Lakers.

While Adam Flagler continues to remain ‘Questionable’ for now, the coaches have no hope for the Alexes (Alex Caruso and Alex Ducas). After all, the medics have declared both ‘out’. Chet Holmgren, whose injury coverage recently got two commentators into hot water, also won’t play. The same goes for Jaylin Williams, Nikola Topic, and Ousmane Dieng too!

With these injury challenges, both teams will need to change their starting lineups to navigate this matchup effectively.

What will be the starting lineup and depth chart for the Lakers-OKC game?

Being ‘probable’ provides a hopeful chance for Anthony Davis and Dalton Knecht’s presence. In the off-chance that the duo is not there, the Lakers go to Plan B. If both AD and Jaxson Hayes are also out, Christian Koloko may see his on-court minutes increase. The Center’s availability for the ongoing season was initially under question amidst details of his ‘blood-clot’ ailment coming to light. Now, however, the hoopster has played in 10 games this season and averaged 2.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists across 9.2 minutes.

Being G-League players, the absence of Jalen Hood-Schifino and Bronny James won’t affect the starting lineup by much. Considering these updates, the Lakers’ starting lineup for the game might shape up as follows:

Similarly, looking at the updates for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the franchise’s starting lineup could look something like this:

So, the Los Angeles Lakers or the Oklahoma City Thunder- who will you be rooting for during the upcoming matchup? Let us know in the comments down below.