Is LeBron James Playing Today? (Latest Injury Updates and News for Lakers vs Jazz on April 9)

The Los Angeles Lakers are back in action Sunday afternoon as they face the Utah Jazz at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. One player's status to keep an eye on ahead of tip-off is LeBron James, who continues to deal with a lingering foot injury.

LeBron James Injury Update (4/9/2023)

James is officially listed as questionable to suit up against Utah, which has been the case for every game he has been a part of since returning on March 26. His status is likely going to come down to how he looks in pregame warmups and what head coach Darvin Ham decides to do with his lineup.

Ham will likely opt to play his starters knowing that a top-six seed is still within reach. Securing that would allow the Lakers to avoid the play-in tournament and be locked into a first-round matchup. As it stands, they remain 1.0 game back of the Golden State Warriors with a 42-39 record on the season.

Foot injuries can be tough to play through, especially for players that have the ball in their hands on almost every possession like James. The good news is that the issue has not caused a big decrease in production as James is tallying 23.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists over his last eight games.

LeBron James Fantasy Outlook and Prop Bets Today

LeBron James is listed with over/unders of 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists on FanDuel Sportsbook's NBA odds, which is a great sign for his availability today. I lean toward backing him to record at least 26 against the Jazz as it is an opponent he has demolished in the past. James averages 28.2 points against Utah in his career and tallied 37 points in a recent matchup (April 4).

James is also listed among the top options on the FanDuel DFS slate, checking in with the seventh-most expensive price tag overall ($10,800). That should not come as a major shock considering he is averaging a reliable 49.7 FanDuel fantasy points per game and is facing a Jazz squad that is allowing the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing teams as a whole. James should ball out if he is active.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

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