In the fight for one of the Western Conference playoff spots, the Los Angeles Lakers face the toronto raptors early this Saturday (11), with good and bad news about its workforce, in the home stretch of the NBA regular season.

D’Angelo Russelrecovered from an ankle injury, should return to the squad and be available to coach Darvin Ham for the home game against the Canadiens.

Behind the third consecutive victory, the Lakers, who have beaten Warriors and Grizzlies in recent games, have the return of the point guard, a regular starter for the team before the physical problem. Russell has started all four games for Los Angeles since being traded to the Timberwolves — the same one that sent Russell Westbrook to Utah.

However, not everything is flowery. Great star of the franchise, LeBron James sidelined with right foot injury and has the most optimistic return predictions only for the last week of March.

Without the contribution of its main star, it is the duo D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Davis who should be responsible for bringing the offense to the Raptors. Since LeBron’s departure, Davis has made an impactful contribution, with a average of 33.7 points every time you enter the court.

The Lakers have won three of the four games the Russell-Davis duo have played together.

The Lakers in the running for the playoffs

The season record of 32 wins and 34 losses puts the Lakers in the middle of the fight for a direct NBA playoff spot. Currently, the team is in the qualifying zone for the play-in.

Against the Raptors, the promise is of a disputed confrontation, since the opponents are in a very similar situation: there are 32 triumphs and 35 stumbles to date. Both teams are chasing a top-six berth in their conferences, but they also fear missing out on the playoffs.

Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz would all be out today, but they are real threats to the Western Lakers. On the other hand, Toronto is closely watching the Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers in particular.