Is LeBron James playing tonight against the Houston Rockets? | 2021-22 NBA season

The Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James, are gearing up to take on the Houston Rockets. It's a matchup between two teams that have had disappointing campaigns thus far.

To say that the the Los Angeles Lakers (28-36) have had a challenging season under coach Frank Vogel would be an understatement as they are ninth in the Western Conference. They have hovered around the 0.500 mark all season and currently find themselves eight games below 0.500. They have won only two of their last 10 games and are in desperate need of an uptick in form if they are going to make the postseason this year.

King James' team is currently four and a half games behind city rival the Los Angeles Clippers but more importantly less than two games ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans, who are 10th in the West.

One of the reasons the Lakers have struggled so much is the lack of cohesion and chemistry between Russell Westbrook and James. That, coupled with Anthony Davis missing a huge chunk of games with a knee injury and the team being lackadaisical on defense, means the Lakers have struggled immensely this season.

James has also missed 18 games, mostly due to an abdominal injury but has also suffered a knee injury, and has been nursing that pain for quite some time now. The Lakers are 7-11 without LeBron on the floor.

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LeBron James is questionable for tonight's game against the Houston Rockets

King James against the Golden State Warriors

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially listed LeBron James as questionable for tonight's game against the Houston Rockets. As aforementioned, James has already missed 18 games this season, and at age 37, it seems injuries are starting to bother the great man.

While James' main injury problem this season has been his abdomen, knee soreness isn't exactly something new and that will need to be taken care of diligently. It is the type of injury that will usually require the summer to completely recover from, much like the ankle injury that he suffered last season ahead of the playoffs.

There have been calls to shut down LeBron James for the rest of the season. Many believe this Lakers roster is going nowhere and there is no point in jeopardizing the health of James and the future of the team. LeBron has been averaging 29.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists this season while shooting the ball nearly 35% from the perimeter and a shade over 52% from the field.

Known to be an iron man throughout his illutrious career for not picking up many injuries, age and attrition seem to be finally catching up to arguably the grestest player of all time.