As is the case every year, the NBA has scheduled a slate of marquee matchups for Christmas Day. One of them will pit the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Houston Rockets, which means that LeBron James will go up against Kevin Durant once again.
Lately, the Lakers have seen Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Luka Doncic miss time due to injuries. Reaves and Ayton returned on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns, but the team is still waiting on Hachimura and Doncic to recover enough to be cleared to play.
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In the meantime, Doncic let the Rockets know that the Purple and Gold plan to put some coal in their stockings.
“We look forward to welcoming you to L.A. on Christmas, where we celebrate the holiday by handing out big gifts and tough L’s,” Doncic said. “Merry swishmas.”
The Lakers have a 19-9 record and are in fourth place in the Western Conference, but they have lost five of their last nine games. Houston is 17-10 and in sixth place, and it has dropped five of its last seven contests.
According to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, Doncic is expected to play versus Houston, as long as his Wednesday workout goes well.
“Luka Doncic is expected to play on Christmas Day against the Houston Rockets,” Charania said. “I’m told he’s undergoing a workout today — as long as that goes smooth for him, he will return to the lineup and debut his new signature shoe on Thursday.”
So far this season, Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring average and is putting up 34.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.6 steals a game.
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This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Luka Doncic sends Rockets message before Christmas Day matchup