Is LeBron James playing tonight against Orlando Magic? Latest injury update from Los Angeles Lakers (November 4th)

The Los Angeles Lakers will begin their four-game road trip with a game against the Orlando Magic, and their star player, LeBron James, is in peak health right now. The 38-year-old is playing at such a high level that fans often forget that he is in his 21st NBA season.

The Lakers won the 'Battle of LA' in overtime, 130-125, for the first time since 2020, snapping an 11-game losing streak against their crosstown rivals.

LeBron James is available for the game against the Orlando Magic tonight. If the game doesn't go down to the wire, we can expect James to play limited minutes.

Despite the Lakers' announcement of a 30-minute limit on James' playing time, the coaching staff has faced challenges in effectively managing his minutes due to the close nature of every game. The Lakers have also played in two overtimes, and James had to play added minutes.

Despite being from different conferences, the Lakers and Magic, have already faced each other this season. Their first meeting was decided in the closing seconds, with the Lakers winning 106-103. The Lakers need to ensure that this matchup also doesn't end up going into crunch time, or else James will see more minutes than he is supposed to.

LeBron James to carry a bigger burden as Los Angeles Lakers deal with a slew of injuries

Christian Wood celebrates with his LA Lakers teammates

'The King' is playing in his 21st NBA season and is about to turn 39 years old in December, so having him play nearly 40 minutes a night is going to hurt the team in the long term.

Additionally, the burden on LeBron James would be lessened if the role players were healthy and ready to step up in his absence on the floor. As we've seen throughout his entire career, the team's stats drop once he goes to the bench, and the coach is essentially forced to bring him back to the floor sooner than expected.

Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Taurean Prince, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent are all listed on the injury report. Prince is questionable, while the rest are all sidelined. Vincent, Hachimura and Vanderbilt are key rotation pieces, so their absence will certainly be felt.

If the role players were available, LeBron James wouldn't have to worry as much as he does, but since the Lakers have filled up a long injury report, we should expect him to play more minutes.