Lakers' LeBron James Active vs. Blazers, Alex Caruso Out Due to Health Protocols

The Los Angeles Lakers will be short-handed during Monday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Head coach Frank Vogel told reporters LeBron James will suit up but Alex Caruso will not. Caruso will be sidelined because of the NBA's health and safety protocols in place during the 2020-21 campaign.

James is clearly the headliner when it comes to the Lakers, and he has appeared in all three games this season.

However, there were questions about whether he would play Monday because of an ankle injury. He also is yet to play more than 31 minutes in a single contest, underscoring the reality that the Purple and Gold may limit his minutes in the early going this season since they just won the championship less than three months ago and want him fresh for the stretch run.

Los Angeles is 2-1 on the campaign, and LeBron is averaging 20.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists a night.

Caruso has also appeared in all three games this year and is averaging 5.3 points a night while hitting 50.0 percent of his three-pointers by taking advantage of the space his talented teammates create.

Fortunately for Los Angeles, it has plenty of players who could see more playing time while Caruso is sidelined.

Look for Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wesley Matthews and Talen Horton-Tucker to rotate in the backcourt for Monday's showdown with a fellow Western Conference contender.