The Los Angeles Lakers have been grappling with extended injury reports for much of the last several weeks, but generally have managed to string together wins. At 19-8, LA ranks as one of the best squads in the Western Conference.
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But the team has looked scarily mortal of late.
The Lakers headed into a Saturday matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers missing three starters — guard Austin Reaves, forward Rui Hachimura, and center Deandre Ayton — at tipoff, plus backup guard Gabe Vincent. After the half, that number rose to four, as five-time All-NBA First Team superstar Luka Doncic departed the action with a lower left leg contusion.
Reaves and Ayton return to the floor Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns. Doncic, Hachimura and Vincent, meanwhile, remained on the shelf. Hachimura has been out with a sore right groin since LA’s last win, a 143-135 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday. Vincent has been sidelined with a lumbar back strain since Dec. 14, and is set to be re-assessed within the next week.
But Los Angeles just lost another key rotation piece late into the proceedings on Tuesday.
Ayton’s backup, Jaxson Hayes, exited the game after just 5:22 of on-court action. Per Underdog NBA, he has been ruled out for the rest of the night with an ankle injury.
As of this writing, the Suns are in the midst of a massive blowout, and currently pace the Lakers by nearly 30 points, 120-91, with 8:07 remaining in regulation.
Hayes finished the night with just two points on 2-of-2 foul shooting, having taken zero field goal attempts. He also logged a rebound.
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Hayes was installed as the Lakers’ starting five after the team traded away 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Doncic last February. An athletic rim runner, the 7-footer developed a nice partnership as a lob threat for Doncic during the regular season. But his limited scoring touch caused head coach JJ Redick to lose confidence in Hayes during the playoffs, and he was eventually benched completely during a must-win Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.
Ayton was signed to a two-year, $16.2 million deal this summer to supplant Hayes, but the Lakers also re-signed the 25-year-old out of Texas on a one-year, $3.6 million minimum contract.
On the year, Hayes has been averaging 6.0 points on 76.6 percent shooting from the floor and 65 percent shooting from the free throw line, 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.7 blocks in 17.7 minutes per.
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