The Los Angeles Lakers have been banged up for most of the 2025-26 season, with players like Rui Hachimura being forced out of the lineup.
Hachimura has been dealing with a left calf strain and it seemed like he may have had a chance to make his return against the Milwaukee Bucks as he was deemed questionable. However, he was eventually downgraded to out in the team’s 105-101 loss to the Bucks.
Without Hachimura, head coach JJ Redick has used Jake LaRavia as the team’s fifth starter and the young forward has performed admirable. LaRavia is making a strong case to start even when Hachimura returns, though it would still be good to have him back sooner than later.
In fact, Redick offered up an encouraging update regarding Hachimura’s return to the court.
“He’s made a lot of progress just in terms of regaining strength and mobility in his calf,” Redick said before the Bucks game. “He had a good workout today and there’s a lot of optimism that he’ll be available Monday. But we’ll see how the next few days go.”
Calf injuries have been the most cautionary tale in the NBA the past few seasons as several players have suffered Achilles injuries. Hachimura isn’t the only player on the Lakers’ roster dealing with a calf injury as Austin Reaves is currently nursing his own.
Los Angeles’ defense has seen an uptick in production since Redick’s gone to a starting lineup featuring Marcus Smart and LaRavia, so it’ll be interesting to see how he goes about managing the rotation when Hachimura comes back. The power forward hasn’t been bad by any stretch this season, but he’s generally a mono-position defender who struggles to guard quicker players on the perimeter. Right now, the Lakers’ point of attack defense is subpar, so Hachimura would be asked to do more on the backend to make up for it.
Regardless of how the lineups shake out, the Lakers simply need more depth to play with game to game. Hachimura’s best asset is his ability to knock down open 3-pointers, so that could help keep the offense more potent while the defense sorts itself out.
Rui Hachimura on how Lakers will make up for Austin Reaves’ absence
Losing Reaves for nearly two months is a massive blow to a Lakers squad that was dependent on his scoring and playmaking. However, Hachimura believes in the rest of the roster to step up in his absence.
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