The Los Angeles Lakers released their injury report for Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks and guard Austin Reaves (left pelvic contusion) remains out while LeBron James (left foot soreness) and Bronny James (left heel contusion) are questionable.
Additionally, Anthony Davis (left plantar fasciitis) is probable while Jalen Hood-Schifino (left groin soreness), Jaxson Hayes (right ankle sprain/contusion), Christian Wood (left knee surgery recovery) and Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery) all remain out for the Lakers as well.
James has played in all 22 of the Lakers’ games so far but with him struggling lately, there has been some talk about managing his workload. If he ends up not being able to play, along with Reaves, then the Lakers will be severely short-handed to end what has already been a disappointing road trip.
Reaves took a hard fall when driving the lane for a dunk in the first half of the team’s recent loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and while he was able to finish that game, he has now sat out the last three and will miss a fourth on Friday.
Beat the Hawks will be a challenge for the Lakers regardless as in their last two games, road losses to the Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves, they have been outscored by a combined 70 points.
While Reaves returning wouldn’t solve all of the Lakers’ issues, having someone who can create his own shot as well as get looks for others is definitely needed. The Hawks have a number of young and athletic defenders on the wing that will make things challenging for the Lakers, especially if both James and Reaves are unable to play.
Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt now dealing with knee effusion
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they have been without defensive stalwart Jarred Vanderbilt all season long and will continue to be so for at least the rest of this calendar year.
The team recently announced that in his recovery from offseason foot surgery, Vanderbilt developed a left knee effusion and the Lakers are now targeting an early-January return to NBA games for the forward. It is another unfortunate setback as the team was hopeful he would be ready for the start of the season, but now looks set to miss nearly half of the year.
Prior to last season, Vanderbilt signed a four-year, $48 million extension with the Lakers but has appeared in just 29 of a possible 103 games since.
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