The Los Angeles Lakers released their injury report for Monday’s game against the Detroit Pistons and Rui Hachimura (right calf soreness), Marcus Smart (right ankle soreness) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) are listed as questionable.
Smart has been playing at a high level for the Lakers in recent weeks but has clearly been hobbling, so perhaps they consider sitting him out in Detroit to get back to 100%.
Hachimura played 15 minutes off the bench in the Lakers’ win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night, scoring two points on 1-of-2 shooting with one rebound and one block. He left the game towards the end of the third quarter and did not return due to the calf injury.
While it remains to be seen how serious this calf injury is for Hachimura, he has dealt with similar injuries in the past and his status for the Pistons game could be in jeopardy.
In recent weeks, Hachimura has accepted his bench role and has been playing really well, so someone would need to pick up the slack if he and Smart miss time. Luke Kennard has also provided a scoring punch off the bench, and JJ Redick could opt to give Jarred Vanderbilt another look in the rotation with Jake LaRavia struggling offensively.
Kleber looks like he could also return to action after missing time with a back injury. The Lakers would likely ease him into action to be be cautious, but he has played well in spot minutes throughout the season.
Rui Hachimura: Lakers look like championship team when playing together
The Lakers have been playing their best basketball of the season in recent weeks, winning nine straight games to take control of the third seed in the Western Conference. When asked about the difference, Hachimura said it comes down to the Lakers playing together.
“I think when we play good, like really good, we look like a championship team,” Hachimura said after the Lakers’ recent victory over the Sacramento Kings. “But we have a lot of times that we’re not, and we look like we’re just literally out of the playoffs team.
“We have to focus. It’s a long season, you know, it’s a long season, like you said. We’ve had a lot of injured guys in and out so we have a different rotation, different starting lineup. I think we have to focus on that part. We have to play together, play hard and that’s gonna be really good for us, staying consistent and we can look like a championship team all the time.”
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