JJ Redick said after practice on Monday that the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to list center Jaxson Hayes as probable to return to the lineup for Tuesday night’s NBA Cup matchup against the Phoenix Suns. Hayes has not played since Nov. 10 when he suffered an ankle injury in replacement of Anthony Davis, but he confirmed that he will be returning on Tuesday.
It was a six-game absence for Hayes, and the Lakers went 4-2 in that span.
Davis (left plantar fasciitis) will likely listed as probable while Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery), Bronny James (left heel contusion), Jalen Hood-Schifino (left hamstring strain), Quincy Olivari (right ankle sprain) and Christian Wood (left knee surgery recovery) are all expected to still be out with their respective injuries.
Getting Hayes back gives the Lakers a massive boost, as they have only had two true centers on their entire roster with Davis and two-way big Christian Koloko. Hayes was incredible in relief of Davis against the Toronto Raptors two weeks ago, and hopefully can bring that energy to his bench role.
Having serviceable bigs will help against the Suns, who have similar size and rebounding troubles to the Lakers. However, the Suns are likely to get Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal back into their lineup.
Durant (calf) and Beal (calf) have not played for the Suns since Nov. 8 and Nov. 12 respectively. Phoenix is 0-5 with both players out of the lineup and 1-6 since Durant’s injury. The Suns were 8-1 when Durant went down, meaning the Lakers are getting a potentially lethal version of their opponent.
The Lakers are hopeful to get back on a winning track after losing their last two with a heartbreaking defeat to the Orlando Magic and collapse against the Denver Nuggets.
Teams taking advantage of Lakers’ rebounding issues
One reason getting Jaxson Hayes back will be helpful is because the team’s inability to finish defensive possessions with rebounds, which has been an issue for the Lakers all season. Anthony Davis knows that opposing teams are taking advantage of those two issues when scouting for L.A. and they need to clean it up.
“Guys are going to crash. That’s the scouting report on us,” Davis said. “Run when we miss, run in transition and offense rebound, crash the glass. So we got to do a better job putting bodies on bodies, boxing out. Just that simple.”
Getting Hayes back should help, but the Lakers will need to make more of a commitment to the glass in general.
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