The Los Angeles Lakers have been dealing with a multitude of injuries and one of the more important has been to reserve center Jaxson Hayes. The Lakers are already thin in the frontcourt behind Anthony Davis and Hayes has really come into his own, thriving in his role as an active and energetic rim-running big man.
Hayes has only suited up once since Nov. 10 when he re-aggravated his ankle injury in his first game back against the Phoenix Suns. With the Lakers having some time off there was some hope that he could be back soon, but head coach JJ Redick had no update on his status.
“No update on Jaxson,” Redick said after practice on Wednesday. “His sort of target return date is in flux. If we have something, we’ll give it to you. Same with Christian and Vando.”
When it was announced that Hayes had re-aggravated his ankle injury, it was said that he would be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks. It has been two weeks since then and with no update yet, it would seem likely he will be out for at least another week.
Unfortunately with an ankle sprain, the timeframe can always fluctuate. The most important thing is just to rest, but some ankle sprains take more time to heal up than others. And for someone like Hayes, who is reliant on his athletic ability, an ankle issue greatly impacts his game.
Hayes has really grown into his reserve role with the Lakers, always bringing a ton of energy and activity whenever he checks in the game. He not only can relieve Davis, but also plays alongside him at times and the two have decent chemistry on the court together. Getting him back on the court is important, but it sounds as if it will still be a little while longer until he is back in uniform.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves returns to practice but still considered day-to-day
While Jaxson Hayes hasn’t yet returned to practice, someone who did is guard Austin Reaves as JJ Redick noted that he kept the guard out of one particularly physical drill, but other than that Reaves participated in everything.
“I wouldn’t call Austin a full participant,” Redick said. “One thing he sat out that we suggested and Leroy agreed with us was probably not good for him just due to the nature of the drill, it was particularly a physical drill and just want to be mindful of his pain tolerance. But he was a full participant in all of the 5-on-5 and live stuff and all the breakdown drills.”
Redick added that Reaves is still considered day-to-day ahead of the Lakers’ game on Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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