The Los Angeles Lakers have not been able to reap the benefits of their big offseason signing Gabe Vincent as he has been limited to just six games all season due to a knee injury.
Vincent was able to return for one game at the end of December after an extended absence. The knee didn’t respond like he had hoped though, so he underwent surgery to address the issue.
After missing a few more months, Vincent finally returned to the lineup on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets. In 14 minutes of action, he had two points, one rebound, one assist and one steal on 1-of-4 shooting.
It’s not a surprise to see Vincent look a bit rusty as he continues to work his way back into rhythm and game shape, but LeBron James was just happy to see his teammate back on the floor, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet:
“First of all, I just told him I was happy to have you back, man. Congrats and happy to have you back out there. Obviously it’s his first action in so many months, your legs and your lungs are gonna be the first thing to go. But I thought he was great in the minutes that he was out there. It was great to have him back.”
Anthony Davis echoed James’ thoughts on Vincent and actually thought he looked solid against the Nets despite it being his first game in months:
“He’s solid. Obviously it’s a feel thing, rhythm thing, to get back out there, but he looked really well on both ends of the floor. We had some miscues, I know I did with him, but that’s just coming back and being part of the team and getting game reps. But overall, I think he looked really solid.”
Vincent was projected to be a big part of the Lakers’ rotation when they signed him and although time is running out on the regular season, he still has a few games to try to round into form for the playoffs.
The Lakers have lacked perimeter defense all season, so if Vincent can stay healthy then there definitely is a role for him moving forward.
Gabe Vincent ‘felt good’ in Lakers return
The most important thing for Vincent coming out of his first game back is that he felt healthy, and he said that was the case.
“It felt good. It felt good to go out there and get a sweat, compete a little bit, get a little statsheet going a little bit, tiny bit here and there. But it felt good to go out there and run around.”
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