The Los Angeles Lakers have been hit by the injury bug early this season as LeBron James has yet to play while Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have also missed time. Additionally, some role players have also been out like Maxi Kleber, Gabe Vincent and Adou Thiero.
Kleber, in particular, has had a frustrating start to his Lakers tenure. When he was traded to L.A. along with Doncic last February, Kleber was dealing with a broken foot that cost him essentially the rest of the season. He was only able to return and play limited minutes in the team’s final playoff game.
After reporting to training camp healthy this year, Kleber suffered a quad injury during the Lakers’ first practice. He was eventually able to return for the preseason finale, but he then again got hurt, this time suffering an abdominal injury that has kept him out of the first nine games of the regular season.
Kleber was upgraded to questionable for Saturday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks though and while he’s not sure if the coaches will play him, he stated at shootaround that he is prepared and ready for whatever, via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group:
“No, but I’m gonna be ready. Just be prepared and be back out there with the guys and get back in a rhythm and routine.”
Kleber revealed that he suffered the unlucky abdominal injury during a practice:
“It happened in practice on a drive to the basket. Very unfortunate and unlucky but we tried as best as we could to maintain conditioning and everything else to try to come back as fast as possible.”
For someone that has dealt with numerous injuries in the past year, Kleber admitted it has been tough to sit on the sidelines and not be able to contribute:
“It’s tough, man. Sometimes you don’t always get rewarded. I feel like I did put in the work, especially when it comes to physical stuff and staying healthy. But it is what it is. You gotta just make the best of it and continue obviously on it and try to stay out there and not have that happen again.”
Considering he hasn’t played yet this season, the Lakers will likely ease Kleber back into game action as he admitted it will take some time for him to get into game shape:
“Obviously it’s not game speed since I haven’t had any games, but that’s how you ramp it up. You try to recreate situations in practice as much as possible, but after that it’s just getting back in rhythm, routine and playing for the guys.”
The Lakers are off to a great start this season, and reinforcements appear to be on the way. It remains to be seen what Kleber’s role will be on this team, but he gives JJ Redick another frontcourt option that can stretch the floor and has experience playing alongside Doncic.
Luka Doncic enjoying playing with Lakers roster
At 7-2 the Lakers have been one of the surprise teams so far this season, and their chemistry has been a big reason for it. After their most recent win, Luka Doncic made it clear that he is enjoying playing with this Lakers team and believes they can accomplish great things.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
