Everyone, I’m Dan Week and welcome to the Times’ latest Lakers newsletter. I remind each week that my most loyal readers have not been reported to be injured. If so, it’s some sort of grade 2 brain tension, which isn’t that important. But does it actually have a name on the Lakers injury report? They’re beginning to add up.
Here are some thoughts about all six that were there on Monday:
It hurts the locker
LeBron James
If you’re looking for encouragement signs of James’ caliber injury that he suffered Saturday in Boston, what is the fact that he was with the New York team rather than bolting back to Los Angeles for treatment. He returned to Los Angeles on Wednesday and avoided an overnight flight after the Lakers played in Milwaukee on Thursday and Denver on Friday.
There is no public timeline for his return yet, but here are some important facts. For one, he suffered a major gro caliber injury in his first season with the Lakers, missing out for over a month. James said the injury wasn’t the case. And the second is that I know James hadn’t heard of pops or anything like that.
However, gro caliber injuries can be challenging and with the playoffs approaching, the Lakers and James want to make sure they are as healthy as possible for the final push of the season.
Luka Donsic
He appears in the injury report due to calf injury management, pain on Monday, and ankle pain on Thursday. But these days, Donsic is enough to be in court, and that’s what the Lakers should expect.
But the team is physical with Donsic, especially without James, with clenching and pain seemingly inevitable.
Rui Hachimura
Hanchon has returned to the court where he works. This is a really positive sign after missing the last 6 games due to knee pain. He left the victory against Minnesota on February 27th after the dunk, but the injury was actually what he had been playing since his victory in Denver five days ago.
He’s out on Thursday and Friday, but it seems likely that he’ll return next week’s home stand. A sign of welcome after JJ Reddick called what the Lakers were trying to do on both sides of the court “glue.”
Jackson Hayes
Like Tamura, Hayes doesn’t play in the next two games. He also suffered minor hyperextension in his victory over the Knicks, which leads to swelling associated with bone bruising, although he has suffered from minor hyperextension.
The Lakers really missed him in their final two defeats and will really miss Thursday and Friday, but to my understanding, I don’t think this is a long-term issue.
Hayes personally has a very important set of basketball in front of him waiting for unlimited free agency this summer, but if things continue to move in the better, we can expect to return next week.
Dorian Finney Smith
Finney Smith was not defeated against the net due to ankle issues, and of course his absence coincided with Redick’s calling for the Lakers due to lack of communication. Finney Smith was one of the most talkative players on the team and became a consistent source of energy.
Good news? He returned against the Bucks on Thursday. Bad news? The ankles are what the Lakers need to keep their surveillance, especially on Thursday, when the Lakers begin their stretch, where they play six times in eight days.
Maxi adhesive
Clever, who was acquired from Dallas under a Don Chic contract, underwent surgery after a broken leg in late January and is scheduled for another evaluation in early April. He had a very start and stop season due to injuries and would be a challenge even if he merged Clever lately, even if he was healthy.
But like Finney Smith, Tamura, James and Vanderbilt of Bottle, Clever is a switchable defender who can play center in a small ball lineup, making it the kind of weapon the Lakers would want to have in the playoffs.
This week’s song
Let’s do Milwaukee! Citizen King never became a big deal as a blend of hip hop, newway block and funk lived in my CD player in the early 2000s. And while things will look rough here while the Lakers are healthier, they remind us that they saw a better day, and the better should be on the way.
