The Los Angeles Lakers received bad news about their frontcourt. According to Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Jaxson Hayes will be out for the next two to three weeks.
“Lakers center Jaxson Hayes suffered a re-sprain of his right ankle and will miss two to three weeks”
After just returning from missing six games due to the sprained ankle, Hayes re-aggravated the ankle in his 17 minutes of action against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. The 24-year-old center was inactive for the last two games as the team waited to get the results from the MRI that he underwent yesterday.
With the timetable, Hayes should return to the court immediately after the Emirates Cup finals. That would mean Hayes will miss six more games for the Lakers (11-8), who have lost four of the last five.
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Man Out Longer Than Expected, Bronny James Injury Update and Lakers Still Alive In Emirates Cup Knockout
Hayes has played decently well in an extended role this year. The Lakers are 6-5 in the games Hayes has played, though they have been outscored by one point a game when he is on the floor, seventh-best on the team. They are outscored by 0.7 points when he is on the bench.
Hayes has been highly efficient on the offensive end. The 7-footer has scored twice in his 11 appearances in double-figures and averages 6.4 points on 72% shooting from the field in 17 minutes. While extremely limited offensively, he is terrific around the rim and thrives on the offensive glass. Additionally, he has been getting to the free-throw line at a strong rate.
However, Hayes is only an average defensive rebounder. He is a decent shot-blocker and can guard on the perimeter. But he gets pushed around underneath too often. He also puts opponents on the line too often, as 18 of his 26 fouls have resulted in free throws.
Hayes’s absence continues to strain the Lakers’ frontcourt since they are so shorthanded. Anthony Davis is prone to injury, though he has been pretty healthy for the last year-plus. 24-year-old center Christian Koloko is still working his way back after sitting out a year-and-a-half due to a medical condition.
How Will JJ Redick Manage Hayes’ Extended Absence?
Davis has been seeing about 36 minutes of a game at the center, which remains a point of contention. The 31-year-old big prefers to play the four more often. While that seems unlikely over the next few weeks, JJ Redick may give Koloko a few minutes alongside Davis. Davis has seen at least 30 minutes of court time in 17 of his 18 appearances.
The bigger question is how Redick will account for Hayes’ nearly 16 minutes off the bench. Obviously, he could give Koloko a few more minutes or decide to go with a smaller lineup a little more often, with Rui Hachimura or LeBron James manning the middle.
With Christian Wood and Jared Vanderbilt having yet to debut and Hayes already missing eight contests, Koloko has been thrown into the fray much more often and quicker than the Lakers anticipated. Koloko has seen at least 10 minutes in six of his 10 appearances.
Like Hayes, Koloko is an athletic big who is very limited offensively and thrives on the offensive glass. He is a better shot-blocker than Hayes, although he is not as strong of a perimeter defender.
Speaking of Vanderbilt, the Lakers are expected to provide an injury date by the end of the week. Meanwhile, Wood is slated to be reevaluated in about 10 days.
Bronny James Update
Bronny James has been out of action since November 17 due to a heel injury. But it looks like the 20-year-old point guard is nearing a return.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported earlier today that James will begin ramping up his rehab after being told his heel is healing. McMenamin added that James will remain out for at least another month until he is reevaluated.
Bronny James’ left heel contusion was examined by team doctors Friday, per the Lakers. It was determined to be healing so Bronny will begin his ramp-up process and be re-evaluated in a week.
Regardless of when James returns, he will remain an emergency fill-in for the Lakers. The 6-2 guard has only played 16 minutes in six appearances for the Lakers, including a maximum of five minutes (twice).
More importantly, James will continue to develop in the G-League. James has only appeared in two games for South Bay and struggled offensively in both contests. On the plus side, James continues to show that he could eventually develop into a serviceable NBA player as a defensive specialist.
In the two games with South Bay, James averages 5.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 turnovers in 28.5 minutes. James has connected on just 4 of his 19 shots (21.1%), missing all six of his 3-pointers. He also has recorded a total of two steals and two blocks.
Lakers’ Chances Of Advancing In The Emirates Cup
It doesn’t appear that the Lakers will advance to Las Vegas for the Cup semifinals after claiming the inaugural title last year. The Lakers are 2-2 with a -24-scoring differential after bowing down to Oklahoma City 101-93 last night. They sit in fifth place in the Western Conference Group B, though they are the only team of the five that don’t have a game in the event left.
However, according to LeBron Wire’s Robert Marvi, Los Angeles hopes to advance to the knockout stage just yet.
The Lakers can only advance to the knockout round at this point by being the one wild-card team from the Western Conference. To do so, they will need to finish second in Group B and have the best record among the three West teams that finished second in their respective groups.
The Lakers’ massively negative point differential almost assures that they will not be a wild-card team.
