JJ Redick provides key information on Los Angeles’ injury woes
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers they came up short in their showdown against the LA Clippers short with four key rotation players on the side in Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, due to injury. Reaves, Ayton and Hachimura were the starters while Vincent is a key player on the bench. But before Saturday’s game, the Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick it seemed optimistic that the Lakers would get reinforcements soon.
“I can’t commit to time frames here. One wakes up and says, ‘something is wrong with me.’ Then we have to deal with it,” Redick said. “If Austin is progressing as well, hopefully we’ll get them back soon. Rui, this is a new question that came up after the Utah game, and we’re targeting, or say, three to five days.”
Reaves was sidelined for the longest time since the Lakers’ NBA Cup quarterfinal loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 10. Ayton and Vincent appeared on the Lakers’ injury report before the Jazz game. And then Hachimura was the newest addition to a report that was dropped the day before the Clippers game.
The Lakers have generally not had a fully healthy roster since the start of the season. There were about one or two key guys in almost every game. Despite the absences, the Lakers still managed to be among the best teams in the Western Conference with a record of 19-7. That’s currently good enough for the 4th seed in the West and just half a game behind the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets.
For JJ Redick, the Lakers’ early overall success comes from sticking to the game plan despite various injuries.
“Just manage the game and play in the right spirit,” Redick said. “Basically, that’s what we’ve been doing all season.”
After the Clippers game, the Lakers will travel to Phoenix to face the Suns on Dec. 23, before returning home for a three-game stretch to start the New Year.
2025-12-21 03:49:00
