Why Deandre Ayton thinks LA has overcome early injuries

LOS ANGELES – Despite Los Angeles Lakers‘ solid start to the regular season at 19-8, they had plenty of injury issues to juggle. Off to a game against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, The Lakers should have gotten reinforcements with Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton coming back from injury. But through the first 27 games of the season, the Lakers took advantage of it 16 different starting lineups while dealing with the injury bug.

After the Lakers’ practice on Monday, Deandre Ayton talked about how the team was able to come together and overcome the absences they dealt with during the first quarter of the season.

“We’ve had our spurts where we don’t have a full lineup. We’ve played about two games with our full team,” Ayton said. “It’s a next-man-up mentality. We’ve been small guys since the beginning of the season, and we’ve pretty much adjusted to that. We’ve adjusted to who’s out there and played certain types of basketball that we’re comfortable with.”

Going into their Lakers game against the Suns, they will still be missing three key players, with Luka Doncic, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent ruled out. Doncic, however, could return in the Lakers lineup for their Christmas Day clash against the Houston Rockets.

One of the ways Ayton believes the Lakers have been able to stay afloat amid the injuries is the friendships they’ve formed. Lakers head coach JJ Redick has often talked about how every player on the team has a responsibility to be a leader in some way, and constant communication, even from players on the sidelines, has helped a lot.

“Everybody’s talking, this is not a quiet team. We’re all aware of what’s going on … how we haven’t played with a full team, but we’re communicating,” Ayton said. “Maybe there’s not a guy, or a superstar maybe not there, but they’re with us in spirit where they’re talking to us and it feels like they’re there … contributing without being on the floor. That brings a lot … whoever the backup is, who’s the sixth man, who’s two-way, who they’re comfortable playing and just let them get points.”

Ayton himself was a big part of the Lakers’ success this season as well. He appeared in 23 games with just over 29 minutes per game. He averaged 15.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 71 percent from the field.