DETROIT — Lakers forward Cam Reddish was back in the lineup for Wednesday night’s road game against the Detroit Pistons, helping replenish some of the wing depth they’ve been missing the last few games.
Reddish missed the previous three games because of a left adductor (inner thigh)/left groin injury he suffered in a victory over the Utah Jazz on Nov. 21.
He was stepping up his play as a starter before suffering the injury. Reddish averaged 12.7 points (50% shooting, 46.4% from 3-point range), three rebounds and 2.8 steals in the six games since he became a full-time starter leading into the game when he was injured.
Despite Reddish’s return, second-year guard Max Christie kept his spot in the starting lineup alongside D’Angelo Russell, Taurean Prince, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Forward Rui Hachimura (nasal fracture), forward Jarred Vanderbilt (left heel bursitis – inflammation) and guard Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion – swollen joint) remain sidelined.
Coach Darvin Ham said he expects to have further injury updates on Friday after the team returns to Los Angeles following Thursday’s road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Hachimura and Vincent are being reevaluated this week.
Vanderbilt hasn’t played since the preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 7. He was cleared for his “return to play progression” two weeks ago.
“He’s been ramping up his workouts and playing in some smaller play groups,” Ham said. “So, he’s progressing according to plan.”
HAM’S REACTION
When the topic of his freshly-trimmed beard was brought up during his pregame availability, Ham quipped “Just following LeBron [James’] orders. Had to change my face. I thought he was talking about my beard.”
Ham was jokingly referring to James’ comments that “a lot” needed to change for the Lakers following their 44-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday – the team’s fifth-worst loss in franchise history and the worst margin of defeat in James’ 21-season NBA career.
“He’s a competitor, [a] fierce competitor like myself,” Ham said. “And that was a tough one to experience. But we had a great film session [Wednesday] morning and plucked some things out. The deficit was what it was. But at the end of the day, we did a lot of good things within that game that we had been working on, executed it and we had to illustrate to show something that’ll be part of our package going forward.
“But I understand his frustrations in terms of suffering a loss like that. I get frustrated as well, too. Like I told them [Wednesday] morning, there’s going to be lopsided wins, which we’ve been on the right side of, and lopsided losses we’ve suffered. Close wins, close losses, that’s just the nature of the NBA. It’s OK to be frustrated because you’re passionate about the game. You can’t get emotional and lose our focus, lose our way. These are all wisdoms and lessons, as well as wins and losses in the column.”
HAYES INJURY
Backup big Jaxson Hayes was ruled out of Wednesday’s game early in the fourth quarter because of left elbow soreness, the Lakers said.
Hayes played seven minutes earlier in the game before going to the locker room with what appeared to be padding around his arm.