CHICAGO — Lakers guard Gabe Vincent returned from his seven-week injury absence for their game against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Before Wednesday, Vincent had been limited to just four games and missed the previous 24 (including the In-Season Tournament championship game that didn’t count in the standings) because of a left knee effusion (swollen joint).
“Just coming in and being hardnosed Gabe,” Coach Darvin Ham said of what Vincent will bring. “Someone that can pester the ball. A great off-the-ball defender as well. Competitive. Highly competitive. And someone that can open up space by stretching the floor.”
Vincent, alongside Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura, subbed in at the 3:41 mark in the first quarter for his first game action since the Oct. 30 home victory over the Orlando Magic.
Ham said before the game that Vincent would be on a playing time restriction somewhere between 14-18 minutes.
The Lakers also have a road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, the second night of a back-to-back.
“It’s gonna take some time, same with Vando,” Ham said of Vanderbilt. “You know, Vando, when he was coming into his first active game, he hadn’t played all year. Gabe only played four games. So, you know, you just take it day by day and see how he responds. The biggest thing is gonna be [Thursday], see how he wakes up and what he’s feeling.”
Before being sidelined with the injury, Vincent, who the Lakers signed to a three-year, $33 million contract as a free agent during the offseason, was the primary reserve guard.
Austin Reaves has taken over that role since being moved to the bench over a month ago, also playing the role of the defacto point guard.
Ham said having the combo of Reaves and Vincent as reserves is “great because it creates the opportunity for a great one-two punch coming off our bench.”
“And you can throw any set of three guys out there with them,” Ham added. “We can go big. We can go straight 6-8, 6-9 athletic wings with those two. So I’m looking forward to seeing the combinations once again with someone being on the active list now. Just another Rubik’s Cube situation. But I’m excited about it.
“A lot of different ways with the lineup with [Vincent]. He can be our lead guard, he can play off the ball, he can be a secondary creator, so it’s gonna be good. The discovery process is gonna be good for that.”
VANDERBILT’S HEEL
While speaking with reporters after Monday’s home loss to the New York Knicks, Vanderbilt spoke about the status of the heel injury that kept him sidelined for nearly two months.
Vanderbilt, who has been limited to 13-17 minutes per game since returning in a Dec. 2 home win against the Houston Rockets, acknowledged that the left heel bursitis (inflammation) he was dealing with is “naturally limiting” what he does on the floor.
Ham said on Wednesday that Vanderbilt is dealing with an “active issue with his foot.”
“We have to always be mindful and be careful,” Ham added “But as he gets his conditioning, which is another element of why you have to try to be careful with him. We also have to be mindful because guys run into extreme fatigue, and that opens the door for additional injuries. So we just have to be careful with him and bring them along slowly.”
Ham added: “Our medical people are on top of it you know from day to day. We monitor it every day.”
When asked why he returned before being 100%, Vanderbilt responded “Because we have a chance. I consider us being a contender. And I know how far we can fully go if healthy, so, that’s the reason I tried to come back and fight through it and get right.”