The Los Angeles Lakers released their injury report for Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. LeBron James (left groin strain) and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle soreness) are out while Luka Doncic (back soreness) and Jaxson Hayes (right knee contusion) are questionable.
Additionally, Rui Hachimura (left patella tendinopahy) and Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery) remain out.
James hurt his groin late in the loss against the Boston Celtics and said there is not much concern with the injury. However, the expectation is he will miss one to two weeks as groin strains can be tricky to navigate.
Finney-Smtih is the other notable injury here as he will miss his return to Brooklyn and leave the Lakers even more shorthanded in the frontcourt.
Hachimura will miss his sixth-straight game due to his knee injury, and while the team has been able to get by with Jarred Vanderilt picking up the slack, the Japan native’s absence has been apparent, especially now with Finney-Smith also out. The offense has struggled at times without a credible floor spacer like Hachimura, so the team has relied more on James and Doncic to create shots for others.
The current expectation is Hachimura will miss at least one more week before being re-evaluated.
Hayes also missed the contest against the Celtics due to his knee injury, so the hope is he’s able to go against the Nets. Hayes has played well since being elevated to the starting center role, and his speed, athleticism and rolling to the rim was sorely missed against Boston.
Doncic looked like there may have been some issues moving fluidly on the court against the Celtics, which he explained was because of a nagging back issue. His status is up in the air, although he said he was feeling fine.
The injury bug appears to be hitting Los Angeles at the worst possible time as they are in the midst of a tight Western Conference playoff race and about to hit the hardest part of their schedule.
Head coach JJ Redick has done an excellent job of getting the Lakers to this point, but now the hard part will be trying to keep them afloat with so many rotation members out or banged up. While Brooklyn doesn’t pose as much of a threat as other teams, this is still a game Los Angeles could very well lose.
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