Besides Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, the Lakers have had the rest of their roster available during the playoffs.
However, they might be playing without a member of their rotation for Friday’s Game 3. Lakers head coach JJ Redick said Jake LaRavia is dealing with an ankle sprain and is considered day-to-day moving forward.
LaRavia has been LA’s ironman this year. He played in all 82 regular-season games and both playoff matchups. If he misses, then that’s because it is an injury he simply can’t play through.
Considering that Redick stressed that this is a minor sprain and that the MRI came back clean, hopefully, he can play. Right now, we’ll have to wait until the injury report to see his official status.
LaRavia was clearly dealing with some discomfort in Game 2’s win against the Rockets. He airballed a corner 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and was visibly limping afterward. LaRavia was then taken out of the game and never returned.
The Lakers are essentially playing with an eight-man rotation, so losing anyone makes winning that much harder.
During the regular season, LaRavia put up respectable numbers. He averaged 8.2 points, four rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
In the playoffs, however, LaRavia has struggled. His numbers have dipped across all categories as his playing time has shrunk, and he hasn’t found ways to be impactful.
Still, it’s been a small sample size, and LaRavia being on the floor gives the Lakers some size, defensive versatility, and a player Redick trusts. LaRavia is averaging 17 minutes per game, tied for sixth among Lakers.
If he can’t play, then other players will have to step up.
Unfortunately, Redick doesn’t have many options. Rui Hachimura is already starting and playing heavy minutes. Redick might have to increase Jarred Vanderbilt’s time or go with different looks completely to make up for the minutes LaRavia typically plays.
Still, he is not ruled out, so it’s just something to monitor as this series heads to Houston for Game 3.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
