After having a relatively long stretch in which their entire rotation was available, the Lakers took the floor in Detroit on Monday without a starter in Marcus Smart and key reserve Rui Hachimura.
Both were listed as questionable in the initial injury report. Prior to the team’s loss to the Pistons, head coach JJ Redick provided updates on both, starting with Rui’s right calf soreness.
Ironically, Rui missed the last game against the Pistons with right calf soreness in late December. It was, however, a short-term injury that Rui returned from in about a week. However, it does show that there’s a bit of a history with this injury.
As for Smart, he has taken a beat recently and while he was listed on the injury report with right ankle soreness, he was also dealing with a hip injury.
The collision in question was one of the most absurd calls of the season for the Lakers in which a fairly innocuous coming together with Goga Bitadze ended with Smart receiving a technical foul.
That was just part of a chaotic night for Bitadze, but that is a topic for another article already written.
Given his injury history and the beating he takes on a game-to-game basis, having him sit out for a night or two to heal up isn’t the worst thing. Especially given the Lakers’ upcoming schedule, which includes games against Pacers, Wizards and Nets, sneaking in some rest for players wouldn’t be a bad strategy.
As for Rui and Smart, it appears neither injury is serious. The Lakers should be able to welcome them back soon and potentially in their road trip finale on Wednesday in Indiana.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
