Finally, the Lakers appear to be adding more players to their rotation than they’re losing to injury. Austin Reaves returned to the lineup on Monday, LeBron James is moving closer and closer to being healthy
again and Adou Thiero could make his debut this road trip.
With all the knocking on wood, it seems like fortunes are changing for LA after surviving their early injury crisis. But as players return, it means the rotation will change and players will move out.
This, then, will be a very valuable time to make some final impressions before the team gets healthy. Let’s take a look, then, at the trust level for the rotation.
Starters: Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton
Jake LaRavia
It wasn’t a great week of games for LaRavia, who shot just 37.5% over the last three games, including 20% from the 3-point line. There was probably already going to be a come down from his white hot play, but this is has been pretty rough.
Jaxson Hayes
It’s been an odd year for Hayes, who is assisting and rebounding at higher rates than last year while scoring at a lower rate. Is that enough of a trade off to make him more reliable this season, particularly in the big games?
Jarred Vanderbilt
It’s not uncommon for Vando’s impact to not be properly measured statistically. But you would like to see some statistical production, too. From that standpoint, it’s been lackluster more often than not for the Lakers this year.
His stats are going to be skewed by his 12-point, 18-rebound performance but he’s had a rough go of it this year statistically.
Dalton Knecht
While Dalton has improved from his putrid start, he’s still not playing well enough to warrant getting minutes when LeBron returns. He’s only shooting 36.8% from the field over the last week and his shooting percentage is down this year. It seems unlikely he’ll be in the rotation much longer.
Bronny James
With Austin back on Monday, Bronny did not see the court. The more players the Lakers welcome back, the further he falls down the list. It was a good past couple of weeks from Bronny, which should give him some confidence.
Nick Smith Jr.
Considering he wasn’t even active on Monday, it’s probably safe to say Smith Jr. is out of the rotation already. But it was a wild ride to start the year.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on BlueSky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
