JJ Redick gave updates on the Lakers lengthy injury list of Austin Reaves, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood after practice on Wednesday.
The Lakers have struggled to even just have players available of late.
Austin Reaves has missed the last five games due to a left pelvic contusion after a nasty fall against the Thunder. LeBron James was out against the Blazers on Sunday due to left foot soreness and is “unlikely” to play against the Wolves on Friday.
On top of that, the trio of Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt have also been out for varying times this season, too. After Wednesday’s practice, JJ Redick provided updates on the very long injury report, starting with Austin Reaves.
Reaves has been considered day-to-day with his injury, but also left the Lakers’ road trip early to get treatment on his injury.
“I wouldn’t call Austin a full participant [in practice],” Redick said. “There was one thing he sat out, that we suggested and [Director of Player Performance] Leroy [Sims] agreed with us, probably not good for him. The nature of the drill, it was particularly a physical drill and just want to be mindful of pain tolerance.
“But he was a full participant in all the five-on-five live stuff and all the breakdown drills.”
This Reaves update certainly sounds positive. With at least 48 hours between the Lakers’ practice on Wednesday and the team’s game in Minnesota on Friday, it feels likely he’ll return this weekend.
Hayes has had the worst luck with his left ankle sprain. First, he injured it in mid-November and missed two weeks of action. He returned on the original timeline the Lakers had for him, which is a rarity, but re-sprained it in his first game back against the Suns on Nov. 26.
It was reported he would be out for another two to three weeks and Redick’s most recent words on his status indicate he’ll at least need the full three weeks before he returns.
“No update on Jaxson [Hayes]. His sort of target return date is in flux,” Redick said. “So, if we have something, we’ll give it to you.”
The Lakers have to be careful with Hayes’ ankle. He has had two injuries on it, so the last thing you want to do is rush him back and cause more damage.
Still, it hurts the team, with the only current backup bigs being two-way players Christian Koloko and Armel Traore. It is hard to beat teams being as short-handed as the Lakers are in the frontcourt and with Hayes out, the team has struggled going 7-6 in those games.
For now, it looks like they’ll have to make due since the phrase “in flux” means that until we hear otherwise, expect Hayes to remain out.
This is another non-update for Wood and Vando, as neither seems close to returning and has not played a single game for the Lakers this season.
At the tail end of the above quote about Hayes, Redick tacked on, “Same with Christian [Wood] and Vando.”
Wood's injury odyssey has been long. He had left knee surgery in the summer and suffered a setback in his rehab. He is now past the four-week re-evaluation period the Lakers last mentioned.
Before these comments from Redick, the last news on Vanderbilt’s status came on Dec. 3 when the team said he suffered a setback in rehab and was targeting an early January return.
This news doesn’t necessarily throw cold water on this timeline, but I’d bet my bosses check it won’t happen. [editor’s note: I did not agree to this].
He’s not working out during the portion of practice the media is allowed to see, either. It feels unlikely he’d ramp up from no visible on-court work to early January games when we are already in mid-December.
From a fan’s perspective, Wood and Vando are players who should be out of sight and out of mind. The Lakers have demonstrated over the years that when they are kicking the can this far down the road, you should stop waiting for them to pick it up.
The best news is that Reaves is getting better and Hayes is a waiting game. We’ll see if that’s enough to win games to close December.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
